58 | JULY 13 • 2023
MAZEL TOV!
HOW TO SUBMIT ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mazel Tov! announcements are welcomed for members of the
Jewish community. Anniversaries, engagements and weddings
with a photo (preferably color) can appear at a cost of $18
each. Births are $10. There is no charge for bar/bat mitzvahs
or for special birthdays starting at the 90th.
For information, contact Editorial Assistant Sy Manello
at smanello@thejewishnews.com or (248) 351-5147 for
information or for a mailed or emailed copy of guidelines.
Nathan-Rosenthal
C
ynthia and Neal
Rosenthal of Keego
Harbor and Emily and
Stuart Nathan of Farmington
Hills are overjoyed to
announce the engagement of
their children Rachael Lauren
Rosenthal and Andrew Bryan
Nathan.
Rachael received her
degree in advertising
management from Michigan
State University and works as
a senior account executive at Campbell Ewald. Andrew
received his degree in packaging from Michigan
State University and works as an associate packaging
engineer at Kellogg.
The couple will be wed in fall 2024 in Detroit.
SPIRIT
Action & Reaction
T
his week’s portion of
Mattot discusses the war
that the Jewish nation
waged against Moav, whose
women played a major rule in
enticing Jewish men to sin.
When the Jewish
soldiers returned
from battle, Moses
rebuked them for not
following some of his
instructions. While
for most people such a
display of anger would
not be excessive, for
Moses, the holiest man
who ever lived, it was
deemed inappropriate.
The Talmud relates that
when Moses “entered
the realm of anger he
also entered the realm
of forgetfulness.
”
A foundational tenet of Torah
Judaism is belief in Divine
Providence. According to the
Talmud, “Everything is deter-
mined by Hashem aside from
fear of Hashem.
” The material
components of life, our financial
and health situations, our spous-
es, where we will live — these
are all preordained. Only ethical
and spiritual decisions are in
our own hands. Whether you
fall down the stairs and break
an arm or win a million dollars
in the lottery, that was ordained
from Above. How you react
when that happens is in your
realm of choice.
Anger is a result of unhappi-
ness with one’s material wellbe-
ing. It could be due to a business
deal that went sour, a decline
in the market, a serious health
issue. To overcome anger, reflect
on the fact that all our challeng-
es in life are placed before us by
the Creator of the universe. The
Chassidic masters cite passages
from Tanach that even when
one is hurt by another person,
the attitude of the victim should
be that this was bashert (preor-
dained from Above). The Zohar
extols Joseph who never sought
revenge against his brothers
for kidnapping and selling
him. Joseph understood that
it was all orchestrated by
Hashem for him to prepare
Egypt for upcoming drought
and famine and to bring
the Jewish nation down to
Egypt.
When one meditates on
these ideas and lives by these
principles, there is no place
for anger in his life. Anger,
however, is a subtle sign that
he rejects Divine Providence.
Hence the comparison of
anger to idolatry.
This week’s second Torah
portion, Massei, details the 42
journeys that the Jewish nation
made between leaving Egypt
and arriving at the Jordan River,
the eastern border of Israel. The
holy Baal Shem Tov asserts that
we all embark on 42 journeys
during our lifetimes. These
“journeys” refer to challenges
that the Almighty places before
us.
This Shabbat, when we com-
plete the Book of Numbers, is
called Shabbat Chazak. There is
a custom that upon the comple-
tion of reading an entire book of
the Torah, the congregation rises
and proclaims Chazak, Chazak
Venischazek. Strength! Strength!
May we be strengthened!”
May we all be blessed with the
strength to complete our chal-
lenges in life successfully and
without anger.
Rabbi Elimelech Silberberg is a rabbi
at Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center
in West Bloomfield.
TORAH PORTION
Rabbi
Elimelech
Silberberg
Parshat
Mattot/
Massei:
Numbers
30:2-36:13;
Jeremiah
2:4-28, 3:4.
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