Arnie Goldfein and Rabbi Nahum Simon,

Co-Executive Directors of

Rodfei Shalom Fellowship, Inc
Events for ALL Jews ALL 12 Step recovery program
COMBINING RECOVERY AND SPIRITUALITY WITHIN JUDAISM

WEEKLY RECOVERY NEWSLETTER – 2/14/08

Hi Family,

So much to say, so little time……

1) Midwest Retreat Update:  As most of you know by now, our Midwest Spiritual Retreat Recovery Weekend, with the support of The Jewish Healing Network of Chicago, is set for the Perlstein Retreat Center in Lake Delton, WI (about 70 minutes from Madison, WI). The food is Glatt Kosher and under the supervision of the CRC.  The event will take place March 7 – March 9, 2008, and promises to be wonderful. If the Florida retreat was any indication of what this event will be like – you can look forward to a warm, exciting, growth-filled weekend, in a safe environment.

Registrations are coming in!! Sign up and be part of a warm, recovery filled weekend that will enlighten you and your spirit.

We are getting the message out to as many people we can. Attached you will find a beautiful flyer the JHNC created as well as our brochure/registration form and Financial Assistance Form. Feel free to print out a few copies and pass them out to all your friends, acquaintances, others in recovery, etc.

2) Our February membership drive is rolling along wonderfully (and beyond my expectations!!) with over 60 new members signing up since we started this a couple of weeks ago. Besides getting discounts to our future events,  receiving our newsletters and advanced news of upcoming events, among other things, those joining in February will receive free*, the CD's of our two main speakers from our January Spiritual Day with Rabbi Abe Twerski and Rabbi Nahum S. The benefit to our organization is that the funds help us cover day-to-day costs associated with membership events. Please, we are almost at our goal and we need you to join for us to reach our goal, to not only help the organization but get all the associated benefits (AND the free* CDs) as well.

Yearly membership is only $20.00 for Individuals; $36 for Families; $50 for Professionals and $100 for Institutions. *Shipping for the CDs is only $4.95 for domestic delivery. This offer is valid only for anyone joining in the month of February, 2008. Some limitations apply. Membership is renewable on an annual basis. Foreign shipping additional. Membership form attached. Please allow 14 days for delivery.

3) Our Teffilin Facilitation Program is on the move again and, as mentioned, we have a second Donator. We are also in the process of approving a second person for a new pair of Teffilin.

The qualification criteria are simple: a) Fill out our Teffilin Request Form (you need to request the form from us); b) Be in recovery from Alcohol, Drugs or Sexual Addiction; c) Commit to putting on the Teffilin once a week; d) Does not currently own a pair of Teffilin; e) Have a financial need.        

If you feel you qualify, want to commit to this program (remember, honesty is a key ingredient in recovery) and you wish to apply, contact me via email at arnieg@rodfieshalom.org and I will send you the necessary paperwork to get things rolling. Once an individual qualifies and all the fine details are worked out, the Teffilin will be on their way.

For all you with enquiring minds, the Teffilin are quality-made from a store in Boro Park. 

As we mentioned, The Donators' guidelines are NOT meant to exclude those in other programs. It IS meant to do something positive for others and promote these Donators' particular requests.

If anyone else wishes to become a Teffilin Donator for any or all program people, please let me know. Or, if anyone wishes to start their own Good Deed Program and wish for us to facilitate it, let me know too. Let's see if we can do something here that I never even imagined or thought of – have others who are willing to be Givers, give. And have those who are not in the position to afford it, receive something to enhance both their recovery and Judaism.

4) Our Email Discussion Group. Our email Listserv discussion group for all those recovering from addiction and their family members is open for all to share their experience, strength, hope and Spirituality with other Jews in recovery.  There are no requirements to be a part of the discussion, as long as postings meet the guidelines that have been established. Just send your name, email address and a short paragraph introducing yourself to rebnahum@rodfeishalom.org. We will then send you a return email with instructions on how to sign into the group and begin receiving messages from all the discussion contributors. It's another way to become a part of our family and rid you of some of those isolation tendencies.

5) Our weekly call-in meeting continues on Wednesday nights, from 9:00 PM – 10:00 PM EDT, for the meeting and ½ hour or so afterwards for fellowship.  To join us, simply dial 218-486-1300 and enter the participant bridge code of: 933051.  Please join us and share your wisdom and experience. Please note: If you have unlimited long distance this is a FREE call!! If you are new to call-in meetings, may I suggest you give it a try? It truly is a wonderful experience and we offer a lot of love and support as well as sharing and fellowship.  It's also a great way for you to get some of our event information.

