#14: Behind the Bima - Special Guest: Nachum Segal

Good evening and welcome to episode 14. I'm Rabbi Efrem Goldberg, your host, together with our panelists Rabbi Philip Moskowitz and Rabbi Josh Broady. And as always, we are here to take you behind the Bema. Behind the Bema. Gentlemen, it is so good to be together again. I really look forward to Wednesday nights now, like right in the middle of the week, what's a hump day for so many, for me is an exciting day. We're going to hang out with you and have some great conversation and welcome guests. We got a great guest coming on tonight. I'm really pumped about our guest who's been a hero, an icon in the Jewish world for a long time. Very excited to bring him on. of Jewish radio and he's watching us right now on Facebook right now. He's the king of Jewish radio. He's more than the king of Jewish radio. I mean, it might be our first conversation with him, but he's really the king now of Jewish podcasts because it's no longer a radio show. We'll talk to that about that that and much more. But before he before he comes on, first tell me boys, what's going on in your life? How are you both doing? Rabbi Broady, how you doing? I'm doing great. We got a big program coming up. Our annual Jewish Unity Day is going to be taking place Tuesday night. And this Corona thought it would shut us down, but we're still here. than we've ever done before. to get to We'll get to Unity Day in one moment. Let's just begin by thanking and acknowledging our sponsors. Every week we got dear friends who step up and sponsor. They're amazing. And this one's exciting because Jeremy Pappas and Yitz Novak, two guys that we've worked with in their roles at APAC. Here's the amazing part, neither of them live in Boca Raton, neither of them attend Boca Raton Synagogue. They're dear friends. We work together. They're great guys and they've been enjoying Behind the Bema and they've been enjoying the classes, the articles and and they asked me to make this point. They said, you know, you don't have to live in Boca to connect with and be part of and want to support BRS and and what we're doing. So, we really want to thank them for sponsoring tonight, for making that point and setting that example. We welcome other people to come on board with Boca Raton Synagogue, with our brand and who we are, our vision, where we're going. And a huge thank you Jeremy, Yitzy, thanks for all you do in your roles and your organizations, and thanks for your friendship and sponsorship tonight. That's so nice. That's amazing. Such a great way to begin a show. You know, they're good guys. They're really good guys, and they made a real statement by doing that. So, let's let's start with Unity Day. Let's make a l'chaim to Unity Day because we're about to enter the three weeks. This coming week we're going to have a fast day. Hopefully we'll all be in Yerushalayim, the Geulah. Please God we won't have to mourn this year. We'll celebrate redemption. But, it's on the schedule, it's on the calendar that if he doesn't come, we'll be uh fasting and soon sitting on the floor. And we know the reason is there was no unity, there was no harmony. People couldn't get along, they were fighting. Unity Day is here to offset that. Josh Broder is going to bring us home to Yerushalayim. So, Rabbi Broder, to you l'chaim, to Unity Day l'chaim, l'chaim to all of our listeners. And in as we see these numbers spiking in such uncertainty, we wish and we hope and we pray that we all stay safe and healthy and our loved ones, those who are sick to well have a full recovery. L'chaim, l'chaim. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha'olam, borei pri hagafen. Amen. Baruch Amen. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha'olam, Amen. What are we drinking there tonight, Rabbi uh Rabbi Moscow? Is that a glass of water? I've been drinking water. I got I'll tell you, it's really hot outside and it's hard to hydrate. Glass of water. Okay, Rabbi Broder, what are you working on? I I actually made a drink. It's some uh Grey Goose with uh some sort of like mixer. It's like a mixer to make some sort of martini. We're supposed to use tequila, and I'm using vodka cuz I don't have tequila, so. That'll bring some unity. Well, why don't you tell us, we have a couple minutes till uh till our special guest, till Nachum comes on. Tell us about Jewish Unity Day. What's the history of Jewish Unity Day and what are the plans for this year? I got Let me tell you, first of all, I got to We we've talked about Unity Day, but also I spoke today to like the mayor. It's not even the mayor, he's like the head of most of Israel today. You put me in touch with some guy. And uh I got to tell you about I passed the big names onto you, Rabbi Broder. I take the small meetings, and the big meetings I pass onto you. We I knew I was in trouble when I got a call from some other like-ed official up in Israel, and they said, "You know I just saw that on his docket he's got an interview today with you. He's like what are you guys talking about? Not even sure but it was actually a really great interview. But today's paper, look at this. Front page front page of the paper. Doesn't make a difference which paper it is. Exactly. Distribution Jewish Journal, that's that's a prestigious journal. Prestigious. It's got a distribution of one right now but go ahead. My mom is the one that got it and she dropped it in my mailbox. I I told you distribution of one. Yeah. But we have actually a very special program because we can't be in a big theater like we are normally but we are doing a you're actually on the set right now of our late night edition and it's actually something that's very very good. We actually put together I think a very very special program. Give us a little history. What is Jewish Unity Day? When did we start it? Does every community have a Jewish Unity Day? What are some of the highlights of the past Jewish Unity Days and what's the plan for this year? Yeah. Have we ever won an award for Jewish Unity Day? Exactly. If you could see the award is actually sitting right there. I'd get up but you would see that I'm not wearing pants right now so I'm going to get up and get the awards. Good. We we applaud that policy. That is a wise decision. Good judgment right there. But Jewish Unity I've never had to pull Jewish Unity out of you as much as I'm trying to tonight. What is going I know. Let me just tell you that cuz I got some big surprises but let me just tell you we're going to start out this program which if you've ever seen any of the famous late night shows you're probably going to think you're watching the late night show even though it's actually a little bit earlier because because in Boca people don't stay up so late. So we're doing it at 7:00. But one of the things that we are obviously highlighting is the fact that about six years ago you had three very very precious souls that were murdered and in the wake of their murder you know the Jewish world united actually came together before we even knew that they were dead and we came together all across different stripes all different parts of the the Jewish world came together and said, "Why do we have to wait for for for a tragedy? Why can't we just get together?" Like you just said, Tisha B'Av is coming. Right? The Jews are such smart people. We can accomplish so many things, and yet this one little thing which we know is holding us back from the third base on migdash, just called being nice to each other, respecting one another. It's like we keep favorite quote, March of the Living? Rabbi Lau, Chief Rabbi Lau is standing in Auschwitz-Birkenau March of the Living. He looked at a crowd of thousands, and what did he tell them? We've learned learned how to die together. Why can't we learn the secret of living together? We've learned how to die together. For the millennia throughout history, we've died together. We're going to sit on the floor Tisha B'Av. We're going to mourn crusades, inquisition, holocaust. We've learned how to die together. It's time to learn how to live together. It's ridiculous. So, that's what Jewish Unity Day is all about. What is all about Jewish Unity Day? What is all about Jewish is actually I don't know if you know this, but you know, because we're have a you know, it's a little bit challenging this year because we have to film in the living room, create a whole show. You're actually in the video. There's actually a part I got I got you on. Okay. Good to know. Pulled out the archives. Oh, wow. Did I have hair? You actually look pretty good. You actually look really good, but I had to make it seem like to the viewer that it's actually happening right now. Well, spoiler alert, you just gave that away. But, tell us a little bit more. I I you're being very evasive tonight. I don't know I know cuz I want everyone to tune in. I want everyone to watch. So, so actually the highlights of past Jewish Unity Days? How many people were there? Where did we host it? Okay, we've had it in some of the biggest arenas and theaters in our community. Talking about SAU that holds almost 25,000 people. We've sold that out you know, more than one time. And we've had different rabbis that have been part of this experience expressing what it is that they feel unity is all about. We've had some very special guest speakers including some of the families of the of the boys. And this year again, we're going to have one of