Rabbi Baruch Epstein on Chabad, Jewish Life & Nachum’s Chicago Visit

Our next guest is our host here in Chicago, Illinois. No joke, he's our host. We would not have this amazing mobile studio with the opportunity to have live guests in studio without Ray Burough Epstein who is among many other titles the director of community outreach for out of Illinois. He's a murda Astra of congregation baseim the building in which we sit right now which is brand new as of Rashashana 5787 and he has been in the uh Chicago Illinois area for many many decades. It's a pleasure to welcome you to JM in the AM. >> Thank you. It's an honor to have you. >> Well, you get to thank you. You get the big thank you. >> Okay. At the last minute, you came through with this amazing space. >> Yeah. I built this building just to have you here. >> You know, there are people who would say that it was worth it. >> They built Medlife Stadium. They built basement. >> It's a totally worthwhile investment. [laughter] >> And the building for those of you who come by on Howard Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, is a replica. Looks like 770 Eastern Parkway. Yes, it does. took you many years to build. >> Yes. >> And and thank God you're surrounded by a tremendous amount of generosity and it finally got built. >> You know, Israel, who was they like the Jewish people, people are extraordinarily generous. They're extraordinarily patient. They're extraordinarily enthusiastic and supportive. And through like uh many things in life, the bumps and the unexpected detours, >> the hurdles, >> the hurdles, we have Bar Hashem uh moved in. There's still a lot of finishing touches. Daily Minion. >> Daily Minion was amazing, I hear. >> It was beautiful. >> Was amazing, I hear. >> Well, we got uh we got the best in Plaster you could imagine. Lots of dancing. There's a Spartic Shaw across the street. They come here, we go there, we go to the nursing home. The kids have a great time. Everybody behaves uh appropriately in the proper spirit. And uh it's a beautiful thing. And now we got to take that tish spirit and bring it into 5787 the year of the gula. We um we should point out you're originally from the New York area isn't everybody >> and yes and no a transplant sort of to Chicago. And I'm curious and I don't know what the answer is to this question. If if Rabbi Huren is synonymous with New Jersey and Rabbi Kunah is California, who's Illinois? >> Well uh again unfortunately it's Oliver Shalom but it was Rabbi Denil Moscowitz. Uh he was the head of Kabad. >> He's born here in Chicago. Wow. >> And there was Rabbi Schlomman of blessed memory who was sent here by the Fredba in the 40s. But it's >> related to the H that we know like JJ. >> He was the brother the older brother of the H. >> Wow. >> And Kabad was a very different style in the 40s and 50s and 60s. >> Was it in this area of the city? >> No. Originally it was in basically the south side when the previous reba came to Chicago. the Benet Ruven Shul which is now currently on what we call here the north side was on the south side that's where the Jewish community was and through the migration they came here but Rabbi Hak and I didn't know him was a great orator and great teacher and a rov and it was still that kind of institutional having a shul and Rabbi Denil Moscowitz who was born here and grew up in Chicago and uh he wanted to see kabad the way we think of it in the last 50 years come to his hometown. So he moved back here in the late '7s >> I assume with consultation with the reb >> of course and under the opaces of Rabbi Hack who was his personal mentor and he started the first Kabad house not too far from here at Northwestern University that was the popular thing in the 70s and then Rabbi Schlomma Almanac passed away as a young man in the late 70s and Rabbi Moscowitz who was a young man suddenly became something that we didn't really have a lot of structure for known as the hedgeh Right. >> And he brought another Rabbi Binyan Shiman who uh now runs a Kabad house in a suburb called Niles. He als with us till when? >> He passed away about 13 years ago. You know him very well. Yes, I you sort of worked with him. >> I not only sort of I definitely did. >> And he oversaw the founding of over 50 kabad houses and it's continued to expand. >> 50 means in Illinois >> in Illinois over 50 from top to bottom. We now have education K through 12. >> How many are in the Chicago area? >> Uh well almost all of them are. It's very concentrated up here in what we call Chicago land and there are a few far out Carbondale and Peoria and so forth but otherwise it's basically concentrated uh almost to the Wisconsin border. >> Does Aurora have one? I mean >> not in Aurora but not too far in Hinsdale. >> Wow. >> Uh that's probably about as far south as we go. University of Chicago and then you you