Rabbi's Blog

We just celebrated Rosh Hashanah; the birthday of the world and the day we crowned Hashem as King. On Rosh Hashana we opened ourselves up to a greater vision for our lives.

For me it was inspiring, uplifting, and a little overwhelming.

The real question is how do we take that inspiration and bring it into our everyday lives?

The answer is hinted in this week’s Torah portion, Vayelech, “and he walked”. Our spiritual journey is meant to be a walk, not a run or jump. Walking isn’t dramatic; it is steady, small steps forward. Every step pointed in the right direction moves us further from where we were and closer to where we are meant to be.

That’s the gift of this Teshuva season. Teshuva means “returning”—returning to our truest selves. It doesn’t demand instant perfection. It simply asks for direction. One small step for man can be a giant step for the soul. It might be lighting Shabbat candles, saying Shema before bed, dropping a coin in the tzedakah box each morning, speaking a little kinder, or putting on tefillin.

The challenge after Rosh Hashanah is not to let the inspiration fade, but to anchor it in action.

What’s your step? What’s the one mitzvah you can commit to this year to keep the momentum going?

Have a wonderful first Shabbos of the year, 

Rabbi Kushi Schusterman

Every so often the news carries a story of a prison break. Someone digs a tunnel with spoons, climbs walls with ropes, or sneaks out in disguise. For a moment, they breathe the sweet air of freedom. But it usually doesn’t last. Again and again, the escape is cut short by the same mistake: hunger. Searching for food, knocking on doors, or scavenging in trash bins is what so often gives them away.

The Baal Shem Tov taught that everything we see or hear can be a lesson in our service of Hashem. What can we learn from this?

Rosh Hashanah is the time when we reconnect to our truest freedom. At our core, we aren’t meant to be enslaved to habits, to distractions, or to anything other than Hashem. On Rosh Hashanah we proclaim Hamelech, Hashem is King, and remind ourselves that our only real dedication belongs to Him.

But inspiration is like an escape. At first it feels thrilling. We walk out of shul filled with clarity, uplift, and resolve. The question is: will we make it past the first days and weeks? Or will “hunger” send us searching, and in that search, cause us to slip back into old patterns?

The answer is food, spiritual sustenance. We need to pack food for the journey ahead. That food is the small, practical resolutions we take on that give lasting strength.

It doesn’t have to be dramatic. In fact, we are encouraged to keep it simple:

• Give tzedakah before lighting Shabbat candles.
• Say the Shema daily and spend two or three extra minutes in prayer with real focus.
• Attend a Torah class, or listen to a weekly Torah podcast (weekly class is on Spotify or Apple Podcasts)

These are the morsels that nourish the soul, the food that keeps inspiration alive long after the shofar has sounded.

As we step into 5786, let’s not just break free for a moment. Let’s stay free. Let’s prepare with enough food for the road ahead.

Wishing you blessings for a Good Shabbos and a Shana Tova!

Have a good Shabbos,

Rabbi Kushi Schusterman

For Rosh Hashanah info and services: HarfordChabad.org/holydays

One of the songs sung in Chabad tradition during the month of Elul is the haunting melody of the Alter Rebbe, sung to the verse from Shir HaShirim:
“Kol Dodi Dofek, Pischi Li Achosi, Raayosi, Yonasi, Tamasi – My beloved knocks: Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one.”

It is the voice of the Hashem, gently knocking at our hearts.

But the verse raises a question: How can He call us both “sister” and “beloved”? Isn’t that a contradiction?

Chassidic teachings explain: A husband and wife share two levels of connection. On the surface, they are two individuals who choose to bond together. That bond, like any choice, can theoretically be broken. However, at a deeper level, they are like siblings, sharing the same essence, inseparable at the core. Husband and wife are, in truth, two halves of the same soul, destined to reunite.

That is why Avraham asked Sarah to describe herself as his “sister” when they faced mortal danger in Egypt. When the external bond is threatened, it is the essential connection, the sibling like unity, that remains unbreakable.

A story that captures this beautifully. A man (some say Moses Mendelssohn), was misshapen and hunchbacked. When he met his wife, she was at first so shaken by his appearance that she burst into tears. He explained that when he was born, his future wife had already been destined for him, but she was meant to be deformed or hunchback. “O Hashem,” he prayed, “let her be whole and beautiful, and give me the humpback instead.”

She saw his sincerity, and several months later they were married.

This is the message of Elul. Hashem knocks and whispers: “Open for Me, My sister, My beloved.” Yes, we can choose whether to embrace Hashem, like a spouse chooses love. But at the deepest level, we are inseparable, like siblings. Our soul is part of Him.

Elul invites us to nurture that essential bond. To quiet the distractions, tend to the soul, and remind ourselves that this connection cannot be broken.

So when the knock comes, answer.

Rabbi Kushi Schusterman

P.S. Join us at Harford Chabad this Elul and High Holiday season. Opportunities for every age, every stage, every soul. See all upcoming events