Podcasts about ve'ahavta

This week's torah portion is the source of the 3rd paragraph of the Shema/VeAhavta and it instructs us to wear 'tzit-tzit', the fringes at the corners of our garments. How powerful can a ritual to wear fringes be? This uniform custom has been practised by the Jewish people across time and space. While the Shema and the Ve'Ahavta may not be as emotional as other Jewish prayers, it has grounded our people in ritual for thousands of years.

Well the Corona Virus numbers are increasing just as we suspected. That sucks! Ya, we're worried. But what's increasing as well is the level of goodness and kindness in our community and throughout the world. Have a listen to Corona Radio 4 to hear how that is playing out. I dedicated the show to Ve'ahavta's executive-director, Cari Kozierok, who hopped in the Ve'ahavta homeless van last night and drove it through the laneways of downtown Toronto to ensure those people living on the street would have food, water and warm clothing. While the Corona Virus is daunting to all of us, it is also creating an environment which is steeped in caring and good deeds. Similarly, near the end of the show listen for some Carona Virus humor. Got laugh folks! Just got to laugh. Corona Radio brought to you by HatRadio! by a Jewish guy, who is trying with his friends, to figure out what the hell is going on. Corona Radio is sponsored by my dear friend, Mark Gryfe who also went shopping for me today!  Kindness!!!  ____________________________________________________________________ Thanks so much to Howard Pasternack for his post-production work. Well done my friend. We're fighting this virus together through our work here.  Music Credits: Backed Vibes by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3410-backed-vibesLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Intractable by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3920-intractableLicense: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Dr. Gordon Arbess is my guest on Episode 55 of HatRadio! Gordy is a family doctor with a focus on HIV/AIDs. He is a highly compassionate award-winning doc who talks in length about the struggles of many of his AIDS patients, in particular those who are older now, several whom who live on/near the street. Gordy explains his empathy for them and addresses my question of where God might fit into his medical work. Our schmooze is fascinating! In the second half, Gord shares stories about his past participation in humanitarian work in Zimbabwe, through Ve'ahavta, on a life-saving HIV/AIDS mother-to-child regiment which was picked up the World Health Association. Dr. Gord discusses openly his son's courage dealing with a severe stutter he's had since he was six. Gord Arbess breathes compassion. It's evident through how he lives his life and the way he and his wife, Sharon, raise their children. It is clear from how Gordy acts on a regular day when the poor and needy come his way. THE HATRADIO! CHALLENGE? Listen to the show and commit to a compassionate action to help someone in need. HatRadio! Just a show about a Jewish guy trying to figure out with friends, what the hell is going on in life. Thank you so much to Howard Pasternack for his wonderful work on post-production of HatRadio! I'm grateful for what Howard does to make this show so much better, every week. Thank you too, to my dear friend, David Nefesh for composing and recording the HatRadio! song, that we've played since the inception of the show. I just love the HatRadio! song. I have dear friends.     

We all try so incredibly hard to construct a meaningful life with love, health and happiness. Robyn Tousson-Segal, my guest on HatRadio!, episode 54, personifies that pursuit in a highly successful way. This articulate and compassionate woman, with a soothing voice, is married to a spirited man. They have grappled with their different approaches to a religious lifestyle, but ultimately made it work in a powerful way. The couple shares three beautiful children, who are insightful and empathetic. Robyn is a well-respected yoga teacher with a waiting list. Her classes are thematic, based on love, caring and empathy. She has worked at Ve'ahavta, a Jewish humanitarian organization, for the last 16 years helping the homeless and the impoverished. Mostly, Robyn is full of gratitude for her blessings. A lot of gratitude! That is really what this show is all about - gratitude coming from a very special soul! Have a listen. HatRadio! A show just about a Jewish guy trying like hell, to figure out through others, the human experience.  ____________________________________________________________________ Special thanks to Howard Pasternack for post-production. Howard makes the show great from a sound perspective. Thank you too, to my dear friend, David Nefesh, for the HatRadio! song. David is an extraordinary singer/songwriter and has honored me with this song. 

In this shiur we discuss the first paragraph of Shema. We look at the 10 mitzvot contained in it, the text itself, and the concept of Ahavat Hashem on various levels.

