Community Magazine June 2019

26 Community Magazine Home&Stone FIXTURES FAUCETS HARDWARE ACCESSORIES 1663 Coney Island Ave Brooklyn NY 11230 Valet Parking Appointments Welcome 718.787.1000 homeandstone.com @homeandstone לעילוי נשמתם של משה בן עליזה, יצחק הלל בן עליזה, והנרייט לאה בת עליזה, דוד בן גילה, רבקה בת גילה, יהושע בן גילה, משה בן גילה, שרה בת גילה, יעקב בן גילה, ואליאנה בת גילה. ולרפואה שלמה ליוסף בן אהובה מסעודה, שילת אהובה בת עליזה, ודניאל בן עליזה. Summertime is Satan ’s dream come true, and it is no coincidence. Centuries ago, our rabbis taught us that Satan is very powerful during the summer. And this power is on full display in our generation, each and every summer. I have seen with my own eyes, to my great dismay, how people who are devoutly committed to proper religious standards throughout the year drastically lower their standards during the summer. The Satan , it seems, might be no match for these people at other times during the year, but when the summer comes along, it gains the upper hand. How do we deal with this challenge? What can we do to overpower the Satan when it comes at us with all its might during the summer weeks? The natural place to look is the two spies who avoided the Satan ’s trap – Yehoshua and Kalev, who dissented from their peers and reported positively about the Land of Israel. By revealing the secret to their success, we could perhaps find the key to our success in confronting our summertime Satan . As for Yehoshua, the rabbis teach that before the spies left, Moshe uttered a special prayer for his beloved disciple, Yehoshua, asking Gd to protect him from the pressure of the other spies. This is the first strategy we need to employ – prayer. We must always be praying for our and our children’s spiritual wellbeing. But in situations of danger, prayer becomes especially vital. As the summer rolls around, we need to pray, and to pray earnestly, from the depths of our hearts, that we and our precious children will remain strong and steadfast, and not succumb to the temptations presented by the summer months. Kalev, we are told, went to Me’arat Hamachpelah in Hevron, the gravesite of Avraham, Yitzhak, and Yaakov. He went to draw strength from these remarkable personalities, who serve as inspiring role models for maintaining our commitment under pressure. Avraham stood against the entire world in promoting the belief in one Gd. Yitzhak was prepared to sacrifice his life to fulfill Gd’s command. And Yaakov endured great hardship for most of his life, yet all throughout he never doubted Gd and remained wholeheartedly devoted to continue his work of building the Jewish Nation. We, too, can draw strength and inspiration from our forebears, from the religious commitment of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents who remained true to their faith under very difficult conditions. Just as they overcame the challenges that stood in their way, so too are we able to overcome our own challenges, and continue living the right way despite the pressures and lures that we face. It is no coincidence that Parashat Shelah, the story of spies, is read every year just before the summer. We, no less than the spies themselves, need to hear Moshe’s command, “ Vehithazaktem ,” to be strong, to be steadfast, to be firm, to be resolute, and not to fall prey to the temptations of the “grapes of summer.” Aaron 732.631.4519 New clean car with comfortable leather seats Community Driver Deal Driver To JFK $180 To LaGuardia $190 To Atlantic city $140 To Newark $90 To Manhattan $180 To Brooklyn $180 Hourly(local) $25/hour Super-Drive Super Service. Every Ride. Every time.