them as well. Some of your friends of all of us. And Sure. there is a a very special message this year, which is how did our community collaborate over the last four months to help one another and we have some very very exciting stories stories that some of you might know but most of you don't know these stories and we wanted to share with the world. This is what our community is doing. Listen, it's a I don't know what's the rule on flexing when it's not about you but you're proud of your community because we're going to have a few flexes tonight. I don't know is there I I got to get a teenager on here a millennial who's going to give us some of the some of the rules on on flexing. flex. He deserves to flex. No, he deserves to flex. I'm saying all of us. If we're going to flex right now about our community we won the prize the unity we have others don't. We're going to talk about the fire station event that happened this week. When we talk with pride about our community is that come across as a flex? Like our colleagues our listeners not from Boca are they like enough Boca's great okay, we got it or no we're allowed to because not about us. away. Rabbi Brody, Where did you go? Yeah, we lost Rabbi Brody. Oh, there he is. There he is. You know what? You show me another community in the entire world that's got this the biggest programs biggest Jewish organizations birthright Limmud some of the biggest ones have this. There's no community ever to ever get this What is that? What are you holding in your hand? That looks like a Jerusalem Unity Prize looks like an AARP Prize over there. What is that the symbol of? It's actually the three boys, right? This was given to us at the home of the president of Israel along with I said along with the former mayor Nir Barkat mayor of Jerusalem and I'm telling you there were some very very impressive people in that audience and they all watched the video and Rabbi Moscow which was there Rabbi Goldberg was on the video and some of our local rabbis were all there together. Why wasn't I there Rabbi Brody? Why why wasn't I there cuz I don't value unity? Remind everyone why I wasn't there. over unity. It was a daughter's graduation. What did I have that night? Actually you and I both had a graduation to go That's correct. That's correct. I chose to go to Israel the other one. I couldn't go to the event at the president's house cuz it was my daughter's graduation. It just happened to also be Rabbi Brody's daughter's graduation and there was no zoom from Israel for that graduation but that's all right. And I was the lucky beneficiary of that. Everyone's got to do what they've got to do. That was a great trip, by the way. That was a great trip, by the the first time I went to go meet Jake, by the way. Remember? You guys were like Right outside the restaurant. I remember that. Everyone was like, "How's Jake?" I'm like, "He's a good You were so awkward about it. Look, the bottom line is that the next 3 weeks, this is our job and this is our task. You know, there's so many things that that unite us. Why are we focusing on the ones that divide us in the Jewish world? And I'll tell you this about anti-Semitism, and anti-Semitism is on the rise. Coronavirus came, and the conversation, the important conversation about racism, has interrupted and supplanted what was the important conversation about anti-Semitism. And there's an important conversation about anti-Semitism within the efforts to fight racism that nobody's having or scared to have right now. But, the bottom line is that our enemies lump us all together. The people who The people who want to see the end of the Jews writing swastikas on synagogues, they're not looking Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform. They don't look at what type of yarmulke you wear, what level of observance, or how much of a background you have. Our enemies lump us together. So, if they're going to lump us together, why can't we behave like we're lumped together? They hold us accountable for one another, so why shouldn't we act like we're accountable for one another? That's what these 3 weeks are all about, if we don't want to be sitting on the floor. I I I don't remember if I mentioned this on Behind the Bima in the past, maybe when my mom was on, when our moms were on. But, when I got smicha, the first thing my mother said to me was I had to laugh. I was so excited. I Why you? Or if Schechter signed my smicha, she said, "Great. Can you cancel Tisha B'Av? It's a rabbinic holiday. Call it off." Mhm. And uh obviously couldn't. But, if we want to cancel Tisha B'Av, there's a very easy way, and that's practicing Ahavat Yisrael. Bottom line is we need unity. Right. I mean, maybe you want to speak about either you, Rabbi Goldberg, or Rabbi Brody, but the dynamic of the rabbis in Boca is something very, very special. Right? I mean, we golf with our colleagues from different denominations. We consider them friends. We go out to eat with them. There's a real sense of special camaraderie, which I again, I've I've been in every other community, but I would venture to say it is unique within Boca. The dynamic amongst the Orthodox rabbis and amongst our colleagues in other denominations as well. Yes. I was actually on a bus, I remember. It might have been in Poland. I think we're actually leaving leaving Treblinka and they were it was an adult bus of participants mostly from South Florida, but there was one from New Jersey. And I was talking about our community and she raises her hand she says, "Rabbi, let me tell you something. We have that unity in our community as well." I said, "Really? The Orthodox they get along with the Reform community? They they they" You're like, "Yeah, they do." I was like, "What about the the the Conservatives?" She's like, "Yeah, the rabbis they talk." So, "What about the Chabad?" "Oh, no. They won't talk to the Chabad." So, you know what? Everyone's got an exception. We don't have any exceptions in this community. Now, it's an amazing thing. We sit around the table regularly and we have WhatsApp groups working on responding to Corona in the community regularly. I'll say we have an advantage some communities don't have, which is we're not looking over either our right shoulder or left shoulder. We're not worried about the op-ed in some Orthodox newspaper or we're not worried about being criticized. There's an environment and a culture and there's an opportunity down here. It's a little bit different pace of life and living we don't have the magnifying glass that others are under and we have that that gives us the space. Now, it still is important to get up and make it happen, but some of our colleagues, you know, to give them a little bit of um a defense it's not so easy for them. They're very worried. In other communities you're being judged for who you partner with, who you sat at a table with, who you traveled to Israel with and and we just we don't worry about this. we work hard at that, right Rabbi Goldberg? I mean, that doesn't always come easy. You and I can list several examples where that unity has has been challenged, has been tested and and we always kept our eye on the prize. We always recognize that unity doesn't mean uniformity. Doesn't mean we always have to agree with each other. We're allowed to have differences, but that the relationships in the community as a whole is much more powerful and when we work together. So, it's not always so easy. It doesn't always come so easy. It doesn't I agree. I agree. I know it doesn't. When you I'm sorry, but when you need when the crisis comes, right? The whole the whole origin the the background, the genesis of this unity prize was the three boys being kidnapped and killed and the community got together and we rotated the different shuls, temples, synagogues where we had the the rallies and the and the prayer rallies and so on. You can't wait for the crisis to strike to find the phone number of a colleague that you never spoke to, right? We've traveled together, we've been there, we paid shiva calls to one another's home. We've celebrated together, we invite them to our to one another's simchas. We have lunch, like you said, we play golf for no reason. There's a genuine underlying friendship, so the the the relationship is strong enough that when you disagree, you could say, "Look, there's an area we can't cooperate. There's an area we can't agree. There's an area we can't partner because we're just too far apart and fundamentally we disagree." But the relationship strong enough to withstand that because there's an underlying spirit of of cooperation, of love, of being able to work together. And like you said, that that that takes the effort. You have to leave your Everyone's leaving their comfort zone. We are challenged to leave our comfort zone at times and I'll give huge credit to our colleagues in other denominations who make an effort when we do stuff together to avoid say kol isha or to make sure the kashrus is the standards everyone can feel comfortable or to do the type of things that everyone can feel that they belong. So everyone's leaving their comfort zone a little bit, but that's what unity takes. You know, you don't have to you don't have to like one another, but you got to love one another. You got to be like And the biggest example of that is the peace of mind program that we do in partnership with our friends at Temple Beth El, which is a reform congregation. And