Amy Howard I Agree with Tucker!? Great Photos! ✨ - E Chabad 1 message Rabbi Nochum Kurinsky Fri, Mar 6, 2026 at 12:52 PM Reply-To: chabad@chabadbeaches.com To: "howardamyjo@gmail.com" View online ב"ה This Week at Chabad at the Beaches Candle Lighting Times for Ponte Vedra Beach: Friday, Mar. 6 6:10 pm Message from the Rabbi Dear Friends, My dear readers, I'm sure you do not need to see one more person condemning Tucker Carlson. By now, that has already happened from every direction. Even President Trump, who once embraced him, has publicly rebuked him over his latest spiral into anti-semitic conspiracy theories. And to be honest, the specific claims themselves are too absurd to deserve much oxygen. The idea that Chabad is secretly orchestrating a global religious war, pushing America into conflict with Iran, and plotting toward the rebuilding of the third Temple through military manipulation is not serious analysis. It is conspiracy thinking at its ugliest, and it traffics in ancient and dangerous anti-semitic tropes and fantasies dressed up in modern language. But even if anything he said made sense, responding to hate is not my job. The Rebbe would describe his Chassidim with the Talmudic term of “day workers”. Day is a time of light. Spiritually, this means we are workers of light. We are not here merely to curse the darkness, but to illuminate the world. Our “job description” is to increase faith, goodness, holiness, and hope. This might be the one thing missing from the many justified condemnations of the recent explosion of hate on social media. Finding a way to respond to the darkness, without adding to it. Instead, I want to uncover the deeper truth that can be extracted even from a lie, even if it’s being terribly distorted in it’s current form. And so, lying in bed last night I realized that, strangely enough, I agree with Tucker Carlson. Not with the poison. Not with the paranoia. Not with the ancient insanity that Jews pull invisible levers and control governments and wars. But with the deeper truth, that yes, we, the Jewish people do affect what happens in the world. Yes, our prayers, our mitzvot, and our acts of goodness here in America have real impact on what unfolds in Israel, in Iran, and throughout the Middle East. A Jew putting on tefillin Ponte Vedra matters. A woman lighting Shabbos candles in the private space of her home matters. A dollar given to charity matters. And an extra chapter of Psalms said with heartfelt concentration really does matter. Some may hear that and think it sounds exaggerated. Saying prayers here can actually have a real impact on the war there? Really? We often think the story of global events is written by armies, politicians, missiles, and headlines. Prayer feels small by comparison. A mitzvah feels too ethereal, too spiritual, to be able to make a difference in the real world of armies and nations. A random act of kindness feels too private, too local, to have a global impact. But a Jew is supposed to know better. This week’s Torah reading of Ki Tisa teaches us exactly that. After the sin of the Golden Calf, the Jewish people should have been finished. Logic said we were no longer worthy of G-d’s protection. Justice said the damage had already been done. In fact, G-d clearly tells Moses that it’s too late. He is going to destroy the Jewish people. The direction of the story seemed set. And then Moses prayed. And G-d answered by revealing to him - and to all future generations - the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. On that mountaintop, as Moses pleaded for mercy, G-d taught us the power of prayer. That moment fundamentally changed the way we are meant to see our role in creation. It taught us how to never underestimate the power of our prayers. It taught us that even when strict logic says the story is over, prayer can reach deeper than logic. Even when judgment has already begun, mercy can still be awakened. Even when a harsh reality is already unfolding, prayer can still change its direction. This is not poetic exaggeration or feel-good fluff. This is one of the deepest foundations of Jewish faith. So yes, the antisemite gets confused. He senses that the Jew has unusual influence in the world, but because he has no room for G-d, he translates that into dark fantasies about manipulation, money, and control. He is wrong about the mechanism. But buried inside the lie is a powerful truth. We do not control the world. We don’t even control the weather. But we have direct access to the All-Powerful Master of the Universe who does. And in His wisdom and kindness, He bound the fate of the world in a unique way to the Torah, the mitzvot, and the prayers of us, the Jewish people. This is not about domination or control. It’s about our covenant. It’s about fulfilling our unique and tremendous responsibility to all humanity. And yes, part of that covenant is that we yearn, hope, and pray for the rebuilding of the third Temple on our most holy site. Not because we crave conflict, but because we believe what our prophets have told us again and again. That history is moving toward redemption, toward a world where G-d’s presence will be revealed and true peace will finally become possible. So, if you are watching events unfold in Iran and wondering what power you possibly have to do something from here, the answer is more than you think. You can pray. You can give. You can actually change the world. Even if you are not (yet) a card-carrying member of the “dangerous cult called Chabad” supposedly hiding in a secret underground tunnel somewhere near your house, you still have real power. Light Shabbat candles tonight. Strengthen one more mitzvah. Add one more act of goodness. Say one more prayer of chapter of Tehillim for our brothers and sisters in Israel. The story of the Jews sinning with a golden calf yet earning forgiveness through Moses’s prayers, reminds us that even after something terrible has already begun, prayer can still redirect the story. Compassion can still win. Light can still break through. Do not underestimate the power you have. Don’t forget about the direct connection you have to G-d that makes people like Tucker lose sleep at night. We are day workers. We spread the light. Let’s get to work! Good Shabbos! Adapted from an article, my colleague Rabbi Yankie Denburg wrote Rabbi Nochum Kurinsky Shabbat Service Schedule Friday Service 6:00 pm Shabbat Day Shacharis at 9:30 am Lunch/Fabrengen 12:00 pm Men's Lox & Loaded Group MEN'S TORAH DISCUSSION GROUP AND BREAKFAST Attention gentlemen! We’re excited to officially launch Lox & Loaded, a men’s Torah discussion group at Chabad, meeting Sunday mornings from 9:00–10:00 AM. The discussion will be facilitated by Mitch Sonn, who is also generously sponsoring breakfast. 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