go a few hours to Peoria and to Carbondale weight >> and Wisconsin has a bunch. >> Wisconsin >> and Indiana. I'm sure has some. >> Absolutely. >> Every state's represented. Well, that we know that every state's represent. >> Yeah. All 50 states from Monster Indiana actually brings his kids to here and is often in this very building which is one of the perks of this building. >> What is that 90 minutes away? Like >> not even depending on an hour. >> Yeah, about an hour. >> Ry Epstein's here. He is our host. He is the head of Kabad here at the basement, the congregation on Howard Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Beautiful facility and uh very state-of-the-art to say the least. The technology >> internet works. >> Internet works. Thank God. >> Front door lock jams. >> Only a couple of glitches, but thank God we had an amazing week here so far. Hope to be here again tomorrow. And uh and you've taken advantage like all of Kabad has internationally of the technology. Absolutely. People walk in, they realize your state-of-the-art. And I would assume that, you know, you take advantage, whether it's Zoom or whether it's, you know, scoreboards that you have up here with information, etc. You take advantage of that. I think it's such a wonderful, unique perspective. There are so many Jewish groups who hesitate to jump into technology, and it seems you have the exact opposite point of view. >> Yeah. Everything is an opportunity to serve Hashem. Rabbi, do I mention started a radio show? That's right. back to listen to the fun listen to the forens here in Chicago. We had a radio show uh up till a bunch of years ago. We got podcast, we got Zoom, we got uh all everything is a tool to serve our show >> and the videos of the Reba are unbelievable. >> Unimaginable. Kesh Mutkin from Wisconsin. >> That's right. And uh related to Connecticut, right? >> Uh yeah, Zman because we see Zman, we go to Connecticut. Um the I don't know how the Reb would have felt that when someone's scrolling on Instagram all of a sudden his videos come up but knowing the Reban I've told you that my father was close to him but I sent you that piece by the way >> I I would have to imagine he'd be happy with it. >> The Reb was on cable TV and people were scrolling through looking for I don't know the >> and he was aware of it >> of course not only and promoted it and helped to make it happen. Sure. I mean, back when that was unbelievable and they brought these enormous satellite dishes and we thought this was the absolute end all and be all and what could they ever possibly invent that's better than this >> and it cost so much money. Today it would be free. >> Yeah, we thought a title's basement was the uh was the most progress we made. >> That's what it looked like. That's what it looked like. >> Today it would be free. Um, we always people like, especially on this show because we're so New York centric, uh, to point out differences between quote unquote out of town towns and the New York area. Uh, I'm sure you've been to Crown Heights and you've experienced the hustle and bustle. I have of that [laughter] area. There is something about this. I I described it yesterday, just again being here only a few days, uh, that it does have a small town feel. It's got the infrastructure of a large town. So, you have all the benefits of a real Jewish community infrastructure, but there is some element here that makes it very homey. >> Yeah. It's an interesting thing that I've observed about Chicago. It has obviously a long-standing Jewish infrastructure. And people from Chicago, despite the weather, despite the politics, despite the troubles, love Chicago. And people even when they retire, they come back and they talk about it and they're proud of it. and they're sharing memories. There's a pretty strong, we've had a couple of presentations here, uh, uh, study of Jewish Chicago history. There's books published of Rabunim from Chicago from the late 1800s. Nothing is going to compete with New York on the sheer volume. You just can't. >> But, uh, we got certain special things here. You know, I'm from New York, uh, five towns, lived in Crown Heights, and there's something special that Chicago has. There's a real warmth and there's a cooperation of the various mistas, right? >> You know, everybody's got their little shtick in this, but people work together. The funds are very generous across the board. Whatever you need, someone had a baby, someone's in the hospital, you need food, you are taken care of here. >> Yeah. And and it it really is remarkable how some of these really large organizations do what you just described in the most organized of fashion. I know it. My daughter just had a girl. I know it's >> amazing. I mean before Y if they're giving out food, you pull up, they put it in your car, you're out the door in 5 minutes. >> And