By Vladimir Ronin -RAJE Alum (originally posted on RAJEnow.com)

Few months ago, I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal titled “A Losing Ticket in the American Lottery,” an article which ended up taking me on a retrospective and in my view a  much needed journey.

The premise of the article was simple, as it attempted to convey the despair of those green card lottery winners, who were notified that their win was negated due to a glitch in a computer program put in place to select the lottery winners. However, it were accounts of these individuals from all around the world, depicting their lifelong desire to immigrate to United States in pursuit of a better life that I found so compelling.

As I delved deeper into the article and read testimonials of these individuals, I could not help but tap into those feeling I had experienced some sixteen years ago as I myself was making a journey to this country. Being a first generation immigrant, the hope and desire for an opportunity of a better life resonated with me in an intense way, and at that moment I could not help but appreciate how fortunate and privileged I really was.

But what really made my experience worthwhile, was the next step taken in this cognitive journey, which for me amounted to asking a single question:

“Am I living up to the potential of the opportunities presented to me?”

A question in my opinion that is so essential, that it should be revisited not on a single occasion, but rather with a frequent recurrence as one moves through his or her life.

However it’s imperative that one take this journey willingly to come face to face with the reality. I emphasize willingness because to take this next step of self-assessment is often a difficult and perhaps even scary undertaking, given that the answer one could arrive to is ‘not really’, or simply ‘NO,’ meaning the individual willingly accepts coming to terms with that conclusion. And yet in my view it is only at this point of awareness that one can begin to take action, and is driven to transform his or her life.

In today’s world, as a lot of us are finishing our formal education and entering the professional world it is very easy to get caught up in the sense of entitlement that is ever-present in our society. Feelings of anger and discouragement at the lack of what once seemed as guaranteed opportunities of a steady job, loan-free education, and so much more … seem to be ubiquitous. Indeed, often it is just a rough patch in our everyday lives, or perhaps a simple trip-up that causes many of us to throw our hands up in despair, and utter “FML,” an acronym which has become commonplace in everyday lexicon.

Make no mistake about it life can be harsh and is often unjust regardless of who you are, or what part of world you reside in. And yet I cannot help but return to the WSJ article for an alternate perspective, “I felt I was in heaven. The American dream actualized …There is no English word to express my happiness when I discovered that I was selected,” said one of the mistaken winners. The power and acuteness of these words are as resonant as are the statistics behind them: of the 15,000,000 annual submissions only 50,000 will be selected, meaning a number which equates to 0.33 of 1 percent.  The desire of so many people to be in my position and position of my peers’ pulls me back and forces me to accept the simple fact, that all of the difficulties we encounter in our lives would not stop all those people from switching places with us in a heartbeat.

The wealth of opportunities that has been presented to us should be treated as just that – wealth. Most of us are lucky to be in the position that we are in, as at any point we could draw on our wealth to attain or acquire all that we wish for. All that is needed is a sense of direction and desire to attain that which we seek. It is only after gaining this perspective that each one of us can wake up in the morning, get out of the bed, and like lottery winners that we are utter “What am I going to do today?”

A Jerusalem Post Column

November 25, 2011

By: Daniel Gordis

We’re living increasingly in a world of parallel but non-intersecting Jewish universes, each with its own ideals and heroes, neighborhoods and values, each too readily dismissive of the other.

———————————————————————————————————

When he passed away on November 8 in Jerusalem, the American- born Rabbi Natan Tzvi Finkel was widely credited with having transformed the Mir Yeshiva into the world’s largest. Some 100,000 people flocked to his funeral. The procession began at the Mir in the Beit Yisrael neighborhood, and continued afoot to the Har Hamenuhot cemetery. For those neighborhoods of Jerusalem and for the population that lives there, time stood still. Businesses were closed and study was suspended even at other institutions.

His death was considered a loss of a once-in-a-generation leader.  Amazingly, though, outside that community, almost no one noticed. Most Israelis could not name him and were unaware that he had died.  Even those American Jews who know, however vaguely, of the Mir Yeshiva, could not have named the person who headed it. Nor did they hear that he had died.

We’re living increasingly in a world of parallel but non-intersecting Jewish universes, each with its own ideals and heroes, neighborhoods and values, each too readily dismissive of the other. In the aftermath of Rabbi Finkel’s passing, and the images of his funeral which were a sea of black, extending down entire city streets, it’s worth comparing this moment in our history to another Jewish funeral, also attended by some 100,000 people.

That was the funeral of the brilliant Yiddish writer Y.L. Peretz, who died in Warsaw just shy of a century ago. Professor Ruth Wisse, writing in Commentary magazine in March 1991, described his funeral as follows: “Published reports of the funeral lingers on the by-then extraordinary fact that each of the splintering political, religious, social and cultural groups was officially represented in the procession – Hebraists and Yiddishists, observant Jews and all manner of secularists, Zionists and socialists and Territorialists in all their tangled branches, conservative community leadership and radical workers’ opposition.”

What a striking difference! How many secular Jews could be found at Rabbi Finkel’s funeral? How many observant Jews not in black? None of the former, I would imagine. And very, very few of the latter.

Which leads me to the following question: Who is there anywhere in the Jewish world whose passing would evoke the sense of shared loss that was felt when Peretz died? Is there anyone in the Jewish world – in Israel, the United States, or anywhere else – who would be mourned by secularists and religious Jews alike, conservatives and liberals, Zionists and those more dubious about the Jewish state? Were Haim Nahman Bialik to die now, would the Israeli religious community mark his passing? (In 1934, it did.)

Were Rabbi Shlomo Goren alive now, would American Reform and Conservative Jews see his loss as theirs, too? Would Israeli Orthodox Jews take note of the loss of Abba Hillel Silver? There are (a very few) Israeli national leaders who will likely be mourned across the religious divide, but will their passing be marked in any meaningful way in American Jewish life? Is there a single American Jewish leader of whom Israelis would take note after his or her death? To tell the truth, I can’t think of a single Jewish person whose loss would evoke the kind of cross-chasm mourning that Peretz’s did. We live in a very different and much impoverished age.

What matters, of course, is not really who mourns whom at funerals. What matters is who takes whom seriously during their lifetime. And increasingly, I fear, we take seriously those people who are more or less like us. We embrace (and then “like” on Facebook, or forward to others) the views of those with whom we agree, and disparage (and don’t “like” or Retweet, and never forward) the views of those whose views we don’t share.

If people on the “Right” read writers like Peter Beinart, it’s not because they think that they might have something to learn from him (even if they disagree with his conclusions), but rather, simply to show how completely off-base he is. And when people on the “Left” read Caroline Glick, it’s also not because they think there might be something to glean from arguments with which they ultimately disagree. It’s simply to confirm their (incorrect) preconceived notion that anyone to their right is a Neanderthal.

How different we are from the sages of the Talmud, who carefully preserved the opinions of those with whom they disagreed, including even those opinions that were ultimately rejected.

Our sages understood that even the “losing” positions had what to teach, that there are moral and strategic insights to be gleaned even from those whose conclusions we do not share.

But are there any rabbis in Israel’s religious community who urge their students to read Ahad Ha’am’s vision for Zion or Amos Oz’s social critiques, or secular Israeli high school teachers who encourage their students to read Rav Kook’s (not so disparaging) religious assessment of secular Judaism? We’re all part of this troubling phenomenon, to some extent. After all, don’t we subscribe to those newspapers and magazines that say what we already think, and avoid like the plague those that might cause us to rethink the positions to which we’re now committed? Aren’t we, too, divided between CNN and Fox watchers, each of us proud of the fact that we never watch the other? Perhaps, I sometimes wistfully allow myself to imagine, it is time for those on the Left to subscribe to The Weekly Standard, and those on the Right to buy The Nation.

For the vast majority of the Jewish world, the death of Rabbi Finkel went unnoticed. And even for those outside his community who did hear about it, his passing and his funeral are yesterday’s news. But those images of the sea of black – and only black – on the streets of Jerusalem during his funeral procession ought to be a reminder of how different our world is from the world that Y.L. Peretz inhabited. Our response, I believe, ought to be to ask how we can begin to recreate the deeply interconnected Warsaw community, so lost in so many ways.

