That said, I went to Trump.co.il and could not find anywhere on the site that confirmed that it is Kosher let alone for Pesach. Still, being that the Twitter world was up in arms with the picture that Donald Trump’s daughter tweeted of her homemade Hamentashen here I figured that I’d share another Jewish item that comes from the Trump Mishpacha! Purim Sameach

Flickr user Avital Pinnick also saw this billboard and I used her picture as the picture above.

Regardless of the state or the size of the community, by and large I have noticed three trends when it comes to Minyanim:

1. The weekday Shacharis Minyanim are seemingly getting quicker and quicker (the quickest one I ever attending was over in 34 minutes!).

2. On Shabbos, the Main Minyan now starts as late as 9:30am. Indeed, even the Shul in which I grew up no longer starts at 8:30am but at 9:00am.

3. Shabbos morning services are seemingly longer than ever. After all, as synagogues expand their Rabbinic staff (for instance I know of several synagogues that have gone from one Rabbi to now four Rabbis in the span of only a decade) catering to a Main Minyan, Young Professionals Minyan, Sephardic Minyan, Teen Minyan, and so on and so forth, there are more and more “commercials” or in other words announcements that are taking up time on Shabbos morning. In fact, I was in one Shul where the announcements alone lasted over twenty minutes…and then there’s the Kiddush Sponsorship announcements etc!

In terms of the first point I raised, I believe the reason is simply a sign of our times. Due to the recession, globalization, technology, or whatever it may be—we live in a seemingly busier and busier world. As such, I imagine that people feel compelled to blaze out of Shul and rush off in the morning to their workplace, carpool, etc. etc. I certainly know that I’ve been guilty as charged when on the road and needing to catch a plane. Likewise, when it comes to Shabbos, this is often the one day that a person can sleep a bit later. As such, for the typical congregant Shabbos morning can not start at 8:00am let alone 8:30am. Sadly, despite announcements and warnings in the Shul email or bulletin, even the 9:00am start time gets in the way with everyone always reciting Shema at its proper time. After all, if services do not even begin until 9:00am and let’s face it—not everyone always shows up to their respective synagogue on time—let alone in time for Barchu…well, you can do the math.

An obvious solution to allowing Shabbos to be a day in which one still has several hours at home to spend with their family is to follow the model that is common in Israel. Shul starts at 8:00am and finishes at no later than 10:15am. This model may work in Israel but will not for a plethora of reasons work for the American model.

As such, is it possible to attend a service that allows for the meaningful sermon, while also providing several hours of family time?

I believe the answer is yes!

You see, as a child I attended a synagogue that started at 8:30am. In subsequent years the Rabbi of the Shul enacted a policy that allowed for services to finish in a timely matter.

He told the congregation that he will give his weekly sermon, assuming that the congregation does its part and reaches the point in the services that he gave his lecture by 11:00am.

If however, due to people dragging out the prayers by saying countless Misheberach’s for every member of their family including their third cousin, or people lining up to submit names for the Misheberach for Cholim—despite the policy that one must have submitted the names to the Gabbai and only those names would be recited, to people deciding to not simply be a Chazzan but to use the fact that they are leading the services to audition for The Jewish Star Singing Competition, then he felt that giving his sermon would be a true tircha dt’zibbur and he would not speak that particular week.

This self-policing was highly effective. People came to Shul and found meaning in the sermon of this particular Rabbi (very much in line with Rabbi Goldberg’s position mentioned in Part 1) and actively made it a point collectively to see to it that the services moved. At the end of the day, it did not mean that there was no singing. Of course there was! It just meant that the service couldn’t lag and lag and lag on. There was a communal sense of responsibility to move the services along. It meant that if the person leading the prayers wanted to sing a tune during Kedusha, he should consider which tune or only during the Mimkomcha stanza and not every section.

Ultimately, this led to people getting to their homes that much earlier and having just a little bit more family time. I don’t think it’s a solution that will work for every Shul. However, by having the congregants self-police themselves it could be a way that would allow Rabbi Goldberg to reach his goal. I’ve certainly seen this method work before with a similar demographic/congregant base to the one that Rabbi Goldberg has at BRS.

This question elicited several responses. Rabbi Eli Storch of DRS answered (here), ”take away the hosafos in leining. no misheberachs after the aliya. Don’t sing while taking out the Torah,” while Mordechai Holtz, the COO of  Meor, replied (here) that he should consider what I believe to be an even more drastic method. Namely, Mordechai suggested modifying the services to be more akin to, “Israeli style [in which there's] no speech during davening (do it post-prayer where those w/ kids dont feel pressured).” Rabbi Gil Student of TorahMusings.com replied with an answer that I see to be a healthy medium. He wrote (here), that the service should simply offer a “quick dvar Torah rather than sermon and no extra mishebeirachs. Minimize time people are just standing around.”

