As most of you are probably aware, it is traditional to drop the ball in New York’s Times Square. I have often wondered about that. Why on Earth would we want to start the New Year by dropping something, unless, of course, we want to drop some of our old habits. But, I have to tell you that, rather than seeing that ball drop, I would much rather see it lifted higher and higher.

What was it that the old song said, “Your love is lifting me higher and higher than I’ve ever been lifted before.”

A very short time from now, we will be observing Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. I can still hear the Psalm he quoted ringing in my ears: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: From whence shall my help come.” (Psalm 121:1)

For too long, people had been knocked down and treated like something less than human. For too long, people had been treated as slaves. For too long, people have wandered in the wilderness. They need to be lifted and they need to be lifted higher than ever before. It is going to require G-d’s help, but Martin Luther King Jr. knew something that many people seem to forget. We are G-d’s helpers, or at least, we should be.

That most famous of New Year’s Songs says, “Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind…” Well, I disagree. I think we need to bring old acquaintances to mind… and not only bring them to mind, but forgive them and reconnect with them. In fact, I believe we should lift them up.

Ask yourself, “Why am I here?”

My favorite troubadour, James Taylor wrote, “…me and Melissa, well, we fell out of love, ran out of luck, seems like lightning struck. I’ve been thinking of leaving, but I can’t raise a buck. James I’m wondering could I borrow your truck?”

This lyrical request is coming from an old friend who James had long lost touch with. So, you might be wondering how James Taylor answers this old acquaintance’s request. Let me share the next part of the song with you as Sweet Baby James writes: “…that’s why I’m here, got no better reason; that’s why I’m standing before you; that’s why I’m here.”

Wow, James gets it … and I have to tell you that I am lifted every time I hear him sing. The other day, someone asked me what my job as a Chaplain entailed and, before I could get a word in edgewise, someone else in the room said, “He is here to lift us up.” And, at that point, all I could add was, “You, too, are here to lift people up.” May we all use the unique gifts that G-d gave us to lift up someone who is down … and, with each other’s help, may we be able to lift them higher and higher.

Shalom My Friends,

Rabbi Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains and serves in this capacity in a number of Health Care settings in the area including Advocate Home Care Services and L’Chayim Jewish Hospice in Partnership with Catholic Hospice of Broward County.

We all love new stuff.  We love that new car, new house, new watch, new shirt, or really a new anything. We love to put that word “new” in front of a word because it changes the meaning of what it really is (at least in our own minds, it becomes something special).

That new thing we get as a gift or buy with our own money gets our special attention. We treat those new things with tender loving care (TLC). Since we all say “Happy New Year,” I want to challenge you to treat the NEW decisions you make for your life with tender loving care. This is a new year, and we are going to make new decisions for our lives so we better choose wisely.

I said this last year, and it is worth repeating again this year, so please stop! Stop!  Do not do it! Please do not make a New Year’s resolution. New Year resolutions do not last and we typically do not follow through with them. Almost half of every American makes a New Year’s resolution and only 8 percent of them actually keep them. New Year’s resolutions are really a waste of time and something not really intended to be permanent. If we truly want to change anything in our lives to make things better, we would be better off asking God to help us change the things we want different in our lives.

HEBREWS 4:16

16 So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There, we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

NLT

God is always working on us to help change the things that we need to change and want to change. It is not just a one-time quick fix; it is something that takes place repeatedly. We give ourselves to God once, but we need to transform and renew our lives for Him constantly.

If we want to be successful on a new diet or getting rid of a bad habit that we have, we really need God to help us. The best thing for us to do is develop new habits in our lives, so we receive the desired results we are looking for.

Making a New Year’s resolution is us thinking there is always a way out, or it is OK if we fail. However, allowing God to help us is the beginning of us starting something new that we are going to be doing for the rest of our lives.

In order for us to change things in our lives, we have to change the way we live our lives. In order for us to change the way we live our lives, we have to change what we say and do. In order for us to change the things we say and do, we need God to help us make our changes permanent and not temporary.

Please do not make a New Year’s Resolution and instead allow God to change the way you think for results that last a lifetime.

Pastor Tony Guadagnino

Christian Love Fellowship Church

On TV, there was a show called Taxi and a character called Simka (a take on the Hebrew word, Simcha … meaning joy). When Simka got married, she  became Simka Gravas. The name Gravas reminds me of Gribenas and I couldn’t help but think of another ethnic delicacy that gave me even more joy … latkes. (Oddly enough, Simka’s husband name was Latka.)