Perhaps we ought to start with reading, reminding ourselves that the important reading we do is not the reading with which we agree, but the reading that actually makes us think.

The writer is president of the Shalem Foundation and Senior Fellow at the Shalem Center in Jerusalem. His latest book, Saving Israel: How the Jewish People Can Win a War that May Never End (Wiley), won the 2009 National Jewish Book Award. His next book, The Promise of Israel: Why Its Seemingly Greatest Weakness is Actually Its Greatest Strength, will be published this summer.  He blogs at http://danielgordis.or

Comments and reactions can be posted here:

http://danielgordis.org/2011/11/25/a-tale-of-two-funerals-2/

The original Jerusalem Post column can be read here:

http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Opinion/Article.aspx?id=246830

the "RAJEon Inspirational Mix" (RIM)

Reality check.

Zalman & Rivkah Rothberg* were married for more than 15 years. They had eight children and Rivkah was expecting their ninth. The two of them got along quite well, but there was one difference between them that often strained their relationship.

Zalman was a meticulous type of person and Rivkah was more indifferent to order, and at times lackadaisical. When Zalman was upset that things were not put away tidily, Rivkah would smile and say gently in Hebrew, “Zeh lo chashuv (It’s not that important).”

It was her favorite expression and she used it often. If Zalman was ready on time and she was late, she would smile and say softly, “Zeh lo chashuv.” Indeed, her relaxed attitude to life resolved many problems and defused many tense moments. Still, there were times when Zalman felt exasperated.

One summer Thursday afternoon, when Rivkah and the children were in their bungalow colony in the Catskills, she called Zalman in the city and asked him to bring up a new checkbook, because she had run out of checks. When they spoke on Friday, she reminded him not to forget the checkbook.

He immediately put a new checkbook into one of the bright orange shopping bags he was going to bring to the family. On Friday afternoon, as soon as he arrived in the bungalow, he gave her the bag with the checkbook in it.

On Shabbos morning, he noticed that Rivkah had hung the shopping bag on the post of a crib in their bedroom- and the checkbook was still in it!

Zalman was upset. Rivkah had called him twice about the checkbook. He did exactly as she asked, but she hadn’t even taken it out of the bag. Even worse, she just hung it in a place where it did not belong, certainly not over Shabbos!

He didn’t say anything, because he didn’t want to spoil the tranquility of Shabbos with a complaint. Besides, she would probably ignore his criticism and gently say, “Zeh lo chashuv (It’s not that important).”

After Shabbos he returned to the city for a week of work and the next Friday he came back again to the bungalow. To his utter dismay the bag was still hanging from the post on the crib in their room, and the checkbook was still in it, untouched!

“It obviously could not have been such an emergency,” he thought to himself, “so why was she in such a rush that I bring her the checks in the first place.”

Once again he did not say anything. Inwardly, though, he was angry. Sunday afternoon he returned to the city and began his regular weekday routine. Two days later he received a frantic call from Rivkah’s friend and neighbor in the bungalow colony. Rivkah had been rushed to the hospital. There were severe complications in her pregnancy, and the best doctors available were attending her.

Frantically, Zalman left his office and drove up to the Catskills, but by the time he arrived at the hospital, it was too late. Rivkah had died in childbirth. Zalman was crushed.

Shocked friends and family who had gathered at the hospital accompanied him back to the bungalow. When he came into his room, the first thing he saw was the orange shopping bag hanging on the crib post with the checkbook still in it. As tears rolled down his cheeks he removed the checkbook from the bag and put it in this pocket.

That night he wrote the first check from that book. It was for the Chevra Kadisha (Burial society). The next day he wrote the second check. It was for the funeral.

After the shivah, Zalman took the empty shopping bag and hung it in his closet. And on the outside of the bag he wrote three words- Zeh lo chashuv.

He kept it there for months.

Every time he saw it, he thought, “Wasn’t she right? Weren’t those trivialities really insignificant? Were they really worth quarreling about?”

The lesson that he learned in death, we should learn in life. Before it’s too late.

Most of the arguments we are involved in- be it in the home, the office, in school, in shul or at the workplace- begin with petty things that are truly not worth arguing about.

One biting comment leads to another and soon a small flicker of contention grows into a conflagration of rancor and bitter discords. At times the fire can be extinguished- but sadly, at times hatred rages until it is totally out of control.

The next time we feel and argument brewing we should ask ourselves: Is this a matter for which one could rightfully say, “Zeh lo chashuv”?

 *Name has been changed

Reprinted from Echoes of the Maggid by Rabbi Paysach J. Krohn with permission from Mesorah Publications.

Date: Monday, November 21, 2011, 7:42 AM

A letter from a  Israeli soldier – Israel is a safe haven not only for Jews

My name is Aron Adler.

I am 25 years old, was born in Brooklyn NY , and raised in Efrat Israel . Though very busy, I don’t view my life as unusual. Most of the time, I am just another Israeli citizen. During the day I work as a paramedic in Magen David Adom, Israel ’s national EMS service. At night, I’m in my first year of law school. I got married this October and am starting a new chapter of life together with my wonderful wife Shulamit.

15-20 days out of every year, I’m called up to the Israeli army to do my reserve duty. I serve as a paramedic in an IDF paratrooper unit. My squad is made up of others like me; people living normal lives who step up to serve whenever responsibility calls. The oldest in my squad is 58, a father of four girls and grandfather of two; there are two bankers, one engineer, a holistic healer, and my 24 year old commander who is still trying to figure out what to do with his life. Most of the year we are just normal people living our lives, but for 15-20 days each year we are soldiers on the front lines preparing for a war that we hope we never have to fight.

This year, our reserve unit was stationed on the border between Israel , Egypt and the Gaza Strip in an area called “Kerem Shalom.” Above and beyond the “typical” things for which we train – war, terrorism, border infiltration, etc., – this year we were confronted by a new challenge. Several years ago, a trend started of African refugees crossing the Egyptian border from Sinai into Israel to seek asylum from the atrocities in Darfur .

What started out as a small number of men, women and children fleeing from the machetes of the Janjaweed and violent fundamentalists to seek a better life elsewhere, turned into an organized industry of human trafficking. In return for huge sums of money, sometimes entire life savings paid to Bedouin “guides,” these refugees are promised to be transported from Sudan , Eritrea , and other African countries through Egypt and the Sinai desert, into the safe haven of Israel .

We increasingly hear horror stories of the atrocities these refugees suffer on their way to freedom. They are subject to, and victims of extortion, rape, murder, and even organ theft, their bodies left to rot in the desert. Then, if lucky, after surviving this gruesome experience whose prize is freedom, when only a barbed wire fence separates them from Israel and their goal, they must go through the final death run and try to evade the bullets of the Egyptian soldiers stationed along the border. Egypt ’s soldiers are ordered to shoot to kill anyone trying to cross the border OUT of Egypt and into Israel . It’s an almost nightly event.

For those who finally get across the border, the first people they encounter are Israeli soldiers, people like me and those in my unit, who are tasked with a primary mission of defending the lives of the Israeli people. On one side of the border soldiers shoot to kill. On the other side, they know they will be treated with more respect than in any of the countries they crossed to get to this point.

The region where it all happens is highly sensitive and risky from a security point of view, an area stricken with terror at every turn. It’s just a few miles south of the place where Gilad Shalit was kidnapped. And yet the Israeli soldiers who are confronted with these refugees do it not with rifles aimed at them, but with a helping hand and an open heart. The refugees are taken to a nearby IDF base, given clean clothes, a hot drink, food and medical attention. They are finally safe.

Even though I live in Israel and am aware through media reports of the events that take place on the Egyptian border, I never understood the intensity and complexity of the scenario until I experienced it myself.