and what makes that so special is there's no ego, right? it's not about us, it's not about them, it's about supporting soldiers in Israel. And um as you said, we flex a little bit, they're willing to be a little bit flexible and it's a really beautiful thing. And that's a perfect it's a perfect segue to welcome our special guest who is an icon in the Jewish world. He is the king of Jewish radio and podcast, the father of Jewish radio and podcast. Nachum, you we've known each other a long time, but you you know, you don't know, maybe I haven't told you, I have such vivid memories as a kid. And I'd wake up and come downstairs, I'd have breakfast, my parents were getting ready to work, my father driving me to school, JM in the AM. It was always playing. Your voice was ringing in our ears. Rabbi Yuden's Dvar Torah and the and the chizuk and the all the different components of it and we grew up with JM in the AM t-shirts because you'd have that the telethon and the t-shirts we'd get the oversized one. I think it was like a nightgown for my sister more than a t-shirt. It was probably your t-shirt so for her it was like a nightgown. It was a dress down to the floor. But but we grew up and so it's amazing to have you on and to be able to have this conversation and and thanks for all that you've done to lay the groundwork. There would be no Behind the Bima without JM in the AM and Nachum Segal. Now that's a pull quote. Let me let me make sure I let me make sure my staff splices that one out of this conversation tomorrow. First of all, thank you to all of you and it's funny that you have good and pleasant memories of growing up with JM in the AM. There are people who stop me and say that they they they so dread my voice because their father would walk into their room to wake them for high school and he turned the radio all the way up. Oh no. Bum bum bum bum bum da da da da da. Reb Mo Donny. Reb Mo Donny. That's right. And I must say I'm I feel here like I'm reunited with three amazing friends. And the yesterday I um uh yesterday I uh brought all of you up to everybody in my family because everybody in my family essentially knows all of you. Uh and of course as Rabbi Goldberg confirmed for me yesterday when we spoke, uh Rabbi Moskowitz who was a division head of certain schools in Camp Mesorah, uh is my for 2 years. Rootsoot. And I And correct. I spoke with Yamin about that today. I I said he I said to him, "Do you remember Rabbi Moskowitz being grade division?" He goes, "Dad, I was a Neitzie. What would I What would I Do you remember?" Uh but anyway, I did confirm with Rabbi Goldberg yesterday that in fact that same one flaw of Rabbi Goldberg is the same today as it was 20 years ago. He's still Baruch Hashem. He's still apparently roots to the Boston Red Sox. I of course reminded Rabbi Moskowitz that baseball history for me ended after the 2003 season. So, I have no problem with what's happened since then. But, aside from that Rabbi Moskowitz, it's wonderful to reunite with you and hopefully you will So good to see you. So good to see you. have an opportunity one day to take in a Yankee Red Sox game if those ever return. Rabbi Brody, now Rabbi Goldberg, I ask you Rabbi Brody also, we know each other for about 15 years. He was a head counselor for many Seagull Children Camp Misora. Has the congregate How many years has Rabbi Brody been with the congregation? How many years has he Rabbi Brody's been here 19 20 years now. So, I have to assume the congregation has I have to assume the congregation has seen his golf outfit, correct? I have to assume We've seen We've seen almost every outfit. You don't even want to know what he's wearing right now from the waist down. They've seen how seriously he takes every pursuit and he treats golf the same way he frankly treats our tradition. If he's going to do something, he's going to do it right and he's going to dress the part. So, That was That was well said. First of all, you know, Nachum was the he has the the recognition of being the head counselor at Misora and I have distinct I can say I'm the shortest head counselor. I'm thinking some would argue with you, but all right. If you want that distinction, it's yours. And Rabbi Goldberg, yesterday I mentioned you as well in the in our apartment and I discover and it's only because of this show that I discovered it. I discover that one of my daughters has listened to hundreds of your shiurim and listen to this profound and listen to this profound statement that she made yesterday in my home and it's not just a COVID-related statement. I think she meant it generally, but obviously during COVID it's it could be emphasized. She said, "It's amazing someone who you've never met can have such an impact on your life." And these days, COVID or not, obviously again during isolation we we see this theory even more because people are interacting with people they either have never met or will never meet frankly because of forums like these. But, and I was thinking about that. Now, you know, it's funny. When I met Rabbi Reisman once or twice, I think I actually went to pay a shiva call when he was sitting shiva. I said to him, I just wanted you to know I'm your charusa. And I'd never met him before. He said, "What are you talking about?" I said, "I've heard so many of your shiurim. I literally regard you as a charusa or as a talmid." Oh, and she also mentioned my daughter Chava that she has heard shiurim from your wife as well. So, she considers herself a talmida of both Rabbi and Rebbetzin Goldberg. I think that's pretty cool. I'll tell you another another connection I didn't know about till my mother told me today that I know your father I know was an esteemed rabbi in Newark, New Jersey. And my grandmother grew up My grandmother was a Nulman. The Nulman chazzanim, the Nulman family in Newark. thousand tribe of Nulmans. Yeah, exactly. AJ is my cousin. And my mother told me that your sister Leah went to JEC in Central with her. So, there are connections that run deep. And I want to jump in because we were talking right before you came on We're talking about Jewish Unity Day, which is an event that we celebrate down here. And I think now it's around the country, around the world. The moms of the three boys that were kidnapped and murdered started that and the Unity Prize they gave out. And I think one of the outstanding things and accomplishments of JNDA and probably really under appreciated is the level of achdus that you've created because I know that you have a listenership from across the spectrum, not only within Orthodoxy, which is unusual. There are few things that bind them together. But even outside the other denominations. And you're not shy of your modern Orthodox religious Zionist leanings and advocacy. And yet obviously you're offering such value and something so special that you're able to draw really diverse audience and create a sense of unity. There are a couple of things that come to mind when you mention that. One is that the largest supporter in the hit cuz we are you know, we are listener supported. The largest supporter in my 36 years of JMAN, the AM is a non-Orthodox Jew. And most people don't even believe And it's by far. It's not even It's not even close. So, that's number one. A great Zionist who unfortunately passed away just a few months ago. And the other thing that comes to mind when you when you talk about the unity is that I went to pay a shiva Again, I'm speaking about shiva calls. I went to pay a shiva call years ago to a very prominent philanthropist in the Jewish world and I sit down in front of him and he says to me, "Love your show, hate your politics." And I'm like, "Wow." Thank God that somebody who really is politically left-leaning and politically, you know, certainly a two-stater, etc., still feels the the the, you know, the the importance of tuning in and being part of it by listening, you know, each and every day and loving the show. You can actually love the show even if you hate everything I stand for, which is a very important revelation to me, frankly. There was a lot There was a lot to love. I'm going to ask you one more thing. I'll pass it off to to others to ask, too. But, for those who don't know, and I don't think there's anyone who doesn't know, your voice is iconic. I know people People now bring you in just to announce the arrival of the chasan and kallah at the first dance. That's how iconic that voice is. So, um Nachum, you began uh you Now it's Jewish Moments in the Morning. It was Jewish Music in the Morning since September 1983, president of the Nachum Segal Network. You began your career in radio at YU Campus WYUR 1981. 