The Rabbi on the Beach at the Shul on The Beach
This past Sunday I was in Baltimore MD (Birthplace of Eliyahu Fink and his son Rami) for a very unique occasion.
My grandmother was celebrating her 70th birthday (that’s not so unique – right?) AND her recent Ph.D (yes – she just got her Ph.D). Veteran readers of this blog will remember that both my grandmothers work full time (see: My Thoughts On The Aughts). That’s an accomplishment on its own merits! (more…)
Last year, there were a large number of public incidents that shed a negative light on Jews in general and particularly on Orthodox Jews. These events were not representitive of the average Jewish person, yet their notoriety put them front and center in the media.
It seems that the Earthquake in Haiti has marked a reversal of negative media coverage into more positive media coverage in response to more positive actions by Jewish people.
It did not end with financial support. (more…)
That is the unofficial term for 2000-2009. The decade that is passing us by in another time-zone every hour today is called the aughts. That’s how they rolled in 1900-1909. It worked for them, it works for me too.
The aughts are a special decade for me.
In 1999 I was a high-school senior. In 2009 I am a husband, father (times two), Rabbi, law student, blogger and perhaps most surprising of all, an adult.
For me, the aughts were the formative years of my passage from teenage years to adulthood. In many ways it seems to me that America also had to grow up in the aughts. We had 2 huge economic meltdowns, teaching us reckless Americans to stop acting like teenagers and become responsible adults.
Reflecting on the last decade is difficult because so many things have happened. History spins its wheel faster than ever before. (more…)
Every once in a while I head to our Shul on the Beach on a Sunday afternoon to drum up some business. I hang out on the Venice Boardwalk hoping to meet anyone interested in our shul or Judaism. I show interested passers-by the shul, sometimes we take a picture, (I tell them about the blog), I invite them to ‘something’, we shmooze and then they are on their way.
This Sunday was the last Sunday before our upcoming Chanukah party so it was a prime opportunity to publicize the party which is open to the public.
Unfortunately, (more…)
The economic crisis has hit many families and individuals in different ways. This anecdote really hit me hard. Perhaps you will feel the same way.
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. (more…)
When we are in Venice for Shabbos we stay at wonderful, little, extended stay hotel on the boardwalk called Su Casa. They try and give us an Ocean View Room. It is great to have the ocean view, but not as much for the ocean view as for the “boardwalk” view.
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! (more…)
This is post #200 on finkorswim.com. Congratulations to me. As promised, I will do a best of the first 200 posts in the next few days. In the meantime, here is this…
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. (more…)
We took the family to Santa Monica Pier on Sunday and our six year old son proved to be smarter than a Supreme Court Justice!
It is so beautiful to walk along the beach and observe all the excitement along the boardwalk and pier. As always, we had a great time in Santa Monica.
For the last few years there has been a protest / exhibit just north of the pier. The protestors are against war in general, the Iraq war in specific and pretty much the entire defense budget of the United States.
They call it Arlington West and they have set up a faux graveyard in the sand representing the fallen soldiers in what they call a criminal war. (more…)
On behalf of myself, my family and the entire Pacific Jewish Center Community, I wish everyone a year of blessing.
If I have insulted or hurt you in any way whatsoever. please know that it was unintended, I deeply regret it and I hope you can forgive me.
To all who are fasting this Yom Kippur, I hope the fast is not too difficult and you are able to maintain your health and strength.
Video PostIt has been a while since I posted a video of Ozzie. The last video showed him crawling to his toys. That was 4 months ago and boy how things have changed since then.
Even more has changed since I posted the first video of Ozzie playing a game.
Babies change every day. They learn new things every day. We can learn a lot from babies.
Especially at this time of year as we attempt to make changes in our lives. Sometimes it is hard to make change, I think it can be helpful to observe others who are succesful at learning to behaviors and attitudes. Babies definitely change drastically from day to day and month to month and year to year.
As adults we need to “re-learn” how to change. We need to be more like babies to a certain extent. (more…)
I just can’t kick this parenting thing. Every post I feel like writing is connected with parenting.
The last time this happened I was hooked on clothes. Those posts are all linked here, here, here, here, here and here. I recommend checking those out.
One of the most popular articles on NYTimes.com this week is an Op-Ed about women’s happiness.
Cleverly titled “Blue is the New Black“, the article’s basic premise is that women having more opportunities and doing more does not contribute to their happiness. (more…)
Parenting has been on my mind lately.
Earlier today I posted about Kim Clijsters and the sacrifices of working mothers.
It must be the impending Rosh Hashana that is influencing these thoughts of parents and children.
Parenting is tough job. There are no vacations. There is no financial remuneration. It is oftentimes thankless.
