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:

Five stars plus for a book on Psalms

David’s Psalms by David Sharir and Benjamin Segal; Gefen Publishing House, 2013; ISBN 9789652296191, 110 pages, Rating 5+ Stars. By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — This new book on the Psalms is very simple and yet very elegant. Rabbi Benjamin Segal’s previous volume, New Psalm: The Psalms as a Literature, is an excellent […]

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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

Rabbinic letters to Clinton prove grist for sermons

Rabbi Menachem Genack,  In Letters to President Clinton: Biblical Lessons on Faith and Leadership  Sterling Ethos/OU Press, New York, 2013. 288 pages, ISBN 978-1-4549-0791-6. Price: $24.95 By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — President Bill Clinton is in many ways one of the most iconic and beloved presidents of recent history. His congenial manner

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi