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 — Translations of the Bible often reveal more about a translator’s world view than they do about the actual text. Once we decipher the context, a translation reveals something that is hidden to the reader. This is especially the case with respect to one of the more straightforward […]
Beware of insults to other religions Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — There is a good reason why politics and religion may be compared to the mixture of meat and milk. Milk by itself is a very nutritious food. Meat by itself is also a source of protein and vitamins, yet when we mix the two together, they
Disagreeing with rabbi who rewrote prayer for U.S.A. Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — This past Friday, the world witnessed a peaceful transition of power in our country. Indeed, it is the kind of event we ought to be celebrating regardless how we may feel about the new President being elected. In North Korea, Muslim theocracies, and in other totalitarian
Missed religious opportunity at the Inaugural Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA
By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –This past Shabbat at Temple Beth Shalom we had a most remarkable discussion on the famous Russian painter, Marc Chagall, as we discussed his various paintings of Jesus’s crucifixion. A panel consisting of Dr. David Strom, Dr. Tzvi Sax, and myself explored the history of several of
Thoughts on Chagall’s ‘White Crucifixion’ Read More »
Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Music, Dance, and Visual ArtsBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — It was brought to my attention this morning that the story about paid protesters to which I alluded in a column, here linked, was indeed a fake story. For this I apologize. Paul Horner loves fooling people with fabricated articles. In fact, Horner’s con was so effective,
‘Paid protesters’ report a hoax which had me fooled Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USAEditor’s Note: News articles to which this column alluded were a hoax. Apologizing for being taken in, Rabbi Samuel has filed an updated column, here linked. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The riots and protests spreading around the country might give one the impression that these are spontaneous outbreaks, yet there
Paid protesters and employers must be condemned Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — After everything that has been said and done, this election will probably be remembered as one of the most acrimonious elections, full of mudslinging, accusations of improprieties, and personal attacks that our country has ever seen. The brilliant French political thinker, Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) wrote
From election’s dissonance, perhaps comes a pathway Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California —The Book of Judges speaks of a time of great social chaos in the generations leading to the formation of the ancient Israelite monarchy. The author of Judges bluntly says, “In those days there was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in
Hillary Clinton and Abimelech Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –This past week, I enjoyed watching some 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 movies still remains
What is the true nature of a zombie? Read More »
Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and FoodBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –This past weekend, Detroit pastor Bishop Wayne Jackson draped a tallit around Donald Trump’s shoulders at service. What was the Jewish reaction? Well, that takes us to the rest of the story that I am about to tell you. Most Jews I know are probably confused about
On giving Donald Trump a tallit Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — So long as the Ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Israel act as though they are the only true Jewish leaders, I think rebuilding the Temple would only serve to divide and not unite the Jewish people. With a fractured Jewish polity, what good would rebuilding the Temple be if
On Tisha B’Av, let’s also remember R. Yohanan Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — One of my favorite concepts in logic is the reductio ad absurdum (Latin: “reduction to the absurd”) argument, which is a logical method of argument that proves the falsity of a premise by following its implications to a logical but absurd conclusion. The latest news regards the nullification
Conversion by Rabbi Lookstein should be honored Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Reformations are good for the soul. They keep the religious leaders and faiths in check. In the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, people began to read the Bible critically for the first time without having the local priest spoon-feed it to them while they sat on
U.S. government should welcome Islamic reformers Read More »
International, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, USABy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — My history with Rabbi Shlomo Riskin goes all the way back to 1977. He visited a Hillel Academy in Binghamton, New York, where I taught Talmud many decades ago. At the time, I knew he was already a well-respected rabbi who had brought many Jews back
Orthodoxy and Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi