Mourning the Passing of Rabbi Noah Weinberg

Today we mourn the passing of the founder of Aish Hatorah in Jerusalem, Rabbi Noah Weinberg zt'l who passed away this morning at the age of 78. Rabbi Weinberg was a true torah giant who was responsible for growing this great torah organization throughout the world. The amount of dedication he had for klal Yisroel and Yiddishkeit is beyond compare and his accomplishments are too many to enumerate. This is truly a shock during a time when so many gedolim have left us.

R' Moshe Weinberger on Rain and G-D

Being a very rainy day today, reminded me of a speech by Rabbi Moshe Weinberger of Aish Kodesh. He explained the connection between the physical and the spiritual. Ever wonder why people get sleepy when it's raining and the sky is grey? Certainly you could find a scientific reason for it but Rabbi Weinberger's explanation was fascinating and perhaps a bit kabbalistic in nature. When people were farmers (yes people actually grew their own food) their whole economy was based around the rain and it's ability to produce ones produce(I know I used the same word twice)! The the rain and grey clouds therefore represented that G-d was taking care of them and serenity would fall over them ( a comfort of sorts) . Hence the sleepy feeling of calm and knowing things are being handled by the one of above would occur.

Miraculous Story: Torah Found in Polish Cemetery Restored

The NYT has a fantastic story of a Torah that was found buried in a Polish cemetery. The scroll was hidden by a sexton in the synagogue in the Polish city of Oswiecim who buried them before the Nazis could steal and burn them. The Torah was hidden for more than 60 years and was miraculously discovered by Rabbi Menachem Youlus of Wheaton, MD. who based on stories told to him by survivors decided to take a trip to the cemetery in question. Using a metal detector the Rabbi attempted to locate the lost torah but to no avail. After his 13 yr old asked if the cemetery was the same size in 1939 the Rabbi went back and after aiming it at a burial plot for damaged holy writings the detector beeped and he found a torah but it was missing 4 pages. After taking an ad in a polish paper saying he would pay top dollar for parchment with hebrew lettering a Priest stepped forward. The Polish priest offered the Rabbi the missing 4 pages which after intense scrutiny was said to be a match. The priest who was born Jewish and was an Auschwitz survivor explained that he was given the pages by Jewish prisoners who asked him toafeguard it after they died.

Rabbi Youlus said that nearly half the Torah’s lettering needed repair, work that the foundation has done over the past few years. Thirty-seven letters were left unfinished: 36, or twice the number that symbolizes “life” in Hebrew, will be filled in by members of the congregation before the service on Wednesday, the 37th at the ceremony.

Torah Dedication: Rabbi Berel Wein's Wife

Bais Torah of Monsey, has recently had a hachnasas sefer torah. Bais Torah is known as the shul where Rabbi Berel Wein was Rabbi for many years. Therefore it was only fitting that the Torah be dedicated in memory of his wife, Jackie Wein who was nifteres only about a yr. ago. I have davened in this shul many times and I was unaware of this great simcha until I ran across this article. The current Rabbi is R' Yisroel Gottlieb who although young is doing an outstanding job and gives a great drasha.

Partners in Torah: The Dinner....

Last night I was privileged to attend a dinner for a fantastic organization called Partners in Torah. I had made the trek out to Brooklyn because a relative of mine was being honored. I was truly inspired by the video presentation as well as the speeches that were given. For those of you who are not familiar, Partners in Torah is responsible for changing the face of Jewry. They find mentors who are willing to devote time once a week and partner them with less affiliated Jews who are searching for more understanding in Judaism. You don't have to be a Rabbi to join. Anybody who has a basic Yeshiva education is more than qualified to assist as a partner in Torah. If you would like to find out more about this truly incredible organization click here. Whether you join or donate funds to the cause, it will be truly appreciated. It will certainly take some sorting out of my time but I plan on becoming a partner myself and I urge you to do the same. Get the word out...