Rabbi David Hertzberg writes:

Israeli Judaism

“And G-d said to Moshe, ‘Say to the Kohanim, the sons of Aharon, say to them, that none of them may become tamei from a soul (corpse) of their nation’” (Vayikra 21:1). The Gemara (Yevamot 114a) questions the apparent redundancy of the verb say in the passuk. What does the second word sayadd to our understanding of this particular law? The Gemara answers that the first say refers to Moshe’s obligation to teach the Kohanim the mitzvah of refraining from coming into contact with a corpse.

Torah Judaism

The second say refers to the obligation incumbent upon the Kohanim themselves to teach their children the importance of remaining tahor (spiritually pure) and distancing themselves from tumah (spiritual impurity).

Militant Judaism

The commentators universalized this Gemara and, over the years, have used it as a model for education in general, as well as for the responsibilities of leaders toward their followers. Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, in his commentary Oznayim L’Torah, explains that the double use of the word say is meant to teach us the approach necessary to employ in order to educate our children in a society, which is often at odds with our values.

The only way to ensure that our children incorporate our values into their lives when they are constantly being exposed to counter-Torah values is by continuously repeating and reinforcing our messages and lessons to them. The Torah’s repeated use of the word say teaches us the necessity “to keep at it.”

Rav Menachem Zaks (Rav Tzvi Pesach Frank’s son-in-law) in his work Menachem Tzion also supports the idea that the Torah’s repeated use of the word say is prescriptive in nature, but suggests a different approach. When it comes to trying to influence a person, whether to buy something or to buy into something, we never know what words will actually penetrate the person and get him on board. This is true whether you’re a leader of an organization trying to convince people to join and work for a cause, or a parent trying to teach your children values.

You must be prepared to approach from different angles with the hope that at some point the message will enter your children’s hearts. The double use of the word say instructs us to always keep searching for ways to inspire our children. Eventually, if we persevere, our children will get the message.

Another explanation of the repeated use of the word say is that the Torah, through its careful use of language, is indicating to us the urgency involved in the mitzvah of chinuch. If early and zealous performance of mitzvot, is in general a requirement, it is even more so when it comes to teaching our children. On the broadest level, educating our children in the Torah’s values must begin at the earliest possible moment.

On a more specific level, there will be different times in our children’s lives – perhaps mere minutes at a time – when they will be open and primed to really hear what we have to say. Our antennae must be up for such moments and we must be prepared to exploit them immediately. Even pushing our children off for a few minutes might be too long.

A child’s interest, especially a teenager’s, is very transitory and fleeting. The window of opportunity does not remain open for long. By its repeated use of the word say the Torah commands us to be alert to such educational opportunities and to expeditiously take advantage of them.

Several years ago when speaking somewhere, I emphasized the importance of this idea. I explained that when educational opportunities present themselves we must be prepared to drop everything in an instant. When I finished my talk, a gentleman came over to me and told me the following story, which he encouraged me to relate to help other people. He informed me that 10 years ago his 18-year-old son was “off the derech.” Although he shared the details with me, suffice it to say that the young man was very confused and had some serious issues.

“One day out of the blue,” the man said “my son told me he wanted to go to Israel to learn in a yeshiva.” The man related that his initial impression was that his son was joking around and being spiteful. “But I decided to take him seriously and put him in touch with people who could find him the right school.” With a smile on his face the man said “To make a long story short, today (10 years later) my son is himself a rebbi in a Yeshiva” Grabbing my hand, the man, with tears of joy in his eyes, concluded his story by saying, “It’s like you said, Rabbi – when the moment arrives you have to grab it. Had I not taken my son seriously at the moment he came to me or had I pushed him off I would have lost him to Yiddishkeit.”

Whether we’re talking to our children, teaching our students or leading our followers, we would be wise to incorporate the many lessons the rabbis have gleaned from the Torah’s double use of the word say. To succeed we must constantly reinforce our message, while always trying new approaches and never forgetting the urgency and importance of our endeavor. As the adage states: “Opportunity doesn’t knock twice.”

Rabbi David Hertzberg is the principal of the Yeshivah of Flatbush Middle Division. Questions and comments can be emailed to him at Mdrabbi@aol.com.

Arthur Kohn writes:

Orthodox Judaism

The first chief rabbi of the Jewish community of the Swiss city of Basel was my grandfather, Arthur Cohn, after whom I was named and whom I know only through hearsay and stories told by my father.

