Chabad of Spokane

Welcoming our roving Rabbis who are here in Spokane. Visiting Eastern WA in the next couple of week.

Last Wednesday I was invited by our congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers to join in person in the capital to hear the prime minister of Israel Bibi Netanyahu speak. It was a great honor to be there and a powerful experience. I was there to show support to Israel and to the Jewish people around the world.

Freedom of speech is held sacred in this country. Our Founding Fathers came from a society where one was forbidden from speaking one's mind, where the ruling power decided what could and could not be said.
Like the old joke goes, a 1980's American was trying to explain the virtues of American free speech to a citizen of Mother Russia. "You know, I can stand in front of the White House, in front of everyone, and declare Reagan to be the worst leader in world history - and nothing will happen to me! Can you do that in Russia?!"
"Yes," answered the Russian, "I can stand in front of the Kremlin and shout to everyone, 'Reagan is the worst leader in world history!' and nothing will happen to me either."
So, free speech. But still, there are certain words that are forbidden even in this land of the free and the home of the brave. The most famous example is shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theater (I've just been advised that this is a common myth. Oh well.) and incitement to violence. Even Freedom of Speech has its limits.
And I want to recommend one more phrase to the list of things one may never utter: "We condemn all violence." Another powerful politician uttered it this week and it has got to stop.
Condemning all violence is not just weak and meaningless; it's dangerous.
When the hiker in Rhode Island was bitten by a rabid coyote and violently killed it with his bare hands, did we all join in condemning that violence?
When a homeowner wakes up to an intruder with a gun, and violently kills him to protect his family, do we all join in to condemn him?
It's a waste of time to say we condemn all violence because we simply do not. And when influential, powerful people announce, regarding the war in Israel, that we ought to condemn all violence, they are equating murder with self-defense, which discourages self-defense and literally and directly causes the death of innocent people.
When a political official declares her support for Israel's efforts to defend herself, and in the very next sentence condemns all violence, it's foolish, hypocritical, dangerous and evil. He or she does not in fact support Israel's efforts to defend herself, (unless the intent is that Israel Defense Forces should defeat their enemy with soothing words and reasonable arguments for peace).
A real enemy is better than a pretend friend.
When Israel has a gun to its head and its "friends" pompously condemn all violence, they're in fact condemning Israel to destruction, G-d forbid. Stop saying it! It means less than nothing - it means you don't want justice or peace, you just want the victim to die quietly so you can sleep peacefully.
And other than the obvious desire for the maximum number of votes, why can't you just come out and state the obvious truth - that the hiker is innocent and the coyote is a dangerous threat, that the homeowner is innocent and the intruder is a dangerous threat, and that Israel is innocent and those fighting them are dangerous threats? Is that too complicated?
How can you call the soldiers of WWII "The Greatest Generation" and then condemn all violence? How can you praise John McCain as a national hero and then condemn all violence? What do you think McCain was doing when he became a hero? Building schools, planting trees and inventing vaccines?
Stop saying that we condemn all violence. We do not, we certainly do not.
The Rebbe once spoke about people who self-righteously spray a wildfire with what they think is water, when in fact they're spraying kerosene. When you confront them and beg them to stop pouring fuel on the fire, they say, aww, don't be picky, any liquid is helpful.
Any liquid is not helpful, and all violence is not evil. Saying so is pouring fuel on the flames of the war.
Not all violence is bad. Sometimes it's necessary, sometimes it's good, sometimes it's a Mitzvah! And when it's done in self-defense, it's a Mitzvah!
This week's Parshah is called Pinchas. The Torah declares the man Pinchas to be G-d's hero. Who was a Pinchas? An award-winning musician? A trailblazing physicist? A pacifist peace-activist? A loudmouth politician?
No, he was commended and awarded by G-d for an act of violence. A single, crucial, heroic act of violence that everyone around him was afraid to do. G-d named an entire section in the Torah after him and awarded him with - wait for it - a Covenant of Peace! Violence brought peace! Imagine that.
Words have meaning. And to say that we condemn all violence means that we condemn no violence. That is immoral and forbidden by G-d's universal law. We need to stop saying it. It needs to be outlawed. It must never be heard again on these shores.
That saying is an offense against every police officer, every security guard, every Air Marshall, every school resource officer, every kid who charged up Normandy's beaches, David who slew Goliath, Moses who killed the Egyptian who was killing a Jewish slave, every soldier in the IDF and G-d Himself who wrote the laws of right and wrong, made self-defense a Mitzvah, and honored Pinchas for doing the right thing at the right time.
Shabbat Shalom and good Shabbos!
Rabbi Yisroel Hahn

9 months ago, Yaakov Argamani visited the Rebbe's gravesite to pray for the return of his daughter Noa and the other hostages.

