Thursday, January 04, 2007
My Dinner with an Oakland Raider
The football player reads his Bible and has questions about Chizkiyahu HaMelech and Elisha HaNavi. He found Rabbi Abramowitz online and they have developed something of a real-life friendship.
Read the whole storyThursday, December 28, 2006
Yarchei Kallah Atmosphere
However, due to the grandmother’s own inexperience, the meat was inadvertently prepared in a way that might have rendered it impermissible. What a situation for a young girl, newly observant, to find herself in! Should she eat kosher meat that might or might not have been rendered non-kosher in cooking?
Read the whole storyThursday, December 21, 2006
The Power of Yarchei Kallah
It is appropriate that NCSY National Yarchei Kallah always falls around - and often on - Chanukah. That’s what NCSY does. We fight the threat of assimilation. Yarchei Kallah addresses this threat more so than any other program in that almost 200 public school students from across the US and Canada choose to use a week of their winter vacation to learn Torah. They are exposed to great Rabbis and teachers and they learn in small groups with NCSY advisors. Yarchei Kallah is truly a transformative experience.
Read the whole storyThursday, December 14, 2006
Rallying for our Brothers
Rallies have been held around the world to cry out against this injustice and we figured that we could help the Jewish world have a rally in shomayim by giving out these cards to remind people to pray for these boys every day.
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Thursday, December 07, 2006
A Chanukah Puzzle
This leaves us with two seemingly contrary situations and leads us to ask, why did the Jews fight for their spiritual lives with physical might and fight for their physical lives with spiritual ammunition?
Read the whole storyWednesday, November 29, 2006
Make Your Voices Heard
The Ribbono Shel Olam does not need to hear us at rallies or read our petitions, so why do we bother? Rabbi Feldman said “that some issues are so morally compelling they demand a public response even when the practical effects are nil, or even negative.”
Read the whole storyWednesday, November 22, 2006
My Continental Flight to Israel
Alice replied that the reason she supported Israel had little to do with religion. Rather, she felt that Israel was the voice of freedom in a part of the world where the average man starves and the dictators rule- what a Kiddush Hashem!
Read the whole storyThursday, November 16, 2006
Clinging to Shabbat
IN NCSY, NO ONE wants Shabbat to end and this is truly a reflection of what Olam Habah must be like; straight Kedusha while surrounded by your friends and loved ones. We need to strive to make our homes into mini Shabbatons and teach our children to dread the end of Shabbat. Kids need to learn to cling to shabbat like…… Game Boy.
Read the whole storyWednesday, November 08, 2006
Heros of Kharkov
Imagine a city that was devoid of Judaism for years under communist Russia. Now, picture the implosion of that system. Next, add in the OU and you have one of the greatest achievements the Orthodox Union has ever created.
Read the whole storyThursday, November 02, 2006
Kharkov Teens
I shlepped along yawning and kvetching. Then, when we reached the OU center I met the most inspiring, dedicated teens.
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Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Jewish Unity
This politician inquired if he could ask me a frank question-“what is the secret to Jewish Unity? Most Jews have never met these boys and do not even speak their language, yet the Jewish people around the world are obsessed with their fate.”
Read the whole storyWednesday, October 11, 2006
To My Inspiring NCSY Staff
Thank you, thank you and thank you for inspiring 30,000 Jewish teens every year. Thank you for inspiring 1 National Director.
Best wishes for a beautiful and inspiring Chag.Sameach. May we celebrate Chol HaMoed in Yerushalaim with Ehud Goldwasser, Eldad Regev & Gilad Schalit!
BeAhava Rabbah,
Steve Burg
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Creating a more Hospitable Atmosphere in our Shuls
Of course, had this person simply closed the door for me, it would have been far easier than trying to communicate with me and demonstrate to me the obvious errors of my ways in the middle of the rabbi’s speech. Embarrassed, I got up and made my way to the door and closed it firmly. As I returned to my seat I noticed that this man slyly traded a confident look and smile with his friends and nodded his head as if to say “I showed him”. Sadly, as many of us know, this type of behavior occurs far too frequently in many Orthodox shuls across the country.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
To the NCSY Advisors
I would like to dedicate this week’s blog entry to the hundreds of remarkable young men and women who dedicate their time, wisdom, and compassion to thousands of Jewish teens across this nation. Of course, I am referring to NCSY’s unbelievable army of advisors who number more than 900 and are on the forefront of our formidable mission to reach out and connect teens to Judaism.
Read the whole storyTuesday, September 19, 2006
The Impact of NCSY
Dear Rabbi Burg,
So thank you for introducing me to the person I never knew existed, the person I never knew I could be, for showing me the beauty of Torah and Shabbos, for the fact that I know all the Lev Tahor songs by heart and for my Judaism, which is as much a part of my life as breathing. Please keep doing what you are doing, because there are more people like me, who will never see how amazing Judaism can be unless NCSY opens their eyes.
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