For 40 years, my grandfather held the office of chief rabbi of Basel, a city to which he had come at the age of 23.

Jewish Literature

The First Zionist Congress took place in Basel in 1897. At this time, there was only a small Jewish community in Basel, the majority of whose members originated from Alsace. The congress literally burst into the lives to this quiet Jewish community.

Conservative Judaism

The first session of the congress took place on Sunday morning, Aug. 29. This attitude led organizers to abandon their first choice of Munich as the congress’s center. Political Zionism — something the vast majority of Jews proclaim today — was a deeply divisive issue then, with many religious Jews fiercely opposed. My grandfather’s attitude, deeply traditional yet open- minded, tipped the balance in favor of Basel.

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Herzl wrote to my grandfather: “We shall never forget your truly sincere and honest behaviour and your willingness to hold the Zionist Congress in Basel. During one such conversation, my grandfather said: “If you knew the Zionists in Switzerland and their particular religious views, you would find it hard to endorse the Zionist cause.” With a smile, his Eastern European Jewish colleague replied: “You should first see my Zionists.”

Because of his support of the Zionist cause my grandfather encountered misunderstanding and anger from most of his rabbinical colleagues. Rabbi Breuer told my grandfather: “You will see, dear Rabbi Cohn, in a few more months, no more mention will be made of Zionism.” My father Marcus Cohn was a renowned lawyer in Basel. For my father, the Zionist congresses represented his first encounters with Jewish scholars, and they left a deep, lasting impression on him. My father was just 7 years old and was allowed to accompany home at night one of the Easter European Jewish rabbis who was staying in the most modest hotel in Basel. Bashfully, my father strode side-by-side with the rabbi who turned to him and asked what he was presently learning pertaining to Judaism. Then to my father’s surprise the rabbi began to quote Beitza by heart, until he came to the actual point my father had reached in his learning. Deeply astounded and awestruck at such intense Jewish knowledge, my father then proceeded home, overwhelmed by the experience.

Do you have a problem with time management? If you do, you have two main options. One of those options and often the most popular is to continue on with your normal activities. Unfortunately, doing so may have a negative impact on your personal life, as well as your work life. The other option is to make a change. The good news is that there a number of steps that you can take to improve your time management. See time management system.

As for what you can do to improve your time management, you will see that a number of different approaches can be taken. Goal setting, to do lists, limiting tasking, prioritizing, and outsourcing are all effective ways to manage your time, but they are also just a few of your options. As for why you should learn and practice proper time management, there are a number of reasons why, five of which are outlined below.

1 - It Is Easy To Do

As previously summarized, you have a number of different options when looking to make better use of your time. These options are all easy and cost effective ways. In fact, creating goals and task lists for yourself is free of charge. Since it is easy for you to learn and practice proper time management techniques, why would you want to do anything else?

2 - It Is Important To Your Personal Life

As previously stated, having a poor sense of time management has a number of serious consequences, one of those being your personal life. If you regularly pay your bills late, donít make contact with friends, or arrive home later than normal, you may be hurting your personal relationships and often in more ways than you could have ever imagined. Friends, spouses, and romantic partners will likely not want to put up with this behavior for long.

3 - It Is Important For Your Job

Poor time management will not only negatively effect your personal life, but your work life as well. If you do not know how to properly manage your time, you may get easily distracted. This may result in you wasting company time. If you are caught doing so repeatedly, you may find yourself terminated from your current position. This can also have a negative impact on your personal life, as it may leave your finances in serious trouble.

4 - It Is Something That You Can Only Benefit From

Taking the time to learn and practice successful time management techniques can only benefit you, your work, and your personal relationships. Since no money technically needs to be spent on time management tools or training, you have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. It is also important to ask yourself again the important question of ìwhy not?î Why not improve your life with the learning and practicing of time management techniques? time management training.

5 - The Options That You Have

Once again, it is important to focus on the options that you have when looking to learn and practice proper time management. Creating a set of goals and a task list is easy and free to do. Alarm clocks and timers can also be used to help you make better use of your time. You likely already own a traditional alarm, but your cell phone, computer, and television may also come equipped with alarm clocks as well.

As a reminder, there are a number of other time management tools and techniques that you can easily learn and practice all from the comfort of your own home. Read more about management skills.