Last night he returned to the Ohel, this time with Noa, to offer thanks and to pray for the remaining hostages.

Let's all pray for the safe return of all the hostages.

We have only a few hours left to our annual summer raffle, sponsor a kid in our camp, while earning a chance to win $10k how many smiles would you like to sponsor?

Raffle Form - JewishSpokane.com $10,000 Raffle Form GRAND PRIZE: $10,000 THURSDAY, JULY 18, 2024 Ticket Pricing: $100 = 1 tickets $180 = 2 tickets $360 = 6 tickets Silver Sponsor: $500 (10 tickets)  Gold Sponsor: $770 (15 tickets) Diamond Sponsor: $1000 (20 tickets) Ticket Prices* $100.00$180.00$360.00$500.00$770.00$1000 Total $0...

Fruit picking with our camp

Meeting with our camp counselors

First week in our camp.

Today is the Rebbe Yahrzeit, every day we dedicated our lives to the vision the Rebbe instilled in us, to make the world a dwelling to the divine. I am privileged to have grown up with the Rebbe, and cherish those moments forever.

Here is a picture of me by the Rebbe in 1988. My older brother is in the back ground.

Today, Tuesday July 9th is Gimmel Tammuz. One of the most meaningful days on the Chabad calendar.
When Sarah and I moved to over 17 years ago, it was the vision of the Lubavitcher Rebbe that brought us here. The Rebbe had a dream that, in every remote corner of the world, every Jew would have a way to sustain – and grow – their connection to G-d, Torah, and Judaism.
Today, Gimmel Tammuz marks 30 years since the Rebbe’s physical presence has departed – yet his teachings guide us until this day. The Rebbe is our leader, our visionary – and the reason you and I know each other.
May the Rebbe’s vision be complete soon – when we see a world where every Jew and human beings is connected to their rich heritage and this world is a place where G-dliness is completely revealed. Amen!

Rabbi Yisroel Hahn

Next round of cheesecakes. baked, now need to be packaged and then delivered.

On my way back from NY I sat next to dear brother, we put on tefflin and even did the Mivtza of tzedoko.

This morning JLI class. rerun tomorrow evening at 7 PM all are welcome

visiting and gifting Jewish community with homemade cheesecakes.

Just a regular weekly Torah class.

Welcome home. With G-D infinite blessings our hero's soldiers freed them.

Noah Argamany father at the Ohel. Praying for the release of his daughter. Prayers do get answered.

Medical ethics, how do you mitigate between limiting pain and prolonging life?
What do you think? (share in the comments)
To learn more join us Monday evening June 3rd at 7 PM. comment for more info. (zoom available on request)