Rabbi Goldberg countered to Student’s tweet by writing (here), “many, ba’alei teshuva in particular, find more meaning in sermons than tefila.” As an aside, it is worth noting that BRS is very active in all things Kiruv and was recognized as such by NJOP at their seventeenth annual dinner. It follows that Rabbi Goldberg, who also attended Ner Le’Elef, is sensitive to the needs of Baalie Teshuva as he has congregants and their families who are not your typical FFB.

I believe in the importance of community life. However, I believe that something should be done to allow for more “family time” on Shabbos. If anything, due to the length of Shabbos morning services, I find that the communal life can unintentionally encroach upon the “family time.” After all, when the Main Minyan begins at 9:00am it may not endⁱ until 12:00pm. Accordingly, there are people who may not get home from synagogue until as late as 12:30pm.

As such, ones Shabbos lunch may not start until as early as 12:30pm and as late as 1:30pm.ⁱⁱ I took an informal poll of my seminary students and asked how long their Shabbos lunch takes? The answer that I kept receiving was approximately two hours. It follows that certainly in the winter months when Shabbos ends earlier, there is very little time before one must return to Shul for Mincha, Shalosh Seudos and Maariv.ⁱⁱⁱ This leaves little time to learn some Torah on your own, let alone go over your child(rens) Parsha Sheet,^iv or learn some Mishnayos or what not (let alone) individually with each one of your children…and this is assuming that the Chulent didn’t get to you and compel you to take the ever so important Shabbos afternoon shluf!

Rabbi Fink of Pacific Jewish Center contends here and here with my position. In fact, he believes that, “Shabbos is for community/connection,” and that “much of the day is spent in Shul. As it should be.”

I have a Mesorah from my Rebbeim on down, that Shabbos is a day to bond with ones family. It is a day to show ones children the true beauty and essence of Shabbos. If not now then when? In fact, by our Sages instituting that we bless each and every child in our family on Friday night, a mere couple of hours after welcoming Shabbos, we are demonstrating the important role our children and “family time” plays into the Shabbos experience! See also Sefer Emek HaMelech (Hakdama 3 Ch. 4) who records that even the saintly Rabbi Bezalel Ashkenazi valued the importance of “family time” and returned to his family on Shabbos—and then promptly left once again to continue his Torah learning in seclusion.

I believe that one espouses genuine sentiments of Kedusha directly upon their impressionably young children in their home and at their Shabbos table—and not at Youth Groups or a Teen Minyan. Certainly in an era that is plagued with concepts such as, “Half-Shabbos,” if we are able to simply be home and demonstrate our love for the beauty of Shabbos, we can do our part to impart upon our children that this day is filled not with socializing in Shul but with sanctity. Sanctity begins in our home, our mikdash me’at and moves on from there.

Moreover, certainly in today’s world when kids have hours on end of homework and a father and/or mother may return home as late as 8pm tired after a long day at work, Shabbos becomes an even more essential day. It is the one day that a parent is assured that he or she will be able to spend time with his family, let alone transmit the Torah ideals of Shabbos and the beauty of Judaism.

Shabbos is not a day to network. It is not a day to primarily connect with ones community. It is a day, if not the only day of the week, that one can use to strengthen ones home.

Granted, I agree with Rabbi Fink that it’s important to work on communal connections. This can be done on any other day of the week. It can even be done on Sunday. After all, ones kids may be in school or playing little league baseball on Sunday. For instance, Sunday morning is a perfect time to learn with fellow congregants over a brunch or pack Mishloach Manos with other community friends, and so on and so forth.

In 2012, there is only one day that we are guaranteed to have all of our family together without any digital distractions…that day is Shabbos.

Yes, there is time Friday night when Shabbos starts early to learn and spend times with ones children. However, with certainly young children, there are many years in which they are only up for Kiddush and HaMotzei before they fall asleep under the table, on the couch, etc. etc. Likewise, in the summer months there still isn’t that much of a long afternoon that one has available to them. Certainly, if ones son or daughter is going to a friends house, attending a Pirchei, Bnos, or a Bnei Akiva group, that longer Shabbos afternoon isn’t really that long.

All in all, I’m not opposed to Shabbos being a day for communal events. However, I certainly don’t think that it’s a day in which “much of the day is spent in Shul.” Rather, there must be a concerted effort to find a healthy medium for both family and community. After all, we need unified families to create a strong community.