It may seem positive thinking and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) have nothing in common. However many people with ADD develop negative thinking patterns because they become frustrated by challenges and frequent feelings of being overwhelmed. This negative outlook then makes it even harder for them to handle those challenges and move forward.

Practicing positive thinking allows people with ADD to focus on their strengths and accomplishments, which increases happiness and motivation. This, in turn, allows them to spend more time making progress, and less time feeling down and stuck.

The following tips provide practical suggestions that you can use to help you shift into more positive thinking patterns:

1. Take Good Care of Yourself
It’s much easier to be positive when you |are eating well, exercising, and getting sufficient rest.

2. Remind Yourself of the Things You Are Grateful For
Stresses and challenges don’t seem quite as awful when you are constantly reminding yourself of the things that are good in life. Taking just 60 seconds a day to stop and appreciate the good things will make a big difference.

3. Look for the Proof Instead of Making Assumptions
A fear of not being liked or accepted often leads us to assume that we know what others are thinking, but our fears are usually unjustified. If you have a fear that a friend or family member’s bad mood is due to something you did, or that your co-workers are secretly gossiping about you when you turn your back, speak up and ask them. Don’t waste time worrying that you did something wrong unless you have proof that there is something to worry about.

4. Stop Using Absolutes
Have you ever told a partner “You’re ALWAYS late!” or complained “You NEVER call me!”? Thinking and speaking in absolutes like ‘always’ and ‘never’ makes the situation seem worse than it is, and programs your brain into believing that certain people are incapable of delivering.

5. Detach From Negative Thoughts
Your thoughts can’t hold any power over you if you don’t judge them. If youcatch yourself having a negative thought, detach from it, witness it, and don’t follow it.

6. Squash the “ANTs”
In his book “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life,” Dr. Daniel Amen talks about “ANTs” - Automatic Negative Thoughts. These are the bad thoughts that are usually reactionary, like “Those people are laughing, they must be talking about me,” or “The boss wants to see me? It must be bad!” When you notice these thoughts, realize that they are nothing more than ANTs and squash them!

7. Practice Lovin’, Touchin’ & Squeezin’ (Your Friends and Family)
You don’t have to be an expert to know the benefits of a good hug. Positive physical contact with friends, loved ones, and even pets, is an instant pick-me-up.

8. Increase Your Social Activity
By increasing social activity, you reduce loneliness. Surround yourself with healthy, happy people, and their positive energy will affect you in a positive way!

9. Volunteer for an Organization, or Help another Person
Everyone feels good after helping. You can volunteer your time, your money, or your resources. The more positive energy you put out into the world, the more you will get back in return.

10. Use Pattern Interrupts to Combat Rumination
If you find yourself ruminating, a great way to stop it is to interrupt the pattern and force yourself to do something totally different. Rumination is like hyper-focus on something negative. It’s never productive, because it’s not rational or solution-oriented, it’s just excessive worry. Try changing your physical environment - go for a walk or sit outside. You could also call a friend, pick up a book, or turn on some music.

You certainly need to adopt a positive attitude if you are going to act as the MC at the wedding reception of a friend or family member. Find outmore:
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Have you had that experience when all of a sudden you just had this huge hunch that something is about to happen, and to your surprise, that intuition was eventually translated to reality?

When you feel strongly about something without logical basis to it, that’s called intuition. It comes in three impressions: clairvoyance or “the third eye”, sensing clearly and feeling through listening.

The Road to Intuition
Clairvoyance is when your eye goes beyond what it can see. This is when you know what is happening somewhere.

Sensing clearly is basically what we refer to as “hunch” or “gut feel.” This is the time when you are overwhelmed with a feeling and you can’t explain it and all you can say is “I just know.”

On the other hand, feeling through listening or clairaudience is being able to “listen” between the lines. Intuition also happens at times when a certain sound, whatever it is - be it a car’s honk or a bird’s twitting - ushers in an intense feeling.

They say only a number of people are gifted with intuition. Astrologers even insist that people born under the Scorpio or Pisces signs are naturally intuitive it almost borders on E.S.P. But studies have been sprouting left and right that proclaim that anyone can develop intuition.

Why the need to develop intuition, you ask? Why not let your emotional and psychological state as it is? First and foremost, intuition promotes good communication. It makes you more sensitive to the people around you; it often keeps you from hurting those you love because you are intuitive enough to understand them. Intuition also makes you far more creative than ever. Intuition means releasing more creative juices for any means of expression. Lastly, intuition has a healing power. This healing power is not in the physical sense, but in delving deep into your soul to eradicate some negative energy buried in it.

