It was a true honor and privilege to be a part of this worthwhile project. The production should be finished in February and I look forward to seeing that.

The camera crew shot some footage of our morning services and did two interviews. First, they interview Gary Dalin. Gary has been part of PJC since 1979 and provided great insight into the rich history of Pacific Jewish Center and the greater Venice Jewish community. He was eloquent and impressive in his interview and represented us very well. Great job Gary!

I was interviewed next. I hope I did okay. I myself have interviewed so many Jewish College student on camera and made those interviews into documentaries, so I know how hard it can be. (For two of my videos click here for JAM 2006 and click here for Chase Edler.) Among many topics, we talked about the juxtaposition of the historic quality of the Shul on the Beach to the future of outreach including this blog and my relative youth as a Rabbi. We also talked about the role the Shul plays in the boardwalk community, surrounded by the wild atmosphere of the boardwalk. It wasn’t too long, maybe a 35 minute interview in total, but we covered a lot of topics. Of course, there were some delinquents that felt the need to disturb us, that is just life on Venice Boardwalk…

I hope the final product reflects well on our special community and those who see it are inspired at least to check us out some time. I ended the interview with an open invitation to anyone who would like to see what we are all about and I extend that invitation to all of you reading this right now.

I also, want to thank Justin, Dan and Matt for including us in this project. I wish you much success in this endeavor and anything you do in the future.

Here are a couple pictures that Leslie Friedman took with her BlackBerry during the interview.

Chessed L’Avraham

The beginning of Parshas Vayera describes the hospitality uniquely associated with the home of Avraham Avinu and Sarah Imeinu. The psukim are filled with practical lessons in the “how to’s” of Chessed. The entire scenario with the malachim visiting Avraham as he recovers is inspiring.

One phrase in the story, v’hu omeid aleohem tachas haeitz vayocheilu encapsulates the art of being a ba’al chessed, a master of Chessed, teaching us how to give and how to receive. We learn that despite the pain of having just undergone a bris milah, Avraham, together with his wife prepared a feast for strangers. They not only presented each of them with a meal fit for a king, but personally waited on them, trying to fulfill their every desire.

Chazal derive a valuable perspective on the middah of chessed from this posuk. Kindness is also measured by the way in which it is performed. Surely, after Avraham presented this abundant feast, he could have gone back to his study and gone about his own business. He could have sent Yishmael, Eliezer or one of his other servants, to tend to his guests. This, however, may have been construed by the visitors as a lack of interest in their welfare. Avraham Avinu wanted them to know that at this point in time their needs were his most important and pressing concern. Acts of chessed are not enough. They must be combined with an attitude of chessed and a sensitivity to the feelings of others. Avraham’s sensitivity benefited us all. The personal involvement of Avraham in providing food, water and a doting interest in the welfare of his guests was reflected back to Klal Yisrael, midah kineged midah, in the form of the mon, be’er and annanei hakavod!

There is an art too, of being a recipient of chessed. This same posuk tells us that as the angels were presented a magnificent feast, vayocheilu,, and they (the angels) ate. Rashi quotes the Gemarah, which tells us that the angels made themselves appear to be eating like humans, in following with the precept of lo yishaneh adam min haminhag – a person should not deviate from the accepted practice. It is important to learn how to accept kindness from others in a manner that does not affect the sensitivities of the giver. Imagine how disappointed and offended Avraham and Sarah could have been if their guests, after all their work, would have said: “No thanks! We’re not hungry!” Hashem’s messengers model for us the role of “recipients of kindness.” Chessed is a two-way street. The giver has to know how to give, the recipient, how to receive, with each one concerned about the sensitivities of the other.

Still despite all the wonderful expressions of kindness modeled by Avraham Avinu, we cannot help but wonder why he is considered and designated as the Av, the father of chessed. After all, he was not alone in being a giving, caring and helpful person. Even Lot displayed a magnanimous nature and risked his very life when he greeted the malachim that came his way. So many personalities in Tanach are filled with goodness. What is it about Avraham that defined him as the Av of Chessed?

My father, Harav Berel Fink z”l, used to point out, that while it is true that there are many personalities throughout the Torah who were giants of chessed – when the need was there, only Avraham Avinu was a mitztaeir when he could not do chessed. Suffering pain when he was unable to be kind, that is what set Avraham apart as the model for us to strive to emulate. It is not enough to be reactive to need, we must be proactive in our chessed pursuits. So much so that it hurts when we cannot help!

There is so much each of us can do as we know, mirubim tzarchei amcha. We, too, must be so concerned and devoted to our fellow Jew that it hurts not to help whenever and wherever we can.