In a follow up to this post I will share with you a novel approach that I have seen successfully implemented towards solving the fact that Shabbos morning services can easily lag on for hours on end. As such, I believe that it could help—if not serve as a Halachic answer to Rabbi Goldberg’s question.

For more on this topic see Rabbi Reuven Spolter’s post here: http://j.mp/wfaH5G

__________________________

i When I use the word end, I am including the holy grail that no one would ever cut out, namely the Kiddush that typically follows Shabbos morning services.

ii After all, sometimes you need to stop by another Shul to wish a Mazel Tov at someone elses Kiddush, Bar Mitzvah, etc. etc.

iii For many reasons from convenience on down, I have seen that people do not return home for this meal and instead remain in Shul, shmooze with their friends at the table, sing some nice songs, and hear some closing remarks on the Parsha from the Rabbi.

iv Children as young as two years old receive this review of the week from his/her Rebbe or Morah. As ones children get older the Parsha Sheet is not only a helpful review for the child, but it may allow one to know what is and isn’t being covered in the classroom. To simply skip this Parsha Sheet would be a mistake. And yet, even if you assume that Mr. Ploni Almonistein has four children and will spend ten minutes on this sheet per child, that means that simply reading it and giving each child the time that they deserve takes a good forty minutes. I know that some parents like to “kill two birds with one stone” and go over the Parsha Sheet at the Shabbos table. In reality though, the Shabbos table is not an ideal time to blow through the questions that each and every child has within their Parsha Sheet. After all, there’s a lot going on at a family oriented Shabbos table. Likewise, one may have children who are at the young age that they can’t be compelled to sit at the table for a long stretch of time. And so, doing this privately on a couch in the morning or after lunch with your arm lovingly wrapped around your child, can impart genuine sentiments of warmth as well as show your child that they have your undivided attention!

This dramatic appeal to all Jewish women around the world is meant to to help focus our thoughts on the terrible events that took place now over 2+ years ago–and daven for the speedy refuah of a friend and hero who remains in a coma. On Rosh Chodesh Av, just over 2 years ago Menashe Chaim Ben Shulamit Tufcha jumped into the sewage drain in the Ramat Eshkol park that is known to all as “The Iglu Park.” My children as well as hundreds of other local kids have enjoyed playing at this park. Sadly, a cute three and a half year old Racheli Sofer went to this park and never returned home to her loving family.  You see, Menashe Chaim Ben Shulamit Tufcha didn’t know who she was, but that didn’t stop him from jumping down into a pit that Racheli had fallen into while playing in the park.

Unfortunately Racheli lost her life and Menashe has been in a coma ever since! His wife and 5 young children have been struggling effectively without a husband and father for 2.5 years. For more on this story see here and here.

This Shabbos, Parshas Zachor (the Shabbos before Purim), women worldwide are lighting their Shabbos candles 5 minutes early in the memory of Rachel Bas HaRav Binyomin Yosef and as a merit for a full recovery for Menashe Chaim ben Shulamit Tufcha, b’ezras Hashem. Use the extra time to learn, talk to your kids, say Tehilim or just think. Let this year be a Purim Sameach for everyone!

Click here and here for more video and the story in Hebrew (and some English)

Truth be told, this question is one that I presume any good Jew ponders at least once or twice throughout their lifetime!

Frankly, in our contemporary times, a question such as: why be Jewish? is more important to address and truly understand—before one even thinks of the subject of marriage! That said, as a husband, father, religious Jew, and Orthodox Rabbi, I was curious to see if this book was going to speak to me as well.

After reading this book cover to cover, I can report that Why be Jewish exceeded my expectations!

I credit this to the fact that Doron opted not to write this book as he had written his other works (for a full list of his books see here). First, the entire book is written in a  format that allows the reader to flip through the book and select a chapter or section that speaks to them. Second, each chapter is written as a different narrative and allows one to hear various perspectives about the choice and way in which ones Jewish pride developed. In so doing, this allows the the reader to be exposed to a plethora of experiences from which they can relate to and grab a hold of as well! All in all, I found the writing style useful, not just because it will speak to a generation that is increasingly used to reading short blog posts and not long novels—but because if one chapter doesn’t relate to the reader or their life experiences—one is assured that there will be many other stories that do resonate with their upbringing.

