september 2015

Rabbi’s Message
Dear friends, I would like to begin by wishing all of you a Shanah Tovah, a good year. May it be a year of good health and material blessing. May it be a year of joy accomplishment and personal growth. May you find meaning in life. This year, especially, we pray that it be a year of peace. The threats against the Jewish people are always there, but takes on a new dimension with the question of a nuclear Iran weighing heavy on us. Both sides of the debate are being heard loud and clear. If the proposed agreement is approved, one side claims, it will delay the development of nuclear capabilities for a number of years. If it is rejected, the other side claims, that the negotiations can be reopened and a better result achieved. To which those who are in favor of the agreement respond that rejecting this agreement will only lead to Iran going nuclear even sooner and leave the world with the choice of a nuclear Iran or war. The debate has been extremely polarizing in the Jewish community and the nation as a whole. In recent months, the Rebbitzen and I have come in contact with one of the few groups that provide a more hopeful outlook. They are the Organization of Iranian American Communities and the National Council of Resistance of Iran. They are Iranians around the world and in Iran who are working to replace the regime of the Mullahs with a secular democratic non-nuclear Iran with equal rights for all and peaceful relations with its neighbors. They believe that this will happen from within Iran, without war or foreign intervention. While many in this group are opposed to the agreement, there are those that support it. However, they are not about this agreement. They are about the bigger picture of the role of Iran in the world that supports terrorism and is a violator of Human rights. What I have learned from these Iranian groups is that we must confront the genocidal rhetoric and threats against Israel coming from Iran wherever we can. We must tell the world that chants of “death to Israel, death to America” are unacceptable. Regardless of the outcome of the agreement, Iran must not be allowed to enter the family of nations until it gives up its policy of hatred and trampling on the human rights of its own citizens. We are told that during this period of the year, G-d weighs all the deeds of humanity. If the good deeds outweigh the bad, the world will be judged favorably. If not, the world will be destined for chaos and strife. Let our prayers be fervent and our good deeds many and let us hope that the troubles that threaten us and the world be avoided and that the coming year be one of peace. Shanah Tova Tikatevu V’techatemu, May we be inscribed and sealed for a good year,
Rabbi Sussman