With that being said, are you ready to develop your intuition? Here are some ways to unlock this gift:

1. Hypnosis

Oh yes, get yourself hypnotized. Hypnosis is not limited to watching a pendulum move back and forth. Perform self-hypnosis or you can avail of hypnotic programs that can strengthen your intuition.

2. Meditation

Meditating means finding peace in yourself. If your mind and heart are cluttered with too many baggage and hurt, you wouldn’t be able to quiet down that part of you that could eventually initiate intuition. There are so many ways to meditate: take a yoga class, or just simply practice some breathing that could bring you straight to Zen.

3. Think positive!

A worry-free, fear-free state could do so much to improve your intuitive ability. By staying positive, you attract good energy that would be able to easily recognize imminent feelings and events.

4. Just let go.

What does this mean? If you are on the brink of making a huge decision, let go of all the inhibitions and head to a quiet place where you could find out where the letting go has brought you. Sometimes you just have to listen to the voice within you, and that voice wouldn’t come out unless you let go.

5. Never expect.

After letting go of the inhibitions and all those things that stop you from thinking and feeling clearly, never expect for an answer right away. Never expect that the “hunch” would fall on your lap immediately. Give it a little time then you’d just get surprised that — wham! — now you have your answer.

6. Believe in your first impressions.

When you see someone for the first time and think that he is a bit too arrogant for your taste, chances are that impression actually holds true. Most of the time, first impressions are brought by intuition.

7. Stay happy!

See? All you need to be intuitive is to stay happy! Happiness attracts immense power and such power includes intuition. In tapping your intuition, your motivation must be happiness and contentment. Given that premise, intuition will fall to you easily. More on Self Improvement and Pogdam Resources.

Intuition is helpful, because sometimes it leads you to something that cannot be achieved otherwise. A lot of lives have been saved by intuition alone. Decisions are easier done if armed by this gift. Develop intuition now and reap benefits you have never imagined.

Procrastination is the means of putting off a task for another day even though you have the ability and the time to obtain those goals right now.

When you procrastinate, you are actually not getting to achieve what you are capable of achieving and that can cause you to miss out on many opportunities for success in many ways. Procrastination can ruin your career because it may be the one thing that shows others that you are unable to achieve your goals.

Can you actually get around this problem, then? Begin with learning what is happening and knowing how to react when you begin to procrastinate. When you acknowledge that you are procrastinating or about to, you can recognize this, stop it and get back on track to better managing your time.

It is also essential for you to understand why people procrastinate and in doing so you will be in a better position to avoid allowing it to happen to you, over and over again.

Finally, you need to take the right steps to managing your time so that you can manage the outcomes of your time by learning how to deal with procrastination. It’s a mind set that you can not afford with the limited amount of time that you actually have.

Procrastination is defined as putting off doing something that you should be putting your attention onto right now. Usually, people do this when they want to do something else that is favorable, a bit more fun or even just easier.

Is this you? Do you spend long days working hard but you are actually investing your time in accomplishing the easy tasks instead of taking on the larger, more important tasks?

A major problem here is that many people can not see the difference between priorities in tasks. For example, you have an important task to complete. You also have an urgent task to complete. Which do you go to first? You should accomplish the important task because it is just that, important!

Too many people look towards accomplish the things that they think are necessary to complete right now, forgo the important task and then need to find a way or a time to balance the ball in their favor.

Here is an example. Let’s say you are working at your desk and in walks your boss. They need you to handle an important client. The phone rings, it is another employee, struggling to accomplish his task and asks for your help. You get back to work. The other employee calls again. They need you. Which task do you do; the important client or the employee that will keep calling until you help?

The task here that you should be completing is that which is important, the one that needs your full attention and that will get you the most bang for the buck.

However, far too many people strive to accomplish that other task because that person has complained, called and got into their head and they now are the loudest voice there telling them what to do.

So, do you procrastinate? If so, it’s time to take action.

If you are going to mc a wedding you certainly cannot afford to procrastinate. If you do the wedding reception could turn into a disaster.
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SAD -Social Anxiety Disorder
Among the greatest problems of many individuals can be pointed to SAD -Social Anxiety Disorder. This is a psychological illness that makes a person to have fear to face people around him in most of social times. Sometimes, a person who feels fear of people around him does not know that SAD -Social Anxiety Disorder is developing within his inner self.