My brother (Rabbi Sheldon Ezring) recently wrote a piece about how our mother used to stand in the kitchen, peeling potatoes and then take out a hand grater as she prepared them along with a batch of onions and eggs. Meanwhile, she would have oil heating in the pan. As I write this, I can hear the sizzling sound and smell the aroma that filled the entire house.

When my father got home from work, we would gather to light the candles on the Chanukiah along with proper blessings and singing of “Rock of Ages.” Then, dinner was served … more latkes.

After dinner, we would play Spin the Dreidel for a penny a spin. Growing up in the midwest, it was usually freezing outside, but as we celebrated Chanukah with the latkes, candles and singing, we felt the warm glow of being together, wrapped up in traditions of our faith.

The last lines of my brother’s writing taught me a valuable lesson I had missed all these years. My brother wrote, “Notice, I did not mention gifts. Gifts were rarely exchanged and of little importance.”

That has sadly changed. Gifts have taken away much sacred meaning of Chanukah and Christmas. Remember, we are not just lighting candles or decorating trees, eating latkes or drinking egg nog. We are creating memories …

Shalom My Friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.

I remember the feelings I had when I first found out I was going to be a father.

Most fathers have nine months to prepare. You get the news, you look at the calendar, you figure out the day of the birth and you begin to prepare. These days, you can even find out what the gender is, so you can even prepare by having everything set up whether you are having a boy or a girl.

In our case, all of our children are adopted so we really didn’t have that kind of preparation time. In fact, the amount of time we had to prepare was actually in reverse order of their birth.

With Ana, we had no notice. Someone literally knocked on the door, put her in Beth’s arms and said, “I’ll bring her things tomorrow.” She has been with us ever since. Because of that visit, our lives will never be the same. She completely changed the dynamics of our family forever. For one thing, after two boys, I was not prepared for a little girl.

Isaiah was a little longer. We were notified about five days before he was born and Beth actually was able to be there and see him a couple of hours after he was born. For me, it was a little bit longer because we had to finalize all the legal documents for Isaiah to leave Pennsylvania and travel to Texas. What an exciting time! Samuel and I arrived at the airport a bit early, waiting for Beth to walk through the door with this little boy who would change our lives forever.

The longest we had to wait was for Samuel. In April of 1997, we were notified that we might have the opportunity and then, about four months later, he arrived.

I have been studying for some weeks now Luke 1 and 2 getting ready for Christmas messages. The thing that has impacted me is Joseph. He had made all the right choices and was obviously a Godly man who could be trusted.  Why else would God choose this man to raise His only begotten Son? He was doing all the right things. He had learned a trade. We know he was a carpenter. He was successful enough that he was in a position to get married and provide for a family. He had all the hopes and dreams that a man getting ready to begin his life would have. Then, his wife-to-be shows up pregnant, proclaiming that the baby was God’s son. Now, that’s a major change. How does he respond? Matthew says he took her into his house to live as his wife. Joseph was really an amazing man. So little is known or written about Joseph, but, at the same time, we learn so much from him about what it means to be a Godly father and Husband.

First of all, he put aside all of his pride and rights as a man to follow God’s plan for his life, even though it was a plan that really made no sense to him. Secondly, he cared for a woman that was carrying someone else’s child.

Thirdly, he raised the child as his own, the whole time knowing that this child was the Son of God.

We know that Joseph did teach Him the Word of God because, at the end of chapter two, we hear the story of Jesus at the temple. The passage says that, after three days in the temple courts, the religious leaders of the day marveled at his knowledge of the scripture because he was 100 percent man, as well as 100 percent God. He had to learn the truths of God’s Word. It was Joseph who taught him.

We also know Joseph taught his other children, because the New Testament book of James was written by James, the brother of Jesus.

When we think of Christmas, we think of the baby Jesus, Mary his mother, the wise men, the shepherds and the angels’ announcement. Let’s take some time this Christmas to learn from one of the greatest fathers in history, Joseph.

Deron Peterson is the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of Deerfield Beach

Most people really don’t enjoy life; they endure it. Their lives are filled with anxiety, stress and pressure and there’s very little joy. The Christmas season is the most stressful time of the year. We worry about presents, finances, etc. I want us to look at a strategy for dealing with seasonal stress.