We all know that money is tight for Americans all across the country. Los Angeles is no exception and even in the middle to upper class neighborhood where we live there are some disturbing signs of desperation. Sure, there are for rent signs all over the place and people are conscious about saving and reducing their expenses, but the most painful demonstration of the economic crisis that I have heard is so much worse.

Around the corner from our home is a Ralph’s Supermarket. (That’s like Pathmark and Shoprite for the east coasters, Publix for you southerners and Schnucks for you midwesterners.) We go there for many basic grocery items, but in the past they have been notoriously over priced so we would go to Trader Joe’s for anything that we could find there as the prices were much better.

Recently, Ralph’s has had some great sales and overall their prices have come down. Even their coupons have been more generous. One glaring example of an overly generous coupon is the buy one baby formula get another baby formula free coupon. Free! That’s a big coupon. The only problem with using that coupon is that the formula section is often bare.

Even early in the day, Ralph’s is often sold out of all the baby formula that they stock.

My wife decided to ask a Ralph’s stock person about the low stock of baby formula. The stock person said “yeah, it’s always like this now, the thing is that people aren’t even buying it, we will sometimes go through our entire stock of baby formula without making one sale. People have crying babies at home that need to eat, but they can’t afford the baby formula, so they’ve been stealing it. Kids and adults can get by on other stuff, even cheap stuff, but babies need formula…” (Now the 5$ coupons make sense, Ralph’s would prefer that they buy the formula for a deeply discounted price rather than steal it.)

(Ralph’s now has the formula behind lock and key to prevent theft.)

When I heard that, it brought me to tears. As I type it right now, tears form in the corners of my eyes. I cannot imagine how disheartening it must be to a parent who cannot afford to feed one’s family.

For those of us who have what we need, it is a call to reach out and help our friends and neighbors who are going through difficult financial times. It is heartbreaking to hear about these stories, but it is reality.

We all know people who need help. Let us all try and share what we have with those who don’t.

He was performing at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood which was right near my home. I went and it was really cool. The music was great, the message was equally wholesome and the connection that I got to build with my students was profound.

I liked it enough that I took my wife to a Matisyahu show at the American Jewish University a few weeks later. It was a bad venue for a concert. It was more like a movie theater than the right venue for a reggae concert. Still, we enjoyed the music.

I knew that Matisyahu had made it, when I was listening to my then favorite sports radio show, “The Loose Canons” on AM 570 in Los Angeles (oh how I miss those guys…) and they played Chop ‘em Down as their bumper music. That was an epiphany for me. At that point, Matisyahu has “made it” in my books.

If that wasn’t sufficient proof that Matisyahu had “made it”, I received another clue a few weeks ago. I was playing the NBA 2K10 video game and the background music was… Matisyahu!

I found a video of the NBA 2K10 playlist so you can see for yourself.

I thought that was pretty cool.

But today around the blogosphere and on Twitter the latest Matisyahu news is regarding the new NBC advertisement for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

This is, by far, the best exposure that Matisyahu has seen in the public eye. The commercial is perfect. The content, the timing of the cuts, the slow – motion, the music and the message are woven together to create a really perfect ad. The emotion that the 30 second spot exudes are exactly what NBC wants you to feel.

I like NBC as a network and I hope that they can mount a comeback and become relevant again. This ad is a great start.

I am sure Matisyahu is proud to be part of such a great ad. I am proud to share it with you.

I began the class by announcing that this was a topic I longed to discuss for a very long time. I finally felt that the time was right.

We asked all the basic questions about prayer. We asked some advanced questions about prayer.

Using ideas from Rabbi Chaim Volozhin and others we pieced together a rational approach to prayer that made sense to us.

It was a very exciting class with outstanding participation and a very alert listening audience.

I really recommend giving this class a listen.

All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.

You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.

Enjoy.

Ramchal hearkens back to the methods of acquiring zehirus that we studied earlier and for the benefit of us all, we reviewed them together.

Along with any review comes new insights and understanding. Today was no different.

Audio is below.

All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.

You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.

A guest post by Rabbi Aaron Fink (my father), Dean of Ateres Bais Yaakov on Monsey NY. Part of a weekly Dvar Torah (Torah “Thought”) series.

Enlightened

The birth of Klal Yisrael is the story line of Parshas Lech Lecha. Our Mifarshim tell us that maasei avos siman labanim, the lives of our patriarchs and matriarchs set the patterns for Jewish eternity. Each and every nuance of their lives has relevance to each of us today.