2016, we closed up on WFMU, listener-sponsored radio. I hear that ringing in my ears from my childhood. That was my first guest. Yeah, now it's available only on the Nachum Segal Network. Well, I wouldn't say only. I wouldn't use that word. Well, I wouldn't say only. That That's where it's available because apparently radio listenership is essentially gone. So, maybe you could talk to as we are aspiring podcasters and we're first, you know, getting our feet wet in this world a little bit and we're only standing on the shoulders of the giant named Nachum Segal, literally and figuratively. So, tell us about the move from radio to podcasting. What led to that? What do you see as the future of that? What are the benefits of being able to do that? Um what are the pros and cons of being a podcaster versus versus having been on the radio at that time? appreciate that. Um And two quick things, I will get to your question in a second. I have to say that I said to you yesterday, Rabbi Goldberg, I have And if I I will tell you gentlemen over lunch down in Boca one day the type of research I did. You'll be impressed. But I've done plenty of research on this topic and the reason shows like yours are actually engaging and are actually of value because the majority of them, especially in our community, are not. Yes, bold statement, but at this point in my career I feel like I can say it. It is because of the host. It is all about the host. And this is not just to give you a compliment that I to I to you know lord you global you know globally in this forum. But that's what it's all about and that's why this works and I think your co-hosts are And this is a compliment are very understanding of their role. So I wanted to say that number one in terms of why this has become a success and why you're looking and aspiring to grow this even larger. And by the way, one other thing I have to say, um Rabbi Goldberg, I don't I don't even remember how many years I know you because the the others I can actually pinpoint to Kim Messora, but you're you have always been in the last 15 years you have always been on the Nachum Segal very public short list of the most talented Orthodox rabbis in the United States of America. And when when And when And by the way, and your name certainly all is the most undisputed among the top three. But then I went But I must have to say one other thing. I went to the Boca Raton Synagogue website, right? I wanted to learn more about the synagogue before I did this show. And I see how many staff you have. Do you know how hard it is to stay in the top three just of the rabbinic staff of Boca Raton Synagogue? I know you're in the top three in the United States You're way too kind. But I wonder who the other two are. I I I think the whole world knows who I think the other two are but I would be more than happy to share with you. Uh the other thing is, one other connection, and this is how old I am. Rabbi Ellie Zion's is the son of a high school classmate of mine in here near friend who you've probably met I assume over the years. I'm sure they they've come down from Canada to Exactly. And he is unbelievable. So the answer to your question is that look, it became obvious to us I think it's becoming more obvious now to a lot of other people that this was the future. The future uh you know the future The most important thing is to be first to market. The most important thing is to you know be ahead of the ahead of the curve and when 2000 I would say 14-15 started it became obvious a couple things became obvious. Number one it became obvious that the future of radio is all on demand. Obviously that I have a tremendous advantage that in addition to the on demand component I'm willing to do a live component every single day. So that still attracts you know half the audience that just wants that live experience every morning when you describe before. And now this covid period of time is just reinforced is how important it is in terms of being a community and being able to connect this way and be together in a time of isolation. And we made a very bold move. We made a very bold move with the cooperation of the radio station where I was for 33 years. A very bold move we call it an amicable divorce. Um it it On the other side our brand had become a little too large for a small radio station. It's something that has happened at that radio station before with other personalities and we got lucky that that problem was not a serious one which it would have been 10 or 15 years earlier how to solve it. In this case you know we established a network and even though we had always been a global entity all of a sudden because we are no longer tethered to terrestrial radio the entire world actually sees us as a global entity. So that was it was really good timing. It was bold to do it when we did it and how we did it but it has turned out to be a good move. And the key function of that is the on demand I mean obviously you have the live audience which is enormous but the on demand component of it is the move to the world of podcasting. No question about it. I mean that when we did that without without specifics about revenue but in terms of how it impacted advertising um people stuck with you or even got more with podcasting? Yeah I mean we have a variety of revenue streams obviously our fundraisers one of the most important ones but we do have sponsored show. In fact we were we did a sponsored show when we were down in Boca, if you recall, back in February of 2017. Right, with Nachman Nachman. You know, we do a lot of on the road stuff, which is really suffering now, frankly. We were supposed to be in Israel multiple times since January. January is the last time we were. Uh when we go to Israel, it is it is a a tremendous uh boost for us because we have a lot of sponsored shows. Um how's it affected it? I I I think in I mean, it's taken a long time for me to learn this lesson, frankly, three and a half decades, but I think in our community, if somebody wants to get the message out is convinced that they that every member of my audience is a potential buyer, a potential consumer, a potential, you know, somebody who would consume whatever it is they're selling, whether it's not-for-profit or or for-profit, then I think that that's the whole ballgame. And I don't think they care if it's on demand that half the people are listening or live every morning that half the people are listening or you know, people who who love the live show or can only listen to it later in the day and that's when they find time for it. As long as they are convinced that 100% of the audience is their customer, uh when you've grown something as large as this, they're willing to to sponsor the show. Got you. Rabbi Moscowitz. Yeah, so first of all, this is like a highlight for me. You're as Rabbi Goldberg said, you're the king of radio, and I still want to know who the other two rabbis are. But let let me ask you a question. You've done You've done thousands and thousands of interviews over the last 33 years. Um name name one that sticks out to you as a particularly memorable one, either because it was funny, it was sad, it was during a a momentous moment in in history. This is the advantage of 36 years. You finally, after many decades, develop an answer to questions like this. Uh there's no question that my favorite interviews are the ones that can only happen on my network. What do I mean? And if I have time for a couple of quick stories, I'll give you these two great examples. Um Robert Kraft, who Rabbi Moscowitz probably has heard of cuz he's won a Super Bowl or two, unfortunately for the wrong team. Uh I might have a picture of him in my office. So, back to me, tonight's guest. What? He's on our show. He's on our show when he's honored by Yeshiva University at their dinner, right? This is it. I mean, he ain't going on ESPN to talk about the NYU dinner, right? He comes on the dinner and he says the following, and the archive's available to the whole world, folks, nachumsegal.com, you can see the whole thing. He says the following, "My father," this is Robert Kraft speaking, "My father would consider this honor from Yeshiva University greater than winning a Super Bowl." Wow. And I said to myself, "I promise you, he is not making this statement anywhere else." Except maybe at the NYU dinner, itself, frankly. Uh and that those are the type of interviews I like. A funny one, which I always cite, I love this, and and those of you who you're all involved in youth work, so you'll appreciate this. So, there's a gentleman named Dan Brody, I don't know if the name sounds familiar at all. Dan Brody On The Apprentice? Yes, very good, Rabbi Brody. Your television acting career has expired. We're not going to go into that one right now, but The only two The only two people say I was a fan. The only two people who remember Dan Brody Dan Brody are Rabbi Brody and he spells the name differently, by the way, and the President of the United States. He's from Teaneck now, right? I think he's from that area. Yeah. Um Rabbi Rabbi The President of the United States was the host of that show, and what happened during that show was, if you got fired from the show, you could not leave the hotel that you were being put up at. In other words, you you had to stay there for the three months that they were filming the rest of that season, because if you would go back to your neighborhood, no matter who you are, people would know, you know, that that you're out. They if they would see you at a time when the filming still going on. So, what would they do with everybody? They would take all the people who were fired and they'd be in their hotel and, you know, uh you know, suffering from a lot of down time, and they would try to take them to different events. They would try to, you know, take them to restaurants, go out to eat together. They would try to take them bowling, miniature golf, you know, different activities just to keep them busy. They would actually say to them each day that there's something to do. So, Brody says So, they say to Dan Brody, they say, "Listen, you you you go to all these restaurants with us. You're barely eating anything because nothing's