Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista, California.
His books, available on Amazon, include:
*A Shepherd’s Song
*Gentle Judaic Wisdom for a Troubled World
*Maimonides Hidden Torah Commentaries: Genesis 1-21
*Maimonides Hidden Torah Commentaries: Genesis: 22-50
*Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Torah Commentator (Vol 1): Genesis
*Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Torah Commentator (Vol 2): Exodus
*Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Torah Commentator (Vol 3) Leviticus
*Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Torah Commentator(Vol 4) Numbers
*Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Torah Commentator (Vol 5) Deuteronomy
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — This past week, a newspaper featured a picture of a Lubavitcher rabbi putting tefillin on Santa Claus. It reminded me of a story from Eli Plaut’s book, Kosher Christmas. It mentions how an old Ukrainian Jewish immigrant dressed up as Santa Claus and spoke Yiddish. When […]
Ridding ourselves of ancient prejudices Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiSiddur Avodat HaLev (Hebrew and English Edition) Hardcover by Rabbinical Council of America; Editor: Rabbi Basil Herring, by Koren Publishers Jerusalem, 97896530-19362; 1346 pages By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The brand new Siddur Avodat Halev is a fabulous new commentary on the traditional siddur, but unlike most commentaries you have read, the writers of this project
Book Review: Siddur Avodat HaLev Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — I often get asked the questions, “What is the symbolism of the dreidel? What exactly is its origin?” The dreidel is a four cornered top that was popular in the medieval era and originally used for gambling. Jewish folklore purports that when the Syrians prohibited the
History and meanings of the dreidel Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Whenever we talk about the protagonists of the Bible, we must remember that every biblical actor’s character evolves in the course of a lifetime. What each person starts out differs from what each one ultimately becomes. In the latter half of Genesis, the ancient storyteller lavished
Stan Lee’s heroes, like our patriarchs, overcame flaws Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The question of turkey’s status as a permitted bird is a topic that comes up every Thanksgiving holiday season. Nevertheless, many Orthodox Jews I personally know will never eat turkey since there is no tradition permitting it. Clearly, the Torah does not mention turkey at all
Historic question: Is turkey really kosher? Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, The World We Share
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — On Thursday night, Nov. 1, almost 140 gathered at Temple Beth Shalom to participate in a special ecumenical memorial service for those murdered in last week’s Shabbat service at the Tree of Life Synagogue, located in the Squirrel Hill Jewish area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a
Clergy, officials turn out for vigil at Beth Shalom Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, San Diego County, USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Anti-Semitism is one of the world’s most enduring social diseases that we as Jews have known throughout our history. With the murder of eleven Jews at the Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue, the Jewish community awoke from its slumber only to realize that anti-Semitism is still alive
Jews threatened by extreme right AND extreme left Read More »
Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — This past week, I enjoyed watching some of the scary zombie movies on Hulu and Netflix; it’s a custom I have kept since I was a boy of seven or eight years old. Halloween was always a fun time for me as a child. Watching scary
Judaism and the zombie question Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Travel and FoodBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — As a person who enjoys going out to the theatre, I must admit, I have never seen the kind of theatre that we have witnessed over the last month or so regarding the Kavanaugh vs. Blasey-Ford case. There were a number of individuals whose moral courage
Thoughts on Blasey- Ford v. Kavanaugh Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA
By Donald H. Harrison CHULA VISTA, California – The 1st Century Jewish philosopher and religious scholar, Philo, was very familiar with the Torah, commenting here and there on different portions of the Five Books of Moses in writings that were spread over approximately 40 publications in the native Greek language that he spoke in his
Rabbi Samuel introduces Philo to the modern world Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, International, Israel Drazin-Rabbi Dr., Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East
The Israel Bible (Hebrew and English Edition) by Rabbi Tuly Weisz; Hardcover: 2212 pages; Publisher: Menorah Books; Bilingual edition (July 10, 2018); Language: Hebrew, English; ISBN-10: 1940516803; Cost: $44.00 By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — In today’s world, there are all sorts of different types of commentaries on the Scriptures on a variety
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Some people may view this topic too incendiary to write about—I get it. Yet, it is an important issue—especially when we consider the high stakes that are at risk. My point of view is contrarian. Consider me a contrarian life-long Democrat who values truth and integrity
OpEd: Trump dealt with Putin correctly Read More »
International, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The story is a familiar one. Once a man went out for a walk through the forest. To his sudden surprise, he sees a grizzly bear chasing him. After the bear traps him, he prepares himself for his last rites, he says the Shema Prayer, and
Jewish religion stands in defense of animals Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Many people, including myself, have often wondered about the Russian strategy in Syria, now that the war is for the most part over. We all know that Assad is no boy scout; we also know that the ISIS fighters, who swelled the ranks of the rebels—are genocidal
Iran, Russia, now allies, may split over Syria Read More »
International, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East