In the course of the past few nights, I have witnessed much. At 9:00 PM last night, the first reports came in of gunfire heard from the Egyptian border. Minutes later, IDF scouts spotted small groups of people trying to get across the fence. In the period of about one hour, we picked up 13 men – cold, barefoot, dehydrated – some wearing nothing except underpants. Their bodies were covered with lacerations and other wounds. We gathered them in a room, gave them blankets, tea and treated their wounds. I don’t speak a word of their language, but the look on their faces said it all and reminded me once again why I am so proud to be a Jew and an Israeli. Sadly, it was later determined that the gunshots we heard were deadly, killing three others fleeing for their lives.

During the 350 days a year when I am not on active duty, when I am just another man trying to get by, the people tasked with doing this amazing job, this amazing deed, the people witnessing these events, are mostly young Israeli soldiers just out of high school, serving their compulsory time in the IDF, some only 18 years old.

The refugees flooding into Israel are a heavy burden on our small country. More than 100,000 refugees have fled this way, and hundreds more cross the border every month. The social, economic, and humanitarian issues created by this influx of refugees are immense. There are serious security consequences for Israel as well. This influx of African refugees poses a crisis for Israel . Israel has yet to come up with the solutions required to deal with this crisis effectively, balancing its’ sensitive social, economic, and security issues, at the same time striving to care for the refugees.

I don’t have the answers to these complex problems which desperately need to be resolved. I’m not writing these words with the intention of taking a political position or a tactical stand on the issue.

I am writing to tell you and the entire world what’s really happening down here on the Egyptian/Israeli border. And to tell you that despite all the serious problems created by this national crisis, these refugees have no reason to fear us. Because they know, as the entire world needs to know, that Israel has not shut its eyes to their suffering and pain. Israel has not looked the other way. The State of Israel has put politics aside to take the ethical and humane path as it has so often done before, in every instance of human suffering and natural disasters around the globe. We Jews know only too well about suffering and pain. The Jewish people have been there. We have been the refugees and the persecuted so many times, over thousands of years, all over the world.

Today, when African refugees flood our borders in search of freedom and better lives, and some for fear of their lives, it is particularly noteworthy how Israel deals with them, despite the enormous strain it puts on our country on so many levels. Our young and thriving Jewish people and country, built from the ashes of the Holocaust, do not turn their backs on humanity. Though I already knew that, this week I once again experienced it firsthand. I am overwhelmed with emotion and immensely proud to be a member of this nation.
With love of Israel ,

Aron Adler writing from the Israel/Gaza/Egyptian border.

This is too hideous to be believed. Imagine spending the high tuition to send your child to College, just to have him or her brainwashed with antisemitism by their distinguished Professors.

Shunning an academic endorser of anti-Semitism

by Alan Dershowitz – Nov 11, 2011

Imagine your son or daughter is admitted to the University of Chicago, one of the world’s most elite institutions of learning, and tells you that he has been lucky enough to have a course with one of the university’s most prominent professors, John Mearsheimer, the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Then imagine your child tells you that his favorite professor has just recommended that everyone should read a “fascinating and provocative” book that makes the following assertions of fact:

While the Holocaust “was not at all an historical narrative,” the “accusations of Jews making matzo out of young Goyim’s blood,” may be true (page 175, 185).

Jews caused the recent credit crunch, which the author calls “the Zio-punch” (page 22).

The American media “failed to warn the American people of the enemy within” because of money (page 27).

“[M]ore and more Jews are being pulled into an obscure, dangerous and unethical fellowship” (page 21).

If Iran and Israel fight a nuclear war that kills millions of people, “some may be bold enough to argue that ‘Hitler might have been right after all’” (page 179).

The “new Jewish religion.could well be the most sinister religion known to man.” (page 149).

The author of the book containing these statements has told students that he cannot “say whether it’s right or not to burn down a synagogue. I can say that it is a rational act.” He has also apologized to the Nazis for having earlier compared them to Israel:

“Many of us including me tend to equate Israel to Nazi Germany. Rather often I myself join others and argue that Israelis are the Nazis of our time. I want to take this opportunity to amend my statement. Israelis are not the Nazis of our time and the Nazis were not the Israelis of their time. Israel is in fact far worse than Nazi Germany and the above equation is simply meaningless and misleading.”

He has written that we “must begin to take the accusation that the Jewish people are trying to control the world very seriously,” and that “with Fagin and Shylock in mind, Israeli barbarism and organ trafficking seem to be just other events in an endless hellish continuum.”

The scenario described above-a prominent professor endorsing the content of a blatantly anti-Semitic book-is not imaginary. John Mearsheimer has in fact written a glowing endorsement (this “fascinating and provocative” book “should be widely read.”) of a virulently anti-Semitic book by an infamously bigoted author.

The book is titled The Wandering Who? and has just been published by Gilad Atzmon, a British saxophonist and well-known bigot, who acknowledges that many of the “insights” in his book come from a man who “was an anti-Semite” and a hater of “almost everything that fails to be Aryan masculinity” (page 89-90). He declares himself a “proud self-hating Jew” and writes of his “contempt” of “the Jew in me” (page 94). Mearsheimer’s endorsement appears prominently on the first page of the book. He is not merely defending Atzmon’s right to publish this anti-Semitic book; he is endorsing the book’s content.

Mearsheimer was joined in his endorsement of this anti-Semitic book by Richard Falk, the Milibank Professor of International Law Emeritus at Princeton University. Falk’s endorsement, which appears on the cover of The Wandering Who?, calls the book “absorbing,” “moving,” and “transformative.” He says the book has “integrity” and should not only “be read but reflect[ed] upon and discuss[ed] widely.” One wonders precisely which part of the book Falk wants his students to discuss widely: that the Holocaust is “not an historical narrative”? That Jews may be guilty of “making matzo out of young Goyim’s blood”? or the possibility that “Hitler may have been right after all”?

I have certainly seen strong academic endorsements of books that are extreme in their hatred of Israel, but never in my long professional life have I encountered prominent American academics endorsing blatant anti-Semitism. A red line has been crossed for the first time, and this dangerous and unprecedented crossing must be noted and responded to.

Professor Mearsheimer should neither be fired nor censured for his endorsement of the world’s oldest bigotry, because his academic freedom gives him the right to endorse anti-Semitic views and to endorse any book he chooses.

But unless Mearsheimer publicly withdraws his endorsement, he should be shunned by his colleagues and his students for collaborating with evil. Mearsheimer may not be an anti-Semite himself, but he has given aid and comfort to anti-Semitism by urging his students to take seriously the content of The Wandering Who?

The sad reality is that Mearsheimer is not being shunned. He is being supported by his colleague, Brian Leiter, the Llewellyn Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Chicago Law School, who says that the criticism of Mearsheimer is “hysterical” because Atzmon’s “positions [do not mark him] as an anti-Semite [but rather as] cosmopolitan.” Mearsheimer is also being supported by my Harvard colleague, Professor Stephen Walt and several other American academics.

Therein lies the shame-and the danger.

Alan Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School.
Alan Dershowitz

http://chicagomaroon.com/2011/11/11/shunning-an-academic-endorser-of-anti-semitism/
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Permission to Believe

By: Lawrence Kelemen
Four rational approaches to G-d’s existence.

Permission to Receive

By: Lawrence Kelemen
Four rational approaches to the Torah’s Divine Origin, for those who value both intellectual integrity and the Jewish spiritual inheritance.

The Book of Our Heritage

By: Eliyahu Ki Tov, Dovid Landesman, Nachman Bulman (Translator)
Now available in pocket size, the Book of Our Heritage, three-volume set is the perfect companion to take with you anywhere you go. This beloved classic explores the special days, Festivals and fasts of the Jewish calendar in all their depth and importance, for the contemporary reader, with its inimitable, heart-warming style.

The Jew and His Home

By: Eliyahu Ki Tov

The vital wisdom and life-giving strength of traditional Jewish teaching is reflected in the wealth of topics: Jewish marriage, harmony in the home, the meaning of modesty, raising children, kashrus, and much more.

Why Marry Jewish

By: Doron Kornbluth

It’s a question many young singles have asked themselves at one point or another. Here are some very convincing answers to the question. Author Doron Kornbluth presents some hard-and-fast evidence that will educate and enlighten. Citing dozens of research studies, he shows how inter-faith marriages affect not only the couple’s relationship, but their children’s futures, their family dynamics, and their own personal happiness. This is an intellectually stimulating, eye-opening book that will challenge you to think deeper about who you are–and what you want from life.
Jewish Matters

By: Doron Kornbluth
In this lightweight, pocketsize book, twenty-three Jewish leaders, thinkers, and educators offer their insights and knowledge on topics as varied as relationships, prayer, mysticism and happiness. These are twenty-three essays worth reading–because being Jewish matters.

The Way of G-d

By: Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato

The definitive work on Jewish philosophy.

The Path of the Just

By: Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato

Classic step-by-step guide for improving character traits.

The Magic Touch

By: Gila Manolson
There’s more to touching than most of us realize. In this frank, eye-opening book, an experienced teacher from the Discovery Seminar offers the thought-provoking Jewish perspective on this subject. Entertaining and enlightening, this work clarifies one of the least understood areas of Jewish law.

NCSY Bencher

The NCSY Bencher is immensely popular for use in homes, synagogues, schools, youth groups and camps, as well as for weddings, bar and bas mitzvahs, and other simchos. With clear Hebrew and English type, a new translation, and complete, easy-to-read transliteration of the benching, kiddush, blessings, zemiros, and songs for all occasions.

Friday Night and Beyond

By: Lori Palatnik
Step-by-Step is a practical guide to Jewish Sabbath observance. walks us through the celebration with an easy-to-follow, “how-to” approach, allowing us to experience a traditional Shabbat.

Stone Chumash (Artscroll)

By: Rabbi Nosson Scherman
The Torah, Haftaros, and Five Megillos with a commentary from Rabbinic writings

Stone Tanach (Artscroll)

By: Rabbi Nosson Scherman

The complete Jewish bible including Torah, Prophets and Writings.

Artscroll Siddur

By: Rabbi Nosson Scherman & Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz
A Prayer book for our times, it speaks to today’s Jew, relating the thoughts and words of our heritage to the mind and heart of modern, sophisticated Jews.

Genesis & The Big Bang

By: Gerald L. Schroeder
A ground-breaking work that confronts the cosmological debate head-on. The author, a former M.I.T. professor of nuclear physics and member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, is now a Discovery lecturer in Jerusalem.

The Thinking Jewish Teenagers Guide To Life

By: Akiva Tatz

This book powerfully explains some of the deepest concepts in Judaism, demonstrating how those ideas and principles can, and should, guide decisions, relationships and growth to real maturity. There’s no “talking down” here; there’s just straight inspiration, depth, and many answers.

What the Angel Taught You

By: R’Noah Weinberg & Yaakov Salomon

In their new ground-breaking book, “What the Angel Taught You; Seven Keys to Life Fulfillment,” two world-renowned educators collaborate to ask and answer some of the most compelling questions we all seem to have. What does God really want from me? What is the highest class of pleasure in this world? How do I get my prayers answered? How do I know if my decisions are right? What is the definition of love? Are there any absolute truths on Earth? How does free will bring me happiness? Why was Man created?

Reading list by topic:

1. CHUMASH – The Five Books of Moses

The Living Torah, by Aryeh Kaplan (Moznaim Publishing Corp.) – A translation in modern English with notes, maps, and charts.

The Pentateuch: Samson Raphael Hirsch, translated by Isaac Levy (Judaic Press Ltd. Gateshead England) – A 6-volume translation of Hirsch’s commentary which connects the simple meaning of the verses with their Talmudic and symbolic interpretations.

The Pentateuch: Trumath Tzvi, edited by Ephraim Oratz, English translation by Gertrude Hirschler (Judaica Press, Inc. N.Y.)

Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah, translated by Charles B. Chavel, (Shilo Publishing House, Inc.) – In depth commentary on the Chumash by one of the foremost Jewish philosophers and Kabbalists.

Artscroll: Tanach Series, Chumash(Mesorah Publications). Translation, overviews, and digest of commentaries.

The Pentateuch with the Commentary of Rashi, M. Rosenbaum and I. M. Silberman (Published by the Silberman family) – 5 volumes.

Beginning and Upheaval, The Patriarchs, Into Nationhood, translated by Zvi Faier (1978 Hillel Press) – Commentary of the Malbim showing synthesis between the Written and Oral Law through vigorous analysis of Hebrew language and grammar.

Prisms, by Michael Schoen (Targum Press) – Novellae on Chumash Bereshis.

Yalkut Meam Loez: The Torah Anthology (various translators, no editor named) (Moznaim Publications) – A classic and encyclopedic collection of midrashim, commentaries, and stories covering the entire Tanach.

Aseres Hadibros, Artscroll, by R. Avrohom Chaim Feuer (Mesorah Publications) – The Ten Commandments with translation and a digest of commentaries.

2. NACH – The Prophets and Writings

The Jerusalem Bible (Koren Publishers, Jerusalem) – Hebrew text and English translation.

The Psalms with translation and commentary of S.R.Hirsch, English translation by Gertrude Hirschler (Feldheim Inc.)

Turnabout: The Story of Purim, by Mendel Weinbach (Nachat Publications) – A look behind the scenes at the story of Purim.

Samson’s Struggle, by Gershon Weiss (Kol HaYeshiva Publications) – A Torah view of the famous Samson and Delilah story.

Mother of Royalty: The Scroll of Ruth, by Yehoshua Bachrach, English translation by Leonard Oschry (Feldheim Publishers) – In-depth commentary based on Talmudic sources.

Judaica Books of the Prophets, edited by A.J. Rosenberg (Judaica Press Inc. N.Y.) – Digest of commentaries and new translation.

Artscroll Series: The Books of the Tanach, (Mesorah Publicatins) – Overviews, commentary digest, and new translation.

David, King of Israel, by Henry Biberfeld (The Spiro Foundation) – An inspiring analysis of the life of King David.

Artscroll Tehilim Treasury, by Avraham Chaim Feuer (Artscroll, Mesorah Publications) – Stories and explanations based on the Psalms.

3. SHABBOS AND FESTIVALS

Book of Our Heritage, by Eliyahu Kitov, translated to English by Nathan Bulman (Feldheim Publishers) – Laws, customs and history of the Jewish holidays. 3 volumes

The Sabbath, by Dayan Dr. Isidor Grunfield (Feldheim Publishers) – A classic analysis of the concept of “work” on Shabbos, and the philosophy of Shabbos.

Sabbath: Day of Eternity, by Aryeh Kaplan (NCSY) – Concise explanation of the philosophy of Shabbos and its significance and central role in Judaism.

Menuchah VeSimchah, by Mordechai Katz (Feldheim. JEP (Jewish Education Program) Publications) – Laws of Shabbos and Festivals.

Shemirath Shabbath, by Yehoshua Neuwirth, English prepared by W. Grangewood with Hebrew Author (Feldheim) – Detailed and extensive compilation of the laws of Shabbat.

The Halachos of Muktza – by Yisroel P. Bodner (distributed by Halacha Publications, Lakewood, New Jersey).

Zemiroth: Sabbath Songs, edited by Noson Scherman and Meir Zlotowtz, (Artscroll, Mesorah Publications) – A collection of Shabbos songs, with translation and commentary.

Seasons of the Soul, Artscroll, edited by Nisson Wolpin, (Mesorah Publications) – Essays on the significance and symbolism of the Jewish holidays.

The Story of Tishah B’Av: Meam Lo’ez, by R. Yaakov Culi and R. Yitzchak Bakchor Agruiti in 1773, translated by Aryeh Kaplan, (Moznaim Publishing Corp.).

The Festivals in Halachah, by Shlomo Yosef Zevin, (Artscroll, Mesorah Publications Ltd. N.Y. in conjection with Hillel Press, Jerusalem) – An analysis of the development of the laws of the Festivals.

The Haggadah, Artscroll, by R. Joseph Elias, (Mesorah Publications) – The Passover Seder service with translation, commentaries, overview and instructions in English.

