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ALEVY CHABAD JEWISH CENTER

Las Cruces rabbi: pray, reach out, stay positive during COVID-19

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Abraham Lincoln is quoted to have said that in life, "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."

The Bible repeatedly reminds us that the best and most successful approach in any unnerving situation is to remain positive, with a solid trust in God that all will be well, while taking all the necessary steps within our ability to protect ourselves and each other.

True, the bush we are currently dealing with seems to have a disproportionate amount of thorns, but we must constantly remind ourselves and our loved ones that God – the Gardener in Chief – is with us every moment, and we therefore know that all will be well.

I highly recommend that we each take some time for personal prayer each day, especially now: Read some of the Psalms or choose whichever prayers you like. Then close your eyes and say some personal words or communicate in thought with our Father in Heaven, one on one.

Apparently, God wants our attention, so take a few minutes each day, privately, just you and your God. Try this and see how soothing and therapeutic it can be. You'll remind yourself that all is not lost, and we are never alone.

Always remember to wash your hands, and in whose hands you are.

With the Jewish Holiday of Passover right at the start of the pandemic, we were able to get more than 300 meals and loads more Passover necessities picked up or delivered to Jewish residents throughout Las Cruces and southern New Mexico.

With Shabbat (Sabbath) Observance an integral part of Judaism, on Fridays we deliver 25-30 Shabbat Pick-Me-Up packages to the doors of friends, neighbors and community members within the Jewish Faith.

These bags include the traditional foods of Challah bread, chicken matzah ball soup and chocolate Babka cake, as well as a candle-lighting kit with which Jewish women and families usher in the Shabbat each Friday evening. Of course, all this is done with utmost care to social distancing and hygiene.

Chabad has opened a Corona fund (www.chabadlc.org/coronafund) to help the entire community with basic needs and groceries, even rent and a car payment. One can also donate to help cover the cost of personal protective gear that we have been distributing free of charge to the larger Las Cruces community.

On Thursday, April 30, Chabad hosted a drive-thru giveaway of packages containing masks, toilet paper and hand sanitizer. All 300 packages were given out, plus many hundreds more masks and toilet paper were given out free of charge to whomever needed them, no questions asked. We are hoping to do more giveaways in the coming weeks.

Although one might think that the job of rabbi is purely to help with spiritual matters, at Chabad we see day-to-day matters as equally important: whether helping those needing assistance with filing unemployment (shout out to the local Office Max for faxing papers free of charge) to delivering groceries and uplifting classes over Zoom online platforms.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the unbelievable donors and volunteers who have been helping seniors and those stuck at home.

Most important is reach out and touch someone: Make a point of contacting two people each day to see how they're doing. Being a good neighbor and looking out for each other's well-being extends itself to our entire community. Giving another person a listening ear and a helping hand is the surest way to feel uplifted yourself.

Alevy Chabad Jewish Center of Las Cruces, 2907 E. Idaho Ave., is part of the international Chabad movement. There are 4,500 Chabad houses around the world. The movement was founded in present-day Belarus in 1775. It moved to Brooklyn, New York in 1940. Chabad is a Hebrew acronym for Chochmah, Binah, Da'at (wisdom, understanding and knowledge). Rabbi Bery Schmuckler and his wife, Chenchie, are co-directors of the center. For more information, call 575-524-1330. Visit www.chabadlc.org.

Rabbi Bery Schmukler, Alevy Chabad Jewish Center

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