kosher. So, we got to take you to a kosher restaurant." So, Dan Brody says, "Listen, if you take me to a kosher restaurant, any kosher restaurant in New York, there will be people there who know me, and the jig will be up." "Dan, come on. Who do you think you're such a superstar?" "I'M TELLING YOU, THAT'S THE WAY IT WORKS IN OUR COMMUNITY. If I walk into any place THAT'S KOSHER, I PROMISE YOU SOMEONE FROM IN THAT MY NEIGHBORHOOD'S going to be there, and it'll be all over." All right, so they took his word for it, and they and they, you know, they assumed that that he's telling the truth, but of course it was funny that they called him a big shot. Anyway, so all this comes to a head when they decide that one day they're going to take the entire group by bus to Six Flags Great Adventure. Okay. And they're all going to have this outing. Was it Chol Hamoed Pesach? They get to Six Flags. They get to Six Flags, and Dan Brody sees the crowd and realizes that it's NCSY Chol Hamoed. That's right. Right, it was in the fall. It's Chol Hamoed Sukkot. And he starts to panic again knowing if someone recognizes me, it's all over. So, he he tells the story. He he he says to the director, the person running the trip, "Give me a ticket immediately." Grabs the ticket, runs in, gets one of those Where's Waldo hats on over his head, and it walked around the entire Six Flags like that the rest of the day. These are stories, and these are why they're my favorites that can only be told and appreciated on J M in the AM. Now, do you get nervous? You're interviewing Bob Kraft, obviously a prestigious person. Do you get nervous for interviews like that? Do you get nervous you're going to blank, that the conversation's going to grow stale, that he's going to say something that you're going to have to recover from? Uh I've done 9,000 J A M in the A M's or somewhere between 9 and 10,000 and a lot of live events and I am nervous every single morning. Obviously not to the degree that I was years ago, but every time at 5 minutes after 6, I open up that microphone. I always say to my kids, if I wasn't nervous, I'd be nervous. And yeah, there's no question that Kraft or anybody, you wanted it to go smoothly. You have no idea who's a good interview. I will tell you now again one of my research observations for decades, just because someone speaks well, presents well, does press conferences well, means nothing when they get on the air and now have to be in this type of dialogue where they're answering direct questions. You have no idea how it's going to go. You know, Kraft for me again was a big victory because of what he said cuz he's saying something to my audience again that, you know, proves to people if I don't listen to J A M M, I'm going to miss stuff like this. This was so inspiring to hear the the biggest, you know, NFL owner say something like that. But yeah, nerves are always, I'm telling you if I wasn't nervous, I'd be nervous, frankly. I think that's reassuring to people. It's very important for them to know because people look at you, they look at your career and they look at people who are successful in whatever industry and they think, ah, it comes easy for them. It's second nature for them. They don't worry and they don't understand that whoever it is in whatever position at whatever peak they've reached, they still got those butterflies, those nerves and like you said, the day they lose them is the day it's over. Nobody Rabbi Brody. Everyone knows nobody could speak to me the day of a live concert. That I'm that M C. Wow. It's the same thing with Rabbi Goldberg also. When there's a big sermon or Rabbi Goldberg is Absolutely. I'm getting a little You should be with him before Shabbos Shuva. He is he's got the jitters. Let's put it that way. I got some sweaty palms. It's like, you know, the pre-game. You get ready for the pre-game. It's all, yeah. Super cool. he can turn around and look at us and we've got his back. That's all he needs. Yeah, maybe. But but you know, I was listening this morning to your broadcast and first of all, thank you so much for the plug this morning and then right after you gave the plug, you told all your listeners come check out this show. You said, well, tomorrow got a great interview. Rabbi Yehoshua Fass is going to be calling in. Everything keeps coming back to Boca Raton Synagogue. You notice that, right? Well, I want to tell you something with the numbers you guys have down there and I'm not talking about the COVID numbers now, thank God. I'm talking about the numbers of members and kids and families that you have it's unbelievable and what you're doing down there is just remarkable. It is I don't know if it's still considered the fastest growing Jewish community or or Jewish region in the country, but if you told me it was I'd certainly believe it. You mentioned earlier when I was listening to the first part of the show you mentioned about unity with other members of the community and Rabbi Brody, you and I really had an opportunity to experience that when you gave us a tour of the Federation building down there. What an amazing campus it is. Very impressive and nothing against Boca cuz everything you're saying is true, but I will say when we did our Jewish unity initiative to Houston, when we did our Jewish unity initiative to Pittsburgh, Okay. the real solid Orthodox rabbis there are very very conscientious about being in touch on a regular basis with everyone who's called a rabbi in their community. That's crazy. Every it is really Where's that? Unless I happen to see those you know, the three communities that are doing it. I think at what we call out of town, there is really a concerted effort among the rabbinate Nah, Nachum, that's cuz like they clean up the bunk for visiting day. They cleaned up the bunk for visiting day. You came out there. We're like that even when you're not here. Right. Well, let me ask you let me ask you a question. Where do you see Sirius Satellite Radio with this whole thing? Well, look, that's the big question, you know, Sirius could go the I I always say Sirius can go the way of the DAT machines. Does anybody on this call know what a DAT machine is? No. No. Oh, wow. A DAT I wish I had a sample here to hold up. A DAT was a format I guess between cassette and CD or between CD and MP3 depending on what you know, how you want to and it was a format that everyone thought especially in radio because of the way it was designated that everyone thought was going to be really successful and it ended up having a very short era because of the success of CDs and then eventually the success and convenience of MP3s. I mean, if this trend continues where when you get into your car, as so many thousands of my listeners do, that app turns on right away. And you get and you and at any point that you want, no matter where you are in social media, no matter where you are, uh you know, in terms of your listening pleasures, you could just access this, you know, even more and more and more easily. I don't know if eventually there's going to be a role for satellite radio. May go the same way as terrestrial radio. Uh right now I think what's really um saving them is the uh it it is the selection and variety that they have. I mean, they are simulcasting a lot of stuff that you'll see on other platforms. That's been very helpful to them. Um and the variety and the just the sheer number of of choices, the channels, the But no Jewish channels. Yeah, that's correct. And that effort uh I might suggest after all the years of frustration may not be worth it at this point. You know, we we have our own networks, you know, we have we have an obligation I think to promote them and to get everybody involved in to listen to them every morning and every day. Uh but um but I don't know if it's worth it at this point uh to actually continue to pursue that. Interesting. The hour's getting late for you, we know, cuz your day starts very early. Hour's getting late. I'm just starting to roll here. If we don't get going here, WE BETTER GO I think your sidekick you're I saw your sidekick Miriam Wallach was on. She's probably fast asleep next to her computer right now, but she actually and your tennis star. I saw she was watching. She said, "I'm on Boss Late Night" or something like that. So, I don't want to keep you too long, but I want to ask you I want to ask you one more question because we talked about your interviewing, we talked about what it takes to host a show, podcast radio, but your real the the foundation of what you've done is promoted Jewish music. Jewish music. And you have ushered for 36 years you've seen artists come and go, you've seen the one-hit wonders, you've seen the here to stay, you've seen the development of Jewish music. You've seen it from the really hartziga, heartfelt, authentic, based on our psukim and chazal, and you've seen now it turn into some of the techno, could be played at a nightclub, a disco, could be played at a whatever. What's going on out there in Florida? What are some of the What are the some of the Mary Morris is up, you should know. She's watching, she's in. She wouldn't see the show till tomorrow. I guess she couldn't resist. She's in. She's good. She's got a bucket of popcorn and a tall coffee. She's in. So, can you talk for a moment, just you know, close us out by telling us what you've seen has changed in Jewish music? What's changed that's positive? What changes that you think that you wish would have not have happened? What do you think is the future of Jewish music? What are some of the trends you've seen in Jewish music? And what was your favorite concert ever? I'll add that. I let me turn to my friend Benjamin Herzl and ask him what he thinks to that about your question. By the way, the only person for a period of 11 weeks to walk into the studio during COVID. Now, some of my other staff members have been welcomed in, but Herzl, who I I assume you see, right? Am I right? You see him there? Can't see him right now. Are you serious? You can't see him? Oh, all right, guy. