Social
Menu
  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Mendel's Messages
no comments

Some Takeaways from Emek Jezreel College Visit – Fall 2025

Rabbi Eliav came back with another group of students from Emek Jezreel College in Israel’s center-north near Afulah. It was a beautiful Shabbat together, they enhanced our Shabbat and spent quality time formally and informally with our students, and they … Read the rest

...
no comments

Mr. Heshy’s Sweet Grumble

I (Mendel) attended a NYSWI (New York State Writers Institute) campus event this Fall 2025 featuring a poet and author who wrote a comedic memoir about growing up in Jewish Skokie (a very Jewish suburb of Chicago). I’ve been to … Read the rest

...
no comments

A Grain or Two of Jerusalem Wisdom

There’s a Midrash that tells the story of a man who wished to test the legendary wisdom of the children of Jerusalem. One of the tests was to give a Jerusalem child a few small coins and asked him to … Read the rest

...
no comments

Judges at the Gates – More than a Binary Choice

The first verse in Shoftim, the Torah portion read at or close to the start of the Fall semester, instructs us to have “Judges and Officers at all your gates.” Gates is an unusual word for cities, and some commentaries … Read the rest

...
no comments

A 19 Year Old’s Decision

We had an alumnus from the UAlbany Class of 1990 visit for Shabbos with his family. He’s a light humorous guy, does shows as a comedian, but sitting around on Friday Night he actually shared something so serious and meaningful. … Read the rest

...
no comments

Depraved Indifference

This term harks back to my Grand Jury duty days earlier this Summer 2025. Somehow it is one of the terms that stuck with me, I think it often when I read the news headlines or some rhetoric and those … Read the rest

...
no comments

The Backwards Hebrew Welcome at UAlbany

Wanted to give a shout out appreciation to the UAlbany Welcome Staff who made this thoughtfully inclusive sign with the words for Welcome in many languages (& as I am Jewish) including Hebrew.

I know some will be upset or … Read the rest

...
no comments

The Piston Rings Problem

Back in March 2025 we had an issue with our 2016 gray Honda Odyssey minivan. It wasn’t working right and then it stalled out. The technician said our piston rings were worn out and it was causing a range of … Read the rest

...
no comments

Rav Hershel Schachter, the Ritvah, and Life’s Mixed Bag of Blessing

A special highlight for my father (Rabbi Yisrael Rubin) & myself this 5785/2025 Chaf-Av Summer Yarchei Kallah in Tannersville (where my father spoke as well) was to meet & hear Rav Hershel Schachter, the Rosh Yeshiva of YU. Before getting … Read the rest

...
no comments

The ADA’s Repetitive Questions

One thing that makes Grand Jury more interesting and varied than trial jury is that you get to see multiple cases in each day, each case usually has multiple witnesses, each sworn in, each asked questions. And because of that, … Read the rest

...
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164
Next