Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista, California.
His books, available on Amazon, include:
The Jewish Calendar: History and Inner Workings by Dr. Fred Reiss; (c) 2017; ISBN 9781544-72382. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The study of the Jewish calendar is not one of the easiest topics to research. It is an area that most rabbis have at best a general knowledge of the history. […]
How does the Jewish calendar work? Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Q: Why does it take 10 men for a prayer minyan? A: The custom of the minyan is rabbinic in origin. When examining the minyan’s origins, it is vital we remember that this custom is not something that is etched in stone. However, as a custom,
Ask a Rabbi: Do we need ’10 men’ for a prayer minyan? Read More »
Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Someone in my synagogue asked me an interesting question about Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner: What kind of Halakhic dispensation was given to them to drive on the Sabbath to the Inauguration of the President? The same question came up recently when the Trump entourage
Ivanka: A fitting successor to Queen Esther? Read More »
Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, USAUnderstanding the Talmud: A Systematic Guide to Talmudic Structure and Methodology by Rabbi Yitzchak Feigenbaum; Feldheim; 2nd edition (1988); ISBN By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Some Aramaic scholarly friends of mine who speak and know Talmudic Aramaic often complain about the poor syntax of the Talmud. To most English readers, it almost
Practical tips for studying the Talmud Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-RabbiBy Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel LA JOLLA, California — This year’s San Diego Yom HaShoah presented one of the finest programs I have experienced in many years since arriving in San Diego almost eight years ago. The musical selections were excellent; the theme of the program was “Memory and Morality” and featured Roberta Grossman, who is
Warsaw’s secret diaries recalled at Yom HaShoah Read More »
International, Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, San Diego CountyBy 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 Food