Hi,

I am sharing the following Q/A from Rabbi Moss in Sydney, Australia, I hope you appreciate it as much as I did.

Question of the Week:

I am trying to convince my friends to come to Chabad for the celebrations on Simchas Torah. I told him it is the best party in town and so much fun. But they insist they are "once a year Jews" and only go to shul for Yom Kippur. Any tips on what I can say to help change their mind?

Answer :

Tell your friends this joke:

There was once an Englishman, a Japanese, an American and an Israeli cruising together on a luxury ocean liner. In the middle of the voyage the captain announced that the ship was sinking and they were all doomed.

As they had each paid a fortune to be on the cruise, the passengers were offered to choose any dish they wanted from the ship's kitchen as a last meal.

They first asked the Englishman what he wanted to eat. He thought for a moment, and then said, "I would like fish and chips please."

They went to the Japanese and asked him what he wanted for his final meal. "Sushi please," was his immediate reply.

When they asked the American what he would like, he said, "A burger with onion rings."

Then they asked the Israeli.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom, and Chag Sameach!

Rabbi Baruch and Chanie, and Mendel, Mushka, Liba, Levi, and Shneur Zalman Kantor

P.S. Although there is a lot going on this week (detailed below), I'd like to draw your attention to

"THE SHABBATON" - 1000 Students. 100 Schools. One amazing weekend!!

Registration is open, but there are only a very limited amount of spots left, please sign up ASAP. We won't be able to get you in once registration is full. Register at JewishWeekend.org

• Shabbat Candle lighting is 6:24 today, Kabbalat Shabbat @ Chabad 7pm, Shabbat Dinner 7:30pm
• Shabbat Lunch / Cholent tmrw 2:30pm. (Coffee and cake + walk to Shul 10am.)
  • Yomtov / Chag begins Sunday 6:20pm, and continues thru Tuesday 7:20pm
• Sunday evening: Solidarity with Israel Hakafot - 7pm Jewish Center of Northern Liberties. Please respond to this email if you'd like to join us!
• Monday evening - SIMCHAT TORAH! Begins 7:30pm @ Chabad - click here for details. https://www.facebook.com/events/736576363141712/
• Tuesday - Dance with the Torah - Finish the Torah - Begin the Torah - Farbreng - ... Jewish Center of Northern Liberties - 1011 Orianna St. Tuesday 12pm-3pm

Now that the Holidays are almost done, its time to hit the ground running.

One on One study: Contact [email protected] or [email protected] to set up a time to study the topic of your choice! (Talmud, Jewish Philosophy, Torah portion, or anything else...)

Sorry, did you miss the punchline?

Wasn't that annoying?

 I bet you wouldn't be willing to listen to a joke if you knew you would not get to hear the end of it.

Well, going to shul on Yom Kippur and then skipping Simchas Torah is like hearing the build up to a joke and missing the punchline. It makes no sense.

On Yom Kippur we express our Jewishness. On Simchas Torah we celebrate it.

On Yom Kippur we fast with humility. On Simchas Torah we eat and drink with joy.

Yom Kippur is the day our soul shines. Simchas Torah is the day our soul dances.

So you want to hear the punchline? See you on Monday night... :-)