I was thrilled last week to see our new President speak about religion; basically, he said that no religion promotes hate and he went on to mention many different , if not all, religions. The message was that we need to respect all religions, no matter what their personal beliefs. This is the first time that a President has had the balls to even mention religion, probably because of that whole separation between church and state thing. Finally, a President with humanity and a desire to meet us Americans on our level. Of course, this is my humble opinion, which some people will disagree with, if not hate. By the way, I am a Catholic with faith in our Lord, which has gotten me through a lot of tough times in my life. I am twice divorced, a single mom, survived breast cancer, had a bilateral mastectomy, and lost my job today. Because of my faith, I know that everything will be OK because the Lord is always with me. Well, enough for now! God bless, m.e.

Your prayer is now in Jerusalem.
Shortly, it will be placed in the Wall.
May the Almighty answer your request.

Sincerely,

Rabbi Kalman Packouz

::Have you prayed today?::

Oh no you di’n'!

It has been asserted that our century is characterized by an entirely new phenomenon: the appearance of people incapable of relating to God. It seems as though we have reached a stage, socially and spiritually, where a kind of person has developed in whom there is no longer any starting point for the knowledge of God. At least we would have to admit that our distance from God – the obscurity and the dubiousness surrounding him today – is greater than ever before; indeed, that even we who are trying to be believers often feel as if the reality of God is being withdrawn from between our hands. Your heartfelt declaration of a “strong faith” and active prayer life is most refreshing in this challenging era. Every believer must always consider prayer the essential and irreplaceable work of his vocation, the opus divinum. Those who have felt the joy of praying know that there is something ineffable about the experience, and that the only way to understand the depths of its richness is to live it: one learns what prayer is by praying. Prayer is the essential condition – even if not the only one – for a correct reading of the “signs of the times.” Only through prayer can we begin to see the aspirations of men according to the perspective of Christ. Without the intuitions of prayer we would never be able to grasp all the dimensions of human development and the urgency, for the Christian community, of commitment to this work.