#159: Behind the Bima - Rabbi Andrew Shaw

from boaron Florida this is behind the beima on this episode Rabbi Goldberg and co-host Rabbi Josh Brody are joined by Rabbi Andrew Shaw director of the Simas Torah project and CEO of mrai UK Rabbi Shaw shares the inspiration and goals behind the Simas Torah project explains how this initiative honors the victims of October 7th while uniting communities in celebration and Remembrance and describes the challenges and successes of coordinating a global effort to bring new special Torah covers to synagogues around the world plus a discussion of daily schedules all this and more behind the Bea welcome back behind the be Joy by my dear friend and colleague Rabbi Joshua Brody Rabbi Brody great to be back together a little summer break and we are back and a new year new season of behind the beima and we're continuing a lot about Israel a lot of connection We Can't Stop it's on our mind each and every day but A lot's gone on while we've been away we're going to bring a great new season great new conversations people personalities and behind the Bea what's going on behind the Bea but one thing I noticed before the Bea when I got back RAB Brody is your yamak a little bigger is there a little bit less hair can I just tell you something I was in um modin and someone came over to me and they said they recognized me for two reasons number one they said because of the Doc Martin Boots they said that wasn't what drew them to the table it was the keeper they said is that a thing that you guys do in bokeh it's it it's our uniform you know different different organizations some have a pin some of a uniform some of a logo I also over the summer while I was places I walked into a restaurant you see these old people but they thought they were whispering but I could hear everything because they were actually shouting and they're like I think that's him look at the Y yeah I love maybe a little bit bigger maybe you know you go up one number I don't know six to seven you know it's comfortable it just sits up there you don't have to worry about the wind no wind's knocking it over no no you know am thinking about you know do you get tape at some point it has crossed my mind all the tape and it just stays on a little a little stronger how was how was your time off did you um charge your batteries a little bit you were in Israel big Simka big news Simka breaking news and I think that that was really this this was the first time we were in Israel where it wasn't anything other than just visiting family thank God we got three kids living right now and uh and uh two son-in-laws God willing a third coming up soon and uh it was just visiting visiting you know playing the role of a grandparent which was great on the engagement and it's great thank you got new new on the way and uh very very exciting very exit super exciting and you're back and you're ready to go what's give us some preview the year ahead every time you come back you're like this is gonna be the best year yet yeah I know I I feel like it started uh I think maybe yesterday maybe this morning I think it started yesterday with your uh SM you know just trying to get into that routine again just hitting you know which what the minion's gonna look like which is your slot how you get like re-energized again what you going to do before I tried really hard this morning I said you know what I want to go at 6:15 I want to go to the uher col Boker had a whole plan my plan was wake up at 5 jump out of bed go for a run 30 minute run shower hit the col Booker so the 5 AM went off next thing I knew was 6 am and then I'm thinking oh my gosh I'm so tired right now I don't think I get out of bed and I'm like un up then minion what I'm G to miss the minion I'm like you know what quickly go for a quick run I wanted to do 30 minutes it did 15 minutes hit the shower didn't make the call of Boker but made it different at 7 AM and made it for Minion that's what matters figure it out I go to the cola Booker we you know we started last year it's a beautiful thing it's it's great our our BAS Med our library is packed wonderful group of people 6157 every morning this year we're going to look to maybe expand on it a little bit longer recruit more people offer more options to join people who are learning already but I'm not I'll tell you something personal I'm every morning is a battle for me that alarm goes off and the negotiation Begins the snooze how long can I justify can I text Theus I'm not gonna make we learn that it's a battle it's a battle by the time I actually get there I look like I know you just woke up and you got there I thought I thought it's like it is you know choose my words carefully I guess now obviously we're much more sensitive to that language but there's it's it's a struggle so they're are the type of people they wake up in the morning their internal alarm goes up they jump out of bed they're ready and raring to go I'm not one of them but you got to fight it and overcome it and I'll tell you one of the amazing things to me about it is by the time your day really starts you've already won some victories you've already fought that demon you fought that skeleton you told them where he could go you told