Category Archives: Rabbis

What’s The Difference Between A Torah Scholar And A Gadol?

In a lecture on rabbinic biographies for Torah in Motion, Orthodox rabbi and history professor Marc B. Shapiro says: “In the haredi world [ultra-Orthodoxy], [Rav J.B. Soloveitchik] is recognized as a Torah scholar but not as a gadol [great rabbi]. … Continue reading

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The Rabbi Who Couldn’t Read Hebrew

Here’s an interesting story: Raphael: The problem I want to bring up revolves around being less skilled than I would like to be in something that is integral to my profession and I feel a great deal of shame and … Continue reading

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Getting In To See The Rav

Shuli* emails: I miss the days when a Shull’s Rav was everyone’s Rabbi. You could drop by to see if he is not busy..or wait a little, to have a heart to heart talk. That was a personal relationship with … Continue reading

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Los Angeles Has Predatory Rabbis Doing Orthodox Conversions To Judaism

Alarm bells should go off in your head if the rabbi in charge of your conversion to Orthodox Judaism asks you: * When do you menstruate (so he can get at you when you won’t contaminate him) * To meet … Continue reading

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Working With The Rabbis

Many Orthodox rabbis strain their voices trying to project across a noisy room on the Sabbath. The Orthodox do not use microphones on Shabbat. Many rabbis end up hoarse. Some lose their voices completely. And this strain is unnecessary. It … Continue reading

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Even Rabbis Like Tim Tebow

I have never seen a phenomenon in sports like Tim Tebow. And that he is such a genuinely good person is a bonus. He reminds me a little bit of Steve Young who was the only professional athlete during my … Continue reading

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What If We Had A Predator In LA’s Orthodox Community?

You’ve heard about the “former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, who was arrested over the weekend on more than 40 counts of child sexual abuse.” What if we had a Jerry Sandusky-type in LA’s Orthodox community? Could we have … Continue reading

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Rabbis In Jeans

I just stepped outside my front door and across the street was the rabbi of a Conservative shul in Los Angeles. He wore blue jeans. It jarred me. I don’t think of rabbis as wearing jeans or telling dirty jokes … Continue reading

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The Jewish Indiana Jones Turns Out To Be A Fraud

This story is getting a lot of play around the Jewish world. The New York Times reports: He described himself as a risk-taking rabbi who had been “beaten up, thrown in jail and gone $175,000 into debt” on “expeditions” to … Continue reading

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What Kind Of Rabbis Go Hollywood?

What kind of rabbis turn for help with their sermons to Hollywood screenwriters? Rabbis who are empty inside. If you believe in what you are doing and are burning with passion to transmit it, then you won’t turn for help … Continue reading

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