JChatting - interviews with a Jewish flavour

Sharon Ra’anan made Aliyah from Los Angeles in 1993 with her husband, and together they raised 3 daughters in the Nofei Aviv neighborhood of Beit Shemesh. Sharon received her Master’s degree in Teaching Tanach from Herzog College, and has taught topics related to Tanach and T’fillah in Matan Beit Shemesh, Midreshet Amudim in Modi’in, and in the Etta Kossowsky women’s Nach shiur. Currently during Corona, she is teaching both under her pergola outside, and by Zoom. For information about her courses, she can be reached at sfraanan@gmail.com .  בס"ד What was a place, person or event that transformed your ideas, thinking, or perspective? •                    When I first started studying the Netivot Shalom of the Slonimer Rebbe, I felt transformed. He gave me the message: “Your soul has been brought down to this world because you have a task to accomplish that only you can do.” I never though...

Photo taken at Yeshivat Chachmei Lublin, Poland - Rav Meir Shapira The following will never see blessing from their work: merchants in the market, small animal farmers, fellers of good trees, and those who seek the best portion for themselves. What is the reason? People pay attention to them, so the evil eye has an influence over them. There are four salaries that will never be blessed -  earnings  of writers and translators (those who translate the Torah reading on Shabbat), earnings via orphans and overseas business. We understand three of these: -  earnings  of translators looks like payment for work on Shabbat - orphans cannot give forgiveness (if their guardian loses their money)  - overseas business is dangerous and one cannot expect miracles all the time But what is the reason that writers do not receive blessing from their earnings?  Rabi Yehoshua ben Levi said: the Men of the Great Assembly fasted and prayed 24 times that writers of sefarim, tefili...

Spencer Lewis is currently serving as Head Teacher of Yavneh College in London and Executive Head Teacher of the Yavneh Schools overseeing the development of Yavneh Primary School . Spencer gained a BA at Jews College London and MA in Rabbinic Literature from the University of London. He has a Post Graduate Certificate in Educational Leadership from the University of Hull and the National Professional Qualification for Headship from the NCSL.   1. Wh ich person book or event transformed your ideas, thinking, or perspective? What changed? I spent every Sunday afternoon for a year, studying with Professor Nechama Leibowitz. She was an inspiration and remains so today. In terms of books, books about leadership have greatly inspired me professionally including a book by Mike Brearley, ex England Cricket captain and psychotherapist where he talks about how understanding people and their differing individual needs and qu...

Rabbi Ari N. Enkin, a resident of Ramat Beit Shemesh, is a researcher and writer of contemporary halachic issues. He teaches halacha one-on-one online, including a popular semicha program, to students all over the world. Rabbi Enkin is the author of the “Dalet Amot of Halacha” series (9 volumes), Rabbinic Director of United with Israel, a Ram at Yeshivat Lev HaTorah. rabbiari@hotmail.com. 1. Wh ich  person  book  or event transformed your ideas, thinking,  or  perspective?   Halacha sefarim. I believe that halacha is the most important area of Torah study. The Piskei Teshuvos is a sefer that I use every single day for years already.  2.  W hat area of Jewish life needs the most emphasis? Always working on improving my middos (Editor translation: character traits), interpersonal skills, manners, etiquette, and diplomacy. Where I see myself having 'slipped' in these area I endeavor to quickly improve.  3.    What Jewish message does...