And the next YU seforim sale will begin on . .

Yeshiva University has just released the dates for the next SOY Seforim Sale, one of the best Jewish book and music sales in America. The sale will take place beginning February 6th through the 27th. It's pretty much a really large room filled with books and seforim from all genres as well as music and DVD's, all at discounted prices. I'm really looking forward!!

Two New Books to Check Out

Some of you may have noticed that there have been a lot of new book releases in the past few weeks, and you can expect a couple more as Yomtov starts appearing around the corner. One book that I was very excited for and that I have begun reading is R' Yechiel Speros new book from Artscroll, "A Touch of Purity." I only jumped onto the "Touched by a Story" bandwagon a year ago but I've already become an enthusiastic fan of the stories. R' Speros latest book is about Elul and Tishrei and all the messages associated with those times (i.e. Teshuva, davening, etc.) As someone who learns better through stories then pure mussar seforim I really appreciate Rabbi Speros books, especially those that are about certain times of year or other themes, like his book on Tisha B'av which has given me something meaningful to relate to on that day the past two years, as well as his books of Tefillah. I haven't gotten all the way through "A Touch of Purity" yet since I want it to last me through Yom Kippur, but I have finished the section of Elul and if the rest of the book is as powerful as the first section I would recommend this as inspirational and timely reading for those of you looking for a good book/sefer on the Yomim Noraim. Each story is followed by a short vort of d'var Torah that gives the story an extra boost to help make its point. I'll admit that sometimes I skip the d'var Torah and go straight to the next story, but everything written in this book is worth reading.

The second book that I've been reading, which I picked up yesterday, is a book from Feldheim on Jewish medical ethics titled "The Value of Human Life." It is based on a series of lectures that were delivered at the first ever Jewish medical ethics conference that took place two years ago in Switzerland. I actually took a class on Jewish medical ethics a year ago which drew me to this book but its relevance is for all of us as it is fascinating and pertinent to the times we live in. In todays world we are constantly hearing about issues like stem cell research, organ donations, prolonging the life of people who are brain dead, and many other health related issues. "The Value of Human Life" has articles written by some of the biggest names in Jewish medical ethics, including Rabbi J. David Bleich, Professor Avraham Steinberg and Professor Abraham S. Abraham. I think that understanding the issues discussed in this book will help us to be more educated on these relevant issues and will give us a Torah perspective to maintain when reading about them in the newspapers. This book is reader friendly and truly fascinating for anyone interested in reading it.

Wishing you all a K'siva V'chasimah Tovah!

Emmanuel: Perspectives Then and Now

It is hard to form a conclusive opinion on the current affairs surrounding the school in Emmanuel. The Slonimer Chassidim claim that this issue is not about Sephardi/Ashkenazi segregation, rather the separation made between classes in the school was simply meant as a way to distinguish those from a less religious background to those who are more religious. The Chassidim do not want their daughters to be negatively influenced by families who may do things like watching movies or going to mixed dances. A good proof for the veracity of this position is that Sephardi fathers also joined their Ashkenazi counterparts in going to jail this past week as part of the penalty for violating the court order to integrate the schools. If Sephardim are studying with Ashkenazim then the issue is not all about segregation. It seems that among our frum camp this previous opinion is held by the majority.

However, Rav Yaakov Yosef, son of Rav Ovadia Yosef and Rav of the plaintiff, claims that there definitely was some amount misconduct from the Ashkenazim to the Sephardim and that the Ashkenazim have defamed the Sephardim, who he claims are good religious Jews, by claiming for the public media that they are non-religious Jews. Obviously, this issue is far from simple and it is constantly being portrayed with a certain amount of bias, proportional to the views of the author and paper the story is being published in. Thus it is hard to form a completely educated opinion.

Today, while I was reading "In Their Shadows," by Rav Shlomo Lorincz I came across the following story which has some semblance to the case before us today in Emmanuel. Obviously, if you hold like the Slonimer Chassidim and many other Gedolei Yisroel that there has been no mistreatment of Sephardim and that this issue is about Kedushas HaTorah and Chinuch Habanim then the story below is not really relevant. However, if you hold by the other side then it surely is a relevant story, and either way it is a powerful lesson in a time when discrimination against Sephardim and others still exists. This is something that we can all learn from.

Rav Shach fully displayed his forcefulness in a letter he wrote to Rav Shraga Grossbard, director of Chinuch Atzmai, in 5741 (1981).
At that point, the admissions policy of some Chinuch Atzmai schools discriminated against Sephardic children, in favor of children of Ashkenazi descent.
In his letter to Rav Grossbard, Rav Shach explains at length that there is no halachic basis for such discrimination, and he concludes:
Therefore, I ask you to pass a message to the principals [of the schools] that there are no excuses or justifications- they must accept Sephardic children. I write this as a halachic ruling that they may not transgress" (In Their Shadow, p. 400 by Rav Shlomo Lorincz).

The Next Page: Summer 2010

For those of you who bought this past weekends newspapers you probably saw the insert that was included courtesy of Israel Book Shop. Back at Winter time Israel Book Shop released a new magazine/catalog called The Next Page which had some interviews with the authors, segments from new releases, contests, and more. At the same time they also unveiled a new website, www.thenextpage-israelbookshop.com. Now, with the second publication of their magazine they have also announced a new contest. Every week there will be a new short story published on the website with each story having an inconclusive or mystery ending. Readers are then encouraged to submit how they think the story ended and the author of the best ending will receive a prize. This actually sounds like a lot of fun and I'm curious to see how it will take off.

