Hi – Hope you’re having a great day. … Chinese president Hu Jinatao is in the United States. And will be in Chicago today. What does this have to do with the Torah Minute? Everything! Because among the issues that always come up? Human rights violations in China. American leaders always bring it up. And […]

Hi – Hope you’re having a great day. … Every once in a while, I read “one of those stories”. About a great person putting their own pain aside for the sake of the Jewish People. It was about Rabbi Eli Meir Bloch, one of the great Torah scholars of the 20th Century. He was […]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. … This is a story that was not in the national news. But I think it should have been. Dr. Daniel Clair is chair of the vascular surgery department at the Cleveland Clinic. An incredibly busy person, He recently flew 6000 miles to operate on a patient. To […]

Hi- … Hope you’re having a great day. Please allow a very personal note. Today is my Mom’s yartzeit.  The anniversary of her passing. “Elisheva bas (daughter of) Dov Ber”. And it’s because of her that I write Torah Minutes.  That I have any Torah to teach. She grew up at a time when most […]

Hi – Hope you’re having a great day. … As you probably know, I recently lost my older brother Reuven. I wanted to thank so many who reached out to me at this difficult time. Whether it was a card, a phone call, Shiva visit or a contribution in his memory? Each and every one […]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. I wanted to tell you about an incredible person who passed away last week. A great Rabbi, a great human being and an incredible role model. Rabbi Nason Tzvi Finkel of Jerusalem was born and bred in Chicago. He attended Ida Crown Jewish Academy and was a typical […]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. … Last Shabbat Jews all over the world read the Torah portion Kedoshim.  The Torah tells us that we need to be holy.  To live spiritual lives. It’s not surprising. After all, what’s a Bible without talking about holiness? What religion doesn’t talk about spirituality? But what is […]

Hi, Hope you you’re having a great day. … Human beings are capable of having more than one emotion at the same time. We need to be pained by the indescribable destruction and suffering in Haiti. And at the same time, as Jews? We should feel incredibly proud to be Jewish. … Its one of […]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. The Torah Minute is starting its 6th year. And how old is the Torah? Jewish tradition says approximately 3300 years. The Exodus took place around 1300 B.C.E. and we went on to Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. Secular historians who don’t accept Jewish tradition? Many have been […]

Hi, Hope you’re having a great day. … The Hebrew school teacher was determined. She was going to get the kids to remember the names of the “Five Books of Moses”. “Who can list all five”? One kid starts waiving his hand, “I know.  I know! It’s… Genesis.  And um… um… Exodus. And wait.  I […]