One of many lessons can be learned this week from the very beginning of the parsha. It is found in the blessing and promise Hashem gives to Avraham Avinu for following his command of “Lech Lecha” to leave his home and travel forward to the unknown land of Canaan.

The posuk says v’avarcha mivarchecha umikallelcha a’ohr, l will bless those that bless you and those that curse you I will curse.” Meforshim note that when it comes to blessing, the Torah says v’avrcha mivarchecha using a double expression of bracha. But when it comes to cursing, the Torah says umikallelcha a’ohr applying two distinctly different verbal expressions of klalla. Why does the Torah not use a double lashon of klalla and say umikallelcha akaleil? It would follow the pattern of the beginning of the posuk. What are we being taught by the substitution of the word “aohr” for akaleil?

Some commentaries use this nuanced variation to explain a lesson of how we should approach personal criticism, derision, ridicule or misunderstanding from another. When confronted or insulted, the natural tendency of people is to react defensively to those who attack them. Sometime we even respond temper first. Nevertheless, the Torah is teaching us that the response to our critics should not be one of frustrated and reactive klala of our own. Rather we should react to adversity with a sense of a’ohr, which can also mean to “enlighten” from the word ohr – light. We do not have to respond to insult with anger. Instead we can guide, educate and inspire our critics. In fact, we ought to help them see the light. Indeed, the compelling challenge for those who are being challenged by others is not to lose their temper but instead to educate and enlighten those who, with a little more knowledge, would behave differently.

This attitude is especially vital to the unique mission of Klal Yisrael as an “ohr La’amim—a light to all nations.” We are charged to spread the light of the Shechina in all that we do. This can be can be accomplished by how we conduct ourselves. “Ma Hu af ata,” Our temperament reflects Him. When we demonstrate diracheha darchei noam, shalom and shalvah in all aspect of our avodas Hashem and in each facet of our lives we bear witness to Hashem’s selection of Bnai Yisrael as His chosen people. And, chas v’shalom when our behavior is in conflict with the halachic and hashkafic standards we should live by, we give those who claim the opposite credence. As such we must always be resolved to not only see the light but to reflect it as well. A double dose of bracha awaits those of us who shine.

Truth on the one hand and faith on the other.

In Judaism these are really two phases of life’s various challenges. Our discussion ranged from Abraham to smokers to ferrets.

It was quite an adventure and I invite you listen.

All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.

You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.

Enjoy.

Most people would say, “of course not”. But there are those who disagree.

Just ask Terry O’Neill the president for the National Organizatin of Women (NOW) about it. O’Neill says that this is a real issue.

The brouhaha started with the President’s pickup basketball games. Apparently, only men have been invited to play so far. According to O’Neill, this is an affront to women everywhere.

Yes, she is serious.

It’s hard to believe, as the Obama Administration has been the portrayed as the most inclusive and minority friendly administration to inhabit the White House.

It’s ridiculous because women don’t play NBA basketball. It is not because they are discriminated against, but just because they are not as good as the men. Women don’t have the same physical bodies that men have.

O’Neill takes this to mean that women are 2nd class. That is her problem. She can take it how she wants, but it would be prudent to be rational about it , as opposed to politically charged and driven. Here is her take:

“we need to see the White House leading the way for desegregating the work places all around the country and it is troubling.” (Hat tip ABC News Blog)

The NY Times is reporting that the Obama Administration does not think there is a problem here. But the NY Times digs deeper and sees that there is a sense of of “manliness” in the White House. And somehow that is a big problem as well.

“Still, some high-profile sectors of the White House — economics and national security, for instance — are filled with men and exude an unmistakable male vibe.

So apparantly, not only are women offended by not being invited to play basketball, but women are offended by “manly” men in the White House? Is it a crime for a man to be masculine. That sounds to me like discrimination against men!

Women are not expected to be men and men should not be expected to be like women!

Why can’t we all just be what we are and get along?

We’ve come a long way from the Mad Men era, I think this could be the start of the Mad Women era.

But don’t worry too much. This just in! Obama has invited a female aide to play golf with him. This is a first and not a moment too soon. Who thinks O’Neill will be happy with this?

(Not me)

Basically, the Ramchal teaches us that we can use our physical actions to arouse spiritual and emotional change.

We discussed a number of applications for the concept.

Then we began the next chapter.

Audio is below.

All audio classes are available by clicking podcasts on the top of this page. Or just click here.

You can also subscribe to all classes in iTunes by clicking here.

Listen live here.

