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Yearly Archives: 2006

Beyond Teshuva – Melave Malka – February 4th at 9:00 PM with Rabbi Label Lam

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Rabbi Label Lam will be speaking on “Increasing Altitude: Continuing on the Growth Path” at the Kew Gardens Hills Melave Malka this Motza’ei Shabbos, Parshas Bo, February 4th at 9:00 PM at Congregation Ahavas Yisroel – 147-02 73rd Ave. Admission is $10 per person and we’ll be serving Cholov Yisroel Milchik (ziti, lasagna, eggplant, salad, etc…).

The initial response is very nice and if you don’t have plans already, please join us. There is 1 car coming from Monsey and 1 from Passaic. If you need a lift, send us an email at beyondbt@gmail.com.

I want to thank Phyllis Hochberg and the Jewish Press for running a free paragraph in their Queens and Long Island Community News for the event.

What’s in a Name – Matisyahu?

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One gratifying moment in my Baal Teshuvah life was when I legally changed my “American” first name to my Jewish first name. I have tremendous pleasure every time I have to spell out my name to someone official: “M A T I S Y A H U.”

Many BT’s would gladly change their legal first name, however, they do not do it, due to the hassle involved with possible court proceedings, changing the social security, passport, car registration and driver license, credit cards, etc.
Read more What’s in a Name – Matisyahu? ›

An Orthodox Jew with a Tattoo

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When I was 18 years old, before I knew anything about Orthodox Judaism, I got two tattoos. It was the thing to do – I was in college and a bunch of my friends were doing it. As well as the fact that it was an excellent opportunity to upset my parents. I didn’t know that halacha said you are not allowed to get tattoos, I wouldn’t have known what halacha was anyway.

As the years went by, and I became frum, it was a problem. One of the tattoos is in a place where no one sees it, but the other is on my ankle. I had three options – get it removed, either cover it up all the time, or deal with Orthodox Jews seeing (and possibly commenting on) my tattoo.
Read more An Orthodox Jew with a Tattoo ›

Becoming Observant in the Land of the Nittany Lions

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If I were to give one piece of advice to a couple engaged in the process of becoming more observant, I suggest this: move to a remote, slightly rural location with few Jews and an even fewer observant Jewish community. It has become apparent to me, since this is what my husband and I did, that not being in a Jewish community has had a direct correlation to our thought process and decision-making regarding our observance. We live in State College, PA – home to Penn State University and the Nittany Lions, and located within 3.5 hours of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Nittany Valley is home to football-crazed fans, about 40,000 undergraduate students, and more pizza shops than one can count. It is also our home since we got married 2.5 years ago, and remarkably, I can’t think of a better place to become more observant in Judaism.
Read more Becoming Observant in the Land of the Nittany Lions ›

Rabbi Label Lam at the KGH Melave Malke – February 4th at 9:00 PM

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In the chapter on Inspiration and Disappointment in Living Inspired, Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz discusses the natural pathway of all life experiences as one that begins with inspiration and often fades to disappointment. He applies this pattern to the Baal Teshuva with the exciting and inspired initial phase followed by the “hard work required for growth” phase. He explains that a person who understands this pattern and realizes that the first phase was artificial while the second phase yields real development, can begin to enjoy the phase of work.

Rabbi Label Lam will be speaking on “Increasing Altitude: Continuing on the Growth Path” at the Kew Gardens Hills Melave Malka this Motza’ei Shabbos, Parshas Bo, February 4th at 9:00 PM at Congregation Ahavas Yisroel – 147-02 73rd Ave. Admission is $10 per person and we’ll be serving Cholov Yisroel Milchik (ziti, lasagna, eggplant, salad, etc…).

Updated: The initial response is very nice and if you don’t have plans already, please join us (an RSVP would be helpful). There are at least 2 cars coming from Monsey and 1 from Passaic. If you need a lift, send us an email. If anybody else is coming from outside KGH, please let us know at beyondbt@gmail.com.

Following the Kiruv Tradition of Avraham

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I am a baal tshuva of 10 years living in Jerusalem. I have spent time in a number of different yeshivas and kollel’im in various different communities in and out of Jerusalem. I have met and know a plethora of baal tshuvas like myself who have married and integrated into the frum communities in which we live. I know many baal tshuvas that doven neitz, learn all day, behave like menchen and who are raising their FFB kids to be good Jews and are sending them to well established schools. But, I am beginning to think that as utopian as all this seems, something is wrong, something is missing.

Lately I have been doing something that for quite a while I have to admit I have managed to avoid doing. I have actually been listening to the Torah that I am learning. As crazy as this may sound, this has been a life shocking experience for me.
Read more Following the Kiruv Tradition of Avraham ›

Getting Your Money’s Worth

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I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that money is very often uppermost on my mind. Between basic living expenses, house expenses, two major yom tov seasons per year, and tuition, keeping up with the cost of Jewish living can be quite stressful. But Hashem does send chizuk in various forms, and I hope the following story will inspire you as much as it did me.