Greg Rogers is from Fredericton, New Brunswick. He has an accent from Eastern Canada. He stands about 6 feet and has longish white hair with wicked sideburns. The thing about Greg is, he's as brash and straightforward as you want people to be with no qualms about calling anyone out, especially himself.  My old friend, 62 years old, who helped me when Ve'ahavta was established as the executive director of Na Me Res (Native Men's Residence), told me in the interview about his walrus penis collection. He told me the first term he learned in Inuktituk which directed as his wife to be, "pull down your pants".  He told me a story of a 'zaidy' (Yiddish for grandfather), whose family lived in his building out east, who used to take all the kids in the neighborhood out in his Cadillac on Sunday. And Greg said, one day something went wrong in the house and he (Greg) called the Zaidy, 'you dirty Jew'.  He said, "that's how i thanked him for taking us out. I'm ashamed of myself."  The man does not follow convention when it comes to schmoozing. He says what's on his mind, exactly in the way he hears stuff in his head. That is refreshing because so many of us are just so full of shit and believe our own fiction.   And the thing about Greg is (and he denies this) he is a highly compassionate human being having spent most of his working-life managing non-profits, usually assisting the homeless. He and his wife adopted two children, and he has the ability to understand individuals especially very complex ones. Listen to this episode and discover: 1.   Greg's overwhelming love for his wife, and their romance in Northern Canada (he sent her love notes every day for a year in her native language). 2.   Our shared discussion about the early days of Ve'ahavta and Na Me Res, especially when his clients offered to scrub swastikas off tombstones in a Jewish cemetery in eastern Toronto, and ultimately did so. 3. His thoughts about hatred, racism, good and kindness. He candidly and honestly tells us about his early dislike of French Canadians, which he eventually overcame.   Greg is an honest, non-judgmental man. He looks at himself and fixes what is broken inside of him. He feels entirely blessed to have a woman he loves (married for 32 years), a wonderful career and great experiences in life. Greg is a man to emulate and to be inspired by. And they simply don't get funnier that he is. Hatradio! The show that schmoozes.   ____________________________________________________________________ Yisha Ko'ach (Yiddish for 'way to go') to David Nefesh for the Hatradio! song, and to Howard Pasternack for his post-production work. They help make the show what it is.  Credit for music in commercial:Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

THIS EPISODE IS IN MEMORY OF OUR CHILDREN WHO DIED OF HIV/AIDS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, OR WHO BECAME ORPHANS BECAUSE OF IT. IT IS IN MEMORY OF OUR NEIGHBORS, WHO LIVED ON THE STREETS OF OUR TOWN AND DIED THERE THIS PAST WINTER. REST IN PEACE. THANK YOU FOR COMING OUR WAY!  Episode 24 of Hatradio! is a first of its kind. It is a 1-man show, Just me!. I quite enjoyed doing this segment. I enjoyed it because it gave me the chance to talk and hear my own history and how tikun olam (repairing the world) was so prevalent and a lead up to the creation of Ve'ahavta. Doing this show was therapeutic. It allowed revisit my past and 'hang out' with my zaidies and boobies (grandfathers and grandmothers). I adored telling the story of my mother, Gitel, walking through Queens Park with her father on Shabbat, seeing that image in my head....the squirrels running past them, the two of them sitting on a bench giggling and telling stories about the old country. I loved talking about my father, Shragah Phyvle, and his two brothers, all of whom were community builders, and cared deeply about the Jewish people and Israel.  I think when you hear about my family, their journey from Easter Europe and the solid lives they made in the West, you might consider aspects of your own life, your parents and grandparents. You might smell the mothballs in their homes as we did in our grandparent's home, and recall the communication challenges you had with the Boobie, as we did. They were warriors though. They worked arduously. They were beautiful spirits. They lived their lives with verve and purpose and truckloads of love.   And then their is the second half of the show about the genesis of Ve'ahavta. Man, those were something. They were glorious and golden years. Everything shone. I remember telling my girlfriend at the time, Roz, to remember the coat-hanger we'd purchased for our new office because it was the first coat-hanger of the first Jewish humanitarian organization ever. In this segment you'll hear about our homeless initiatives including our Mobile Jewish Response to the Homeless and our Ve'ahavta Street Academy for the Homeless.  You'll learn about our international work including medical missions to Guyana in Bartica and the rainforests, and the outstanding work we did with our teams through the brilliant efforts of Dr. Michael Silverman. You'll discover our successes at the Howard Hospital in Zimbabwe, through the tenacity of Scarborough born, Dr. Paul Thistle who has made a life for himself there. Folks, we met superstars. We were mentored by them. We shared with them. We were exposed to divergent cultures, different peoples, the children! Oh, the children!  Our toil was holy in its own way and I loved every minute of it.  Every frickin minute.  The greatest challenge doing this podcast was being articulate throughout the 1 hour and 40 minutes but mostly telling a good story, that flowed, was cogent and consistent - that made sense.  Howard and I worked on the post-production and while it wasn't the most editing we'd ever done we had to listen closely to ensure a poetry of words. And I think we figured it out. I think you'll enjoy the show. Have a listen and let me know what you think. Share this link as I am hoping people will be encouraged through it to pursue their own dreams and enhance our world and those whom we share this planet with. 'm hoping our community of listeners here, will see their blessings and recognize what we have, versus what we lack. That is not easy, but it is do-able.  Hatradio! The show that schmoozes (with regular folk).   ___________________________________________________________________________ Thank you to David Nefesh for creating the Hatradio! song. David's been my brother since we're eight year old. We adopted each other. He's talented as hell. Do a google search on David Nefesh and listen to his music. He has a voice of an angle and his lyrics live.  And thank you to Howard Pasternack, my friend, for his post-production work which he does consistently every Thursday afternoon - Thursdays with Howard. We have amazing times together, editing but more so, attempting to understand the world. He's a fine teacher and cerebral partner. Well done Howard!  Credit for music in commercial:Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Carmel Kilkenny speaks with Debbie Estrin of Ve'ahavta, about MYTORONTO, the photography contest.

Ve'ahavta by Congregation Emanu-El

Meet Theresa Schrader, former crack addict and prostitute, who turned her life around after winning Ve'ahavta's Creative Writing Contest. She is now a full-time Ve'ahavta staff member and Coordinator of the contest.