PHILIPPIANS 4:6

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  NLT

STEP ONE: WORRY ABOUT NOTHING

Worry is assuming responsibility that God never intended  you to have. Worry is worthless. It cannot change the past or control the future. It is an incredible waste of energy.  Some people are born worriers; they have the ability to find a problem in every solution. Worry is not natural, it is something you learn; you have to practice to get good at it. If it is learned, it can also be unlearned. In order to relieve stress, live one day at a time.

STEP TWO: PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING

Paul is saying, don’t panic – pray. If those people who say “I don’t have time to pray” would spend their time praying instead of worrying, they’d have a whole lot less to worry about. God is interested in everything in your life. Prayer is a tremendous release of pressure. A life insurance company did a study. They learned that people who attend church once a week live on average 5.7 years longer. Why? Perhaps, people who attend church every week are more likely to pray than to worry. There is no problem too big for God’s power or too small for God’s concern.

STEP THREE: THANK GOD FOR ALL THINGS

Ungrateful people also tend to be unhappy people. Nothing ever satisfies them, it’s never good enough. We have so much that we take for granted. Develop the attitude of gratitude and watch the stress level in your life go down. It gets your eyes off the problem and on the many things we have to be grateful for. There is always something to be grateful for.

PHILIPPIANS 4:8

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.  NLT

STEP FOUR: THINK ABOUT THE RIGHT THINGS

To reduce stress in your life, you must change the way you think. You have been given by God the freedom to choose what you think about. Many people are allowing all kinds of garbage into their minds. What you think affects the way you feel; the way you feel affects the way you act. Guard your mind. Keep your mind on the right things. If the thought is not right, true, pure, lovely, etc., don’t allow it to get into your mind because it’s going to create stress. Whatever I think about, is what I am becoming.

People are looking everywhere for peace of mind. They try pills, fads, therapy, alcohol, stress reduction seminars and books – anything to give just a little peace of mind. God’s peace is a gift to you. It is a gift that cannot be explained, duplicated, fabricated or understood. God will guard your mind and heart when you have a relationship with Jesus Christ and trust Him. Instead of worrying about everything, you pray about everything. You thank God for all things and keep your mind on the right things.

Pastor Tony Guadagnino

Christian Love Fellowship Church

“Eloquent silence often is better than eloquent speech.”

– Leo Rosten’s Treasury of Jewish Quotations

“If a word be worth one sheckel, silence is worth two.”

–Talmud: Megillah, 18a

Last night in the mall, they  happened to be playing one of the most famous of Christmas songs. It was called “The Sounds of Silence.” No, that  was Paul Simon. This one was called “Silent Night.”

The truth is that silence is talked about in Scripture. “There is a time for every purpose under heaven” and you had better believe that there is a time for silence. The other day, I was watching two workers set up a long ladder to do some painting. As one of them was climbing the ladder, the other suddenly called out, “Be careful” and the one on the ladder looked down and darned-near fell off the ladder. That was a time that silence would have been the wise call. But later, on his way back down, his companion yelled out, “Be careful” and it was a good thing because he had left a can of paint in the middle of one of the rungs on his way up the ladder.

There is a time to call out. But, there is also a time for silence. It seems people have forgotten about the importance of silence. Perhaps modern technology has been partially to blame. If you have been to a funeral lately, you know that we have to announce for people to turn off their cell phones. And I’m sure you’ve heard those phones ring at movies and concerts and, I would not be surprised if you have heard them go off in the midst of your Minister’s sermon.

I was officiating at a wedding the other day and, in the middle of this incredible ceremony where two people bind their hearts and souls together in the gift of love, the groom’s phone rang … and do you know what? He actually took the call.

So today I am proposing a new custom for Jewish wedding ceremonies and for all other faith’s weddings as well. I am proposing that at the end of the ceremony we don’t just break a glass. I think that a cell phone should be stomped on as well.

Let it be a reminder that there are times they should stop listening to and conversing with others and simply take time to listen to and talk to our spouse. Otherwise, your marriage will be like the glass. It will be broken and unable to be put back together.

There is a time for silence … Silence is golden!

Shalom My Friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.

As I mentioned in a previous “Clergy Corner,” I grew up in a small town in the northern part of New York, very close to the border with Canada.  The town was in the middle of the Adirondack Park, on a lake, and surrounded by mountains. Not mountains like Colorado, but mountains just the same.

November was always one of my favorite months.  It’s well into the school year so you’re already over the shock of going back to school after a long summer break.  All the trees have turned and the mountains are filled with beautiful colors of brown, orange and red, and, soon, if not already, the leaves start to fall.

