Rabbi Eliyahu Fink comes from a long line of Rabbis and Jewish Community activists. He attended the Mechina High School of the Ner Israel Rabbinical College and developed a love for learning Torah, questioning Jewish ideas and trying to understand the structure of the Torah lifestyle. Later, as a fellow in Kollel Avodas Levi in Ner Israel, Rabbi Fink studied for Rabbinic Ordination and was ordained in 2005. He was recruited to work as a Rabbi for the Jewish Awareness Movement on the University of Southern California campus. It was there that he worked especially hard to understand how the Torah system works and began teaching these ideas to whomever was interested. He took about 200 college students on inspiring trips to Israel and New York. He maintains many of those relationships to this very day. When an opportunity arose in Venice for a part-time rabbi, he took his first pulpit position. In addition to his work / religious interests, he is a big sports fan, loves technology and social commentary.
This article originally appeared at finkorswim.com. With the passing of Maya Angelou, I am reminded of one my favorite quotes from one of the most inspiring figures of the 20th century. “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.” – Maya
This article originally appeared at finkorswim.com. When it comes to inspiration, most Orthodox Jews turn to glorious books of Mussar, or historical legends about our Torah sages, or fiery speeches by modern day orators, or the latest Aish.com inspirational story, or other Torah content that is heavy on encouragement or equally overloaded with deprecation. When
In some Orthodox Jewish communities, almost everyone relates to their Judaism in a very similar way. Insular Chasidic communities are often the sort of place where everyone lives a very similar style of Jewish life and practices a very homogenous version of Judaism. Similarly, some Israeli settlements have somewhat uniform Jewish experiences within their communities.
About six weeks ago, I had the unfortunate experience of being intimately involved in a unique shiva. A member of our community suddenly lost a four-month-old grandson. The father of the child is a friend and peer of mine. Shiva was observed in our neighborhood instead of the home of the parents. All of these
This article was originally published on finkorswim.com. A book like Cut Me Loose: Sin and Salvation After My Ultra-Orthodox Girlhood by Leah Vincent is going to elicit predictable reactions. Many of these reactions will come from people who have not even read the book. But they already know Leah and her story. These knee-jerk reactions will come
Are people born with good inclinations or is it our job as parents to teach our kids selflessness? A modern take of the “Nature vs. Nurture” debate.
Responsible parents don’t let their children drive cars before they have their license. They don’t allow them to choose to watch whatever television programs or movies they think they want. Good parents would not drop their child off at an amusement park and tell them that they are on their own. Similarly, responsible parents would not allow their children carte blanche use of the computer and the Internet.
A lesson in positivity from the 9-year-old boy who congratulated the Miami Heat on their effort on the court and not the numbers on the scoreboard.
Meditation has a place in Judaism as well. Many great Jewish thinkers have described Jewish prayer as a form of meditation. The prophets of yore achieved their heightened spiritual state after intense meditation.
NSA wiretapping seems to have American citizens on their toes but did the US government overstep on halacha?
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Orthodox Union