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The Charlotte Jewish News - October 2013 - Page 25 The New CJDS Motto, “You Before Me,” Is Good for Your Health iy» I i‘i Who knew that the motto for CJDS this year would be in the news? An article in the Observer titled “UNC Study: Happiness Enjoyed in Selfless Acts Boost Health the Most” describes the type of hap piness that is most beneficial. “The study published by re searchers at UNC-Chapel Hill and UCLA showed that a ‘hedonic’ or self-gratifying type of happiness ~ the result of a massage or a tasty meal - made cells in the immune system act like they were under stress, a condition that over time could lead to diseases.... But hap piness stemming from finding purpose in life or helping others - such as volunteering at a soup kitchen - caused the opposite re sponse.” The motto for this year is “You before me.” Taking care of me is going to be in second place. It won’t be enough to just do good things, rather it has to be putting someone else before my needs, my wants and my desires. We are told by Rabbi Akiba, “Shelee Shelach, Shelach Shelach.” What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is yours. Pretty selfless, but very beneficial to your health as the study has shown. In Pirkei Avot, we are told “Kesheatzmi, Mah Ani?” “And if am for myself, then what am I?” There are many heroic stories that are told about people that put others before themselves and we are all familiar with them. But, what about the things that happen in our simple, daily life? These are choices we make that won’t be published anywhere but still illus trate that we put “You before me.” A perfect example is when one of our younger students shared with his teacher that although he is really good at soccer and scores goals easily, he decide to let an other student have a chance at the goal so that he could feel proud, too. Can you all imagine how won derful our world would be if we would all think of the other person before ourselves? * ...that when deciding on the birthday invitation list, we invite everyone in the class, even if our child doesn’t especially like them? ...that when doing carpool for a friend, we allow a personal inconvenience to enter the equa tion? * ...where a teacher gives an extra half hour to a child even though she might be off the clock? * ...where a parent volunteers for the school even though she has put in her fair share hours months ago ...when a piece of gossip is burning on our lips and we choose not share it even though it would be a great conversation piece We do sort of live in a time when the “I” and the “me” are paramount. You’ve probably lost count of how many articles there are on how to say “no.” Why aren’t there any articles where we are taught how to say “yes”? So, we set our goal and motto for this year to be “You Before Me.” We will discuss, practice and live it. Yes, many of us commit to do kind things for others and help out when needed. And it feels good. Sometimes we receive recogni tion, appreciation and accolades. But “You Before Me” is doing it when we will not necessarily count in the equation. When it is sometimes inconvenient or diffi cult. When sometimes we truly are putting the person before our needs. The Torah encourages selfless ness, seeing others before we see ourselves. Well, CJDS is on its way to making that a priority. We are not just going to work on doing good deeds for others, but we are going to do for others even when it gets in the way of our lives. There has already been a post on Facebook by one of our par ents. Her third grader was leaving the house with her and stepped aside at the door and said, “You before me, mommy.” I would like to challenge the Jewish community of Charlotte to adopt this motto, too. In traffic, at the gym, at board meetings there Charlotte [Jewish Day School are countless opportunities to ex hibit, “you before me.” Let’s fol low the children’s lead. On October 13, CJDS will be hosting a Scholastic book fair event at the JCC from 10 AM-8 PM. There will be some exciting, new release books for all ages. Books make wonderful gifts. Please join us in sharing the love of reading. Youth Visions Mickey Barak Aberman AZA By Zack Levi Attention BBYO teens, parents and the Jewish Community - the members of Mickey Barak Aber man (MBA) AZA are excited to be back to school, BBYO, and a spectacular year in MBA AZA. The first convention this year was Regional Execs and all chapter board members were in atten dance. At this convention, we worked hard to analyze our chap ter and come up with a great plan for our programming year. We are very excited that we have many new members this year. Our first program of the year occurred on September 3 and it was a sports program. There were over 40 peo ple in attendance. We are very ex cited about this year in Mickey Barak Aberman AZA. If you would like to join BBYO, please contact the regional office at 704- 944-6834.« Continue/thez ^ory Over 30 years ago, Sam Lerner was driving down Providence Road and noticed some land for sale. He called some friends. They met and discussed what they could do to create a home for the Charlotte Jewish community. Together, they discovered a strong desire to create a common place for worship, education, friendship and the celebration of Jewish culture. Within four days, the land for Shalom Park was under contract. SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEAVE A LEGACY For more Information about how to become a legacy donor to benefit the Foundation of Shalom Park please contact: H. Kevin Levine Executive Director Foundation of Shalom Park 704.944.6840 hklevine@shalomcharlotte.org CreatC'^^ , Uou^ewlsn ‘ ' ? , % OtegcuRj j e. Foundation Of Shalom Park The mission of the Foundation of Shalom Park is to manage the facilities and resources of Shalom Park on behalf of the community.
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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