Rabbi's Blog

As a Rabbi, I hardly ever get "the lie". That means it takes a long time for me to walk to The Kitchen Table to buy flowers for Shabbos. I make the mistake and ask people how they are doing and they actually have the Chutzpah to tell me the truth, instead of "the lie". I get home two minutes before Shabbos and the best thing I can do is turn my depressed cut flowers into potpourri. However, these interactions do give me an...Read more...

So there we are, my sons Binyamin, Shlomo and I, standing inside the Chabad shul in Niagara, the first morning of their short mid-winter break. Realistically, the only way we are davening with a minyan is if the shul pulls it off. We arrive at 7:15 and find only the Rabbi's son with his tefillin bag. At 7:45 the Rabbi pulls in. He normally drives to Buffalo or Hamilton daily to catch a minyan. Today he is actually driving in...Read more...

Monday night, as the snow was carpeting our city and visibility was down to 3 inches, I WhatsApped our Maariv group. Shlomo and I needed 8 more for a Minyan and wondered if there were any crazies out there that would join us. Baruch Hashem we have lots of crazies at our Centre, and we made the Minyan without a problem. I once heard that the Jewish people are compared to salmon. While most fish travel downstream, salmon travel...Read more...

The truth is that I have many challenges. That’s why we were put on planet Earth, for Hashem to test us so we can stretch ourselves and become the best version of us. I have many challenges. I procrastinate, I am lazy and I love food…way too much. Sometimes I am petty, but not as petty as you. And sometimes, my Hungarian DNA comes to the fore and I may get a tad angry. However, doing my Judaism by rote is amazingly my...Read more...

At Sheva Brachot for Ben and Aliza Welkovics, I was schmoozing with my dear friend Yidel Fischer. He shared a beautiful idea that I would like to share with you. At the burning bush there was fire, yet the bush was not consumed. In this context, fire is a metaphor for Torah. While the Torah has the power to refine, purify and warm us, its job is not to consume our identity and turn us into mindless robots. The Hebrew word...Read more...

Dear Mark, When Arthur Zilbert called to tell me that you had purchased the Torahs from Glace Bay, I was elated. We had discussed that one of the Torahs would find her way into our Aron Kodesh. Being that my first posi0on as a Rabbi was at Beth Zion in Oshawa, I had an inkling of the magic of a small town Jewish community. However, not all small towns are created equal. A collec0on of dedicated, knowledgeable, and selfless...Read more...

Why do I love Chanukah? It is because the battle of the Maccabi’s was not just a battle against the Greeks, but it was something much greater. At the time of Chanukah, as in our times, the real battle taking place was over the soul of every Jew. Who we were and how we defined ourselves in relation to our Host culture. This is actually a never ending battle. During the time of the Maccabees our Jewish souls won. We won because...Read more...

If we are going to take to task all the non-Jewish neighbours who allowed the Holocaust to happen, then likewise we need to publically praise and thank those few righteous among the nations who risked their lives to save us. It is in this vain that we acknowledge the passing of Sister Cecylia Roszak, a Polish nun who was believed to be the oldest nun in the world, and was recognized as a rescuer of Jews during the Holocaust....Read more...

Emily is a beautiful, courageous young 4year old girl in our community. She needs our prayers and our good thoughts for a complete recovery. As Emily's family waits 3 weeks for her next scan, let’s add mitzvot to the world in her merit. For the next 3 weeks, please try to: 1. Light Shabbat candles on time, or if that is something you already do, light 5 minutes early. 2. Make Havdala at the conclusion of Shabbat using wine...Read more...