Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel   CHULA VISTA, California — The following are the stages by which the Israelites journeyed up by companies from the land of Egypt under the guidance of Moses and Aaron. — (Numbers 33:1) The biblical narrator lists 42 stopping points beginning with Egypt. Some of the mystical commentaries make a penetrating […]

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California –Brad Pitt’s latest horror film, World War Z, started making me think of more practical questions regarding the existence of zombies. With the ongoing saga of election fraud, and in light of the Supreme Court ruling regarding election manipulations, I thought I would share some  tongue-in-cheek and

Prayers for the Welfare of the State & for the Welfare of the State of Israel by Rabbi Avraham Steinberg. Publisher: Yad Harav Herzog/ OU PRESS; 1st edition, 2012.  179 pages. Price: $18.95 Rating **** By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — As we approach the Jewish holiday of Tisha’ B’ Av (The Ninth

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — Dissension is nothing new in Jewish tradition. One of the most famous biblical disagreements is found in this week’s Torah portion, where we read about the famous controversy between Korah and Moses (Numbers 16ff.) Yet, unlike the debates between Hillel and Shammai, which for the most

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — A tornado flattened much of the town of Moore, Oklahoma with gale winds exceeding over 300 miles an hour. This was not the first time tornadoes visited the area of Oklahoma, better known as “Tornado Alley.” In 1998, 2003, and 2010, smaller tornadoes left their mark on the communities in the

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — After over two decades, the fight for women’s participation at the Western Wall has finally received its day in court. The Israeli District Court ruled that the women have the right to gather at the Western Wall and pray there as they wish; this decision opened

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — On June 26th, 2012, the District Court of the Federal State of Cologne ruled that ritual circumcision for children as required by the parents, constitutes an infliction of bodily harm to the child, and is therefore—a criminal offense. Fortunately, the Federal Constitutional Court shortly afterward overruled

By Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel CHULA VISTA, California — As a rite of passage, the Bar/Bat Mitzvah marks the beginning of a young person’s adult participation in the Jewish community. However, in many congregations across the religious divide, the Bar and Bat Mitzvah day has become a graduation from Judaism. When I think about the