The Hirsch Haggadah, by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Adapted from Haggadah Nachlas Hasar (edited by Mordechai ben Shamshun Brener), translated from original German by Karen Paritzky with portions translated from Hebrew by Leonard Oshry (Feldheim).

Haggadah of the Chassidic Masters, Artscroll, by Shalom Meir Wallach (Mesorah Publications).

Chol HaMoed, by Dovid Zucker and Moshe Francis (Halacha Publication, Lakewood, New Jersey) – The Halachos of the Intermediate Days of the Festivals.

Yom Tov Sheini Kehilchaso, by Yerachmiel Fried (Targum/Feldheim). The halachos of the second day of Yom Tov. Halachos of Shabbos

Halachos of the Eiruv and Halachos of Pesach Shimon Eider, (Published in Lakewood New Jersey)

Halachos of the Three Weeks

Halachos of the Four Species

Halachos of Purim

Halachos of Chanuka

Halachos of Pesach

Artscroll, insights by Shimon Finkelman, Laws by Moshe Dov Stein and Moshe Lieber, (Mesorah Publications) – Passover, its observance, Laws and Significance.

The Shabbos Kitchen, Artscroll, by R. Simcha Bunim Cohen (Mesorah Publications) – A comprehensive halachic guide to food preperation and other kitchen activities on Shabbos.

Shabbos – The Sabbath, by Rabbi Shimon Finkelman (Artscroll, Mesorah Publications) – Its essence and significance.

4. TESHUVAH

Days Are Coming, by Ezriel Tauber (Shalheves) – A story symbolizing the contemporary teshuvah movement, and predictions of Chazal concerning teshuvah and the Messianic age.

Pathways, by Shlomo Wolbe (Feldheim) – A philosophy of repentance by one of the foremost of contemporary ethicists.

Teshuvah: A Practical Guide to Repentance, by S.Wagshall – A halachic guide to the mitzvah of teshuvah.

Black Becomes a Rainbow, by Agi L. Bauer (Feldheim) – A true story of the ups and downs of parent-children relationships when a child becomes observant.

Waking Up Jewish, by Uri Zohar (Hamesora Publications, Jerusalem) – Autobiographical account of the famous Israeli entertainer’s return to Judaism.

5. MITZVOT – Rationale of the Commandments

The 613 Mitzvos: A Study Guide, by Alon I.Tolwin (Aish HaTorah Publications) – Brief synopses of the mitzvos and their source texts.

The Mitzvot, by Abraham Chill (Keter Books, Jerusalem) -Basic presentation of the commandments with a synopsis of the rationales given by the various commentaries.

The Minhagim, by Abraham Chill (Sepher-Hermon Press, New York) – Reasons and sources for Jewish customs.

Horeb, by Samson Raphael Hirsch , translated and annotated by Dayan Dr. I. Grunfeld (Soncino Press, London) – An in-depth philosophical interpretation of Jewish laws and observances.

Sefer HaChinuch, by Aaron HaLevi of Barcelona , translation and notes by Charles Wengrove (Feldheim) – Presentation of the mitzvos according to the order of the weekly portion, outlining the basic laws and reasons for the mitzvos and sources for additional details of law.

5 volumes. The Royal Table, by Jacob Cohn (Feldheim) – A concise guide to the rationale and laws of kashrus.

G-d, Man and Tefillin, by Aryeh Kaplan (NCSY) – The mystical significance of tefillin (phylacteries).

Tzitzit: Thread of Light, by Aryeh Kaplan (NCSY) – Explanation of the commandment of tzitzis (fringes, tallit).

Waters of Eden by Aryeh Kaplan (NCSY) – Mystical significance of the mikveh and the laws of family purity.

Sanctity and Science, by Yonason Binyomin Goldberger (Feldheim) – History, laws, methods, stories, scientific and medical aspects of circumcision.

The Taryag Mitzvos, by Rabbi Aharon Yisrael Kahan (Keser Torah Publications) – A concise compilation with stories and philosophical reasons culled from Talmudic, Midrashic, and Rabbinic Sources.

The Concise Book of Mitzvah, compiled by the Chofetz Chaim, (Feldheim) – A very concise index of today’s mitzvot with special section on Eretz Yisroel.

6. PHILOSOPHY

The Handbook of Jewish Thought, by Aryeh Kaplan (Moznaim Publishing Corp.) – Covers an amazing multitude of basic Jewish Facts and Beliefs.

Kuzari, by Rabbi Yehudah HaLevi, introduction by Henry Slonimsky (Schocken Books, N.Y.)- Classic work on Jewish philosophy in the form of a dialogue between a rabbi and a gentile king. Presents arguments against Greek philosophy, Christianity, and Islam; gives historical verification of Judaism.

The Infinite Light, by Aryeh Kaplan (NCSY) – A concise formulation of the Jewish concept of God based on Talmudic and Kabbalistic sources.

The Informed Soul, by Dovid Gottlieb (Mesorah Publications (Artscroll)) – An analytical approach to some central philosophical questions involved in understanding Judaism. The author was formerly a professor of analytical philosophy at Johns Hopkins University.

Masterplan, by Aryeh Carmel (Jerusalem Academy Publications) – An overview of Judaism, combining philosophy and practice in contemporary language and concepts.

If You Were G-d, by Aryeh Kaplan (NCSY) – An essay on the purpose of creation and the mechanics of Divine Providence; ideas about the soul and life-after-death in contemporary terminology.

Halachic Man, by Joseph B. Soloveichik (Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia) – An in-depth philosophical study of Jewish Law and its relationship to the physical world.

The Halachic Mind, by Joseph B. Soloveichik (Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia) – Sequel to Halachic Man.

Introduction to Horeb, by I.Grunfield (Soncino Press) – The philosophical and historical background of Samson Raphael Hirsch’s world view.

The 2001 Principle, by Mordechai Ben Yosef and Gershon Robinson (“HED” Press Ltd.) – An analysis of the teleological argument for the existence of God and an examination of the weaknesses in the theory of evolution.

The Road Back, by Mayer Schiller (Feldheim) -Jewish philosophy for the Western Jew.

The Nineteen Letters, by Samson Raphael Hirsch, prepared by Jacob Breuer (Feldheim) – Jewish philosophy in the form of correspondence between a student and a teacher.

This Is My God, by Herman Wouk (Doubleday and Co., N.Y.) – A personal approach to Jewish life, practice and philosophy by the famous author.

The Bridge of Life, by Yechiel Michel Tukichinsky (Etz Hayim, Jerusalem) – Jewish thought on the subjects of death and the World to Come.

The Blueprint of Creation: The Chafetz Chaim on Torah Study, translated by Raphael Blumberg (Beis Yechiel).

Living Inspired, by Akiva Tatz (Targum) – A mystical review of underlying Jewish concepts.

7. KABBALAH – Mysticism and Metaphysics

The Way of God, by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Feldheim) – A systematic approach to Jewish philosophy and practice, from the purpose of creation to the daily practices based on Kabbalah.

The Knowing Heart, by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Feldheim) – Companion to previous work in the form of a dialogue between the soul and the intellect.

Faith and Folly, by Yakov M. Hillel (Feldheim) – The occult in a Torah perspective.

The Soul of the Matter, by Gershon Winkler (Judaica Press, N.Y.) – Basic principles of mysticism.

8. PRAYER AND THE SIDDUR

The Complete Artscroll Siddur (Mesorah Publications) – Modern translation of text of prayers with overview and selection of commentaries on the prayer book, as well as instructions and laws in English.

The Artscroll Shmoneh Esreh, by Avraham Feuer (Mesorah Publications). An anthology of commentaries on the central prayer of the siddur.

The Artscroll Machzorim (Mesorah Publications) – A set of five Festival and High Holiday prayer books.

The Hirsch Siddur, by Samson Raphael Hirsch, (Feldheim) – Translation and in-depth commentary.

To Pray as a Jew, by Hayim Halevy Donin (Basic Books, Inc. N.Y.) – Jewish outlook on prayer and brief outline of its laws.