While I do not take the author to task about some of the people he elected to write about in his book (see the comments here for instance), I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that even after discussing the cover of the book with the author, I still remain critical of its design on several fronts. Likewise, from a stylistic perspective, in as much as it makes it an enjoyable read (as opposed to setting an intellectual and intense mood throughout the work) I was initially confused as to how the book was written. The reader is forced to discover that the author apparently elected to write narratives of different people (there is no indication as to if they are fictional or not) and relate their story as to what makes them happy or inspired to simply be Jewish. In future printings, I believe that there should be some sort of explanation or preface so as to not leave the reader initially baffled.

Why be Jewish may never win any literary awards or be featured on the New York Times Bestseller List.  That said, I am confident that Why be Jewish is a book that a scholar or a layperson or a colleague or a student will enjoy—a sure sign of success. I would go so far as to say that  I would recommend that this book be required reading not simply to an NCSY or JSU teenager looking into Judaism but to every Yeshiva High School student on up—and certainly to anyone looking for Jewish inspiration.  Why be Jewish makes a good choice as a gift, especially as it is written without preference to any stream of Judaism.

Disclosure: I received a complimentary review copy of Why be Jewish, from the publisher, Mosaica Press.

When it comes to putting ones Hadasim and Aravos together with the Lulav, there are various traditions that have been preserved for hundreds of years. The common practice for many Sephardim and some Chassidim is to simply wrap their Hadasim and Aravos directly to the Lulav. However, the Minhag that I practice is to place the Hadasim and Aravos in a 3-branched holder that is woven from frond slats and then dried. This device is commonly referred to as a: Koishekle. That said, this device may create serious Halachic problems.

Why?

One has to be extremely careful when placing the Hadasim and Aravos into the small holes of the Koishekle. As an aside, being that these Koishekle are at times made by children who are unaware of the minute halachic nuances, the holes are very small. As such, when one places there Hadasim and Aravos into the Koishekle—the leaves are invariably going to tear and break—thus perhaps nullifying or at the very least altering the Mehudar status of the Hadasim (Aravos there is room to be a bit more lenient).

Additionally, each day after using the Arba Minim, many people commonly remove the Hadasim and Aravos and place them in the refrigerator to make sure that they remain fresh throughout the week long holiday. Sadly, one is setting themselves up for a scenario in which they may further damage their Hadasim and Aravos. After all, each day more and more leaves will invariably fall off. Indeed, if one does use the refrigerator to keep these items fresh, I always recommend that they simply place the entire Koishekle as 1 unit into the refrigerator. In so doing, no Hadasim or Aravos will be “injured” in the process!

However, there is a second solution. One can order or make their own Koishekle with wide holes. It follows that one can easily slip their Hadasim and Aravos in (and out as well) and no/to minimal leaves will fall off in the process. And so, if you have the Minhag to use a Koishekle, I encourage you to be aware of the above points and wish you a Chag Kosher V’Sameach!

Please note: All of the quotes are from today’s New York Times.

“Steven P. Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple who helped usher in the era of personal computers and then led a cultural transformation in the way music, movies and mobile communications were experienced in the digital age, died Wednesday. He was 56.”

Time running and so are people! One of Steve Jobs greatest accomplishments in life was to allow people to move faster and quicker through life.

Therefore, for the sake of brevity- I present an ‘iHesped’ on Mr. Steve Jobs

At the time of his death he was 56 years old and worth an estimated $8.3 billion.

Lesson number one is: you can be worth ‘billions and billions.’ However, when Hashem says it is time to go…it is time. Therefore, ‘estimated worth’ will not give you life. Remember: It is ‘Teshuva, Tefillah, and Tzedokah’ that can take away the evil decree.

Steve Jobs led a cultural transformation in the way music, movies and mobile communications were experienced in the digital age.

Who has never used an ‘iPhone, iPod or any other Apple product? Lesson number two: One man who started in 1976 in a suburban California garage changed the way the entire world listens to music and talks on the phone. Imagine what you can accomplish in your life?

“He was the most passionate leader one could hope for, a motivating force without parallel,” wrote Steven Levy, author of the 1994 book “Insanely Great,” which chronicles the creation of the Mac.”

Lesson number three- Be passionate in your service to Hashem and His mitzvohs! You can be a motivational force to impact and help change others!

There are more lessons to be learned, however, these are my three lessons to be gleaned from the demise of Mr. Jobs and they are my “iHesped” to him.

Enter the following text entitled: Vidui for Women!

I’m pleased to share the following PDF that I received from Rabbi Menachem Nissel, author of Rigshei Lev. With the consent and guidance of Rav Shternbuch, he painstakingly wrote this Vidui for Women pamphlet. He has designed it so that it can be printed on two sides of one A4 paper. It should then be folded along the columns concertina style for easy use.

Gmar Chasima Tova!

Viduyforwomen