JERUSALEM-You need a wife, a husband, or perhaps just a job. You want a baby, maybe. Your favorite uncle has cancer, and you are hoping you can do something, anything, to ease his pain.
Batya Burd is betting even the believers among you haven't a prayer. Or rather, you haven't the time - and the access - to deliver the sort of prayer she has in mind.
Burd, 34, who gave up a future as a Toronto corporate lawyer for a pious existence just steps from the Western Wall, has a novel suggestion. For a price, she and her team of 25 [Torah-observant] Jewish worshippers are ready to pray at God's last known address, for that which ails you.
Not just any spiritual whim passes muster at http://www.westernwallprayers.org Forget about requesting heavenly help in winning the lottery. She will politely say no. When prayer orders smack of such vanity, she seeks the counsel of a rabbi on whether to proceed.
But for those whose intentions are deemed genuine, Burd will dispatch a "prayer agent" through the warren-like streets of Jerusalem's Old City on a mission to God. For 40 consecutive days, they will pray on your behalf.
"The idea is not for people to use it like a lucky rabbit's foot. We're serious about this," says Burd, whose spiritual outings [request a donation] from $90 to $720, depending on how many hours and days your shaliach, or proxy, does the praying.
"There are no guarantees, obviously. But when we agree to do a full cycle of prayers for somebody, they need to be involved as well. We encourage them to do some kind of good deed, wherever they are. We're only helping the process. But it is not a replacement for their religiosity."
Burd came by the idea together with her husband Gershon, a Chicago native, primarily because it was immediately after he undertook a similar segulah - a 40-day cycle of prayers at the Western Wall, asking God for a wife - that they first met.
Burd says she "knew something was happening" during the 40 days her future husband trekked to the wall to pray for a partner.
"I felt like I had extra help. My poor husband had been dating for five years and it was not happening for him," she says.
"One of my friends in Jerusalem knew him. She came up to me one day and said, `When you are ready, I know your soul mate.' And finally it happened. We were introduced. And five dates later we were engaged."
What pushed Burd from notion to action in developing westernwallprayers.org was the poverty she saw around her in the Old City, where the Jewish quarter is devotion-rich but cash-poor ...
"It is difficult to see so many people in Jerusalem really living hand to mouth, watching every dime. What they need most is material help," she says.
"At the same time, there are all sorts of people in North America who have so much in material wealth, but are in spiritual need. We're trying to match those needs to each other."
Segulah is a word from the ancient Hebrew with multiple and sometimes mystical meanings, not all of them necessarily flattering. Burd allows that some rabbis dismiss such prayer as less than serious. But she points to a raft of success stories of prayers answered, the most moving of which are posted online. She also acknowledges that occasional visitors to her site leave scathing notes berating the enterprise as offensive.
"We are playing with such tender concepts and people can get so offended. I suppose we're asking people to judge us favorably for a second. Please understand the context," she says.
Rabbi Berel Wein, a prominent Jerusalem-based author and one of several Jewish scholars whose name appears as references on Burd's site, said the motives are beyond reproach.
"I know the family and I know the money goes to legitimate causes," Wein confirmed.
"What we're really talking about is an old established custom. Throughout history, it was common that when people travelled to the Holy Land other people would ask them to pray at holy sites," he said.
"It can't do any harm. The money is incidental. When we pray, in general, we give money to a charity or a cause. This is pretty much the same thing."
Burd describes her own circuitous journey to Jerusalem as a wayward road in search of herself. Raised in Toronto as Lisa Fefer - she later Hebraized her name - Burd studied at University of Western Ontario and Osgoode Law School before climbing to the 44th floor of First Canadian Place to what is today Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, Canada's leading corporate tax firm.
"I had the right car, the right friends, the right job, the right income," she remembers. "But I had a hole inside me this big." ...
Eric Cohen of North Woodmere, NY was just announced as the winner of the Abeles and Heymann Facebook contest.
Eric won two tickets (for him and his son) to an upcoming Met game at Citi Field for giving the best answer regarding Abeles & Heymann meats and how it has changed his life.
http://www.abeles-heymann.com
YeahThatsKosher.com used connections from all over the world and aggregated kosher restaurants open for Pesach (Passover).
By using the powers of social media, YeahThatsKosher.com founder, Dani Klein (http://daniklein.info), was able to receive tips from both connections and random strangers about restaurants open on Pesach.
To view what is open, check out:
http://yeahthatskosher.com/tag/passover/
YeahThatsKosher.com is managed by SocialCity Marketing: http://socialcitymarketing.com
In addition to the many old favorites offered from renowned teachers and rabbis at WebYeshiva, we are thrilled to offer several new, exciting classes for the coming Summer Semester, including:
"Medical Ethics" by Rabbi David Fink "Journeys In Tanach for Beginners" with Ms. Osnat Goldman "The Interplay of Halacha and Philosophy" with Rabbi Yitzchak Blau "The Thought of Rav Kook" by Rabbi Gidon Rothstein and more!
