Hope you’re having a great day. Many Jews may have been wondering at the Seder. “The Exodus?  Splitting of the Sea? Why did G-d stop doing miracles?” … He didn’t! In fact one of His miracles is 61 years old today! Today is Yom Ha’atzmaut.  Israeli Independence Day. Mazal Tov! … Here’s something I think […]

Hi, I hope you had a meaningful and enjoyable Passover. … Today is Holocaust Memorial Day. I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how important it is to remember. And to make sure the world never forgets!. Especially with what happened yesterday in Switzerland… Mahmud Ahmadinejad was given a platform at the U.N […]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. … It’s time to talk matzah! And here’s an amazing story. It was in a DP (Displaced Persons) camp, shortly after liberation. One of the survivors arranged the baking of matzah for Passover. Supplies were very limited and the matzah was rationed. Two matzos per family. A great […]

Hope you’re having a great day. We just celebrated Purim. Now on to Passover! And this Torah Minute is about both. … It’s something I shared at the CTN Purim celebration. There happened to be a number of Jews from the formerSoviet Union. And when I see such Jews taking part in Jewish life? It […]

Hope you’re having a great day! … This is a follow up to the last Torah Minute. We spoke about how we need to do kindness with truth. To make sure that it doesn’t just make us feel good. But that it really helps the other person. And I told you about the yeshiva high […]

Hope you’re having a great day. The Jay Leno show? Not what you expect to see in a Torah Minute! But you probably heard about President Obama being on the show. And when you’re on Leno? You have to try to be funny. And the president made an off the cuff remark. Which came across […]

Hope you’re having a great day.   Chessed.  Acts of kindness. There’s nothing greater in Jewish tradition. But there’s an interesting phrase in the Torah. “Doing kindness and truth”.  (Genesis, 47:29) Because sometimes we can try to be kind with the best of intentions. But in truth we’re not really helping the other person.   […]

Hope you’re having a great day. It’s not too late to say… “Happy 200th birthday to Abraham Lincoln!” If you have today off, enjoy it. But whether we’re working or not? Here’s a way we can think aboutLincolnand become better. Abraham Lincoln once said: “I am a success today because I had a friend who […]

Hope you’re having a great day. Today’s Torah Minute is about… Joe the barber! … Joe passed away recently. He was not Jewish. But he was a fixture in the Rogers Park Jewish community. It was even mentioned in his obituary.   “Joseph Filecia, the son of Italian immigrants, maintained a close rapport with the […]

Hope you’re having a great day. … One more thing about President Obama’s inauguration. We know there was a “blooper” when the oath of office was administered. The way it’s supposed to go? “I will faithfully execute the office of president of theUnited States.” But Chief Justice John Roberts switched it around. “I will execute […]