Besides for this new contest there has also been a new original serial story that is only being published on their website called Divided Attention. All of this can be viewed at the link above. If you didn't have a chance to see the magazine that was distributed as an insert this past weekend you can view it by clicking here. I think that this new PR campaign from Israel Book Shop is very impressive and as far as I'm aware it's first for a frum publishing house. Hopefully we'll continue to see more exciting things in the future.

Jewish Music on iTunes

As an avid Jewish music listener I have been occasionally disappointed by the lack of downloading availability for our CDs that many other genres of music get. Mostlymusic has actually been very wonderful about starting to have more and more CDs available for download at a cheaper price and there are even some older CDs the feature individual song downloads. I really like the latter kind since there are certain albums where you know beforehand you don't want the whole thing, you just want a couple of songs. iTunes really has a good system for non-Jewish music and I've wished more songs would be available through them, but I understand that there are financial reasons why that is not so practical for the JM business. However, I have tried to compile a list of JM albums and singers that are available on I-Tunes. Most of the albums are from Sameach with one surprising new one from Aderet (Shimon Craimer). Below is the list. If anybody wants to add anything else please comment below.

Shimon Craimer: Nashir Beyachad
Yosef Chaim (Shwekey): Lo Lefached
The Chevra 3
Yerachmiel and Aaron Razel: The Secret of Shabbos
Avraham Fried: You're Never Alone, No Jew Will Be Left Behind, The Time is Now, Goodbye Golus
Hasc: A Time for Music volumes 7, 18, 20
Yeshiva Boys Choir: YBC Live II, YBC 3 (Shabichi)
Shloime Dachs: Dachs Dance All Night
Kol Noar Boys Choir
Benny Friedman: Taamu
Aryeh Kuntsler: From the Depths
The Maccabeats
Ari Goldwag: Pure Soul
Yisroel Williger: Menuchas Shabbos
Gershon Veroba: Impressions, Second Impressions, Turn it Around, Reach Out
All of Six13, Moshav Band, 8th Day, Yaakov Chesed
Lots of Shlomo Carelbach music

Update (6/15/10): Aryeh Kuntslers new CD "Our Eyes Are On You" is also now available on iTunes

Update (8/26/10): Dovid Gabays new album, Eretz Yisroel, along with his two previous albums, are available on iTunes

Book Week at Feldheim

Bargain Sale at Targum Press

HaMasmidim

While I was in Israel earlier this year I picked up a wonderful book that had just been released called HaMasmidim. Written in Hebrew, this book is filled with stories about Gedolim and their dedication to the study of Torah. The stories are meant to be a source of inspiration and a guide to help boys in the perseverance of Torah study. The book appears to be geared towards children and young adults but I believe that the stories in it are appropriate for all ages. Beautifully bound, with clear type and side-bar pictures of the Gadol being spoken about, this book is something like I've never seen. It also has what I think is one of the best introductions to any book that I've ever seen before. The following is my attempt to translate the intro as best I could but the original Hebrew is really much better:

Dear reader! In the book before you are descriptions that enlighten the heart about the dedication to Torah of the Gedolei Yisroel, throughout every time period. The stories tell about how they (the Gedolim) clung to Torah like one who thirsts for water, and in only the Torah did they look all their lives. Likewise, the stories describe how they trembled from the idea of Bitul Torah and how they used sechel to overcome the Yetzer Hara in this area.

But it is very important to stress that many of the Gedolei Yisroel and Talmidei Chachamim that lived during all the time periods as well as today, were not born with special characteristics- they had regular character traits. The truth is that even in you- dear reader- are the same characteristics that they had! And if you ask, how did they merit to grow into Gedolei Yisroel. . .?

The answer is simple- they succeeded in strengthening their determination that from them would emerge a Talmid Chacham along with the knowledge that with the study of every word of Torah they were fulfilling a Mitzvas Asei D'Oraisa and they were giving nachas ruach to the Creator of the world. Therefore, they were always careful to arrive to learning on time and with the time between sedarim they did not engage in frivolous activities, and they succeeded to use each moment to review what they already learned. Thus, with consistency and patience, with tefillah and supplication, they completed and knew another chapter and another masechta, until they became, with the help of Hashem, Gedolei Torah.

Therefore dear reader- you too with the help of Hashem, if you will be determined and set your mind to it, nothing will stop you from becoming a true Talmid Chacham!

We hope, that these real life examples that are filled with with pictures (of the life of these Gedolim) will encourage you to go in their footsteps and you will want throughout your life to be a Talmid Chacham, and with Siyata D'shmaya you will be!

There was just something about that introduction that struck a cord with me. As someone who loves to hear Gedolim stories, it is often possible to come to a point where you just think that the Gedolim were born this way and what they do is not possible for any of us to achieve. Their actions are beyond our capabilities so why even try. Of course this is not true and this introduction emphasizes that message; the message that many of the Gedolei Yisroel started off with the same characteristics as the rest of us and through their effort they became who they became. The stories that follow in this book are incredible. Each chapter has the theme of a particular attribute necessary in the success of Torah study and the stories that are told are really one of a kind. As I mentioned, I am particular to Gedolim stories and having heard many of them I believe that the stories in this book are wonderful. If you are looking for a source of inspiration in limud haTorah and ahavas haTorah along with a good story then this is the book for you.

[HaMasmidim is being distributed by Feldheim in the United States]