You see, Venice Boardwalk is like Mardi Gras every weekend. (See picture to the left.) Street performers, vendors and drunkards line the boardwalk and thousands and thousands of tourists and natives walk back forth as they hawk their wares.

Rami loves the people watching and I must admit, it can be quite addictive!

Today we saw, by far, the most ambitious sales pitch on the boardwalk. We were sitting down to lunch with the windows ajar and we heard the following declaration from the boardwalk.

“Get your sand here! The very best California sand, just 50 cents! Hand picked sand here! Why walk 5 more feet to the beach when you can get your own handful of sand right here for 50 cents!”

So we went to the window to check it out. It was two teenage boys with a lot of spare time and a great sense of humor. They were just being funny, but they actually kept it up for a few hours. They tried to sell sand to every one who passed them by. Some people gave them a few tips and I think they ended up with a couple dollars.

But it got me thinking. How often are we looking for something and we are willing to make an effort to get it, yet it is right there in front of us. Imagine someone actually bought the sand they were selling. They could just walk 5 feet and get it for free!

I think that sometimes people are looking for things in exotic places and very often what they are looking for is right in front of them. Certainly happiness is this way. People travel to the far corners of the earth in search of happiness. But happiness is right there in front of them. Happiness is a choice.

Love is the same way. People look so hard to find love. But we can always love. Everyone we know can benefit from our love. Our families yearn for our love and to love us back. Again, it is right here in front of us.

Even business opportunities can be the same way. We look and look, but very often, our best opportunities are the ones we already have.

We would never buy sand on the Venice Boardwalk. Let’s always look at what we have before we look for what we think we do not have…

A guest post by Rabbi Aaron Fink (my father), Dean of Ateres Bais Yaakov on Monsey NY. Part of a weekly Dvar Torah (Torah “Thought”) series.

Seasons of Change

Another year, another season. The new year welcomes us all with a cornucopia of autumn color, a lingering reminder of summer past and potential to be realized. With the Yemei Hadin, Sukkos and Simchas Torah often accompanying the blazing foliage, we realize there is so much to be grateful for and even more to accomplish. We begin again to learn and grow.

Each season has its own beauty, as well as, a spiritual dimension for which we strive. If we pause and reflect, we will find that there is much to learn from the transformational nature of seasonal change. Indeed, it defines us.

The Torah records a fascinating conversation that Hakaodsh Baruch Hu, kaviyachol, has with Himself after Noach and his family disembark from the teivah. Hashem declares od kol yimei haaretz zera v’katzir v’kor v’chom v’kayitz v’choref v’yom v’layla lo yishbosu —continuously, all the days of the earth, planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night shall not cease.” The very next posuk states vayivarech Elokim es Noach v’es banav —Hashem blessed Noach and his children! Clearly there is an associative relationship between the never ending cycle of seasons and the blessing of vitality enjoyed by all mankind. How are we to understand this relationship and what does it mean for us today?

The Midrash Rabbah explains that before the mabul it was spring all year long. Chazal recount that this never ending season of youthful exuberance was a contributing factor to the decadent sins which literally engulfed the dor hamabul. Without a cycle of life, seasonal patterns of growth, change, development and rebirth, people remained self indulgent and immature. Accountability was non-existent. The entire world just ate, drank and made merry. It was not a recipe for success, but a formula for disaster.

With the world purged of its iniquity, Hakadosh Baruch Hu gifted human-kind a fresh start. As Hashem Yisborach, kivayachol,pondered the ingredients for a new world order in the post-diluvian era, He knew that for “hope to spring eternal” an eternal spring would no longer be possible. For people to mature they would need a model, one which would serve as a pattern for their own growth and maturity. And so, a cycle of seasons and complementary yomim tovim was put in place. Spring was now the starting point to cultivate ones budding growth. The summer of tending the field and harvesting produce was a metaphor for the yigeah – the effort, needed to accomplish ones task and not giving up too early. The autumn in-gathering gives way to the opportunity for reflecting upon the bountiful blessings and spiritual accomplishments of each and every day. Properly cared for, the fall harvest provides the nourishment needed to pass through the introspective chill of winter, warmed by the strength of our convictions, inspired and matured to seek new stages of growth. Finally, the late winter rains herald a time to plant anew in advance of yet another spring of rebirth and renewal as the cycle of continual growth begins again. With the seasons and their significance firmly in place, Hashem Yisborach was ready to bless humanity.

Four seasons, what a treasure. The changing seasons are a paradigm for our own growth and maturity, nurturing yet another ring in the trunk of our personal tree of life as we grow ever higher in our avodas Hashem. They serve as a model for each of us to emulate still today. May it be His will that this year be filled with seasonal beauty as we grow and mature into better, prouder, and more devout ovdei Hashem each and every day.