Please note: I have found a new service that has promised (?) to eliminate the problems some of our members have had dialing in. I am in the process of setting that up and will give everyone ample notice and let you know exactly when we will cut over to that new service.

6)     Upcoming Events: Save the DATE! We have reserved June 22, 2008, for our next Spiritual Day. Keynote Speaker and location to be announced.

7) Spiritual Thought(s) for the Week:

We tend to think of Tzedakah as charity, but – perhaps – if we thought of it as it was truly meant to be, it would be easier to part with our hard-earned money. The word Tzedakah comes from the Hebrew root Tzadik, which means righteous or justice. The act of giving Tzedakah is a universal gift and even an individual who receives Tzedakah is still expected to give. We often do not have concrete answers for why G-d has asked us to do certain things. But, within the notions of Tzedakah lie some very important life lessons.

Responsibility: Human beings are responsible for each other. There is purpose and meaning in caring for others.

Commitment: When we make commitments, we need to ensure that we follow through on them. Just as a parent or an employee makes commitments, we also have ethical responsibilities to care for other people.

Compassion: When we give to others and see their life struggles, we learn compassion and empathy. Stepping out of your own world and into someone else's provides a broader view and connects you with what's really important in life. – With thanks to Lisa Pinkus.

 8) Recovery humor of the week: In my attempt to bring a little smile and laughter to our recovery family, I am going to continue my crusade of publishing a joke. Now, I know what is funny to one person is not to another but I am doing this all in good humor – end of story – because I think in recovery we should laugh and have a good time!!

The Five stages of getting ripped:

 Stage One: SMART
This is when you suddenly become an expert on every subject in the known Universe. You know you know everything and want to pass on your knowledge to anyone who will listen. At this stage you are always RIGHT. And of course the person you are talking to is very WRONG. This makes for an interesting argument when both parties are SMART.

Stage Two: GOOD LOOKING
This is when you realize that you are the BEST LOOKING person in the entire bar and that people fancy you. You can go up to a perfect stranger knowing they fancy you and really want to talk to you. Bear in mind that you are still SMART, so you can talk to this person about any subject under the sun.

Stage Three: RICH
This is when you suddenly become the richest person in the world. You can buy drinks for the entire bar because you have an armored truck full of money parked behind the bar. You can also make bets at this stage, because of course, you are still SMART, so naturally you win all your bets. It doesn't matter how much you bet 'cause you are RICH. You will also buy drinks for everyone that you fancy, because you are now the BEST LOOKING person in the world.

Stage Four: BULLET PROOF
You are now ready to pick fights with anyone and everyone especially those with whom you have been betting or arguing. This is because nothing can hurt you. At this point you can also go up to the partners of the people who you fancy and challenge to a battle of wits or money. You have no fear of losing this battle because you are SMART, you are RICH and heck, you're BETTER LOOKING than they are anyway!

Stage Five: INVISIBLE
This is the Final Stage of Drunkenness. At this point you can do anything because NO ONE CAN SEE YOU. You dance on a table to impress the people who you fancy because the rest of the people in the room cannot see you. You are also invisible to the person who wants to fight you. You can walk through the street singing at the top of your lungs because no one can see or hear you and because you're still SMART you know all the words. – with thanks to RECOVERYZONE.

THIS IS OUR ONLY AFFORDABLE WAYS OF GETTING OUR MESSAGE OF RECOVERY OUT TO THE RECOVERY WORLD. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD!!

VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT: WWW.RODFEISHALOM.ORG

A few administrative notes: If you know you're moving and / or changing your email address, please let us know beforehand to ensure continued delivery of your newsletters.

In order to get the message of recovery out to as many people as possible, we will begin to start listing other recovery meetings on our website in the near future. This will be based on a mutual commitment. Just forward your information to us and we will get it listed as soon as we start the listings.  

Well, that's it for this week. For more information about any of our activities or events, feel free to call me at 718-261-4049 or email me at arnieg@rodfeishalom.org. To have your name or someone else's name added to our email list, simply email me and I'll be more than happy to subscribe you. And, you can visit our website at www.rodfeishalom.org.

 Have a great Day – just for today.

 Arnie