The first snowfall of the year is something very special.  You know it’s coming and you can’t wait until that first morning when you wake up to find everything covered in white.  It is such a beautiful sight.  Everything looks so clean and pure. It’s almost like a fresh start.

November also has Thanksgiving.  I love thanksgiving.  What does thanksgiving mean to you? Family, food, football or a short vacation from work and school?  Thanksgiving means a lot of things to a lot of people.  For me, it’s the combination of several different things. The change in the leaves, signifying change in life; snow, telling me that we can change and that there is forgiveness; family, because we will be getting together; and, of course, Thanksgiving, a time to reflect on all God has done for us.

Ephesians 5:20 says, “Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Giving thanks, especially in the midst of some of the difficult times many are going through, is difficult. Maybe it’s because of our perspective. The Bible teaches that without a proper relationship with God, we cannot have a proper perspective.  Gratitude and Grace come from the same root word.  If I’m thankful for what I’ve been given and for what God has done for me, then that will be reflected in my living a gracious life and giving grace to others.

Think and Thank are also from the same root word.  If we sit for a moment and think about all that God has done for us, sending His Son to die on the cross to provide a way of salvation, preparing a place in Heaven for all of those who put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and daily providing for our needs.  I think we sometimes forget that God never promised to provide for our wants, but only for our needs.

Let’s take time to THINK about all God had done for us, then THANK Him for His provision.  This will provide us with a heart of GRATITUDE, which will produce a GRACIOUS attitude.

Editor’s Note: As we savor our recent Thanksgiving time with family and friends, let us remember to give thanks all year long.

Deron Peterson is is the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church of Deerfield Beach.

L’Chu N’Ranena from the Book of Psalms begins with “Let us sing unto G-d.” But, it does not say to sing the Blues. No, it says that we should “sing unto G-d in joy.”

What an interesting thing to be commanded to feel joy. What if you are not feeling so happy? What if you have been having a bad day, a bad week or a bad year?

Well, I guess we need to read further because the next part of the Psalm tells us how to lift our spirits. It tells us to approach G-d with praise and Thanksgiving. You heard me right, we are to approach not with a list of requests each of which remind us of what we feel we lack, but rather with a list of the things that we have.

So here we are with the Great American Festival of Thanksgiving and I would ask each of you to think of what you are thankful for. I know many people will sit with family and friends to a scrumptious turkey dinner and they will go around the table and each will get an opportunity to say that they are thankful for this or that, but what of those who can’t seem to think of anything to be thankful for?

Well, if nothing else, on Thanksgiving Day, at least, be thankful that you are not a TURKEY!

Those of you who read my column regularly know that I love to dance. I even help teach beginning students in the Adult Education Program. In recent classes, we had a wonderful couple, newly married, and, watching them, I saw in their every action, their every glance at one another, that they were filled with joy; they were so thankful that they had found each other. They know that there are many people who go through life without ever finding that special match that lights them up like the brightest of Shabbat Candles.

We recently read about the first matchmaker in the Bible. His name was Eliezer, the trusted servant of Abraham who was sent on a mission to find a wife for Abraham’s son, Isaac. He could have gone looking for the wealthiest woman in the land, but he chose to look for someone who was kind, caring and gentle. Okay, it didn’t hurt that she also happened to be gorgeous. But remember, the woman he chose was kind and caring before she ever met her husband.

If you are not married yet, if you are looking for a partner in life, I would urge you to start being kinder and more caring right here, right now; it just might lead you to your bashert.

My new friends from dance class know this well. They both spend their days collecting food for those who are hungry. They have blessed so many others and G-d has indeed blessed them and they are ever-so-thankful.

May you each learn to be thankful, not just for what you have, but for what you can give.

If you would like to share in the joy of my newlywed friends, and, as we will all have a feast on Thanksgiving, consider giving some food or a donation to “Boca Helping Hands” at the Remillard Family Resource Center in Boca Raton. www.bocahelpinghands.org. Or you may choose to give to any of the other fine organizations that help feed the hungry, and may I be the first to say, “THANKS!”

Shalom My Friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.