SAD -Social Anxiety Disorder can be recognized by a persistent fear of any type of social interactions and the feeling of intense embarrassment or humiliation brought by reasons that are uncertain. The patient of this disorder is always anxious of being judged unpleasantly by people resulting social interaction withdrawal. Whenever such people face any moment, where interaction with others cannot be avoided, they suffer anxiety and extreme nervousness.

In chronic cases, this type of people start showing extreme symptoms even when they anticipate a social scenario. This anxiety is shown in external physical symptoms such as lushing or blushing, palpitations, sweating, and trembling.

Confidence
According to some experts, this psychological sickness can be controlled or overcome when a person strive to enhance his Self Confidence. Self-Esteem can make to feel good about yourself. Thus, he is geared to face people around him. But how appropriately to develop Self Confidence and Self-Esteem?

Gaining Self Confidence in your life is much simpler than you probably think it is. This first thing that you have to understand is that Self Confidence begins in mind-setting. Strong-founded Self Confidence all starts inside you and in you alone. So how is it done? Here are some techniques that you can apply:

First, you have to believe in yourself. You have to convince yourself that you have got the talent that makes individuals around you appreciate.You have certain skills that other people don’t have; that people also depend on your skills for life.

Self Esteem
Doing good constantly is a great way to improve that Self Confidence, being consistent and persistent in our daily habits develops Self-Esteem and in turn our confidence. Self-Esteem is understanding that you are worth a lot (immeasurable) and how significant you feel about your accomplishments.

Self-Esteem is your self-worth. This is how you perceive yourself and how you feel about who you are as a human person and as a social person. If you see yourself as a successful person and feel that you deserve to achieve success, then you have a good sense of your self-worth or Self-Esteem. On the other hand, if you feel you are a failure, then you will need to learn strategies to develop your self-esteem.

When you are able to enhance Self-Esteem, then you are gaining Self Confidence that will eventually help you to cope with SAD -Social Anxiety Disorder.

When you are Developing Your Perseverance you would also learn that it requires real determination and ability to adjust in various circumstances in our environment regardless of the intensity of the hardship you may adapt. You may well have limited resources, lack of information and help from others in a particular circumstance that you need to survive, but if you possess real perseverance you can overcome all those and will move towards being successful people.

Developing Perseverance
To enhance your character into one which is full of perseverance, strong will and determination which enables you to cope with the stresses of life and to be able to adjust to different circumstances that you face; it is imperative that you comprehend that you will have to undergo through the phase of Developing Your Perseverance. Interestingly enough, you have to actually go through the process of doubt, fear and anxiety in Developing Your Perseverance—necessary for success.

Personal Motivation
There is one special quality which you should all take note of as part of your personal development and that is the use of Motivation – it is indeed a catalyst in achieving success, productivity as human beings and as social people. For example, sometimes, your mind is filled with negative thoughts and that is especially when you find something that is not ideal around you- like newspapers’ headlines; television news, etc. If you have Motivation, you will be in a better position to cope with bad feelings and negativity by diverting your mind to positive things.

If you watch news that is unpleasant, you can get out of it by thinking about the lighter side of the news story- like thinking of what solutions you can give for certain problems; this can motivate you particularly when you are able to gain recognition as one is able to render help.

Success Secrets
There are many explanations and real stories of successful people around the internet which you can access. As you study them, it is then that you being to really understand the answer to the question “why is Developing Your Perseverance important” ? Closely examining these types of accounts will give important ideas and suggestions on the importance of perseverance and then you can go on to apply those for your own success- Secrets For Success.

Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager’s parents were born and raised in Brooklyn. Max Prager married Hilda Friedfeld on September 14, 1940.
“My parents are a fascinating amalgamation of modern American and traditional Judaism,” says Dennis. “Both grew up with European Jewish parents. “…Within Jewish life I’m in the no-man’s land, denominationally. Prager discussed his abandonment of Orthodoxy on his radio show July 13, 2001:
Dennis: “I was raised Orthodox but after my Bar Mitzvah on I was never Orthodox. Dennis: “Yes. Dennis: “I don’t have an Orthodox temperament. Never. Dennis is the only member of his immediate family who is not Orthodox. That Dennis’s parents met at a mixed-sex Orthodox dance shows how far Jewish Orthodoxy has shifted to the right. This showed the compassion Dennis always had.”

