Rabbi Michael Green's Blog

Product Review of The Totally Tanach iPad

As a person who travels for a total of well over a month each year, being able to access Seforim or other types of Jewish content while on an airplane or simply waiting in a terminal, is of vital importance. After all, I am a practicing Rabbi, who upon landing in a particular city, has been called upon to speak at functions ranging from an Engagement Party to a Brit Milah! And so, when the folks at Davka, provided me with the Totally Tanach iPad Application and asked me to test and review it, I was intrigued with the offer and agreed to download their latest iPad App. Overall, I found the Hebrew, English, and Rashi, text(s) to be beautifully crisp and clear. Frankly, the screenshot images of the Totally Tanach iPad App that appear here, do not do it justice!

November 29, 2010 - Read More (2 Comments) »

Jewish Marketing II: Concert Promotion

There used to be a time in which simply hearing about or seeing an advertisment for a Jewish Music Concert was an exciting event! These concerts didn’t just happen ever second… Zoom forward some good two or three decades and you’ll find a plethora of concerts advertised all over the country! There are now Jewish Music Stars performing not just in The Catskills but also on Cruises, Harbor Boats, at Six Flags and at other “out of the box venues.” And so, it’s only fitting that we begin to see a need to better promote these concerts. Hence, it’s interesting to have seen that the latest Ohel Concert, which has featured singers such as MBD, Ohad, and Avraham Fried, decided to do a spin-off of the popular Geico Ads. I must admit, I do not live in America, and haven’t had a chance to see these effective spots…

November 25, 2010 - Read More (1 Comment) »

Jewish Marketing: Tallking Babies!

The use of animated babies who talk or dance in a commercial, let alone an advertising spot is not new. In fact, a quick internet search will lead you to this Wikipedia page. A short perusal of that page will indeed reveal how various television programs or commercials have used babies to sell a product, raise a programs ratings, etc.
Let’s face! Babies are cute and can help move anything from water on up!
Indeed, recently, two baby ads have taken the world by storm. The first such ad, has received several million hits on YouTube and was originally commissioned as a commercial for Evian Water…

August 2, 2010 - Read More (4 Comments) »

Lessons from Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch & Guy Kawasaki

Guy Kawasaki, the legendary Silicon Valley venture capitalist and co-founder of AllTop.com, recently wrote, “As a follow-up to the beating heart, researchers at the University of Minnesota have used a similar technique to create breathing lungs in the lab. Lead researcher Angela Panoskaltsis-Mortari, associate professor of pediatrics and pulmonary medicine, believes the ‘possibilities are endless’ for using the approach to increase the number of lungs needed for transplant into people with lung cancer and irreversible lung diseases.”

Now, when I see things of this sort or watch these “Lungs” function, the first thing that comes to my head along with the word “awesome” are the words of Tehillim 104:24: “Mah Rabu Masecha Hashem!” I also recall the famous story involving Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch zt”l (for more on his real name see here) and how Rav Hirsch towards the end of his life, made it a point to visit the beautiful French Alps. When asked why he had done so, Rav Hirsch reportedly responded, “after 120 years, when I appear before the Creator of the World and He asks, ‘Samson have you seen the magnificent French Alps?’ I want to be able to answer in the affirmative!”

July 18, 2010 - Read More (1 Comment) »

Chachma from LeBron James & Coach John Wooden

Just last week, the nation turned in to hear where, the self proclaimed, “King James,” a.k.a. LeBron James would decide to play the game of basketball! Indeed, people are still wrapped up in all the hoopla of LeBron James leaving his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, and joing the Miami Heat! However, I’d rather focus on a man who recently passed away, just a few months ago, on June 4th, at the age of 99: Coach John Wooden. Coach Wooden, was someone who in my opinion fulfilled the words of our Sages who teach, “yesh chachma bagoyim” there is wisdom among the nations! Indeed, Rashi also contends that he who truly values wisdom will seek it wherever it can be found. In fact, our Sages even institute a special blessing to be said upon meeting a great non-Jewish scholar. In short, Coach Wooden is the polar opposite of “King James.” For instance, despite receiving other offers throughout the years, he never left his beloved UCLA Basketball Team. Moreover, he was a man of great ethics and principals. However, as related in this Rick Reily ESPN.com Video below, his greatest love was not the game of basketball. Instead, it is and remained, even after she died – his wife. For years on end, he would still write her poetry and cry over his lose of his beloved life companion…

July 15, 2010 - Read More (1 Comment) »

What Twitter Can Teach Us about Tisha B’Av!

Ever since I can remember, I’ve been taught to be careful with my words and how they can have long lasting ramifications. That said, being that we are all human, this is a very difficult topic to grasp, as our words are often just spoken and never really carefully and tactfully communicated. To that end, Judaism stresses the importance of not participating in slander, gossip, and so on and so forth. Indeed, seemingly every Tish B’Av, thousands across the globe gather to view the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation Tisha B’Av Video. This Video features different Rabbis who remind us of the Torah’s wisdom on human relations and personal development, and by extension, inspires the public to be aware of the far reaching effects that just even a few words can have…

July 14, 2010 - Read More (1 Comment) »

Jewish Law & TSA Full Body Scanners

We have formally entered the month of June! And yet, while all across the world the sun is shining, the official start of summer is not until June 21st. With the onset of summer, many individuals and families travel to sleep away camp, visit relatives in other states or countries, and so on and so forth. Indeed, the airlines capitalize on this fact and have imposed a “Summer Travel Fee!” If you thought you have seen everything, you haven’t seen nothin’ yet! Nowadays, depending upon your airline you may be charged for your hand luggage to the use of a headset, pillow or blanket. What’s more, due to the tragic events of 9-11, passengers are taxed with an additional “Security Fee.” These funds typically go to the TSA or other security needs at each airport. However, between a still lagging economy, and all of the additional fees that are lopped onto a ticket these days, there are many a person who find it cumbersome to travel via airplane. Moreover, travelers find it literally a shlep just getting to a particular gate.

June 1, 2010 - Read More (9 Comments) »

A Jewish Perspective on iPhone & iPad Apps

Rav Shimshon Pincus zt”l, was a legendary and prolific Rabbi. Unfortunately his life was cut short due to a tragic car accident. In one of his many Seforim that were published posthumously, he cites the opinion of the Zohar, who believed hundreds of years ago, that in today’s day an age we would see a lot of “wisdom” being introduced into the world. To that end, Rabbi Pincus says (see the Hebrew to the right) that he doesn’t know if the intent of the Zohar was in reference to the technological revolution that we see in front of our eyes (frankly if one buys a new computer, within a year or so, your model can become seemingly obsolete!). Nonetheless, he states that you can’t ignore the reality of how much “wisdom” and invention has appeared in such a short period of time.