​​ Thank you for inviting me into your home. Many of you have purchased one or more of my books. I thought you would like to have an inside view of who I am and what prompts me to write. HOW IT ALL STARTED 1. We lived in Mill Basin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) For over 35 years, and prayed at the Flatbush Park Jewish Center, a modern orthodox synagogue of 700 families. I observed quite a number of congregants who were unfamiliar with synagogue practice. Unsure of themselves, they

Rabbi David was so impressed with my success working with Rafi (See Blog # 002) that he introduced Micha to me. Micha (not his real name). Micha was a 14-year-old boy from a secular Jewish family whose parents yielded to the grandmother’s wish that the boy attend a leading Orthodox yeshiva in Brooklyn. When Rabbi Halpern introduced Micha to me, he had already been attending the yeshiva from the age of seven. For reasons I still do not fully understand family dynamics created

Working with these returnees to Judaism was very exhilarating. Most of these young men were in their late teens or early 20s. Many were Israelis, although some were Russian Jews. Having been born in Palestine in 1932 I was fairly fluent in Hebrew. My parents immigrated to Palestine in 1920 and spoke Russian at home. Thus I was able to converse freely with both these Israeli and Russian speaking Jews. More than a million Jews have left the former Soviet Union since 1989, mos

Writing a book is hard. It is an overwhelming and humbling experience, consuming days and nights, months on end. Growing up I jotted down thousands of notes. Most were handwritten stories told to me by my parents, grandmother and other relatives. I kept notes about our Jewish tradition, work related topics, personal, special and school related topics. I had a number of special interests: Torah & Halacha; Krymchaki life and customs, Jewish customs, superstitions and school ori

I found myself in a new world. The United States was just emerging from the worst depression in its history triggered by the stock market crash of October 27, 1929. Unemployment was rampant. As we disembarked from the ocean liner that early September day, neither I nor my parents were aware of the breadth and depth of the staggering economic crisis. Nor had we grasped the import of the unfolding catastrophe sparked by the coordinated attack on Poland by Germany and the Soviet

The How & Why of Jewish Prayer -A Guidebook for Men and Women by Israel Rubin Published by Arba Kanfot Press (731 pages) Reviewed by Voices Magazine For any newcomer to a synagogue, the experience of prayer surrounded by tallit-clad men or head-scarf-covered women may seem very daunting. He should worry nisht. Israel Rubin’s How and Why of Jewish Prayer will help him every step of the way, including the different greetings or salutations that might come his way, the proper

The How and Why of Jewish Prayer- for Men & Women (728 pg. hard cover 6”x9”) was 15 years in the making. This Halachic guidebook to prayer, is a veritable encyclopedia packed with useful information for the beginner as well as for the practiced Davener. “A new comprehensive guide to Jewish prayer, answering the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of Jewish Prayer in a user-friendly and in-depth format” Chapter headings include: • The Purpose of Prayer •Are Prayers Answered? • Keva vs. Kavanah •