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, he's he's my buddy. I I did the I did the and on Zoom, I gave him a whole speech about what Like what's what's Nachum drinking over there? Did you do a l'chaim? You didn't do a l'chaim already? We did a l'chaim. We'll have another l'chaim with you, though. You want another? You know me, I would never do A SHAMELESS PLUG, BUT you never know what our friends at Bartenura have a delicious brand new OF BARTENURA BLUE MOSCATO. Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha'olam borei pri hagafen. Oh, man, I love it. Bartenura and Moscato, send some over to to us over here in Boca. Yeah, exactly. We got we Listen, we have our sponsorships are full for the next few weeks, but you can tell them we're happy we're happy to take them in and we're happy to to help them to promote them, too. So, come back to us, Jewish music. Tell us what's going on. look, in all seriousness, I'll answer your question. Uh but it's such an unimportant question to me, and I'll tell you why. When it comes to Jewish music and my role, there is really one only one thing I think of as you ask the question. Do you remember Do you remember the beloved it Newman of blessed memory, the principal of Breuer High School. Sure. Sure. JC. She Oh, yeah. Rabbi Brody. That's your hood, Rabbi Brody. That's my hood. Listen. She She said to me, and I will never forget this, and it it'll it'll stay with me the rest of my life. She said to me, "You know what you did, Nachum Segal? You did one thing. And that is you made it cool for Jewish high school kids to listen to Jewish music." And I look, there are a lot of trends, and there are a lot of formats, and you're right, things have changed in really dramatic ways all all directions, you know, with well with techno on one side, but we have, you know, Carlebach on the other who's, you know, a giant now in this industry and has his own Yishai Ribbo. Yishai Ribbo. I mean, we can go on and on, correct? Uh but but in terms of my role and my observation, when someone like that who was a real serious educator, I mean, those who knew her know that she was a real She wouldn't just give out a compliment like that without really meaning it and having observed, you know, what what she's seen in the community. That to me was the most important thing. So, yes, there are a lot of different formats, a lot of changes, some good, some bad, some popular, some not. Uh but the fact that a young kid in my own home, as my kids were growing up, for me for me, one of the most satisfying things was that Sunday through Wednesday the music had a that was coming from their rooms had a certain style to it. And then Thursday and Friday, all of a sudden, you had this unbelievable transformation to Carlebach, Eitan Katz, you know, and Mordechai Ben David. Because they felt it like you know, like we've always known, those of us who who program, you know, through the week, as we get closer as a Jewish people to Shabbos, everything changes. You know, not dramatically that our lives are so different or that we're so different, but, you know, what? Shabbos is coming we don't have to And when teenagers incorporate that into their lives, that that's simply That's big. remarkable. Favorite concert, I mean it's got to be the when I had the honor of hosting the reunion of the Diaspora Yeshiva band. Only because of for me it was the most fun and just brought back so many memories and it's just you know, it was one of those nights that I couldn't stop smiling. Diaspora is the best. Nachum Segal, want to thank you. You are an icon. You are the father of Jewish broadcasting and really anyone who today has a podcast, anyone who today is able to broadcast, anyone who's trying to get their hand in cuz today all you need to do is order a microphone on Amazon and have an internet connection. All of a sudden you think you're a podcaster, but really you are the father of it all. We thank you. Thank you for being with us tonight. Thanks for your friendship. Steppin' Nachum. Thanks for all that you do. Everybody should support the Nachum Segal Network. Yes. All of the work that they do. Tune in to hear. It's easy. Download the app. Listen online. You got broad You got programming throughout the day. Tune in when he gives the top three rabbi list. Most important day of the year. And uh And everybody support the incredible work. So Nachum, thank you so much for being with us, staying up late with us tonight. And we look forward to being in touch again. All of you are amazing. I I look forward in all seriousness to doing this live and in person down in Boca one of these days again. That'll be great. Can't wait. Great. Can't wait. Thanks so much. Have a great night. Certainly will. Thank you. Take care. All right, boys. It was great. Uh Nachum's the best. He's one of a kind. I'll tell you, I felt so validated that he gets nervous before an interview. Because you know, you you sometimes wonder as someone who speaks all the time and and there definitely are the jitters and and you get a little nervous before and you're like, is that ever going to wear off? Is that Is that because of me? Am I not good? But it's nice to know that even the giants get a little nervous before they get up there. Absolutely. Nachum's success is not just his radio voice and it's not just that he knows how to be a good host. He's so heart-so He's so heartfelt. He's so sincere. He's such charisma. He's just a great great guy. And and for all of us who've listened, even if you didn't know him before, you knew him, he's been part of our lives for a for a time. So that was really a special uh And it's um also nice for us, a good feedback. We got to We got to keep growing, keep pushing. He said he's done 9,000 shows. We've done 16. No, today is episode 14. Before you get too excited. don't want to jump. Yeah, he's done 9,000. We're on episode 14. No, but that's what I I wanted to ask him. How do How do you keep the energy up? Right? I mean, it's really hard every day to be getting up at that hour. It's called Starbucks in the front. Nah, it's more than Starbucks. There has to be that like inner drive. Passion. He's passion. He loves what he does. He's passionate. You know the favorite our buddy Matthew Haukaman? Is he listening tonight? Haven't seen him in a while speaking about early bedtimes. But Matthew loves to quote his father of blessed memory who used to say, "If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life." So, you never sense that Nachum has worked a day in his life. He's great. He loves He loves what he does. I want to take a moment to acknowledge the Boca Raton Synagogue Networking Group, which is an amazing group. Three of our previous sponsors actually came out of that group. And they're doing great work during this time Corona. A lot of businesses are slowed down or shut down. And their networking is helping people grow their business, giving them access. Uh part of the membership in that group goes to Tomchei Shabbos support Tomchei Shabbos. Uh they're doing amazing amazing things. And if you want to get involved, BRSNG, Boca Raton Synagogue Networking Group, brsng.org. And a huge shout-out to Gila and Mark for their incredible work. We're going to have them on the future. We'll talk more about what they do. But during this time in particular doing great things and they deserve our acknowledgement. So, Rabbi Moskowitz, want to ask you a question. We are Time flies every Wednesday night when we're having fun. Um but I want to ask you a question, Rabbi Moskowitz. What's your take on this movement going on right now to tear down statues? You think that's good, bad? You think we should be whitewashing history? Should we be editing out the parts we like or don't like? Are they part of the record? What's your take on it? Well, I happened to I've written a blog about that that'll be posted later tonight. So, everyone's welcome to read that. Um and like Rabbi Brody didn't want to show his cards with Unity Day. I don't want to show my cards with my article. But everyone can read it at brsonline.org/rabbiphilipmoskowitz. And in my my basic thesis and again it's a nuanced thesis. You have to read the article is that there's a real tragedy in erasing history. And obviously I understand the sensitivities and the sensibilities of the monuments and what they represent in the history behind them. I'm very very sensitive to that. But my plea along that process is the importance of history and I think nobody has done it better over the years than the Jewish people and that's that's the that's the thesis of the article. So I guess the question I'm not asking you to respond to it. I don't know what you just said by the way. He's that was the most vague statement. He's running for He's running He's running for office. He just learned how