Click here to register now for these, or any of the other interesting classes at WebYeshiva. Join hundreds of other people from around the world who have already experienced the superior Torah learning at WebYeshiva. Regardless of your schedule or learning background, WebYeshiva has a shiur for you. With over 30 online, fully interactive shiurim offered at all times of the day, 6 days a week, WebYeshiva makes it easier than ever for you to join an engaging, challenging shiur that's right for you. Click here to see the full schedule of classes.
Register Now For Our Free Summer Session On Our New Website!
Join hundreds of other students from around the world for another FREE semester at WebYeshiva!
WebYeshiva is once again pleased to offer students the unique opportunity to learn online with renowned teachers and rabbis from around the world, for absolutely FREE! (Excluding Hebrew Ulpan and Kabbala.)
The Summer Semester begins April 26th and runs until July 29th.
And it gets even better...
To coincide with the start of the Summer Zman, WebYeshiva is thrilled to announce the launch of its new website !
On our new website students can choose from over 30 different classes weekly, and instantly add and drop classes themselves - any time, anywhere.
All students who are currently registered under WebYeshiva's old system ("Moodle") can log in using their email address, and the same password they used in the old system. Click here to log in and start adding new classes! If you have forgotten your password, click here .
New Students can click here to register, log in, and add classes now!
***Please note that the Website is still in its preliminary stages, and as such there may still be a few kinks to iron out. We ask that if you encounter any bugs in the system during your registration process, that you alert us to the problem so that we can see to it as soon as possible. In this way you can assist us in getting the site up to the highest standard of operation. We thank you for your patience and apologize for any inconvenience as we work towards a fully-functioning, smooth-running, new website.
Register Now for another great, FREE zman at WebYeshiva!Now is your opportunity to join the hundreds of people from around the world who have already experienced the superior Torah learning at WebYeshiva. Regardless of your schedule or learning background, WebYeshiva has a shiur for you. With over 30 online, fully interactive shiurim offered at all times of the day, 6 days a week, WebYeshiva makes it easier than ever for you to join an engaging, challenging shiur that's right for you. Click here to log in and learn! For more information, or for general inquiries, please contact office@webyeshiva.org or call +001-212-920-8844 / +972 (0)3-900-3015.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - March 9 - The WebYeshiva
(http://www.webyeshiva.com) is celebrating the official launch today of its blog (http://blog.webyeshiva.org). The WebYeshiva Blog is an innovative, online center for Torah learning content. The WebYeshiva Blog offers readers unique and informative perspectives on Torah-related topics, from renowned rabbis and educators in Jerusalem and around the world.
The WebYeshiva Blog presents a variety of posts daily in audio, video, and text format, and features regular columns such as the weekly Parsha, Haftora, Nach, Business Ethics, Aggada, Jewish Philosophy, and more. Both WebYeshiva students and teachers also make regular contributions, and WebYeshiva's Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Chaim Brovender posts a video Halacha Yomit every day.
"I call the blog my daily Torah appetizer," says WebYeshiva student Joel Nowicki, "as I start my day with reading and listening to the blog." Joel, who lives in Poland, is able to have access to Torah learning through WebYeshiva and the WebYeshiva Blog in a geographic
location where very little is available. "I [also] enjoy the Torah sources attached [to the Parsha Podcast] by Rabbi Brovender, which are very helpful, and this is a rare thing in other Torah sites," he says.
The WebYeshiva Blog is a project of WebYeshiva, the first fully-interactive, online yeshiva and midrasha. WebYeshiva was initiated by Rabbi Chaim Brovender, a veteran Rosh Yeshiva with over forty years of teaching experience. It makes serious Torah learning accessible to anyone with internet access. WebYeshiva can be found at http://www.webyeshiva.org
WebYeshiva, Rabbi Chaim Brovender's innovative new enterprise, opens the doors of the Yeshiva and Midrasha experience to anyone with an internet connection. Truly unique in the Torah World, WebYeshiva recreates the intellectual and social atmosphere of a real Yeshiva (with a focus on the student's growth in learning abilities). Using cutting edge video conferencing technology, WebYeshiva offers many powerful features that make it a unique learning environment which promises real growth in Torah study for the experienced student or the novice.
WebYeshiva is currently offering two new shiurim in time for Purim and Pesach:
Megillat Esther
Rabbi Yehoshua Geller, Sunday 11 pm Israel time, 4 pm New York time
The story of Megillat Esther is well know by many, yet misunderstood by most. The true meaning and details of the story are right there in the pesukim, yet they often get overlooked. This class will go beyond the basics to look at the real meaning of the pesukim and the fascinating background story encoded within them.
