Not so Jewish
This week we hosted a group of tourists from New York. All of them wanted the kosher Amazon experience and we got to work. Arranging the food, trips, and entertainment together with some community members was entertaining and educating. After the group left, one of our members commented that he could not understand how the […]
To take the pill or not?
When you live in the Amazon, so far away from large Jewish communities, people know that you can keep secrets. That is why I had a friend living in another continent, call me with a personal dilemma. His 8-year-old daughter was struggling in her school studies. The principal noticed a pattern in her failures and […]
No!
My son said, “no,” again and again. It was dinner time and I wanted him to eat his vegetables, yet he simply refused. There was no prize that would convince him to eat, and no punishment that would sway his decision. He was as stubborn as Pharoah, who refused to let the Jewish people leave […]
They simply do not want it
A tourist named Todd came in for a visit and we put on tefillin. I asked him when the last time he had done the mitzvah. Like all people today, he looked on his phone and shared with me a picture of him next to another Rabbi Beny in Cabo, Mexico. Rabbi Beny is a […]
The sound of music
People speak in different ways. Some with their voices and some with their action. But just like any good movie scene, the background music is what sets the tone to what you see. It gives context to what is happening and how you should feel at that very moment. If you could only imagine for […]
Erro no aplicativo
O WhatsApp lançou recentemente uma atualização em seu aplicativo que permite editar mensagens enviadas. É um ótimo recurso e muito mais rápido do que apagar e reescrever uma mensagem mal escrita. A desvantagem é que aparecerá a palavra “editado”, o que torna público que você cometeu um erro. Por outro lado, o aplicativo Uber não […]
Big Conversations
There is somebody I need to speak to this week, but I have been pushing off the conversation for a few days now. I am hoping that the issue will resolve itself, but in reality, I know it won’t. If that sounds like a situation you are in as well, then you should know that […]
Respect
Did you ever wonder why your child answers you back and/or does not listen to your advice? You can speak from today until tomorrow, but if they have lost respect for you, then they will never listen to you. Think about in your own life growing up… You asked for advice from those you respected: […]
Good night from Manaus
These days it is hard to sleep. Our thoughts are in Israel and really focus on world jewry. In fact our forefathers did not sleep much. You see, when Jacob was finally heading home, he heard that his brother, Esav, was chasing after him. Jacob prayed, prepared for war, and even tried to appease Esav […]
Not enough children
On the way back from the shluchim banquet in New Jersey, a few weeks ago. I sat next to an old acquaintance, Rabbi Engel. Around 15 years ago he moved to Australia to service the community there. Having grown up to a family of Shluchim in the state of Colorado, USA, his parents were blessed […]
