|
Arnie Goldfein and Rabbi Nahum Simon, Co-Executive
Directors of
Rodfei Shalom Fellowship, Inc.
Events for ALL Jews ALL 12 Step recovery programs.
COMBINING RECOVERY (Heart) AND SPIRITUALITY (Soul) WITHIN JUDAISM
WEEKLY NEWSLETTER – 1/14/08
Hi Everybody,
Now that things have calmed down from some of the craziness of last
week's spiritual day, I can sit back and reflect a little but this time
from a down-to-earth peaceful perspective and not from an exhausted,
wrung-out side. Truth is that last Sunday was an amazing day with a lot
of recovery. As mentioned, not only were both Rabbi Abe and Nahum S.
great speakers, they both delivered powerful messages and the
participant's feedback was exceptional and touching. Here is one
person's comment: " The tears are still in my eyes from yesterday's
event. I heard exactly what I needed. I felt safe enough to share
publicly. I feel encouraged and hopeful again. There were some personal
uncomfortable-nesses that surfaced for me and I was able to take them in
stride and not run into my fears. Yesterday I felt free. Keep up the
great work!" Personally, I am still astounded!
I would like to take this opportunity, again, to personally thank Rabbi
Abe for being there. Every time I communicated with him throughout the
planning stages, I was waiting for him to come up with a reason why he
couldn't be there. Amazing how my mind still thinks. The fact that he
was there and made such an impact on everyone who was there fills me
with gratitude that I am privileged to do this work.
We now have CD's of both speakers available for purchase. I
inadvertently gave out the wrong price last week. The good news - the
price is actually cheaper. The CD's will cost $12.95 each. BUT WAIT!!!
(I've always wanted to say that!!) You can save if you order both for
only $21.95 plus shipping. Shipping is $3.95 for $4.95 for two. For
those who already ordered, not to worry! We will credit you by either
sending out you a refund check for the difference or if you gave us a
credit card we will make sure that you are charged the correct price
when we process the charge. While sitting in my office preparing the
CD's for mailing, I had the pleasure of listening to Rabbi Abe's speech
again today and I was brought to heartfelt tears as I identified with so
many things that I have gone and grown through. If you care to order and
keep the day alive or give it as a gift, send us your payment
information (name, CC number, expiration date, CCV #), check or money
order in full payment. The CD's should be ready to go out this coming
Thursday or Friday.
Please help us spread the word!!! This is our only affordable means of
communications.
Visit or website for more information at: www.rodfeishalom.org
1) 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 to
our organization's information if you don't get these emails.
2) Midwest Retreat:
As we have mentioned, our Midwest Spiritual Retreat Recovery Weekend,
with the gracious 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 is an
indication of what this event will be like – you can look forward to a
warm, exciting, growth-filled weekend, in a safe environment.
We are moving forward getting the message out to the entire area.
Attached you will find the beautiful flyer the JHNC created as well as
our brochure/registration form. Please remember, that this event has
limited space and we are only going to have 125 people, so register
early to ensure a spot. We prefer a s mall and intimate format as it
allows people to get to know each other and the sharing is more
heartfelt. Registrations have already started coming in and I get that
warm, fulfilling sensation when the work we are doing has results. What
miracles!!!!
We have received inquiries about transportation to the event, and here's
what I know: Getting there is totally on you. The closet airport to fly
into is Madison , WI . The center is approximately 70 minutes from
Madison . If we get enough inquiries, we will attempt to hire a bus from
any of the airports. As we get a little closer I will keep you informed
as to the feasibility and cost. Further inquiries can be sent to Charlie
H. at
ppg449works@yahoo.com for more information about transportation.
Also, as mentioned, for this event we will have limited triple
accommodations and an associated lower room rate.
3 ) Moving Forward:
A) We have gotten tentative confirmation for both
our retreat weekend in Florida for the end of the year as well as the
cruise. Can't let the cat out of the bag quite yet, but this time the
cruise will be a little longer (8 days, 7 nights) and promises to be a
great time. More details to follow on both.
B) We are currently awaiting confirmation for a retreat weekend in the
Northeast, details to follow if it all works out.
4) Spiritual Thought(s) for the Week : It is not the mountain we
conquer, but ourselves."
- Explorer Sir Edmund Hillary.
Don't hesitate to accept compliments. You earned them! – Anonymous
Looking back now, I can see it was fear that was holding me back. Not
fear of dying. Fear of trying. I was afraid to succeed. I was afraid to
be different. I was afraid to walk away from a fight. Why? Because for
most of my life, I didn't know any other way to be. – Darren Vincent
5) We have had a wonderful response from those who would like to commit
to putting on Teffilin. So much so, that in order for us to do this at
our present level, we need to limit this to ONE pair a month. The
donator has also requested that the Teffilin go a person recovering from
Alcohol and/or Drug Addiction. This is NOT to exclude those in other
programs. It IS to promote the donator's particular request. If you are
in one or both of the aforementioned programs (remember, honesty is a
key ingredient in recovery) and will commit to using them at least once
a week, please contact me and I will see if we can make this happen for
you.
By the way, Peter, (the gentleman who sent me an email about the
Teffilin last week) please contact me, I accidentally deleted your
email.
If anyone else wishes to become a donator for any or all program people,
please let me know. Let's see if we can do something here that I never
even imagined or thought of – have others who are willing to become
givers, give. And have those who are not in the position to afford it,
receive something to enhance both their recovery and Judaism.
6) A Small Snippet of Recovery – January Edition: Arnie, I have a little
experience to share. I am coming up on thirty five year's with out
gambling and I have not made a bet of any kind. I'm also in my sixteenth
year in sobriety. The rooms have saved my life. When I speak, I would
say not what I did with my life but what I did not do. I never lived
life. I never had a childhood. Recovery is my childhood. The number one
thing I learned in the rooms is how to spell Recovery - you spell it
H-E-L-P. I never asked for help. Today, I tell new comers go to
meetings, take phone numbers, find a sponsor. It cannot be done by
yourself. He or she will work with you on the step's and your life will
change as my life did, so much so that after all this time I do not
struggle with life. I have no problems today only circumstances that
come up, but today I can feel my pain. When i was active I had no pain.
Today I share about everything that is going on no matter how small it
may seem. To those who still struggle - keep coming back it will get
better. Your friend and brother, Ralph.
7) Recovery joke of the week : WOW!!, we have actually gotten positive
feedback about our jokes section!!! In my attempt to bring a little
smile and laughter I am going to continue my crusade of publishing a
joke. I know that what is funny to one person is not to another,
therefore, be advised that I am doing this all in good humor – end of
story – because I think in recovery we should laugh and have a good
time!!
Don't take these too seriously, but here are some indications that you
just might have a drinking problem...
1. You have awakened with an overwhelming feeling that you should go
back and apologize... but you don't remember where and what for.
2. The Tipsy Taxi service has banned you from all its vehicles.
3. You refer to your favorite song only by its jukebox selection
numbers, G-12.
4. People consider your spouse a Saint for reasons that totally escape
you.
5. Your least favorite song: "Goodnight, Sweetheart."
6. The last time you had a legal driver's license, so did Ted Kennedy.
7. You bought your current pick-up truck because it has a cool place to
hide a six pack.
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
arniegoldfein@gmail.com. To have your 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
PS - Oh yeah, just a reminder again, Gmail kinda messes up the format of
these Word documents that we spent a long time preparing with pretty
little fonts and pictures. So, if you see a kind of misaligned document
without pictures, it is probably due to Gmail. Sorry.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your smile counts. The more smiles you share, the more we donate. Join
in!
|
