The Rebbetzin's Husband

Our Toronto beit midrash is housed in the Clanton Park shul, which davens a nusach that varies from my own. [ There are different versions -...

[ Haveil Havalim is here ! ] I’ve never had to choose a minyan; as a child I davened in my parents’ shul of choice, then I moved to a teen m...

My decrease in blogging frequency is mostly a function of the time I am now devoting to getting our new beit midrash off the ground, but the...

I won't deny that starting a new beit midrash is somewhat frightening. Although I am working with great people all around, the idea of m...

[ This week's Haveil Havalim is here ! ] Sorry I’ve been neglecting this blog, but my schedule has gone completely upside-down, particul...

Two hours to Binghamton on Tuesday Overnight at a hotel outside Binghamton Almost five hours, including three rest stops, to reach the Canad...

Yes, it’s our 12th anniversary today. Odd, the way calendars work out; we moved to Allentown on my rebbetzin’s birthday, and now we’re movin...

[ This week's Haveil Havalim is here . ] Trying to fit the last items (90% of everything we have ever owned, but those are still the ...

[ For those who came looking for my post from last night: Sorry, but I took it down. The post was too simplistic for the idea I wanted to co...

I have often wondered about our Mi sheBeirach l'cholim, the prayer we recite for people who are ill. Why do we mention specific people? ...

I was taught to lein (read publicly from the torah) by one of the finest baalei keriah (Torah readers) I have ever heard, and the ability ha...

Today was the day of The Last Derashah , my last Shabbat as rabbi here in Allentown. I opted not to post that derashah on the blog, for two ...

I mentioned here that I once surveyed my board, to get a better handle on their view of the rabbi's job description . In that survey, I...

The other day I was reminded of the difference between the beit midrash and the shul. It was an amusing reminder, and it made me think about...

We are taught that Tu b’Av - the fifteenth day of the month of Av on our calendar - is one of the two greatest days on the Jewish calendar, ...

I went to my first JACS (Jewish Alcoholics, Chemically Dependent Persons, and Significant Others) meeting Sunday evening. I’ve counseled ad...

Richard Dawkins, among others, has alleged that religion inspires immoral behavior. Judging from the events of last week, I’d have to conced...

I’ve been working on selecting a URL (web address) for our new Yeshiva University-Torah miTzion Beit Midrash of Toronto, and I’m having a ro...

( No, I don’t, but you’ll see what I mean in a few paragraphs. ) “Thou shalt not study Torah,” beginning at midday today, erev Tisha b’Av, a...

Back in May I wrote a post, “ Why shuls eat their rabbis ,” on the tendency of congregations to consume their rabbis (with or without ketchu...