I am always trying to improve myself, make myself a better person towards myself and make myself better towards others.  I recently realized I have some anger issues and am really working on removing that poison from my soul.  Tuesday night I decided to look around the interwebs to see if I could find any lectures on the topic.  A few sites I have heard the past couple weeks came to mind (I put them in the link bar… please check them out).  The first one being Torah Anytime that has a lot of great lectures in both audio and video.  I did not really find anything there so I went to Simple to Remember (Clever Aye?) which seems to be organized a bit better.  On the site my eyes lit up when I saw ”The Challenge of Anger” as one of the titles.  I immediately downloaded it onto my iPod for listening on Wednesday, I knew I would be doing a lot of traveling so I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to listen.

Wednesday comes, I end up listening to most of the lecture at different periods throughout the day.  I went to an Aish Shabbaton this past weekend (I will write about it, I promise!) where I made some friends and one mentioned there are some great lectures here in the city at the Sephardic Shul.  Since I have moved to the city I have been desperate to find one so I figured here was my calling.  Coincidentally it is held at the same place the Pope came, they give us Sephards our own little space for worship!

So I made it to the Synagogue, not really knowing who the speaker was or what the lecture was about.  There I was listening to the Rabbi speak, immediately I said to myself “Wow this guy is British JUST like the lecture I was listening to all day!”  A little further into the conversation he starts saying some of the same exact things the guy on my iPod was saying. Then it hit me – I pulled out my iPod and and checked out the name of the Rabbi, IT WAS THE SAME GUY!  Isn’t that crazy? Out of all the possible Rabbis and all of the possible lectures I could have picked, I picked the same thing I heard that night.

Repent one day before your death.  R’ Eliezer’s disciples asked, “But does one know the day of his death?” He explained, “Let him repent each day lest he die on the morrow.”

כל-כך

pronounced: call-kakh

meaning: so

Clubhouse Cafe

Two weeks ago my cousin and I were on the couch talking about how we hate going to non-kosher restaurants on Saturday Nights where we end up paying $25 for a piece of fish and then have to go somewhere else to enjoy the night. 

Turns out someone must have been listening because last Saturday night we were told this type of place just opened up in Mid-town Manhattan and it turned out to be everything we had dreamt of.  Low lights, a full bar, good music and a menu full of Glatt Kosher Meat, what more could we want?  Although the service was slow at times, the food was excellent and reasonably priced.  I had a hamburger and fries for $13.50.  Steak starts at $18 and most sandwiches range from $8-$14.  They have an assortment of appetizers, we got the sliders (mini-burgers), mini kabobs and spicy chicken wings.  All of them were great – especially the wings.  Beers are priced under $8 and mixed drinks around $10.

Overall one of the best dining experiences I have had with friends.  We even got to see a celebrity! Grizz Chapman from 30 Rock was there!

I would recommend making a reservation because this place is Glatt HOT!

אהבה

pronounced: ah-hah-vah

meaning: love

Tomorrow marks a historic day.

It will be the first time a pope visits a Synagogue in the United States.

Pope Benedict XVI will visit the Park East Synagogue for 20 minutes or so late Friday afternoon. 

Click the read link for the details as there is so much to list!

[ via NYTimes.com]

Ever wonder how the Kotel handles all the prayers left between it’s stones?

Click the break for the answer!

Twice a year a Rabbi (the current Western Wall Rabbi is Shmuele Rabinowitz) and his helpers remove the thousands of prayers left between the ancient stones to free up the space for more notes.  They are considered to have religious significance and are buried in a nearby cemetery. 

Unfortunately some small stone blocks are sliding at the top, and they would like to have them fixed by the summer” says Rabinowitz, however the top part is attached the Al-Aqsa Mosque and would be viewed as aggression says top Jeruselum Muslim Cleric Mohammed Hussein states.

People of all faiths leave notes betwen the stones, believing that the requests are more likely to be heard by G-d.

Personal Note: I left a note in the Kotel once many years ago.  I still believe in it.

In a response to a threat issued last week by the National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, Iranian deputy Chief Of Staff Mohammad Reza Ashtiani said “Iran will eliminate Israel from the ‘scene of the universe’ if Israel Attacks” at a press conference in Tehran for “Military day”.

This in light of Ben-Eliezers statement last week saying “Iran will be wiped off the face of the earth if it dares to fire any missile at us.” Later in the week he would not retract his statement, stating he was tired of receiving threats to Israel on a daily basis.

What a pimp.

[ via Jerusalem Post]

Why is there no “Amen” at the end of this blessing? Traditionally, each person washes their own hands, and each person says their own blessing. You don’t say “Amen” to your own blessing, and everybody says their own n’tilat yadayim, so there is no “Amen”! With the other blessings on this page, a leader says the blessing on behalf of everyone, and the others say “Amen.”

“Nothing stands before desire” is a realistic formula for accomplishment. It says that when the door to achievement is somewhat ajar, if our desire to accomplish is great enough, the Almighty will help us get it done. We may have to push a bit beyond our boundaries and venture out into uncharted territory. But when we know what we want, and we know that it is the right thing for us — then nothing can stand in our way.