him who's bosson who's in charge you said get lost be quiet not listening to you I'm off I'm off and and it's great so by the time you know 6:15 you learned you got your da you got your Kusa 7 o'cl minion by 7:30 7 4 8 o'clock in the morning You've Won victories some people haven't even gotten out of bed and you've won victories I heard I heard a podcast talking about this because um have you ever had a Temptation I'm I'm this close to getting I if any of our listeners anyone watching want to share some feedback if you have it I'm really close to getting an ice bath ice bath someone in the community I know just got one yeah yeah in the backyard yeah apparently a lot of research there's a lot of science that shows ice baths good for it's good for Muscle Recovery it's good for cognitive function and memory it's actually good for deeper sleep later that night it's got a lot of benefits but it's it's hard to get into you know 40 Dee what it's it's hard in Florida so I said maybe somebody I'm related to by marriage said to me before you spend money on a ice bath tough guy just why don't you turn the shower all the way to the coldest setting and see how you do do that for a week and then see how well right I did but here's the issue in Florida in Florida the coldest setting is like lukewarm yeah there's no cold in Florida there's hot and lukewarm there's no cold but I think I'm ready why am I bringing this up why am I tempted first of all I'm putting it out there because now I have to do it like once once you say it you put it out there now you got to do it but I'll tell you why because I was listening to a podcast who's very into the fact that he does it health reasons health benefits but he says every morning he jumps in that ice bath before he starts his day it wakes you up it gets you going it chemical release and muscle all the science behind it said but every day is a struggle and he doesn't call the Yahara we would call the Sara but he's got that internal voice and he tells that internal voice exactly where he should go and who's boss and who's in charge and and that 60 seconds sometimes 90 seconds sometimes 30 seconds but let's say on average 60 seconds on that ice bath he's got a victory to start the day however else the rest of the day goes you got a victory over that Yahara to start the day what about if you turned the men's mck into an ice bath K an ice bath at the SCH yeah it's a mikah and an ice bath can you some M have that by the way a lot of lot ofish communities they've got three next to there's there's hot warm and cold a lot of them have that side by side really could you turn your your your ice bath into a mikah you know if you let some water in there first you got to dig a hole in the ground and then you'd have to let it fill up through the rain and it'd be a you say get a two for one two for two for because I would like to go to the mikah you know you could make it into an ice that too you're gonna have that wake up your jog your shower your mikah your Cola Boker can I tell you a secret that then then again I I really believe in this it's it's more in my head it's more Theory but I really believe it is to get an earlier night go to sleep that's the worst secret of all time that's obvious tell you we're not talking this is no you have to understand because at night after let's say 10m nothing good happens after 10 p.m 11 pm it's just like you're wasting time you're doing nothing get in bed by 10 pm because you know you're waking up early and once you start getting on that rhythm you're waking up at 5:00 a. you you won't be able to go past 10 pm. so then all of a sudden you're right A lot of times the challenge is when you burn it on both ends that's the problem Cola Boker the night I'm a naturally a night person so I'm getting going I want to write my article I'm responding to email I'm catching up checking into a safer I want to read a book it's hard it takes more discipline than getting in an ice bath which I'm saying without ever having gotten in an ice bath yet but I think it takes more discipline to actually go to sleep early or when you first can right many of us complain I can I have to I get too little sleep you go to stop scrolling stop watching stop wasting time like you said but it's hard it's hard if you're a night person but if but again but if you if you're waking up at 5 am you can't stay up your your eyes are closed you just literally can't then you got meetings then you got a wedding then you got the bar mitzvah then you've got the you know the thing came up can tell you something someone just invited us to a wedding then I don't go to the Sho so I don't feel bad saying this and I love them they're great people I said you know I'm just going to the I just I can't I can't just just to go because I don't want to be the guy that's not at the wedding I can't I can't I just to there's too many things saying forget to wedding that person we saying all of us have to do better of saying I gotta take care of myself I gotta take care I can go to the and I can give a big hug in MLB and it's just there's too many things pulling I can't I can't do four hours six hours I literally can't I can't and I love them and it's gonna be amazing and it's