An Open Invitation From Rabbi Yakov Horowitz:
How would you like to spend an inspiring and enjoyable morning in the company of your friends – with an opportunity to meet new ones?
How would you like to opportunity to network with other frum professionals?
How would you like to attend lectures and shiurim by business professionals addressing the opportunities – and challenges – of today’s business climate? (Please read the article below on this subject.)
How would you like to spend a relaxed, enjoyable afternoon in a beautiful setting with a full array of sports facilities at your disposal?
If the answer to one or all of these questions is yes, please accept our invitation to join us for a one-day retreat in the beautiful Hudson Valley Resort www.hudsonvalleyresort.com on Monday, August 14th. The resort is conveniently located 15 minutes from Ellenville NY, and 90 miles from New York City.
The morning will be devoted to personal and spiritual growth. After breakfast, there will be seminars and shiurim on an array of stimulating topics, followed by a networking lunch. (Please note that this retreat is for men only.)
In the afternoon, there will be a golf outing, with exclusive use of the 18-hole, 7,100-yard championship course of the Hudson Valley Resort. Non-golfers will have full use of the Resort’s sports facilities – indoor and outdoor pool, 4 tennis courts, 4 basketball courts, mini-golf, hiking trails and fully-outfitted exercise room – followed by dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the Resort.
All proceeds from this retreat will benefit Yeshiva Darchei Noam of Monsey. Fees and Sponsorships will be forthcoming shortly.
As of this moment, we are planning to have classes on:
“Ethics and Integrity in the Workplaceâ€
“Effective and Strategic Charity Givingâ€
“Maintaining One’s Moral Compass on the Roadâ€
“Yeshiva Without Walls†– Maintaining Your Sedarim
A Parenting Lecture – “Family First – Maintaining Your Prioritiesâ€
(Other topics are under consideration. We would appreciate your input and feedback on other possible topics.)
If you would like to be notified via email when details are finalized, please contact Shmueli Dembitzer at Scott.Dembitzer@partnerre.com or BJ Kramer at bj@thekramers.org
If you have any suggestions for lecture topics, please contact Chesky Neeman at jneeman@exoduspartners.com.
If you are interested in corporate sponsorship or would like to arrange to have people from your firm attend, please contact Hillel Kurzmann at hkurzmann@kurzmannlaw.com or Marty Loeb at martyloeb@yahoo.com
I would greatly appreciate and comments or feedback. Please drop me an email at yhdarchei@aol.com.
Respectfully,
(Rabbi) Yakov Horowitz
P.S. I wrote an article to reflect some of the thinking behind this retreat called Maintaining One’s Moral Compass in the Workplace. If “Shmuel†sounds somewhat like you; I suggest you sign up and join us for the day!! And, please pass this information along to anyone who might be interested in attending the retreat.
Rabbi Horowitz –I’m not so sure that retroactively applying inspiring lectures w/ scenic views when in a muddy situation is best answer to keeping the discipline at the workplace. Unless your relying on the “tzedakah tatzil memaves†slogan – Money re-routed to your yeshiva and reclassified as freight class 613 Charity, will override any future spiritual decay and demise, participants may encounter. Pretty ok reasoning but sort of relying on the un-tangible……..
What might also make sense and be a somewhat better alternative is a spiritual Treo or Blackberry Buddy system or any sort of check system w/option to blackberry /text or quaint version – call buddy , when individual in question is about to sleep with the boss or go bar hopping or bed hopping w/ co-workers. Instant recall attempts on previous lectures would probally not be as effective as a live, focus factor friend, texting or instant emailing you direction focus typed out in black & white for future reference when fork in the road questions arise.
In addition men are not the only individuals with workplace temptation and spiritual decline issues. Though, the golf thing might be more of a male thing. Bingo might work, or spin the bottle.
As a BT who works in the corporate environment, this type of learning strikes me as very important. I have all kinds of questions about workplace ethics, lashon hora issues specific to the corporate environment (performance appraisal, hiring, etc.), tznius, kashrut, business travel, etc. As a female though, it appears that I won’t have access to these sessions. Just curious — are there so few BT women in the corporate world that this isn’t relevant to many? My perspective may be skewed, but most of the BT women I know do work outside the home in non-frum environments and share some of my questions.