Chabad of Pinellas County

08/28/2026

Earlier this week, I drove down to Miami for an in-and-out errand.

On the way back, took the I-75. For those of us who live in Pinellas, at some point you have to get off I-75, get onto I-275, and head across the Sunshine Skyway.

Well, for the first time this happened to me, I missed the turn, and there I was, continuing north on I-75. I was not pleased, to say the least. I had already driven to Miami and back, and now this mistake was going to add probably another half hour to my trip.

I started looking for somewhere to turn around, only to realize that once you miss that turn, there isn't a good place to turn around for a long, long time. By the time you can turn around, you're better off just continuing the long way.

This "fun" detour reminded me of a famous story about Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe, the founder of Chabad.

One of his chassidim had a teenage son who had begun drifting away from Judaism. The father was heartbroken and eventually managed to get his son to visit the Alter Rebbe.

The young man loved horseback riding, and he rode his horse into town. The Alter Rebbe asked him why he had chosen to ride a horse.

"A good horse runs fast," the young man explained. "You reach your destination much more quickly."

The Alter Rebbe responded, "That's true if you're on the right road. But if you're on the wrong road, you travel in the wrong direction much faster!"

The young man thought about it and answered, "Yes, but a fast horse can also get you back to the right road more quickly, once you catch yourself and realize you're going the wrong way."

"Once you catch yourself... once you catch yourself..." the Alter Rebbe repeated. The young man understood exactly what the Rebbe was telling him.

Unfortunately, on I-75, catching yourself doesn't necessarily help, as there is no turnaround. But thankfully, in our relationship with G-d, he allows us to make a U-turn.

We are now entering the month of Elul, approaching Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This is the season of Teshuvah, of returning.

Some of us may look at ourselves and think: I've gone too far and made too many wrong turns. I've gotten too far away from the person I want to be, from the Jew I want to be, and from the relationship with G-d that I want to have.

But the Alter Rebbe's message is: Once you catch yourself. The moment you realize you're heading in the wrong direction, you can turn around.

As Rabbi Nachman of Breslov famously taught: If you believe that you can damage, believe that you can fix.

The important thing is not how far you've traveled in the wrong direction, but how fast you catch yourself and turn it around.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Pinchas Adler

08/25/2026

The Shofar Factory.

It has delighted young and old over the years. Yet it never seems to get old. Just like our Judaism which is alive and well over 3000 years later!

Give your children (and yourself) a taste of the process in creating a real authentic shofar. Enjoy the wonder and pride as your child uses all their senses and connects to our rich heritage in a real, tangible way. This Sunday at 3:00 rsvp now for the Shofar Factory !

These kids are all so little, wow the time has flown!

08/21/2026

08/16/2026

JWC is starting off with a super creative and relaxed evening. Limited spots available! RSVP now to reserve your spot.

08/14/2026

Have you tried going into a cell phone store recently?

My wife’s phone was showing its 4-year-old age, and as you can imagine, being able to call people is a pretty important part of what we do. So we upgraded her phone, all through the T-Mobile app, without ever speaking to a human being.

The old phone had to be returned, either by UPS or at a T-Mobile store. I was already out, so I figured I’d stop at T-Mobile. How long would it take to hand someone a phone? Apparently, about 30 minutes.

As I sat there waiting (and pretty annoyed I hadn't just gone to UPS), I thought, there must be a lesson here.

I realized I had upgraded the phone online, and I could have returned the old one through UPS. In fact, I could have my entire relationship with my cell phone company without ever interacting with an actual person.

In many ways, that’s easier. Computers are always available, whereas people are busy. People have schedules, and therefore people make you wait.

It made me think about how this is playing itself out in Judaism.

Today, you can learn almost anything Jewish online. You can listen to a class, or watch a service, look up a question, or study the weekly Torah portion. That accessibility is incredible.

On the other hand, Judaism was never meant to be only information. There is something about sitting with another person, learning together, asking a question, having a conversation, being part of a community, that a screen can’t quite replace.

Ironically, when I finally got to the T-Mobile representative, besides returning the phone, I ended up getting some useful information that I would not have found online so easily. Sometimes there really is something about talking to a person.

This week we entered the month of Elul, and there is a beautiful Chassidic teaching that during Elul, “the King is in the field.”

During the year, when the king is in his palace, you need an appointment and a very good reason to see him. But when the king goes out into the field, anyone can approach him.

During Elul, we are told, G-d is in the field; all we need to do is choose to go to him. No appointment, waiting, or websites, just you and Hashem. Take advantage!

I wish you all a meaningful month of personal connection with G-d, and I hope to see you in person, or at the very least talk to you over the phone very soon.

Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov!

Rabbi Pinchas Adler

08/07/2026

“I’ve seen a lot of your people here. What religion or group are you?”

That was the question an Amish woman asked me last week while we were hiking at Watkins Glen. At one point, an older Amish woman stopped me and asked that question. Of course, I told her we were Jewish, and she found it fascinating.

I understood her curiosity. The Amish dress modestly, have large families, and the men have beards. Here she saw another group of people who, at least in some ways, probably looked strangely familiar to her, although dressed much more like the modern world.

What was incredible to me was the realization that here was someone who had grown up in America and had apparently gone more than 50 years without knowing what a Jew was.

It got me thinking about a much bigger question. If we want to maintain our traditions, our customs, and identity, what is the best way to do that?

One approach is to separate from the world. To build a protected environment, minimize outside influence, and preserve a way of life by staying apart from the culture around us.