The World of Prayer, by E.Munk (Feldheim) – 2 volumes.

Kaddish, Artscroll, edited by Nosson Scherman and Meir Zlotowitz (Mesorah Publications) – The Kaddish with translation, commentaries, laws, and customs.

9. TALMUD

The Artscroll Talmud (Mesorah Publications) – Translated and annotated in contemporary English.

Artscroll Mishnah Series (Mesorah Publications) – Translated and annotated in contemporary English.

The Infinite Chain: Torah, Mesorah & Man, by Nathan Lopes-Cardozo (Targum/Feldheim) – Philosophical and historic background and verification of the Oral Law.

The Oral Law, by Harry C. Schimmel (Feldheim) – Description and categorization of the Oral Law (not too technical).

The Juggler and the King, by Aharon Feldman (Feldheim) – Explanations of the allegories and riddles in the Aggadic sections of the Talmud based on the Gaon of Vilna’s interpretations.

The Ways of Reason, by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto – The thought processes and logical principles of the Sages.

The Student’s Guide Through the Talmud, by Avi Hirsch Chajes, translated from Hebrew and annotated by Jacob Schachter (Feldheim) – Detailed and technical analysis and explanations of the various elements of the Oral Law, for the serious student.

The Dynamics of Dispute, by Zvi Lampel (Judaica Press) – A study of the concept, history, and mechanics of scholarly disputes within Jewish tradition.

Understanding The Talmud, by Yitzchak Feigenbaum (Feldheim) – An introduction to Talmud study through the use of flow charts.

Gateway to the Talmud, by Meir Zvi Bergman (Artscroll, Mesorah Publications).

The Practical Talmud Dictionary, by Yitzchak Frank (Ariel, United Israel Institutes, Jerusalem).

Dictionary of the Talmud, by Marcus Jastrow (Judaica Press) – Aramaic- English.

10. MEN AND WOMEN

Jewish Woman in Jewish Law, by Moshe Meiselman (Ktav Publishing House) – An analysis of the status, obligations, and rights of women in Jewish Law.

Our Lives – vols. 1 & 2, edited by Sarah Shapiro (Targum – Feldheim). Essays, stories, and poetry by Orthodox Jewish women.

The Jewish Way in Love and Marriage, by Maurice Lamm (Harper and Row). A guide to the Jewish view of marriage.

To Become One, by Ezriel Tauber (Shalheves) – The Torah outlook on marriage.

A Hedge of Roses, by Norman Lamm (Feldheim) – Philosophy of the family purity laws.

The Antidote, by Shraga Silverstein (Feldheim) – A Jewish view on human sexuality.

Jewish Alternatives in Love, Dating and Marriage, by Pinchas Stolper (NCSY).

The Jew and His Home, by Eliyahu Kitov, translation and introduction by Nathan Bulman (Shengold Publishers) – Comprehensive guide to Jewish family life.

Made in Heaven, by Aryeh Kaplan (Moznaim) – A guide to the Jewish wedding ceremony.

The Magic Touch, by G.Manelson – A Jewish view on physical relationships.

Doesn’t Anyone Blush Anymore, by M.Freedman -Jewish sexual ethics in contemporary society.

11. JEWISH LAW

Concise Code of Jewish Law, by Gersion Appel (Ktav Publishing House). Practical everyday Jewish law for the beginner.

Lishmor Vela’asot (title is in Hebrew), by Mordechai Katz (JEP – Feldheim) – Practical Jewish law for the beginner.

The Halachot of the Ben Ish Hai, translated by Shmuel Hiley (published by Yeshivath Hevrath Ahavath Shalom, distributed by Feldheim) – A classic collection of laws and customs by the Sephardi scholar, Rav Yosef Chaim of Baghdad. 2 volumes.

Guard Your Tongue, by Zelig Pliskin (Aish HaTorah Publications) – Laws of slander, gossip, falsehood, and the ethics of speech.

The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning, by Maurice Lamm (Jonathon Morris Publishers) – Laws and philosophy of the mourning period.

Brochos: The Halachos of Brochos, by Yisroel P. Bodner (Artscroll) – Laws of blessings before and after eating. Halichos Bat Yisrael, by Yitzchak Yakov Fuchs (Feldheim) – A halachic guide for women.

The Healing Visit, by Chana Shofnos and Bat Tova Zwebner (Targum/Feldheim) – Halachos, customs, and importance of the mitzvah of visiting the sick.

Economics and Jewish Law: Halakhic Perspectives, by Aaron Levine (Yeshiva University Press).

Torah Guide for the Businessman, by S.Wagschal – Jewish business law and ethics.

The Secret of Jewish Femininity, by Tehilla Abramov (Targum/Feldheim)- Insights into the practice of family purity, with a halachic guide.

Daughter of Israel, by Kalman Kahana (Feldheim) – Concise laws of family purity.

In the Marketplace, by Meir Tamari (Targum/Feldheim) -Jewish economic and business ethics, by the former chief economist of the Bank of Israel.

Oholei Yeshurun, by Aaron Felder (New York 1980 R. Felder) – Laws of yichud, sheva berachos, tevillas kelim and hechsher kelim.

12. ETHICS AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT

Ahavath Chesed, Chofetz Chaim, English translation by Leonard Oschry (Feldheim) -Practice and philosophy of kindness.

The Gateway to Happiness, by Zelig Pliskin (Aish HaTorah Publications) – A self-help guide to happiness. Draws on traditional Jewish sources.

The Path of the Just, by Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, translated by Shraga Silverstein (Feldheim) – Classic guide to character improvement by a major Kabbalist.

Strive For Truth, by Eliyahu Dessler, rendered and annotated by Aryeh Carmell (Feldheim) -Insights into mussar and Jewish philosophy. 3 volumes.

Ethics From Sinai, by Irving Bunim (Feldheim) – The Mishnaic tractate, “Ethics of the Fathers,” translated and explained.

Let Us Make Man, by Abraham J. Twerski (Traditional Press, Inc.) – Self-esteem through Jewishness by a Chassidic rabbi and psychiatrist.

Love Your Neighbor, by Zelig Pliskin (Aish HaTorah Publications) – Traditional sources and stories about human relationships.

Waking up Just in Time, by Abraham J. Twerski – Using Charles Schultz’s Peanuts characters and the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program, a well-known rabbi/psychiatrist shows how a person can powerfully reconstruct his life for the better.

When do the Good Things Start, by Abraham J Twerski – A “cartoon” book which deals with a positive attitude towards life.

13. CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

Contemporary Halachic Problems, by J. David Bleich (Ktav Publishing House) – 3 volumes.

Jewish Bioethics, by Fred Rosner & J. David Bleich (Sanhedrin Press). Articles on medical ethics from the Jewish point of view.

Challenge, by Cyril Domb and Aryeh Carmell (Feldheim) – Torah views on science and its problems by the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists.

Encounter, by H. Chaim Schimmel and Aryeh Carmell (Feldheim) – Sequel to Challenge.

Jewish Medical Ethics, by Immanuel Jacobovitz (Bloch Publishing Company, N.Y.) – Philosophy of Jewish medical ethics by the former Chief Rabbi of England.

Comprehensive Guide to Medical Halachah, by Abraham Abraham (Feldheim).

In The Beginning, by Nathan Aviezer (Ktav Publishing House) – Biblical creation and science, a synthesis of the two by a physicist at Bar-Ilan University.

Crossroads, by Tzomet -Halachic issues in the State of Israel. 2 volumes.

Fusion, by Shamir- Essays on the Torah and contemporary science.

14. THE LAND OF ISRAEL

The Land of Our Heritage, by David Rossof (Targum/Feldheim). Historical and philosophical background to the Jewish claim to Israel.

To Dwell in the Palace, edited by Tzvia Ehrlich-Klein (Feldheim) – A spritual guide to life in the Holy Land.

Jerusalem: Eye of the Universe, by Aryeh Kaplan (NCSY) – The centrality of Jerusalem in Jewish thought.

