Wir ziehen um! — We are Moving

September 13, 2011

Mit Dankbarkeit zu G”tt freuen wir uns anzukündigen, dass wir umziehen. Aus dem Tachles Top News des 13. September 2011:

Rabbiner Arie Folger ist der neue Gemeinderabbiner bei der Israelitischen Kultusgemeinde München und Oberbayern. …

Dem Presidium, dem Vorstand und den Mitgliedern der Gemeinde danken wir für das Vertrauen und schauen zuversichtlich auf der gemeinsamen Zukunft.


With gratitude to G”d, it is our great pleasure to announce that we are moving … to Munich, to assume the responsibilities of the senior rabbi and rebbetzin of the Jewish Community of Munich. We greatly thank the Munich Jewish community’s leadership and membership for the trust they put in us, and greatly look forward to our common future, which, with G”d’s help, we will help shape together.


Speaking To Your Kids About Personal Safety

July 25, 2011

We are all devastated by the horrible murder of Leiby Kletzky. Slowly but surely, the suspicion is growing that Leiby knew his attacker. Indeed, most children who are abused or abducted suffer at the hand of people they knew, not complete strangers. Abusers may come from the circle of family and friends, or they may be strangers who have slowly groomed the kids, and even their families, to trust them.

Hence, to protect our children, it is not enough to teach them not to talk to strangers, tough that remains important, as ever. It is instead important to empower our children to seek protection even from people who may be close to them, and it is the parents’ responsibility to empower their kids, by talking to them about these matters.

However, parents who try to raise their kids in a wholesome, innocent environment stand before a dilemma, as they try to warn their kids without prematurely explaining the nature of sexuality and sexual abuse to them. In the following 30 minute video, the noted educater, R’ Yakov Horowitz shows how to go about developing this aspect of the parent-child relationship and how to protect both the integrity of the child’s body and soul. [Hat tip CF]
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Kalendernotiz: Dialog VI der jüdischen Kultusgemeinde Karlsruhe

February 24, 2011

Kommender Sonntag gebe ich anlässlich der Anlass “Dialog IV” der jüdischen Kultusgemeinde Karlsruhe einen Vortrag zum Thema “Kann ein moderner Staat auch ein jüdischer Staat sein?”


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Le psaume 92 – cours multimédia en français

February 8, 2011

PikiWiki_Israel_14321_Religion_in_IsraelFrançaisaudio-input-microphoneLe psaume 92 est l’un des plus connus, car nous le retrouvons trois fois chaque semaine, toujours dans la liturgie du Chabbat. Que l’on visite la synagogue plus ou moin régulièrement, c’est un psaume que l’on reconnaitra.

Mais quel est donc le sujet de ce psaume? Est-ce le chabbat, comme la superscription (le verset titre) l’indique? Que est-ce-que d’autres psaumes peuvent nous enseigner à propos de ce psaume? Read the rest of this entry »


Kalendernotiz: Neue Vortragsreihe zum Thema Gebet

January 5, 2011


Audio-Schi’ur zu Psalm 91 – im Andenken an der Frau Beatrice Bernstein

April 11, 2010

Es ist mit grossem Bedauern, dass wir von der schmerzlichen Mitteilung vom Hinschied der Frau Beatrice Bernstein s.A. — בריינדעל בת יהודה — vernommen haben. Zum ersten Schiwa’-Lernen wurde der schwierige, aber schöne und tiefe Psalm 91 ausgelegt. Anbei die Aufnahme dieses Lernens. Read the rest of this entry »


Kommender Vortrag

February 20, 2010


I sing, you sing, we sing

September 29, 2009

EnglishI am bringing the following once again to your attention:

Our festive tables are reminiscent of the holy altar that stood in the Beit haMiqdash in Yerushalayim, on which we, too, bring holy sacrifices. While we neither offer animal, nor other “real,” physical sacrifices on our festive tables (in fact, to do so would be strictly prohibited), we do offer our words of praise and song.

Most every Jewish home has several bentchers, zimronim or whatever you want to call them – booklets that comprise the various Kiddushim for Shabbat and Holidays, Birkat haMazon and various songs for the Shabbat table, these booklets barely contain any songs for the holidays.

What are we to sing in the Sukkah, or while munching on our matzot or once we are sated with the cheese cake on Shavu’ot (if we can keep our eyes open, that is, since it is customary and praiseworthy to study Torah during the entire first night of that holiday)?

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Coming Soon: Posts on the Prayerbook

June 5, 2009

EnglishEver since I encoutered the ancient and lasting Minhag Ashkenaz, which is still alive and well in “Yeckishe” communities the world over (such as the Israelitische Gemeinde Basel), I dreamt of deepening my understanding of the Jewish paryerbook, the Siddur. During my first year as the IGB’s rabbi, I gave a series of lectures on the various prayers in the prayerbook, and have returned to the topic on numerous occasions.

And now, I have been granted the good fortune to participate in the editing and publishing of a new siddur: the New, Revised Edition of the RCA Siddur, to be published by Artscroll Mesorah Publishers. This blessed opportunity prompts research in texts we are very familiar with, that are often little understood.

I will therefore be able to frequently publish short blog posts on this topic, and have created a new “Category” for these posts, entitled “prayer.”


Recount and Relive the Exodus Beyond the Wee Hours of the Night

April 3, 2009

EnglishYeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future, along with RIETS, publish the very popular “To-Go” series, of which Pessach To-Go is the latest installment. 60 pages of in depth articles and textual analyses, of varying levels of depth and catering to different interests. You may access the packet here.