This year, my husband and I changed our children’s yeshiva to an excellent but rather pricey one. The Gemara in Beitzah 16a (thanks to my husband for finding the reference) tells us that all the money we spend on chinuch comes back to us. Besides this, we also receive the nachas of frum children. Clearly, schar limud is a worthwhile investment. But again, making those payments does not come easily, at least not for me.
Read more Getting Your Money’s Worth ›

Jumpstarting New Beginnings

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Hey, long time no blog. I realized what the word blog means. It means you stick your head through a cardboard wall and there’s a bunch of people on the other side who revel in throwing wet sponges at your head. No one gets hurt (we hope). It may generate some fun…and here we hope that some of us may get better at getting better. Here are a few tried and proven methods I’d like to share in order to help ourselves jumpstart new beginnings again and again again…Hope you find some of them useful!
Read more Jumpstarting New Beginnings ›

Not Passing, and Proud of it

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“Where do you study?” asked the shaddchun.
“Yeshivas Ohr Yaakov,” I answered, “and before that I learned at Ohr Somayach.”
“And before that?” she asked.
“University of California,” I said.
“And before that?” she persisted.

Before that? “Uh, high school.”
“Yes,” she said patiently. “Which high school?”
Was she kidding? “Harvard School, in North Hollywood, California.”
“Is that a Jewish school?”
This was too much. “Actually, it’s Episcopalian.”
Read more Not Passing, and Proud of it ›

Going Cold Turkey (Glatt of course)

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Mmm.., milkshakes, cheeseburgers..ham sandwiches…BLTs.. Cigarettes. Remember those days? Remember when smoking was cool and everybody- I mean everybody did it? Then suddenly the news broke that it caused cancer, lung disease and you tried to stop but just couldn’t? Doctors told you that you would die if you didn’t stop smoking, but in the back of your mind, all you could think was that George Burns was still alive.. Remember the cold sweats, the weight gain, and the frayed nerves of that month last year when you tried to stop smoking? Remember that silly patch that you put on your arm? Nothing worked. Finally, one day you snapped. Another close friend or relative died. Finally, you quit. Now, you can run that extra mile, colds come less frequently, you did not get fat. You were still cool. Best of all the whole country supports your quitting.
Read more Going Cold Turkey (Glatt of course) ›

Voice, Vote and Listening

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Please give us your input on How You Would Spend the Money for longer term Baalei Teshuva support efforts. Your voice can make a real difference.

If you don’t have much time, please vote for us in Best Group Blog and Best New Blog. We are also nominated for Best Jewish Religion Blog and Best Designed Blog. You can vote every three days.

Since Chava posted about Cultivating a Love of Eretz Yisrael, here is a great shiur by Rabbi Herschel Welcher covering the four major opinions on The Mitzvah to Live in Eretz Yisrael (left-click to play right click and Save Target as to load it to your PC)

For more listening pleasure, Classic Sinai has 24 great Torah mp3s that you can download or listen to on your PC including Rabbi Noach Weinberg on “Happiness” and “Pleasure: The Ultimate Energizer” Rebbetzin Heller on “Our Bodies Our Souls” and other greats by Rabbi Yom Tov Glaser, Rabbi Lawrence Keleman and many others.

How Would You Spend The Money?

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Some people are ‘starters’. They love to create and develop new products and ideas. Others are ‘finishers’. They are systems people. They may not be that creative, but they can take ideas and turn them into reality.

A ‘starter’ will invent and patent a why-didn’t-I-think-of-that idea (a Shabbos lamp, for example). But without a ‘finisher’, that creative idea may never take off. The ‘starter’ will lose interest when the bulbs get hot too quickly or if production gets bogged down. And, in all likelihood, he or she will be spending many of his or her waking hours thinking about the next invention.

I think that just about sums up the dilemma that many ba’alei teshuvah face. The vast majority of outreach efforts are focused on starting and very few resources are focused on the finish. And if Shabbos lamps have a hard time making it without finishers, imagine how parents with teenagers and tuition bills are coping.
Read more How Would You Spend The Money? ›

Why G-d Created Google and the Web

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It seems clear that G-d created Google and the Web to connect people and to spread Torah.

We were very fortunate this week to make some new friends at the Passaic Melave Malke, including Akiva who blogs at Mystical Paths. Akiva took photos and video’d (with his Canon camera) the first half hour of Rabbi Lazer Brody’s shiur and it’s a real treat to watch Rabbi Brody in action. Thanks to Akiva for joining the Beyond Teshuva team, the Passaic Torah Institute (PTI) for hosting the event and to Google the rest of the Web infrastructure for helping us to connect and spread Torah.

Video: Rabbi Brody, first 20 minutes.
Video: Rabbi Brody, next 12 minutes.