Safed: The Mystical City, by David Rossof (Feldheim Publications). Jewish Israel, (N.I.M.A. Publications) – A travel guide to the land of Israel.

Battleground: Fact and Fantasy in Palestine - S.Katz – A history of the Jewish-Arab conflict in the land of Israel.

15. KASHRUS AND KOSHER COOKING

The Jewish Dietary Laws, by Isidor Grunfield (Soncino Press) – Detailed treatise on the laws of kashrus and the agricultural laws applicable in Israel. 2 volumes.

Kashruth, by Yacov Lipshutz (Artscroll) – The dietary laws in contemporary society.

A Practical Guide to Kashrut, by S. Wagschal (Feldheim). Is It Kosher?, by E. Eidlitz (Feldheim) – Food technology and kashrus certification in the modern world.

The Spice and Spirit of Kosher Jewish Cooking, (Bloch Publishing) – Traditional menus and dishes together with brief explanations about laws and customs of Jewish festive cooking.

Classic Kosher Cooking – Finkel.

The Passover Feast, (American Mizrahi Women) – Cooking on Pesach. Kosher Calories, by Tziporah Spear (Artscroll) – A list of kosher products available in the USA, kashrus certifications, and calorie contents of the products.

The Shabbos Kitchen, by Simcha Bunim Cohen (Artscroll) – A comprehensive halachic guide to the preparation of food, and other kitchen activities on Shabbos.

16. HISTORY

Triumph of Survival, by Berel Wein (Shaar Press) – History of the Jewish people from the sixteenth century to the present day.

Artscroll History Series 1 -Jewish history until the time of the Second Temple.

Artscroll History Series 2: From Yavne to Pumbedisa – Jewish history from the destruction of the Second Temple until the end of the Gaonic period.

Challenge of Sinai, by Zechariah Fendel (Hashkafa Publications, N.Y.)- History of the transmission of the Jewish tradition. Anvil of Sinai, by Zechariah Fendel (Hashkafa Publications, N.Y.) – History of the transmission of the Jewish tradition.

Legacy of Sinai, by Zechariah Fendel (Hashkafa Publications, N.Y.) – History of the transmission of the Jewish tradition.

Biblical Personalities & Archaeology, by Leah Bronner (Keter Publishing) – Archaeology and the accuracy of the Torah.

God, Man and History, by E. Berkovitz – Divine Providence and human freewill in Jewish history.

Torah Nation, by Avigdor Miller (Balshon Printing and Offset Co. Brooklyn, N.Y.) – A traditional outlook on Jewish history.

Behold, A People, by Avigdor A.Miller (Balson Printing and Offset Co.) – Companion to the above book.

The Mussar Movement, by Rabbi Dov Katz, translated from Hebrew by Leonard Oschry, (Orly Press) – Mussar’s history, leading personalities, and doctrines. 3 volumes.

17. ANTI-SEMITISM AND THE HOLOCAUST

Path Through the Ashes, edited by Nisson Wolpin (Artscroll)- Approaches to the Holocaust in rabbinic literature.

Chassidic Tales of the Holocaust, by Yaffa Eliach (Avon Books). The Final Resolution, by Benzion Allswang (Feldheim) – Jewish philosophy and anti-semitism.

The Unheeded Cry, by Abraham Fuchs (Artscroll) – Rav Weissmandel’s struggle to save the Jews of Europe and to arouse an apathetic world.

Responsa from the Holocaust, by Ephraim Oschry (Judaica Press) – Legal problems raised by the Holocaust and rabbinic responses to them.

With God in Hell, by Eliezer Berkovitz (Sanhedrin Press) – Jewish belief and practice in the ghettos and death camps.

Why the Jews?, by Dennis Prager and Joseph Telushkin (Simon & Schuster) – Answers to the title question of the underlying reasons for anti- Semitism.

18. MISSIONARIES AND CULTS

The Jew and the Christian Missionary, by Gerald Sigal (Ktav Publishing House) – Jewish responses to Christian missionaries.

Jews for Nothing, by Dov Aharon Fisch (Feldheim) – Jews who joined cults and Christian groups.

The Real Messiah, by Aryeh Kaplan (NCSY) – Refutation of Christian Messianic claims.

The Disputation, Anonymous (Scholarly Publications) – Refutation of Christian Messianic claims in dialogue format.

Their Hollow Inheritance, by Michoel Drazin – Refutation of missionaries.

You take J., I’ll take G-d, by Samuel Levine (Hamoroh Press L.A. Calif.) -Arguments against missionaries.

19. DICTIONARIES AND LANGUAGE

The Complete Hebrew English Dictionary, by R. Alcalay (Chemed Books, Massada, Yedioth Ahronoth) – Hebrew-English, English- Hebrew.

The Word, by Isaac Mozeson (Shapolsky Publishers N.Y.) – The Hebrew sources of the world’s languages.

Hayesod, Luba Uveeler and Norman M. Bronznick (Feldheim) – Textbook of Hebrew grammar for college age students.

By Rabbi Akiva Pollack

November 8th, 2011

Last night, one of the greatest Rabbis of our generation went on to the next world. Rabbi Nosson Tzvi Finkel  was an American born Rabbi who was respected by the greatest people of the generation although he was relatively young. Please read the following story to hear my personal experience with this great sage.

Just Another Bochur in Mir
As a young Bochur (young man) learning in the (Yeshiva) Mir Yerushalayim, it can be extremely disconcerting to find one’s place in a yeshiva of over 3000 talmidim (students). I had come from a small yeshiva and was not used to the hustle and bustle of a large institution. As I started to get settled into my new Yeshiva I was told that as large as the yeshiva was, The Rosh hayeshiva Ztz’l (Dean), in his tzidkus (greatness), was willing to learn with any bochur who asked to learn with him. To say that I was a bit skeptical would be an understatement. How could it be that Harav Nosson Tzvi Finkel Ztz’l, a man who ran the largest yeshiva in the world at the time and lived with Parkinsons disease, could possibly find time to learn with anyone who simply asked. Nevertheless, I approached the Rosh Hayeshiva one evening, introduced myself and asked him if he had any time to learn with me. To my amazement, the Rosh Hayeshiva thought for a moment, and asked me to come to his house on the following Tuesday evening.
Needless to say as I approached the house I was a bit nervous. I knocked on the door and was greeted by a member of the family. I proudly said that I had an appointment to learn with the Rosh Hayeshiva and asked if he was available. To my chagrin I was told that the Rosh Hayeshiva was at the Chasunah (wedding) of a Talmid and would not be able to meet tonight. I was very disappointed but I understood that the Rosh Hayeshiva was an extremely busy man. I was sure that there was not a night that went by without a myriad of obligations that the Rosh Hayeshiva had to take care of. I was not yet ready to give up though and decided to try again next week.
The following week I once again knocked on the Rosh Hayeshiva’s door only to be told that the Rosh Hayeshiva was home but was too tired to meet with anyone. All of the talmidim knew about the super human strength the Rosh Hayeshiva needed just to get up in the morning and I just couldn’t bring myself to try and talk my way in. I was extremely disappointed, though. I pretty much gave up at that point. I cannot say that I was upset but more than a bit surprised that the Rosh Hayeshiva would agree in the first place to learn with me if he was truly unable.
I did not realize it at the time but the next encounter I would have with the Rosh Hayeshiva would change my life forever. The Tuesday after I was turned away from the door of the Rosh Hayeshiva, I was walking out of the Mir after lunch when I was approached by none other than the Rosh Hayeshiva himself. In his incredibly quiet manner he apologized for not being able to meet with me the last two weeks and guaranteed me that if I would stop by tonight, he would make sure he was available. I could not believe that the Rosh Hayeshiva actually remembered me enough to recognize me and approach me.
I showed up that night and once again knocked on the door. This time however I was let right in. The Rosh Hayeshiva was lying on the couch resting from a long day. It was obvious to me that he was absolutely spent. He did not have one ounce of strength left. In utter exhaustion, he got up from his couch and slowly walked with me over to the table. We sat down together and I waited for the Rosh Hayeshiva to speak. Instead he just looked at me waiting for me to speak. “Uh, What does the Rosh Hayeshiva want to learn?” I asked like a school boy in the principal’s office. He smiled at me and said, “You’re the boss, what do you think?” I told him that I wanted to learn mussar (ethics), perhaps something about laziness. At this point I assumed the Rosh Hayeshiva would shmuez with me about the importance of making every moment count or perhaps tell me over some divrei Torah focusing on the midah (trait) of zrizus (proactiveness) in Mitzvos. Instead, the Rosh Hayeshiva did something that I will never forget for the rest of my life. Without a second thought and as tired and week as he was, he literally jumped out of his chair, hurried to the bookshelf and pulled out a Musser Sefer (holy book). It was as if he had a sudden burst of energy suddenly fill his body. I watched in utter shock as a man who was completely exhausted just moments ago, came back to life right before my eyes. We learned together for another ½ hour. A half hour Me’ayn Olam Habah (in total bliss).
To tell you the truth I don’t even remember what the sefer was and I don’t remember a word of what we learnt. But I will never forget the incredible energy the Rosh Hayeshiva suddenly exhibited. It was a lesson not of words but of action and one that I have put to use many times. Whenever I feel tired after a long day at work and am not in the mood to do something, I remember the incredible actions of the Rosh Hayeshiva. If anyone had an excuse to be lazy it was the Rosh hayeshiva. I realized at that moment that there is only one way to overcome that midah or any bad midah. You can learn about it from today till tomorrow but until you jump out of that seat it’s really not something you can internalize. I stayed in the yeshiva for another two years. Unfortunately I only learned with the Rosh Hayeshiva one more time but the lessons I learned have lasted a life time. The Rosh Hayeshiva Ztz’l will be sorely missed by everyone. Especially by the talmud who was just one of three thousand.
-Akiva Pollack