to answer a question without answering a question. So he's He's officially running for office. play that game now. I'll play that game. You want to play that game? I was like No no so so I'm looking forward to reading the article and without even having read it I'm you know I'll be curious to see whether you address or how you would respond to we leave up right you could visit Auschwitz and and you you can't really visit There's nothing left in Treblinka but you can go across the world today and see places of our own where we were victims and our own persecution and oppression. But that's different than a statue where there's nothing left. We built an entire entire campus rebuilt as a It's a great point. It's a great point. My question is though that's different than what if there were a statue to Hitler in the center of Berlin? How would we feel? Would we be demanding of the German government to take down the statue of Hitler in the center of Berlin or would we say let it sit there and put a plaque that this was the most evil man to have ever walked the walk to face of the earth? So I'm not sure I I I follow your distinction between statues and camps right? And we keep death camps where the worst atrocities known to mankind were perpetrated and we leave them. We don't turn them into sanitized museums. We actually leave them in the state that they are because we want generations of Jews to go there and to witness it and to learn about it and to wrestle with it and to grapple with it. So I'm not sure I I particularly hold of your distinction. Um listen, the genesis of the article was a couple of years ago when we were on a road trip with my kids. And as we were driving up to New York, so you notice on like the side of the road there are all those signs, there are all these Civil War battlefields. And you pass by this exit and that exit and each one's a different Civil War battlefield and none of us have any idea what it's about. And so, my kids and I decided that this year we're actually going to Google the battlefield and read and learn a little bit about what happened in those places. And again, arguably and we're learning more now that horrible things happened there, that the genesis of it was built on slavery and and really dark periods of our history. But I'm appreciative that those existed because it afforded me the the blank canvas to be able to discuss with my children. And whatever the decisions are about monuments and statues, it's very inappropriate for me to comment on on that movement. But I will say one of the things I worry about is the notion of sanitizing history, of making it disappear in a way that we can't use it to educate our children to create a better society so that they can learn from the past indiscretions of our country. And I think Judaism in many ways has served as a model for those who have come along and grappled with it and wrestled with it. clarify. Let me clarify my distinction because my distinction is is very simple. It's that Auschwitz, Birkenau, these camps, they are places where atrocities happened. There's nothing about Auschwitz which attribute to the Nazis, the SS guards, the people who purchase it who perpetrated the atrocity. We go there because palpably we want the next generations to know so that they can say never again. A statue by definition is designed, it's put up in tribute. That's the goal. That's the purpose of a statue. You raise a statue to honor and to pay tribute. That's why it's there. So, a concentration camp is not there to pay tribute. It's not there to honor anybody or anything. It's there so that you can go and that you can remember and that we can make sure it never happens again. So, you know, again, I'm looking forward to reading the article, and I'm not I'm not I'm not trying to debate you on it. I'm thinking out loud with you on it. That it's an interesting question of what standards we hold, and and I'll and I'll tell you this, because I mentioned this in my Pasha class this week. People don't know this. The Magain Avraham Avraham Gombiner, one of the um really critical commentaries in the Shulchan Aruch, quotes that there was a tradition to fast the Friday of Parshas Sukkot, this Friday, 2 days from today, to fast every year. And he says the reason is in 1242, King Louis the Ninth burned 20 Some say 24 wagon loads of Talmud. It was before the printing press, they were handwritten, and it set the Jewish people back terribly. He persecuted the Jews, he burned 20 wagon loads of our books, they were irreplaceable manuscripts. We lost some of the commentary of Baalei Tosfos, and King Louis the Ninth, who in 1242 perpetrated this atrocity, has a city named for him. It's called Saint Louis. So, if we're going to start taking down Mount Rushmore, knocking down statues, and changing the names, which maybe we should, how far do we go? Is it only the people who have been a racist, or are we going to change the name of Saint Louis? Because maybe to the Catholic Church he was a saint, to us he was exactly the opposite, everything but. So, it's an interesting question, and it's a timely question, both because of what's happening with the statues, and this Friday would have been that fast day because of what happened, because we were victims to Saint Louis, who was everything anything but a anything but a saint. But um I'd like to talk to you more about it, and we're going to run out of time tonight, maybe next week, about you've gotten involved in writing, and and what that's been like for you. Has it put a new pressure on your week? Uh where does the creativity come from? How do you think about the topics? What were you What was holding you back for a long time? You're like a Brisker, your perfection held you back from being willing to publish. Now you're publishing, but we'll talk about that more, but we're out of time. But I want to tell you guys about something interesting happened to me today. I did a Zoom uh conversation with students at the Hildesheimer Seminary in Germany, in Berlin, and with rabbis from all over Germany. I have a relationship, you remember Rabbi Halpern, who was uh the Rosh Kollel, there at the Yeshiva there who came to Boca several years ago for a Shabbos our friend our friend Rabbi Josh Spinner the Lauder Foundation doing amazing things over there. So he asked if I would do the Zoom a conversation talking about the rabbinate balancing priorities and you know some of these exciting things I love to talk about. So I gave my essentialism spiel you know whipped out the PowerPoint talked all about you know if you don't prioritize your life someone else will my whole stick right? Had the had the jitters a little nervous before doing it but I I would I went right into my my comfort zone of talking about those things. I give my whole thing 20 25 minutes half an hour we got half an hour left and I opened up I said any questions any comments any feedback and one of them says you know one of the big things about essentialism the art of saying no right? The art of saying no. Real leaders don't know how to say yes they have they know how to say no. How do you consolidate your life how do you only do what's essential you'll go a lot farther you'll do it a lot better. And the student says the the the um in Germany the culture is entirely the opposite. The challenge is not learning to say no the challenge is learning to say yes. He said they're born and I I don't think that anyone listens to our podcast in Germany so from our feedback so far I think I'm safe saying this nobody's going to lose their job because of it in Germany but he said in Germany this the culture is kind of like everybody's in the box this is the way we've always done it this is how we do it we do it exactly on time we do it exactly this way and if you try to espouse or project some creativity or excitement or a new idea or entrepreneurship you could lose your job as a rabbi. So there the challenge is not how to get people to say no there the challenge is how to get people to say yes. And I said that was fascinating and I and it was a failure of me I didn't do my homework. I didn't come to understand who you know their their culture before speaking to them but it's fascinating we could be rabbis wait by the way which is ironic from a Jewish history perspective that Germany is a culture where you're not allowed to be more progressive right? Classically some of the the more progressive streams of Judaism have emerged out of Germany. Right just say one of those rabbis in Germany wouldn't do too well BRS. They would not they would not fit in here and apparently we wouldn't fit in it too well over there. So, That's okay. I thought that was something which was really That was one That was one of the first things you told me on my interview 10 and 1/2 years ago. He said, "Rabbi Rabbi Moskowitz, I want to tell you something about BRS. You will never hear us say that's not the way we do it. Right? No idea's off the table. It's not like, "Oh, we've done it for 30 years. We can't do it we have to do it this way going forward." You will never hear us say, "No, that's not the way we do it." And the truth is you've held true to that. Every idea we're always looking to grow and to aspire and to push the envelope a little The one who deserves the best credit for that is not us. It's our lay leadership. Our lay leadership says as long as you're responsible, as long as it's financially responsible, as