Photos: Rabbi Brody in Passaic, Photo Set here, Slide Show here.

Audio: Rabbi Brody, full 2 hours, MP3 format,
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6


Rabbi Brody Speaking in New Jersey (click the play button to watch)

Cultivating a Love of Eretz Yisroel

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From the moment I first came here to work on kibbutz, looking to experience the cleanest expression of communism in the Free World (…remember this was the 60’s!), and experienced the Land of Israel – the hills, the people, the smells, the songs, the connections – I knew that I was in love. It took me many years to go from disgruntled and passionate anti-Vietnam War protester to contented but still passionate resident of Ramat Beit Shemesh, and I have logged many miles in my “wandering Jew” journey. But my love for Eretz Israel has never left my heart, and my desire to take my place among our people in Hashem’s precious land never wavered.
Read more Cultivating a Love of Eretz Yisroel ›

Kew Gardens Hills Melave Malka – With Rabbi Label Lam

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Rabbi Yitzchak Kirzner zt”l told a story about a man who said that he is ahead of 90% of the world in his Yiddishkeit and when the rest of the world catches up, then he’ll work on growing more. But most committed Jews do not hold by that logic, we want to be a better Jew today than we were yesterday.

Continuing growth is not simple. We have to work on reducing the negative while at the same time always looking to build our positive thoughts, speech and actions. And in every age, it makes sense to use the tools at our disposal, like Beyond Teshuva, to help us grow.

Another great tool is an inspirational Melave Malka. A group of growth oriented Jews getting together to share an evening of food, friends and words of Torah. That’s why we’re extremely excited to be having our first:

Kew Gardens Hills Melave Malka
on Motza’ei Shabbos, Parshas Bo, February 4th at 9:00 PM
at Congregation Ahavas Yisroel – 147-02 73rd Ave.

Admission is $10 per person and we’ll be serving Milchik (ziti, lasagna, eggplant, etc…) so don’t nosh on any cold cuts for Shalosh Seudos.

Rabbi Label Lam is our special guest speaker and the topic is “Increasing Altitude: Continuing on the Growth Path”.

It should be a fantastic evening and, of course, it’s open to Jews of all stripes.

So please reserve the date and RSVP preferably at beyondbt@gmail.com or at (917) 992-xxxx or right here in the comments, so that we can prepare properly.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Using BT Passion for Outreach

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I had the pleasure of joining the BeyondBT crowd with Rabbi Brody this past Motzie Shabbat. One point he made was BT’s are great at outreach, because they’re always burning with passion.

In his previous post, Rabbi Horowitz notes his surprise at the amount of separation between the religious and non-religious in Israel. This is absolutely the case, with very limited interaction between the two. Except for the BT. Since BT’s come from a wide variety of backgrounds and professions and often continue to work in their field, they’re often the sole bridge between worlds in Israel.
Read more Using BT Passion for Outreach ›

Is it a Mitzvah to Vote?

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Thanks to your efforts, we have made it to the finals in four categories in the Jewish/Israelly Blog Awards. So if you can take 15 seconds to vote (the rules allow voting every 3 days), we can get out the word and broaden our community.

Best Jewish Religion Blog
Best New Blog
Best Designed Blog  
Best Group Blog

On a different note, one of our readers is interested in doing some research regarding the history of the (recent) BT movement. If anybody nows of any books on this matter, or can point to anyone in particular who knows about this issue, please let us know at beyondbt@gmail.com

Sibling Rivalry-BT Vs. FFB: How Do We Stop It?

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I’ve noticed along with others that there sometimes is an anti FFB sentiment running through some comments. I’d like to dispel people’s beliefs for a moment.

First of all let’s realize that if it wasn’t for the FFB world, we wouldn’t be here today on this website (obviously Hashem is the ultimate reason we are here). After all, the first BT’s of this past generation were merkaraved by Aish, Ohr Samayach, Neve, etc. All started by FFB’s. So we owe a tremendous hakaros hatov to the FFB world. Did we ever stop and think who kept the light of Torah burning the last 2000 years? That’s right, those FFB’s.
Read more Sibling Rivalry-BT Vs. FFB: How Do We Stop It? ›

The Unsung Victories of the Baal Teshuva

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How would you describe colors to a blind person, or a piece of music to a deaf person? Close your eyes for a moment and ponder how you would convey the images and sounds. At the very least it would be a daunting, perhaps even an impossible task.

Similarly, how difficult is it for a BT to describe the sublime pleasure of discovering Torah’s emes to their non observant loved ones? How does a BT convey their deep satisfaction at having learned how to keep a kosher kitchen, or to put on tefillin? Surely for the BT there are many mitzvoth they needed to put a great deal of effort into in order to master. And yet, how can we share these accomplishments with those closest to us, with those who knew us all of our lives?
Read more The Unsung Victories of the Baal Teshuva ›