Here at Chabad of Naples, the weeks are like snowflakes: no two weeks are ever alike!
Out of the blue today, I received a call from a visitor from California.
As he was here for just a short time, he Googled Chabad because he wanted to put on tefillin. Now that’s not a call I get as often as I would like! But always enthusiastic, with an open door to accomplish this or any other mitzvah, I dropped everything and welcomed Eric to put on tefillin.
In the course of conversation, he asked my name and when I said “Zaklos”, he asked if by any chance I was related to a Zaklos in Vacaville. When I said he is my brother, Eric went on to say how inspired he is by Rabbi Chaim Zaklos who has built a magnificent center in Vacaville and what he is doing is remarkable. Of course, I agreed!
We prayed and he went on his way.
I am more inspired by my younger brother every day.
There is a reason for everything. We are all connected and mitzvot beget more mitzvot as they bring us together.
Talking about prayer. Our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, each instituted one of the three daily prayers, and, tradition teaches, when Jacob arrived at the mountain, G-d caused the sun to set early so that he would pray the evening service—his unique prayer—there.
Today, prayer is assumed to take place only in the synagogue, but we can and should pray anywhere. You can still pray alone, whether at home, at work, or on the road.
Our ancestors taught us to find time in our busy days for G-d. No matter how much we have going on in our lives, take a few minutes three times a day to connect with the Creator. It will make the rest of your day so much brighter!
Let's all make our corner of the earth, the best possible to bring and disperse light!
Shabbat Shalom
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