you mentioned the the Spartik Labavich connection on Simos Torah. It seems to be easier here to reach out and embrace people of different backgrounds. You know, I'm not talking about religious backgrounds. as your function but just in terms of I don't know that that that um that sharp divide that we sometimes see in different cities around the world does not seem to be >> there is a lot of cooperation here of committees again the funds different ramim >> like you dancing with shul is no big deal >> no it's on the contrary it's it's a staple for 30 years yeah we look forward to it >> especially with the new building we were very eager to welcome them in and say >> what happened to the old building >> that's not ours That was a rental. >> That's it. >> Yes. >> And by coincidence, this is where you built right next to the rental. >> Oh, yeah. Well, we did over the years. There was a a a storefront we bought. There was a double storefront. And the spot we're sitting in was actually a bar. >> Wow. >> And now it's a bar mitzvah. >> Hopefully many, many bar mitzvah. How many? >> Um, how does Shabas morning look here? You getting a nice crowd? >> And this is Shabasim. So, a little incentive to get people to come at 8:00 to say, "Tillen, we have some uh some snacks and some good stuff." So, people come, we get a minion, there's learning, there's doning. >> Because some may not realize that in the tradition that you come from, pre-dvening is as important as daving. There's an old story about the Reb Rash, the fifth Reb who said to the said, "Why should it bother you that you d before you dav?" So [snorts] the the warm up, the prep that makes it, you know, we don't roll out of bed and jump on the treadmill. We got to have a little warm up. You got to have some meaning so that the dying becomes that much more. >> Right. So for those who walk in at 9:00 to a 9:00, they should consider that in your tradition or your part of the community, it starts way before >> noon. Yeah. Yeah, we have here on a regular shabas at 8:00 shabas and we say tell him dinging kdish baban. Yeah, shabas is don't >> just run over the kdish like that. >> Yeah, the kdish is pretty good here. We got a pretty five-star chant. You're welcome to come and >> I don't think anybody in Kabad ever disappoints when it comes to the kdish. >> That's another one of the traditions you have. Uh Ry Burak Epstein, come visit everybody. If you're in Chicago, >> come on down. Love to have you. Howard Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. right in the heart of the Jewish government. I mean, you're literally in the heart of the Jewish world. >> This is the place to be. >> Um, and it's congregation based. And you can't miss it because when you're on Howard Avenue, it is the only building that [laughter] looks like 770 Eastern Park. Do you have any clue what number 770 you are around the world? Cuz I know there's one in Germany, right? >> Obviously, there's two and in Australia. >> Where's the other one in? >> Uh, there's one in um slips my mind, >> but another town than there's one in Baltimore that actually was very helpful with us. Wow. >> Uh there's one in California that was the maybe even the first one certainly in the United States. >> Right. >> Um >> so you're probably one of 10. You think >> I could be even more than that. Could be even more than that. Some of them are more just like a little bit of a facade like a >> Right. It depends on a true story, >> you know, based on it. But we've really tried to get the genuine facade. >> And that's important to you. >> Yeah. Because it's like a brand. You know, people recognize it. They know what it is. It has meaning to them. >> So that in of itself brings people in. >> Oh yeah. And you know to get the clinker brick that's got that sort of imperfect look to it. It gave a certain familiarity and a little bit of a distinction. So you're saying welcome to old Brooklyn here on >> Welcome to Brooklyn right here in Howard Street in Chicago. >> Unbelievable. Oh, is it Howard Street? Not Avenue. >> Howard Street. I've been misidentifying it all week long. >> No wonder nobody's here. They're wandering around looking for Howard Avenue. >> Don't report me to the Chamber of Commerce, please. Deal. Right. Barstein, a wonderful tough shin pay. >> A wonderful tough shin pes. It's our honor to have you to all of your listeners. >> Yeah, thanks for having us here. Greatly appreciate it. More coming up. It is a Thursday morning edition of JM in the A.M. We are um in Chicago, Illinois live on this Thursday and um tomorrow morning 7:40 a.m. Eastern time. It'll be Malcolm Homeline, the weekly update. Make sure to be tuned in for that here at JM and the AM. And as we uh did right before Rabbi Epstein's interview, I feel it's only appropriate to acknowledge his presence with this um with this a freed selection.