Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel

Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista, California.

His books, available on Amazon, include:

Women’s prayers more spiritual than men’s?

The Tefillah Revolution by Chaya Sara Lefkowitz; Menucha Publishers (Brooklyn, 2013); 184 pages; ISBN-10: 1614650950;$17.98. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –In her beautifully attractive book, The Tefillah Revolution, Chaya Sara Lefkowitz begins her subject focusing on one of the most important problems regarding the prayer life of people: Why do we find it

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Book Review: ‘The Making of a Halachic Decision’

  Rabbi Moshe Walter,  The Making of a Halachic Decision. Menucha Publishers.ISBN: 1614650896. 231 pages, $24. Rating: 3* out of 5. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Any student of Jewish law has often wondered about the origin of the Halachic decision-making process.  True, the Talmud is full of arguments. If you

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Understanding the Psalms as literature

A New Psalm: A Guide to Psalms as Literature by Rabbi Benjamin Segal; Gefen Publishing House (2013); ISBN-10: 965229618X; Price: $31.29 (on Amazon). By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Rabbi Benjamin Segal’s  new commentary, A New Psalm: The Psalms as Literature is an excellent medley of numerous thoughts that Judaic commentaries have expressed on the Psalms

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

Soleveitchik via Lustiger illuminates the Torah

Chumash Mesoras Harav – Chumash with Commentary Based on the Teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik – Sefer Bereishis by Dr. Arnold Lustiger: OU Press and Ohr Publishing; First edition (2013) ISBN-10: 0989124606. Price: $38.24 Rating: 5* By Rabbi Michael Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — As one of the most important Orthodox thinkers of his time,

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

A Voltairian view of the Duck Dynasty controversy

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — After some reluctance, I decided it was important for me to weigh in on the Duck Dynasty controversy involving Phil Robertson and his off-the-cuff remarks regarding gays and African Americans. Robertson’s equation of homosexuality to bestiality is incorrect. The biblical passages dealing with homosexuality pertain to

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Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, USA

Letting go of our past fear… and prejudice

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –This past week, a newspaper featured a picture of a Lubavitcher rabbi smilingly putting tefillon 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 speaking

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

What halacha says about greeting people

Rabbi Shiloh Ben-David, Shalom Aleichem: A Collection of Halachos, Aggados, and Anecdotes about Greeting People; ISBN-13: 978-9657599136; 217 pages; Publisher: Self-Published; Price: $23.95. Rating: 2.5 * out of four. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — The 20th century Orthodox scholar and philanthropist Irving Bunim, in his monumental study on makes a profound observation about

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi