Category Archives: Communal Matters

Tim Tebow and the Convenience of Religious Evangelism

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Rabbi Leib Zalesch

I penned this strange bit of satirical verse a couple of months ago, in the throes of Tebowmania, but I held off on posting it at that time. With the imminent trade of Tebow and the decreasing relevance of the … Continue reading →

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Lomdus vs. Skills: A Response to Rabbi Adler of TABC

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Rabbi Leib Zalesch

Here is a letter of mine recently printed in Issue 5:5 of Kol Hamevaser, the “Jewish Thought Magazine of the Yeshiva University Student Body,” in which I responded to their interview with Rabbi Yosef Adler of TABC (5.2, the Education Issue). … Continue reading →

Posted in Communal Matters, Jewish Education (meta) | 2 Comments

מאבל לאור גדול: Preliminary Thoughts on Joy and Aveilut in Contemporary Jewish Worship

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Rabbi Leib Zalesch

I confess, I am a Minyanaholic, even a bit of a Minyan-snob. I am one of those guys who not only, under normal circumstances, makes a point to be at Minyan, but notices and judges you (yes, you!) if you … Continue reading →

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Kalev’s Prayer: Maintaining Integrity of Self in a World of Easy Associations

Posted on January 15, 2012 by Rabbi Leib Zalesch

Proudly presenting another bit of Sixth Grade Torah … Shelach. The Spies. Rashi uses a textual ambiguity to derive that Kalev arrives in Chevron alone and prays at Me’arat HaMachpeila for Divine assistance from עצת מרגלים – the advice of … Continue reading →

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Shaul and the Roots of the Contemporary Leadership Vacuum

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Rabbi Leib Zalesch

More 6th Grade Torah, from this past Friday, with an add-on related to the situation in Israel: Shmuel Aleph, Perek 15: Shaul’s latest blunder comes in his second war with Amalek. Despite Hashem’s explicit command to the contrary (15:3), Shaul … Continue reading →

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