For the last few weeks I have been testing an incredible iPhone app. iTalmud English Edition (warning: link will open iTunes) is one the best apps I have ever used on the iPhone.

iTalmud English Edition is a very powerful tool that anyone that wishes to study or research anything in the Talmud must have.

User Interface

All good iPhone apps maintain the beauty and simplicity of the iPhone in their user experience. iTalmud English Edition is all those and much more. It is so easy to use and so elegantly presented that it almost feels like an iPhone app developed by Apple! When you start the app you get a simple menu with the basic functions of iTalmud English Edition.

What Does iTalmud English Edition Do?

The app brings the entire Talmud to your fingertips. You can browse the entire Talmud by page or search the entire Talmud by term. The app includes an English translation of the Talmud that is easily accessed as well. In addition, audio classes of every single page are available via the menu. You can find any Daf Yomi class in the world from the menu as well.

Reading Talmud

There are 3 ways to read Talmud in iTalmud English Edition. The default view is a modern Hebew font text view. The text size is large enough to read and wherever Rashi has a commentary the words are hyperlinked so that clicking the text will bring up the Rashi. Very intuitive and perhaps the way Rashi intended us using his commentary – through hyperlinks! iTalmud English Edition also gives you the standard Talmud page view. When invoked, the app downloads a pdf of the folio with the tzuras hadaf preserved. Using multitouch gestures like pinching to zoom and flicking to scroll you can navigate the page pretty easily. The 3rd way to read Talmud with iTalmud English Edition is to read in English. The user just needs to tap the English button on the menu bar and the full English text of the page is displayed. It’s really easy to use. Also, a bookmark can be placed at any time so that you can return to that spot later by tapping bookmarks in the menu.

Listen to Talmud

Many people prefer to have a teacher guide them through the Talmud. iTalmud English Edition has a full library of audio lectures on every page of the Talmud. The classes are taught by Rav Dovid Grossman, an accomplished Rebbe in Yeshiva Gedola of Los Angeles. His explanations are clear and concise and make learning Talmud easier and interesting. The classes are downloaded to your iPhone but stay within the app so you can listen while you read along on using any of the three ways to read Talmud.

Search

Type any Hebrew or Aramaic word into the search box and you will get a comprehensive list of where that word is found in the Talmud. Tap on any of the pages listed and it will take you to that page and the word your searched will be highlighted. This is really a great tool if you are preparing a dvar Torah or just can’t recall the exact page of a Talmudic passage you remember. One limitation of the search is that the results are limited. So when I searched for a fairly common term, the results ended after 3 tractates. Hopefully, this is something that can be addressed in a later version.

Daf Yomi

All around the world, people study Talmud. There is a universal folio a day cycle called Daf Yomi. In almost any city with Jewish people studying Talmud one can find lectures on that day’s stduy. With iTalmud English Edition the location of those lectures is easy to find. iTalmud English Edition will give you as much information as possible. Details include time, location, phone number, teacher and language. A vital tool to folio a day students around the world, iTalmud English Edition, will help you find a lecture near you.

Conclusion

I give iTalmud English Edition 5 stars, 2 thumbs up, a gold medal, whatever. It is a really impressive iPhone app. The price is right too. At $25 you can have the entire Talmud in your pocket – 4 ways! Compare that with a print Talmud which will run anywhere from $150 to $1500. The app gives you everything you need to study Talmud at home or on the road. Kudos to the developers at Crowded Road for providing us with such a great app at such a great price. Buy it now at the iTunes App Store. Check out Crowded Road’s other apps and services on their website.

Promotional consideration was provided by Crowded Road for the review of their iTalmud English Edition app.

It has been a short 10 and a half months since this blog opened it’s doors to the public. I have had a blast writing my thoughts, sharing links and Jewish content with you, the readers.

The blog gives you a glimpse into a slice of my life. But that is all it is, a slice.

My life goes way beyond this blog. The most important thing in my life is my family. And for the 200th post on this blog I present a video of my wonderful boys as a tribute to my family.

It’s a recent video of the boys playing ball together. They are so cute and Ozzie (the baby) loves to play (and say!) ball. They, along with my incredible wife, are the greatest blessing I have.

Enjoy.

As of this very second the #1 Trending Topic on Twitter is “No God“.

I just thought that was really interesting.

And that is a good reason for a “Fail Whale” to lead this post…

More discussion on DovBear.