Also we are so clueless as to how to parent. Babies don’t come with a handy manual or set of instructions. The questions all parents have are endless. (more…)
Something has been on mind the last few days. The last three blog posts I have attempted to write have been all on the same topic. I have decided to turn them into two blog posts and this is the first of a two part series.
The topic is parenting. The relationship between parents and their children.
It is a timely subject as the Jewish Calendar turns the page into a new year. A major element of the Rosh Hashana liturgy is the relationship between us and God. That relationship takes a few forms. One form is that of a parent to a child.
We took the family on a Sunday trip to Pasadena to see the famous Huntington Gardens.
Esteemed Pacific Jewish Center, Board Member, Alan Lipman first told me about this landmark a few months back. He described Huntington Gardens as a place of natural beauty, educational value and cultural significance. I had been looking forward to seeing the gardens in person ever since then.
Yesterday, I discovered for myself that Huntington Gardens is a “must see” attraction in the Los Angeles area.
I have not been to a lot of funerals in my life. I have been blessed.
Yesterday evening my family celebrated Sheva Brachos for a cousin in my parents home. It was a joyous occasion.
Immediately following its conclusion, I walked the 200 feet from my parent’s home to the neighborhood shul. At about 11:00 PM a very moving funeral began.
The juxtaposition of these two events and the nature of the deceased brought tremendous emotion. What follows is an attempt to do those feelings justice in writing.
Yes, the red-headed step child of the NBA is going to the Lakers.
There are folks who will be up in arms over a known “thug” joining their beloved Lakers.
The same Ron Artest who was suspended for one full year from participating in NBA games for his egregious actions when he was a young up and coming star with the Pacers.
As a Parent and as Rabbi you may want to know: What do I think?
If you read my blog you should know what I think. (more…)
This post has been cross-posted to DovBear. – more discussion there.
Social Networking has been around for a long time. The term is nearly two centuries old and the concept perhaps 30 times that.
With the internet explosion around the new millennium social networking became all the rage on the world wide web. MySpace and others blazed the trail. Now, blogging, Facebook and Twitter are an integral part of our social landscape.
Naturally, I was drawn to these new age ways of using technology to create social networks. I’ve been on Facebook since its inception five years ago and joined Twitter a while ago and have only recently begun to blog.
Over the last few weeks some incredible things have happened that are direct results of social networking online. (more…)
This morning I found this article in my inbox. From time to time, PJC board member, Judd Magilnick sends me (and everyone else he knows) interesting links from all around the web, stretching to the outer limits of the blogosphere and conventional media.
Today’s link covers something that is always on my mind. (more…)
Sunday was the launch of a new initiative at Pacific Jewish Center.
First, some matters of introduction.
We are blessed with an incredible location for our Shul.
Our Shul is on the Venice Beach Boardwalk. With thousands of tourists and locals walking along the boardwalk every week, it is a great spot to meet and greet Jewish people from all over the world.
The Shul is on such a perfect spot for meeting new people it would almost be criminal not to be there on Sundays!
This Sunday (more…)
After yesterdays disturbing news and my sobering blog post about mid-eastern Jewry I thought something lighter would be appropriate for today.
Our son Ozzie, will be 7 months old in a couple of weeks.
There is nothing quite like the experience of observing a baby grow. They are completely helpless when they are born and they gain mobility, instinct and personality before your very eyes.
I just had to post this video.
While I was at school today, my 5 month old son, Ozzie, learned a new trick.
It is so incredible seeing our baby grow more and more each day. It seems like just a short while ago he was unable to interact with us and now he is playing games with his mommy.
Reminds me that we too should be growing each day…
My ever resourceful wife captured it on video. I am so grateful to her (and to whoever thought it would be a good idea to add video recording to my Canon point and shoot digicam). You have got to see this video!
Today was closing day at Santa Anita Park. That means the season of horse racing has come to a close at Santa Anita Park and I was there.
Today, we took the boys to see the ponies run.
Previously, we lived in Baltimore MD, home of The Preakness at Pimlico Race Track. The Preakness is one leg in the Triple Crown. In fact we lived right around the corner from Pimlico and we always thought about going to the track for a day at the races. For some reason, we never actually made the 2 minute trip to Pimlico and never saw a race in person.
Today we drove 35 minutes to Santa Anita Park and we experienced our first day at the races. It was amazing. I learned a lot about a lot of things.
First of all, I saw a dad with his 3 sons, ranging from the ages of 9-14. Incredibly, he was teaching them how to bet on the races. (more…)
Yesterday we took the boys to Adventure City. We had a great time. The rides are perfect for a 5 year old like Rami and he was able to hop onto any ride he wanted with no wait. Some of the rides there are pretty intense and yet Rami was undeterred. I am blogging today because of two women. The first of those women is pictured below waving excitedly. We will get to the second woman shortly.
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