long as it's legal, then then go for it. And there's a lot of other lay leadership who don't think that way. So, we're very grateful they they give us wings and they tell us to go fly. Right now they've grounded us, but in general they tell us to go fly. We are like El Al planes. We are like El Al planes. We are severely grounded right now. Um what else is going on, guys? Got a couple minutes left. I I spoke again I spoke to the head of the Binyamin region today because apparently he called you. You you were a little busy, so I was talking to the Germans. I spoke to him today and they want to do some programming with us because they said they know how how we're struggling here in Florida right now with this COVID. They said we got a lot of people. They want to do some great things. And you know what they we were talking some ideas and they said Tisha B'Av we're explaining how we were talking about those tours and things, you know, that people can can can participate in virtually. And then they said, "What about Tu B'Av?" I said, "Well, I don't think we're doing anything Tu B'Av." He's like, "You know, Tu B'Av is a holiday that started in the Binyamin region. I think in Shiloh." He's like, "Why don't we do something together?" I was like, "Yeah, call Rabbi Moskowitz." Call Rabbi Moskowitz. I actually have something that day, so I will be unavailable on Tu B'Av itself. Tu B'Av is August 5th. torahandcaleb.com Wow. He's trying to achieve That was That was for That was for your monument question. Trying Trying it there, but yeah. So, yeah, Tu B'Av is a big Jewish holiday. It's the holiday of Jewish romance, the holiday where able to bury the Betar, the Jews who couldn't be who were slaughtered and couldn't be buried until that Tu B'Av night. We have a extra paragraph in benching in honor of that. So, yeah, it's interesting to follow what's going on in Israel, the annexation and and Prime Minister Netanyahu announced he's delaying it. And even here in this country there's a little bit of a split. You've got You've got two letters from Democrats. Then you have a whole third third group of Democrats who've not chosen not to weigh in and criticize. Then you have a whole group of Republicans who have chosen not to weigh in and support. And so, it's complicated. I'll just say this that the annexation issue is complicated because the fact that just considering Israel there's not unanimity. In Israel itself, not everybody agrees on what should happen. So, I have my own views, which is not for now, but I will say that um I will say that um anyone who thinks that there's only one way of looking at it needs to know that there are people who have a lot more invested in it who could see it the other way. Should be Should just be careful about how they portray how how easy it is or that there's only one way of looking at something. Rabbi what can people Where can people listen to us after the show? Oh, there's so many places. And let me tell you something, when you go to a place let's say like Apple, and you can go to Apple Podcasts, just click on search, Behind the Bima will come right up. You know, one of the things that help us move up in the ratings, and you have to understand why ratings are so important. All about the ratings cuz then more people will be able to find us. Say, why is that important? Because we've got so much to share with people, especially time like this. Not heavy, just some fun. Everyone's looking for some fun times. Go drop us a rating. Now like someone gave us a one star. Who's this hater out there? You know what? That doesn't help But there's like 60 or 70 who give us five stars. So, I know. I know. You know what? I Can I tell you what happened? It's probably I might have been someone like I was going to say my mother, but my mother's going to be mad at me. Sometimes you can't tell which is the right one to push. There's like five empty stars. You push the one star. You think that lights up all five, and all of a sudden it lit up just the one. You didn't know. I know. So, the person that did that, but I started Let me just say this, by the way. This is episode 14 and your mom has come up 14 times at least. And each time she probably cringes when you mention it. At least. Mrs. Brody Mrs. Brody is amazing. So, last week we talked about the the Clark family, their house burnt down. We don't know one knows the reason for the fire, but the family has bounced back and there was a miraculous story of the Torah that was saved. News did a segment on it. It was so timely cuz the daf yomi right now is learning all about the Shabbos. What happens if there's a fire on Shabbos? Can you save a Torah? And the Torah and the tefillin are what survived in the house despite gallons and gallons of water that was cast onto the house to put out the fire. The Torah did okay. So, Rabbi Moskowitz, what happened this week? How did the community step up to say thank you? Amazing. Amazing. Our community went to the fire station. Um they pre-ordered packaged goodies for the firemen cuz they knew in era of COVID they would not take home baked foods. So, they worked with one of the local uh Synaholics here, kosher Synaholic, to arrange for kosher snacks to be brought to the firemen. And about 50-60 of our members showed up at the fire station literally just to say thank you. And it was the most amazing thing because the chief of of the fire department said that he's been doing it for 30 years. 30 years. He said he never ever remembers being thanked in the way that he was thanked this week by the Jewish community. And you hear stories like that and again it just it gives you goosebumps. It was a real moment of pride for our community. Um it was genuine. People were really appreciative. And most importantly it was a massive Kiddush Hashem. A lot of the firemen here are Jewish. Um not affiliated necessarily and it was a really big Kiddush Hashem for them to see both how the Jewish community comes to support each other, but also how we express our gratitude to these people on the front lines that are risking their lives every single day. It was it was amazing. You know what the best part is? And and and the reason that it's not a flex for us to say it, we had nothing to do with it. It's not like we called the community and said, "We got a great idea. Let's go to the fire department and say thank you." Our our neighbors, our members, they're they're amazing. Our family, our BRS family, that's what it is, a family. They're like, "We got to go say thank you. They saved the neighborhood. They saved the community." These firemen came, I don't know if anyone was following, this was the hottest week in South Florida's history. Like, we set records. And these firemen, you know what it is when you wear that outfit and you're fighting a fire, and and they were dehydrated. They were being checked, you know, they were it was unbelievable. And it's a beautiful thing, the community on its own came to do it. So, um it really was special and a great a great point of pride for us. Really excited about that. Really Really show you this. Look at this. Your mom? Out of the press, someone just was listening, five-star rating right over there. Just listening for the first time, really enjoyed. It's easy to We see who you are, by the way, cuz we could see who's listening on all these platforms. Just take a moment. Go on Apple Podcast or any podcast player. And again, this is not for us. We don't make a living, thank God, this way. You know, we we don't make one penny this way. We get some bling once in a while, but we we don't make a living anyway uh with this. So, we're just we want more people to hear Nachum Segal and Rav Moshe Weinberg and Marvel and Aaron Cutler and you should see who we're going to have next week. We got guests lined up. We got We got new people living in the neighborhood, and we're going to get guests lined up, and we've got We've got I We've got some Yeah. You know, I was listening to especially to Rabbi Simon Jacobson's episode. Yeah. I was like, I was listening to Nachum this morning, and he was talking about how they have something called like the Jewish Music Foundation. Like, I guess that's the the the the nonprofit way of taking some donations there. How do we get in on that foundation? We're we're Jewish radio show. We are. All right, colleague.com. Okay, relax. Relax. We're going to leave it right there. We want to thank our friends Jeremy Pappas, Yitzy Novak. You did an amazing job. Thank you for your teaching, leading the way that you don't have to be in Boca in order to feel part of BRS. BRS is a movement. BRS is a movement. It's not about us, like we just said, it's about our members, it's about our family, it's about what we believe in, it's about what we stand for, it's about what we fight for. It's a movement. So, join the BRS movement. You don't have to live in Boca, although you pay a lot less taxes if you do live here in Florida, but you have to live in Florida, you don't have to live in Boca. Join the movement. Listen, rate, review, share. Jeremy and Yitzy have led the way in in showing that. We're so grateful to them. Join the BRSNG.org, Boca Raton Synagogue Networking Group, and help your business during this time. Thanks to Gila and to Mark. And on behalf of Rabbi Moscowitz, Rabbi Brody, I'm Rabbi Goldberg. Thank you so much. We want to tell you, stay happy, stay healthy, stay holy. Have a great night, everybody.