Dennis Prager

Dennis began school at age six at the kindergarten of Yeshiva Rambam.
(The Prager Perspective, June 15, 1997)
When fights broke out on the ice, Prager would stay seated, to show his disaproval.
Around the same time, Dennis developed a decade-long hobby of listening to shortwave radio broadcasts.
During summer vacations, Kenny and Dennis attended Camp Winsoki, a modern Orthodox summer camp located in Rensellaervile N.Y..
Ethnic pride has never been a big value for Dennis. The proverbial “why?” child, Prager was sent to the principal’s office so often that they named a chair “The Dennis Prager seat.”
Dennis said he wanted his parents to never ask him about school. (Relayed by Dennis on his radio show, 12/12/03)
Dennis Prager
Dennis Prager’s best friend, Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, wrote three paragraphs in the Summer 2001 issue of Olam magazine that seem to be about Dennis:
Prager came early to the belief that his life mission was to promote goodness. Dennis was raised to never take the easy way out. Kenny attended an all-boys yeshiva high school. Flatbush put an end to mixed-sex dances in Prager’s 10th grade.
Prager and Telushkin were assigned to the C-student track. Dennis was known as a loudmouth in highschool. Prager fell in love with classical music. “This camp provided the most positive Jewish experiences in my life. Dennis had his “first serious romance. (Prager’s CD)
Dennis particularly liked WNBC radio and WOR host Jean Shepherd.
In Prager’s final year of high school, he served as Senior Class President.
(Ultimate Issues, Summer, 1985, pg. 10)
Prager attended Brooklyn College. Prager studied international history, comparative religion and Arabic at the University of Leeds. Prager intervened, kicking the leader of the thugs. On Friday night, August 1, 1969, Prager’s life forever changed.
Approaching one of the groups he’d addressed, Prager asked to lecture on why so many young people were alienated from Judaism.
Bnai Brith nominated Prager as its delegate, and its later report described Dennis as “the star of the West.”
Prager graduated Brooklyn College with a double major in Anthropology and History. “Graduate school was a tough time for me,” Prager said on his radio show March 2, 2006. Dennis taught at Brooklyn College from 1970-72.
Around 1970, Prager’s car was broken into and the stereo stolen. Dennis opened his door. (Prager’s radio show, 12/28/06)
* Why are so many young Jews alienated from Judaism and the Jewish people?
As is typical of Prager’s personality, the book is not titled Nine Questions People Ask about Judaism but The Nine Questions People Ask about Judaism.
Then I found out that it’s ideas are largely absent from Jewish life, even Orthodox Jewish life. In April, 1976, Shlomo Bardin, the 76-year old founder and director of the Brandeis Institute, invited the 26-year old Prager to take charge. In 1976, Prager appeared on television for the first time. “We’re trying to turn out leaders,” Prager said.
“Why?”
Prager’s friends teased him about this remark for years afterwards. (Related by Prager on his radio show on Jan. 24, 2006 during his first hour.)
One night as Prager was about to tell his latest theory, the rabbi stopped him.
Dennis answered in the negative. “The [1980] election of Ronald Reagan affected my happiness,” said Prager on his radio show March 2, 2006. “I had a feeling that if I did well [on his radio debut],” remembers Prager on his radio show January 3, 2006, “that it would change my life.”
In 1983, Prager and Telushkin published their second book: Why the Jews? Prager ejected musician Sam Glaser for playing non-Jewish music. In his speeches since working at BBI, Prager mocks his BBI board. Prager says the board was shocked. In September of 1983, Prager left the Brandeis Bardin Institute. (Prager CD)
Joseph Telushkin writes on page 104 of his book Jewish Humor about Prager and Brandeis-Bardin:
Prager and Telushkin portray Prager’s experience at Brandeis-Bardin as that of the martyr. While Prager claims he quit, a Jewish Journal cover story in early 1986 indicated he was pushed out. Many on the board said Prager was a lousy administrator.
At the time of Bardin’s death, [Prager] was 27 years old. As Prager himself observed, “Some of the people on the board had children who were older than me.”
But it was not simply Prager’s youth inspired controversy. Chotiner’s case against Prager was based upon his conviction that the type of Judaism Prager advocated was too rigid. Dennis Prager served as institute director for seven years, despite the existence of a virtual split within the executive board as to his efficacy. During this time, claim both Prager and his adherents, he quadrupled the BBI membership. “Under Dennis’s directorship,” says Chotiner, “Brandeis was a swinging door. Chotiner is not alone in his contention that Prager lacked intellectual depth. Says Dr. Goodhill, “Dennis was a brilliant man. At Brandeis, Prager says now, not without bitterness, “I learned that many Jews are uncomfortable with paying another Jew to do something Jewish.”
Even his critics acknowledge that Prager succeeded in exciting many young people about Jewish observance and bringing them into the Jewish community. Some students back up that view of Prager as a bully.

