Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Synagogues as a User Friendly Place
I am always astonished by how few Orthodox Synagogues have kippot boxes in their lobby. Even if an unaffiliated Jew were to walk into most Orthodox synagogues there are very few provisions for them. We must make our synagogues more user friendly to all.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Teens in Santiago, Chile
For many of these teens, this was their first encounter with Torah and this made me realize how much NCSY in needed in Chile, in the U.S., in Germany, in Hungry- truly all over the world.
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Thursday, April 27, 2006
Pesach and the Jewish Family
Being at the park and seeing all those Jewish families made me remember why I love being Jewish, and that is…family.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Being a Jew is a Great Deal of Work and Sacrifice
After the shiur I was approached by some of the madrichim (counselors) who told me that my words had destroyed all the hard work that they had accomplished that summer.
Read the whole storyThursday, March 23, 2006
Jenny's Purim Story
Jenny practically leapt out of her chair and ran up to the instructor. Jenny looked the instructor in the eye and said, “We need to control our own destiny. I am going to shul tonight to stop the President of Iran”. With that declaration Jenny turned around and walked out of the classroom with a confidence not seen by her peers in years.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Mazal Tov to the Banes on the birth of their first grandson!
I am thrilled to wish a hearty mazal tov to Moshe and Joanne Bane on the recent birth of their very first grandson!
I have had the privilege to work with and be guided by Moshe for many years and therefore I know firsthand that his new grandson has an exceptional, principled, and dedicated Zaide to look up to.
I am sure that the Banes will be zoche to bring their new grandson to Torah, Chuppah, and Ma’asim Tovim.
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Yasher Koach Sam!
I would like to dedicate this blog entry in honor of Sam Zuckerman from Orange County, California. Sam called me this past Friday to inform me that this past Shabbat marked his two year anniversary of observing Shabbat.
Read the whole storyThursday, March 09, 2006
Kiruv is simply reuniting a Father with his lost children. What can be more important than that?
Recently, I was asked by someone if I could discuss the issue of whether Kiruv (Outreach) is relevant to the average Orthodox Jew’s life. I almost fell off my chair at the question.
Read the whole storyWednesday, March 01, 2006
So, I was on a plane with a Jewish doctor and a Mormon missionary and...
Not only did these students understand and share my vision, I was mobbed at almost every school with people begging me to give them guidance on how to deal with their family and friends...It broke my heart to meet so many beautiful young adults with so many worries weighing on them. It broke my heart even further when I realized that this was only a small sampling of heartache and turmoil going on in Klal Yisroel today.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2006
The Unknown Impact of a NCSY Shabbaton
As I was standing in the courtyard of the Yeshiva, watching all the bochurim briskly walking in all directions, one of them came forward and approached me. He said, “You were the Regional Director of West Coast NCSY. I was at your convention three years ago, but not as an NCSY’er”. And so he began to delve into his story….
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
I'm a Travelin' Man
Traveling is a considerable part of my job as National Director of NCSY. Since NCSY spans across all of North America I could be in any given city any day of the week. Last week I found myself in Los Angeles for 11 hours.
Read the whole storyMonday, February 13, 2006
What does it mean to be a Jew?
What does it mean to be a Jew?
I suppose this question has been asked countless times during our history, yet my new blog compels me to attempt to answer this and other pertinent, uncomfortable questions.
Read the whole storyMonday, February 06, 2006
We have the potential to educate all of the Jews in the world...that is why I am starting this blog.
Last night I finished reading one of the most fascinating books I have ever come across- Melachim II. No sefer (book) has ever imbued me with such chizuk (strength) before. Reading about the battles King Chizkiyahu and his grandson King Yoshiyahu fought on behalf of the Torah made me realize that Klal Yisroel have always fought against ignorance of the Torah.
Read the whole storyMy Speech from the AJOP Conference
Since I became National Director of NCSY, some of the most commonly asked questions I have received include, “What is NCSY’s goal?”, “What is NCSY’s mission?”, and “What does NCSY hope to accomplish on behalf of the Jewish people?”
Read the whole storyWednesday, December 07, 2005
My Speech from the NCSY Staff Leadership Conference
During my trek to this conference there were a great deal of thoughts, ideas, and memories racing through my mind; however there was one memory that particularly struck me. I began to think about my very first NCSY staff conference when I was an Associate Regional Director to Rabbi Tzali Freedman in the Central East Region.
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