From my limited understanding, that is, at least to some degree, the Amish approach. There have also been Jewish communities throughout history that followed a similar model.

But Judaism ultimately asks something more complicated of us. In Kabbalah there is a concept called ratzu vashov, “running and returning.” It is compared to breathing. We breathe in, and we breathe out. Spiritually, we do the same thing. We “run” toward the spiritual. We step away from the world while we pray and study. On Shabbat, we separate ourselves from the world as well.

But then we return and we go back into our businesses, workplaces, and ordinary routines, carrying that connection with us. The goal is not simply to escape the world. The goal is to bring holiness into the world.

That is why, when the Torah describes the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, God does not remain in Heaven and call out from above. God descends onto the mountain, because the ultimate purpose is not to leave this world behind, rather to bring Godliness down into it.

That balance is not easy. The challenge is to remain deeply rooted and connected to who we are, while still participating fully in the world around us.

This Shabbat, may we all strengthen our connection to G-d, and then carry it with us into everything we do during the week ahead.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Pinchas Adler

07/31/2026

Greetings from Rochester, New York!

I’m here with the family visiting my mother. Baruch Hashem, it has been wonderful spending time with her, and it's also been great to be able to recharge and reset for the new year.

The Rochester area is surrounded by beautiful state parks and magnificent scenery, and we’ve managed to visit quite a few of them. Something I noticed is how many pictures we take along the way.

You reach the first beautiful view and start snapping pictures. Then you walk a little farther and discover an even better view, so you take more pictures. You keep going, and the scenery becomes more and more spectacular. Yet sometimes, by the time you finally reach the most beautiful view, you are already “pictured out.” Especially if you are traveling with kids, they are finished posing for pictures, and everyone is ready to move on.

It reminded me of a parable about a simple peasant who once performed a great favor for a king. The king promised him a remarkable reward: he would be given one hour inside the royal palace, during which he could take anything he desired.

After making the promise, however, the king realized how much this reward might cost him. He therefore made a plan. The king placed his most valuable treasures in the innermost chamber of the palace, beyond a series of magnificent rooms. Each room was grander and more impressive than the one before it.

When the peasant entered the first room, he was overwhelmed by its beauty. He began gathering the treasures he found there and spent a considerable amount of time admiring everything around him. The same thing happened in the second room, and then again in the third. By the time he was ready to continue, his hour had nearly ended.

He had become so distracted by the lesser treasures, that he never reached the king’s greatest treasures.

I believe the same can sometimes happen in our Jewish lives.

Many Jews enjoy a Rosh Hashanah dinner, a Passover Seder, sitting in a sukkah for one evening, or shaking the lulav and etrog. These experiences are meaningful and beautiful, but in a sense, they are still the outer chambers of the palace.

Just like the scenery on a hike becomes more magnificent the farther you travel, Judaism becomes richer and more beautiful the deeper you go.

Sometimes people hesitate to take the next step because there is a learning curve. Like a hike, it may require a little more effort, a few extra steps, or another hill to climb, but we should never assume that the beauty we have already experienced is all that Judaism has to offer.

If the first room is so beautiful, imagine what is waiting in the next one.

If the view from here is breathtaking, imagine the view a little farther up the trail.

My wish for each and every one of us is that we continue climbing, learning, and becoming more involved in Jewish life. That we experience and truly relish the ever-deepening beauty of Judaism.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Pinchas Adler

07/24/2026

There is a famous story about the holy Ruzhiner Rebbe, Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin, who went to great lengths to remove sadness and bitterness from among his Chassidim. Because of this, some of them would play practical jokes on Tisha B’Av to lighten the sadness of the day.

One year, they opened a skylight in the roof of the study hall and lowered a net. Whenever someone walked in, they would pull the rope, catch him in the net, and lift him toward the roof.

It happened that the Holy Ruzhiner himself walked into the study hall. From where they were standing on the roof, the Chassidim could not see clearly who had entered, so they pulled him up.

When he was already halfway to the roof, they suddenly realized, to their horror, that they had caught their Rebbe. Startled, they lost hold of the rope, and the Rebbe came crashing back down to the ground.

When the other Chassidim heard what had happened, a great commotion broke out. The Rebbe, however, calmed everyone down and cried out, “Master of the Universe! If Your children are not properly observing Your ‘festival,’ take it away from them!”

Of course, Tisha B’Av is not really a festival. It is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. But the Rebbe was asking G-d to take away the sadness of the day and transform it into a true holiday.

This coming Tuesday night begins the 15th of Av, Tu B’Av, which also happens to be my birthday. Our sages tell us that there were no holidays as joyous for the Jewish people as the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur.

Why is the 15th of Av considered such a great holiday? Because it is my birthday, of course :)

But for real, one reason is that it comes immediately after such a sad period. The joy that comes after sadness is deeper and greater than ordinary joy.

In my personal life, G-d made sure I do not even have to wait the full six days after Tisha B’Av for joy. Last year, on the 11th of Av, our daughter Miriam was born.

So just as for me personally the transition from mourning to celebration comes much more quickly, may it happen that way for all of us. May Hashem finally abolish the sadness of Tisha B’Av and transform it into a true holiday with the coming of Moshiach.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Pinchas Adler

P.S. Please join Miriam and I this Shabbat as we celebrate our birthdays together!

07/22/2026

Join us Thursday night. Post in the comments of you plan to come.