Take a look at the following link to see a story by Howard Shultz, CEO of Starbucks and his encounter with this great sage.
http://www.aish.com/ci/be/48880957.html

Thank you to our Alumni Eleonora Khananayeva for this find!! Want to blog for us or have anything interesting to share? Send us a line – info@rajon.com

Republished from New York Magazine.
By Jesse Green Published Nov 6, 2011

Irving Kahn is about to celebrate his 106th birthday. He still goes to work every day. Scientists are studying him and several hundred other Ashkenazim to find out what keeps them going. And going. And going. The secrets of the alter kockers.

(Photo: Christopher Lane)

“Don’t be sad,” says Finklestein on his deathbed. “I’ve had 80 good years.”
“But you’re 98!” says his wife.
“I know.”
———————-
Except for the occasional doctor’s appointment or bad cold, Irving Kahn hasn’t skipped a day of work in more years than he can remember. And he can remember plenty of them: He’s 105.

That record is vexing to his youngest son, Thomas Graham Kahn, who though 69 and president of Kahn Brothers, their brokerage and money-management firm, is still called Tommy. (Irving is chairman.) How can he take a vacation if his father won’t?

Instead, Tommy threatens to dock his dad for his short workday, which begins around ten and ends by three and often includes a nice bowl of soup. “It’s not like we have so many employees we can afford to have him shluf off,” Tommy says.

Tommy runs the business, which has about $700 million under management. But even though Irving, with his very short stature and very large glasses, looks a bit like a horned owl peering up from his desk—a desk that features both a computer and grip bars—he is no figurehead. His is still the corner office, 22 floors above Madison Avenue. (During the blackout of 2003, he walked down.) He gives or withholds the papal blessing on investment policy and reviews every transaction undertaken by the firm’s youngsters on behalf of clients.

The world’s oldest stockbroker, he first went to work on Wall Street in 1928. “This was before the Depression,” he says, then specifies which depression, as if I might confuse it with the one in the 1890s. Both are real to him; through a chain of memory leading back to his grandparents, Eastern European Jews who settled on the Lower East Side shortly before that earlier upheaval, he can almost touch the Civil War.

More directly, he can touch the technological revolutions that followed. He describes his father’s good fortune in getting into the lighting-fixture business in the years after “Mr. Edison opened his downtown office”—the one that brought electric power to Manhattan in 1882. He remembers with perfect clarity building a crystal radio in his bedroom around 1920 and amazing his mother, who thought music came only from Victrolas, with the music he “caught for free.”

When you’re 53, as I am, and believe yourself to be on the wrong side of life’s unknowable midpoint, a conversation with someone who will soon be twice your age, and who furthermore has retained all his marbles, can be disorienting. For one thing, it has the effect of collapsing a century into a pancake. Czar Nicholas II and Barack Obama, gaslight and computer glow, grandmothers and grandchildren: All are contemporaries, all in sharp focus.

The indiscriminate urgency of memory is disorienting for Irving as well. “I’d rather not know who I was and who I knew and what I did,” he says. “It uses up space I need for today.”

By “today,” incredibly, he also means the future. All conversations with Irving eventually wobble back to his favorite ruts, such as how new technology might affect the viability of companies he follows. “I don’t worry about dying,” he says, assuming it will happen in his sleep. Instead he worries about staying mentally agile, which is why he reads three newspapers daily and watches all the C-Spans. “I know people collect postage stamps, but that’s just one thing. It’s about having multiple interests.”

He does not say multiple attachments; his own upbringing—his mother ran a shirtwaist business out of the home—suggested the value of independence and keeping an eye on the horizon. Newness served his family well: “A new country, a new language, a new public school, a new college.” At his home a mile up Madison—until he was 102 he took the bus—he has, he says proudly, “thousands of books, not one fiction. Mostly I’m interested in what’s on the edges: solar energy, sending vehicles beyond the moon.”

His belief in a personal future that will repay this curiosity—a future I can hardly imagine for myself without worries of illness and decrepitude—is what’s most disorienting about Irving Kahn. You’d think that as he got older, then even older, and then bizarrely old, he’d have had ever more opportunities to despair. And, true, his eyesight and “earsight” aren’t what they were. He can’t walk much on his own anymore. He despises these limitations but ignores or finds ways to outwit them. Loss as well. His wife’s death, in 1996, was a huge blow, Tommy reports, but Irving “put his foot down a little more on the pedal, if that was possible.” When macular degeneration recently made reading difficult, he learned to enlarge the font on what he calls his Gimble.

It helps that he is wealthy enough to have full-time attendants. Also, perhaps, that he has always been a “low liver,” without flamboyant tastes, as his brown, pointy-collared shirt and brown patterned tie attest. He goes to bed at eight, gets up at seven, takes vitamins because his attendants tell him to. (He drew the line at Lipitor, though, when a doctor suggested it a few years back.) He wastes few gestures; as we speak, his hands remain elegantly folded on his desk.

Still, a man who at 105—he’ll be 106 on December 19—has never had a life-threatening disease, who takes no cholesterol or blood-pressure medications and can give himself a clean shave each morning (not to mention a “serious sponge bath with vigorous rubbing all around”), invites certain questions. Is there something about his habits that predisposed a long and healthy life? (He smoked for years.) Is there something about his attitude? (He thinks maybe.) Is there something about his genes? (He thinks not.) And here he cuts me off. He’s not interested in his longevity.

But scientists are. A boom in centenarians is just around the demographic bend; the National Institute on Aging predicts that their number will grow from the 37,000 counted in 1990 to as many as 4.2 million by 2050. Pharmaceutical companies and the National Institutes of Health are throwing money into longevity research. Major medical centers have built programs to satisfy the demand for data and, eventually, drugs. Irving himself agreed to have his blood taken and answer questions for the granddaddy of these studies, the Longevity Genes Project at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, which seeks to determine whether people who live healthily into their tenth or eleventh decade have something in common—and if so, whether it can be made available to everyone else.

What have the researchers learned? Not what Irving wanted to know, which was only whether those who live longer have higher earning power. For the rest, like how he got involved in the Einstein study, he says, “You’ll have to ask my sister.”

To continue reading, please click here for the original article.

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