To register, click here (last shiur in Tanach section)
Haggada Shel Pesach
Rabbi Yehoshua Geller, Tuesday 8 pm Israel time, 1 pm New York time (beginning February 17th)
The Pesach Haggada is not just a series of stories and verses strung together - it contains a precise logic and order. Each element is there for a reason and plays a very specific role in the structure and flow of the Haggada. In this class we will examine all of the particular aspects of the Haggada and try to answer the questions, "why is it there?" and "what does it mean?" We will also look at the story of Yetziat Mitzraim, and by way of Midrash, attempt to uncover the "behind the scenes" story embedded in the pesukim.
To register, click here (fourth shiur from top in Special Shiurim section)
To learn more about WebYeshiva, click here
On Saturday night, December 27, Park Slope’s Jewish Music Café proudly presents its first annual Chanukah concert, featuring Jewish music sensations David Ross and Aryeh Kuntsler, beginning at 9:00 p.m. The musical acts follow a special Chanukah Bash Carnival for children at 7:30 p.m.
At 9:00 p.m., Aryeh Kuntsler will open the concert. Aryeh has played with such bands as Blue Fringe and Piamenta His debut album, “From the Depths,” featuring such varied styles as pop, country, and hard rock, was extremely well-received. For more information and to hear some of Areyh’s music, visit www.aryehkuntsler.com.
 The night’s featured performer will be David Ross, an established Jewish R&B singer and a former member of the groups Beat’achon and the Hamsa Boys. David has been a guest star on many hit albums such as Voices for Israel, on which he performed the hit single “The Power to Be,” has been invited to sing at the White House Chanukah Party and in major U.S. cities such as Miami, Los Angeles, and Dallas. A featured singer of Kol Zimra, the premier Jewish acapella group, David’s music can be heard by visiting his website, www.davidevanross.com.
The Jewish Music Café is located in the heart of Park Slope, Brooklyn, 401 9th Street. As always, the Café serves freshly made kosher pizza, bourekas, dairy dishes, and beer, wine, and coffee beverages.
The cost is $5 for the carnival, and $15 for the concert. Tickets will be sold at the door. For more information and directions, visit www.jewishmusiccafe.com.
Leah Larson, the 17-year-old founder of YALDAH Magazine for Jewish girls, and her mother, Evelyn Krieger, will be recognized as the Grand Prize Winners of Wells Fargo's Someday Stories Contest.
This is an update on this story from October.
Contact:
Leah Larson
Editor & Publisher
YALDAH magazine
P.O. Box 215
Sharon, MA 02067
yaldah@comcast.net
www.yaldahmagazine.com
Meida Alert from Wells Fargo
Iconic Wells Fargo Stagecoach to Roll into San Francisco Financial District
Wells Fargo will award $250,000 to Habitat for Humanity and $100,000 to Someday StoriesSM contest winner
WHAT: Wednesday (Dec. 10), the iconic horse-drawn Wells Fargo stagecoach will roll through the San Francisco Financial District for the first time since 2002. Wells Fargo officials will present $250,000 to Habitat for Humanity and $100,000 to Someday Stories contest winner Evelyn Krieger.
Krieger will use her $100,000 prize to invest in her 17-year old daughter Leah’s business – a magazine for Jewish girls called Yaldah (“girl” in Hebrew). The magazine, which Leah started when she was 13, encourages young girls to follow their dreams and celebrates their Jewish values. Krieger will expand the magazine, hire staff and help this entrepreneurial young editor and publisher pursue new ventures.
Habitat for Humanity’s $250,000 grant will help the organization continue its mission of helping families turn their “Someday” dream of homeownership into reality.
WHO: Evelyn Krieger, $100,000 “Someday Stories” contest winner
Leah Larson, 17-year old editor and publisher of Yaldah
Pat Callahan, Wells Fargo Head of Social Responsibility
Sylvia Reynolds, Wells Fargo Head of Enterprise Marketing
Representatives from Habitat for Humanity
Wells Fargo executives and team members
WHEN: Wednesday, December 10 10-11 a.m.
WHERE: Wells Fargo Museum 420 Montgomery Street, San Francisco
Mindset Learning Center Expands High School Diploma Program
Mindset Learning Center provides a great alternative for students who want to earn a diploma. Independent instruction in core curriculum subjects is completed followed by elective courses in vocational and hobby oriented subjects. Students work at their own pace and earn a fully accredited diploma in less time than in the traditional format. Our afternoon program for yeshiva boys is centrally located in Flatbush.
A new evening class for chasidishe mesivta bochurim is currently being formed. For additional details call 718-253-7523
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