Here is a little Thanksgiving history for you. Don’t worry there will not be a test. In 1789, following a proclamation issued by President George Washington, America celebrated its first Day of Thanksgiving to God under its new constitution. That same year, the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which President Washington was a member, announced that the first Thursday in November would become its regular day for giving thanks “unless another day is appointed by the civil authorities.” Yet, despite these early national proclamations, official Thanksgiving observances usually occurred only at the state level. Much of the credit, for the adoption of an annual national Thanksgiving Day may be attributed to Mrs. Sarah Joseph Hale, the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book. For 30 years, she promoted the idea of a national Thanksgiving Day, contacting president after president until President Abraham Lincoln responded in 1863 by setting aside the last Thursday of November as a national Day of Thanksgiving. Over the next 75 years, presidents followed Lincoln’s precedent, annually declaring a national Thanksgiving Day. Then, in 1941, Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday of each November as a national holiday.

PSALM 100:4-5

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.  NLT

To be thankful means to be full of gratitude and appreciation. Ephesians 5:20 says, “Give thanks always for all things.” Why are we to always be grateful?  Because God is good and His love, mercy and His Word endures and lives forever. And it also lives in us.

PSALM 107:1-2

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

2 Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.  NLT

1 CORINTHIANS 15:57-58

57 But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.  NLT

Our life should show that we are thankful and grateful. You must be willing to be grateful because then the things you do will reflect how you really feel and show what is truly in your heart. Thankfulness is an attitude. It is a condition of the heart. What kind of condition is your heart in, not just this Thanksgiving, but year-round?

As we commemorate Thanksgiving this year, I hope you will retain the original gratefulness to God displayed by the Pilgrims and many other founding fathers, and remember that it is to those early and courageous Pilgrims that we owe not only the traditional Thanksgiving holiday, but also the concepts of self-government, the “hard-work” ethic, self-reliant communities and devout religious faith. Along with all the commotion, companionship and cooking, take time to give thanks and praise to God and to the special people in your life.

Pastor Tony Guadagnino

Christian Love Fellowship Church

It wasn’t all that long ago that the Major League Baseball Season came to an end. Baseball isn’t just the Great American Pastime. Baseball has always had a special place in the heart and soul of The Jewish People.

I suspect it started way back before anyone ever heard of Abner Doubleday. In fact, it started way back in Biblical Times. Why else do you think that G-d chose to start the Torah with the words, “In the Big Inning?”

Come to think of it, why else would G-d tell one of the Patriarchs to make a sacrifice …

And, even though the ancients may have lived in a Patriarchal society, even the women got into the game because every Purim we read about Queen Esther throwing a ball. And if throwing a ball was good enough for the Queen, then maybe Polo shouldn’t be the sport of Kings. Maybe they should try playing some baseball.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that we read Parsha Lech Lecha. In this Chapter of the Bible, G-d has picked the roster. He has chosen the starting line-up and, he has decided that Abram should, “Go  fourth.”

In baseball, the one who bats fourth is lovingly referred to as the “Clean-Up Hitter.” This is the player who is statistically most likely to do something that enables all the other runners on base to make it home … and, as Dorothy said in The Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home.”

Most of you reading this column have your home down here in sunny South Florida. But I suspect that many of you are not aware that we, just like Abram, and just like the clean-up hitter, were recently called “fourth.”

Unfortunately, the fourth we were called was not about heading to Canaan, nor was it about bringing others home. Then again, maybe it was about bringing others home if you are talking about the heavens as your final home; because it seems that we of our beloved Sunshine State were just listed as the fourth worst drivers in the Country … and I am not talking about a drive out on the golf range. A clearinghouse for car insurance information put us fourth in a research study that took into play things like traffic fatalities, citations and arrests; and we did not score so well.

In baseball, even if the clean-up hitter hits a homerun, he can’t bring anyone else home unless someone before him gets on base, which brings us to the first batter, the lead-off man.

And again, sadly, we, the drivers of Sunny Florida do indeed lead-off. We come in first in the rankings in the number of traffic citations issued and, talk about semi-pros, we are pretty close to No. 1 in, surprise of surprises,  careless drivers. So I guess I better stop keying this into my computer, put my coffee down and stop talking on my cell phone until I get off the road …

So ladies and gentleman of South Florida, were you paying attention?

We came in fourth, but we can do better. Let’s clean up our roads. Help others make it home … and may the Great Umpire in the Sky be by our side in our driving, in our going fourth, and may He bring all of us home safely.

Shalom My Friends,

Rabbi Craig H. Ezring

Rabbi Ezring is a Hospice Chaplain and Member of the National Association of Jewish Chaplains. He also provides Professional Pastoral Care Services to a number of health centers in Broward County.