Every farmer knows - eventually, you gotta let go, and let grow.
When all the sweating's been done - clearing, weeding, plowing, seeding, planting, nurturing, watering - if you don't stop touching it you'll kill it. Let it go, let it grow.
In other words, while everyone knows that in order to reap rewards, you gotta do what you gotta do, not everyone remembers that you also GOTTA NOT do what you gotta not do.
As important as it is to control what you can, it's equally important to not try to control what you cannot.
The Parshah this week commands us to treat the land of Israel with tender, loving care, in part by leaving the ground alone for one year every seven years - the Shmita year. No plowing, no weeding, no planting, no watering, no nothing. Leave it alone.
And that, Torah says, will make the land work better.
This call for restraint - requiring the same strength as the hard labor you're being asked to desist from - is so crystal clear in the world of agriculture. The land is delicate, the crops are so fragile, you cannot will it to happen. You have to invest and then you must sit back and let it work its magic. Your continuous involvement will not only not help but will hurt.
But it is not limited to farming.
The same must be said about business and work in general. Shabbat challenges us to follow up the long, grueling hours of the workweek with an even harder job - stop working. You've put in the work, now let the work go to work for you. Just as a farmer cannot will his crop to grow, no one can will customers in the door, or will the markets to go his way. Control what you can and then remember not to try and control what you cannot. Let go and let grow. It's crucial.
The same must be said about parenting. After all the sweat and tears of parenting during a child's formative years, parents must pull back at a certain point and allow the child to grow in the direction they've been raised. When parents treat their tweens like toddlers, their teens like tweens, and their grown children like teens - this crop will likely fail, G-d forbid. You gotta let go, and let grow. It's crucial.
And the same must be said about Israel's security. Like a farmer desperate for a robust crop; like an investor dreaming of huge turnarounds; like parents praying for good kids; Israel yearns for peace.
But farmers can't control the soil. Businesses can't control the markets. Parents can't control their children. And Israel cannot control its enemies.
If they insist on nurturing a hatred for us, we cannot control that. If they insist on desiring war instead of peace, we cannot control that. If they insist on prioritizing fighting us over raising their children, we cannot control that. If they insist on slandering us, we cannot control that.
But we can control our self-defense. We can control their access to our communities. We can control the weight their opposition carries in our decision-making. And though we cannot control how much they hate us, we can control how much they fear us and respect us.

The more we desperately try to control what we cannot, the less we end up controlling what we can. We have to do what we can do, and then withdraw our hands and let nature take its course. Let it go and let it grow.
For years and years, we tried futilely to get our enemies to become peace-oriented. Distracted by delusional dreams of controlling what we could not, we neglected what we could: self-defense.
What they did to us in October - to precisely the dreamers among us - must put the dream to sleep and rouse us to stop reaching for the unreachable star and reach for what is within reach - not peace, but safety and security.
Israel should protect itself and defend itself ferociously. Swiftly, energetically and righteously, Israel should wipe out her enemies and their supporters. When the shock and awe are done, the smoke clears, and Jews can live anywhere they wish in their own land without fear for their lives, then Israel needs to rest. Stop fussing with your enemy's enmity.
Let it go. Let it grow. And specifically when we quit trying so hard, peace will come. Those who sow in tears will reap in joy - if they leave it alone.
Stop crying for peace. Stop marching for peace. Stop negotiating for peace. Stop pleading for peace. Stop peace talks, peace processes, and peace conferences. So much innocent blood has been spilled due to all this talk of peace. Enough.
We cannot make peace. Let's make peace with that fact.
Let's proclaim a peace-Shmita year, and not mention the P word for at least one full year. Let it rest.
Peace will come when our enemies are ready. Until then, let us stand tall and imposing like an impenetrable electric fence: you will not get past us, and if you try, you will probably not survive the attempt.
May G-d bless all the world's farmers, business people and parents. Everything in due time. Don't delay it all by trying to force it. Do your job, do it well, and then relax. The reward is coming.
May G-d bless Israel. Everything in due time. Peace will sprout forth from the holy soil when it's ready. Don't delay it any further by trying to force it. Leave it alone and go live your life in safety and security.
G-d promises in the Torah, "You will live in security in your land and I will grant peace in the land." (Vayikra 26:9)
Notice the order of events. First, secure the land (by accepting that it is yours). And then, peace will arrive.
In your days and in mine.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yisroel Hahn

Elicit the divine powers.

Was just now at a local post office with my family, a man came over to me and my son expressing with many words his support to the Jewish people. Saying don't worry most of us are with you. Thank you random awesome guy.

Powerful.

Never forget. never again is NOW.

Faces of October 7th - Surviving the Slaughter with Gal Cohen-Solal | Inland for Israel Hear from a father who hid with his family from the terrorist massacre outside their home.

finishing a tractate of the talmud, per the custom to have the first born redeem their fast by hearing and celebrating the completion of a tractate of the talmud.

Israel, we are with you. You are in our hearts, minds and prayers especially now. Please take a moment to pray and do an extra Mitzvah for the safety of our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. Let’s not forget the words in the Hagadah that couldn’t be more timely-“In every generation they seek to destroy us, but G-d saves us from their hand”. G-d, we await your miracles 🙌🏻. Am Yisrael Chai!

This is a fragment of a missile that was shot down by Israel's Iron Dome. Imagine this huge missile filled with explosives hitting a apartment building. Thank G-D we have the Iron dome. And not a single missile hit its target.