JTA: The Obama campaign knows the Wright question continues to rile. Obama has been gaining support in the Jewish community, with recent polls suggesting a near split among Jews between the Illinois senator and Clinton, who once enjoyed a strong lead in the community.
jews
Clinton still got the support of the bulk of the Jewish establishment in Pennsylvania and leaders of the local federation were visibly absent from the special Obama event.
founder of judaism
But Obama is also enormously popular among segments of the Jewish community. Obama dismissed the notion that he said is often put forward – that Wright is his “spiritual adviser.”
exodus
For Nancy Gordon, an ardent Clinton supporter, Obama was not convincing. Obama did more to move Max Schapiro, a University of Pennsylvania student who chairs Hillel’s Israel committee there.
Noting that Israel was his number one issue, he was impressed as well by Obama’s record on Israel, but needed to hear more.
Rachel Weiss writes:
While Tishrei marks the beginning of the world’s creation, it was during Nissan that God revealed the purpose of His creation. [Imrei Chaim]
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Rabbi Chaim Tirer of Chernovitz, renowned as the Be’er Mayim Chaim, an eminent Torah scholar and Kabbalist, was the son of Reb Shlomo, a pious Jew who laid no claim to being a talmid chacham by any standard. Reb Shlomo had for many years eked out a living by the brewing of distilled spirits. It was on one of the days before Pesach that Red Shlomo encountered a fellow Jew from another hamlet who was on the way to the big city to sell his chametz. Reb Shlomo, hoping to save himself a trip, asked the man to do him the favor of selling his as well. Reb Shlomo and his wife methodically went about gathering firewood and dry branches to lay beneath the walls of the brewery and set fire to their livelihood. The local reservoir gradually became tainted, affecting every living entity that consumed drinking water. Reb Shlomo, however, was bothered by a thought wholly divorced from what he had unwittingly wrought. “Twice a day in Krias Shema,” Reb Shlomo said, “we recite the commandment to ‘love Hashem your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all that you possess.’ As the two pondered how they could inject some happiness into their predicament, Reb Shlomo hit on a solution. The gypsy sat on a chair playing his fiddle while Reb Shlomo danced.
The dumbfounded poritz mounted his horse and rode into town to check things out for himself. “Shlomke,” began the poritz when Reb Shlomo appeared. I consider you a smart Jew. Reb Shlomo’s attempt at explaining the intricacies of chametz and mechiras (the selling of) chametz fell on deaf ears – the poritz could not grasp the concept. And so Reb Shlomo and his wife wandered off to seek lodging elsewhere.
This widowed sister-in-law resided in a distant town and Reb Shlomo was strongly advised by friends and family members to delay his travel plans due to inclement weather. Reb Shlomo refused to listen, citing the injunction that one is not to delay fulfilling a mitzvah that presents itself.
The journey was a treacherous one; the snow and sleet did not let up, and Reb Shlomo took a wrong turn. Despite the danger of lying motionless in the frosty cold, Reb Shlomo survived his ordeal. This son, Chaim, true to his grandfather’s prediction, authored the holy work known as Be’er Mayim Chaim (Well of Living Waters).
There was once a Jewish fellow who worked for a poritz. “What are you talking about?” answered the God-fearing Jew. Hardly thrilled with such reasoning, the poritz decided he would teach the Jew a lesson. The thrust and force of the dead monkey landing in the Jewish man’s home ripped its innards open, revealing the ingested small fortune. In the meantime, a servant of the poritz dispatched to the Jew’s dwelling to check on his state of affairs reported back that the Jew seemed to be doing exceedingly well. The Jew matter-of-factly enlightened the poritz as to the incident of the monkey’s carcass and its stash of gold – which made the poritz finally concur that it was God Who sustains all living things.
The act of bodek chametz refers to searching for chametz in places within our reach. Chametz, leavened bread, represents the yetzer hara (evil inclination).