Rabbi’s Musings & Amusings

Today, we are all familiar with Rav Noach Weinberg and the incredible work he accomplished in initiating and revolutionizing the kiruv movement. But when he first set out with the dream of creating such a movement in the 1960s, he was met with fierce resistance and skepticism. He himself related that in 1966, when he first opened Aish HaTorah, people would point at him and say “there goes Noach the crackpot! He thinks he can get non-religious people to want to adopt a Torah lifestyle.”

 In case you aren’t aware, President Trump was impeached, put on trial, and has since been acquitted of the charges that led to his impeachment.

Growing up, I always felt like I was living in the shadow of my older brother Yitzie. Our personalities were quite different, and we didn’t look alike back then. But that didn’t change the fact that I was “Staum’s brother.” I was two grades behind him and often had rebbeim and teachers that he had.

I can’t say I’m very fluent in Yiddish, though I wish I was. Like many Orthodox Jews, I know “ah bissel.” From my years in yeshivah and hearing drashos, I have gleaned more of the “shprach.” I know enough to quote things to my students in Yiddish to make them think I know Yiddish. But there’s always at least one student who – when I say something in Yiddish – gives me a funny, knowing look that says, “Rabbi, both of us know that that didn’t make any sense grammatically.”

One of the more dreaded destinations these days is the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). It’s a place that many try to avoid as much as possible. But sooner or later a visit there is almost unavoidable.

In American society, there are certain things that we take very seriously. This includes whether a person chooses to put mustard or ketchup on his hot dog, and what he prefers – chocolate or vanilla.