“Behold the Guardian of Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalms 121:4

Thank you Hashem for the most amazing miracles we are seeing before our eyes.

When Jews baked Matzah in the concentration camps…
Three men, all prisoners, could think of nothing but the imminent festival of Passover. As thousands of Jews—including their own relatives—were being sent to their deaths on a daily basis, Yaakov Friedman, Moshe Goldstein, and Rabbi Yekusiel Halberstam (the Klausenburger Rebbe) had the bravery and presence of mind to secure matzah for Passover 1945.
Here is Moshe Goldstein’s account of the amazing turn of events that afforded them the ability to observe the Festival of Freedom amidst abysmal suffering and death:
In the days preceding Passover, the war was nearing its end. The relentless droning of American aircraft filled the German skies, followed by the whistling hail of bombs that pounded the Mühldorf railway complex into rubble.
Spared of destruction were the nearby forced labor camps where we toiled under the harshest conditions. We prisoners celebrated this mighty display of Allied destruction, but the anxiety of our German overseers ran high. The railway was vital to the war efforts, and orders were issued to immediately repair the damage. The Germans decided to send a group of 12 Jewish slaves to begin the cleanup.
I knew the work would be excruciating but I hoped that perhaps I would find some food amidst the rubble. I volunteered to go.
We arrived at a scene of utter devastation. Freight cars lay on their sides, smoke rising from gaping holes. Stretches of railing were ripped off the ground and tossed aside in twisted heaps. Nearly every building suffered extensive damage. It was clear some of the cars were unrepairable.
I managed to disappear between the rows of trains that were still upright. It took a while, but I eventually found a boxcar from Hungary loaded with wheat in burlap sacks. Wheat! And so close to Pesach! G-d had granted us a good start, but how could I possibly smuggle the wheat into the camp?
I knew I did not have much time and I needed to think of a way to bring in as much wheat as possible without the guards knowing. Lugging the sacks through the main gates didn’t even occur to me; the wheat would be confiscated and I would be shot without a second thought.
I rummaged around some more, and discovered two pairs of pants. I put them on and cinched the bottoms around my ankles with some rope. I was then able to pour a small quantity of wheat into the space between the two pairs of pants. Once my legs were filled with as much wheat as I dared carry, I began the long walk back to the camp.
The bombings left the Germans rattled and fearful, and for the initial days following the air raid, the inspection of prisoners at camp gates was enforced almost half-heartedly. I was thus able to smuggle in a fairly large amount of wheat.
We had wheat, but now what?
Reb Sender Direnfeld, a fellow inmate and a Belzer Chassid, offered to hide the wheat, and amazingly, he managed to keep it away from prying German eyes.
Later, an old mill was procured from somewhere. We ground the wheat in the dead of night, and using a clean piece of cloth, sifted the flour from grit.
Next we needed fuel for a fire.
During one stint in the field, I asked everyone to find a stick and carry it back to the camp. The branches were conspicuous and caught the attention of a German guard. He motioned me over.
“Why is everyone with a stick?”
“What difference does it make? People want to walk around with a stick,” I answered.
We had flour and we had fuel. We were ready to bake matzah.
One night just before Passover, we set about baking matzah. Near the barracks door stood a prisoner, standing guard with fearful eyes.
We lit a fire under a metal can which functioned as our oven, and the Matzah baking—under N**i noses—began. The Rebbe, Reb Yaakov, and I mixed the flour and kneaded the dough. We worked quickly, not only because of the strict 18-minute limit, but also because of the ever-present danger of being caught. We ended up with 20 small matzahs.
On Pesach eve, after returning from work, our small group sat down for the Seder. On wooden slats around us lay sleeping bodies, exhausted from the relentless work. For those celebrating, the hardships of the Holocaust and daily camp life melted away as we experienced the Biblical redemption from Egypt. Unable to sit for long, we each ate an olive-sized piece of matzah, the taste of tears mingling with the matzah crumbs in our mouths.
We could not sit leisurely and recite the Haggadah, but in those moments we each prayed—more fervently than ever before or ever since—the words that still ring in my ears: “Next year in Jerusalem.”
(pictured is a clandestine matzah bakery in the Lodz ghetto, 1943)