going to be great but you know got to start focusing on ourselves a little bit yeah yeah I'll tell you that's you know maybe that's one of the commitments for this year and then we we'll end with this is we're going to take better care of ourselves we're going to be a best version of us because we can't take care of others if we don't take care of ourselves you know I don't know if you've ever listened to the podcast of of Andrew uberman he's this um he's a professor science-based he's legit credentialed but he's really focused on the high performance self-care and he's got all the studies that show right don't drink caffeine when you first wake up get sunlight immediately meditation reading delay technology all the recipe and formula for being your best self and living at your Heist by the way he's also into the ice bath son he's got you know all the all the stuff luxuries of of if you can um but I was talking to one of my son-in-laws about this you I was listening to you and like how can we incorporate that because when you got the religious life you got I gotta dive in I can't really eat I want the cough but I learn but then I thought so much of our religious life is actually fulfilling that because when you think about it if let's say you go to the cola Boker big plug for the cola Boker here 6:15 a.m. so all this all this strong encouragement start your day by reading and thinking and challenging don't open technology don't answer emails don't read the news don't scroll start with a book right which is what they all recommend that's what we do you go and you open the daom you're starting with a book so of learning then what do we go do we Davin because the next thing they say is next you should go meditate meditate me and we're all like who has time and doing is meditation close your eyes sway back and forth think about the themes of the amida meditate what you're grateful for what you're hoping for that day what you need help with so really in some ways our day is a little bit more challenged because of the religious rules but on the other hand the religious rules are actually starting our day with exactly this formula for some of the best things to get us going W all right we'll see you see you at the col Boer tomorrow my alarm's set for 5 am so coer 615 you don't to get up at 5 no no no no I want to go for a run I need that run just need I'm not going to exercise rest day know all right so we're going to check back in about Cola Boker next behind the Bea and the ice bath ice bath challenge if you got an ice bath if you got it and you never go in it if you think it's a waste if it's the best that ever happened to you let us know let us know and give us a little encouragement whether we should whether we're going the spiritual ice bath the physical ice bath we're gonna get the healing powers of the ice bath let's see people share an ice bath or it's like it's like the yeah they'll do that for sure people do that you know I would go into this a bathtub that my friend went into yeah but you go to to a pool you actually do go into a bathtub your friend went into it's called the pool it's called right the pool not appropriate dressed appropriately appropriate place for it maybe the new campus in the ice B I know how long do you spend in that no I think again I'm not there yet it's like five seconds or like a minute no no I think you're supposed to spend I don't know 30 to 60 seconds whatever to get the real benefit it's hard you got to get in the first few seconds is the hardest actually probably the things the hardest yeah you breathe you breathe your way through it and the people who've done it yeah the benefits they say the clarity the thinking the awake the alertness the Sleep later the the the recovery of working out everyone who does it swears by it interesting happy getting one see we have the pleasure of welcoming our dear friend Rob Andrew Shaw this week R Shaw we know for many years really extraordinary wasn't always going to go into the RAB and it wasn't always personally observant until today is a spiritual entrepreneur with a lot of great ideas as a active Rabbi CEO of mrai UK and with a great idea of the Simas Torah project something to try to elevate all of our Simas Torah in this first coming year commemorating the events of Simas Torah we're hoping please God as always for boros toos we should hear good news for the Jewish people Rabbi broy great to be back together without any further Ado our friend Rabbi Andrew Shaw we are excited and honored to be going behind the beima with our dear friend for a long time Rabbi Andrew Shaw Rabbi Shaw is no stranger to leadership he's been Community Development Rabbi in United synagogue in England where he's had transformational leadership very Dynamic exciting program we're gonna get into some of that because it's been really exciting we've been learning from it but today the CEO of mrai UK and what we really want to get into is the director of this incredible Simas Torah project so RAB show we go way back when did we first meet I even remember I was standing in my office uh and I got a call from this uh you know this Rabbi from uh from America and and you talking about this Vision you had um for making rabbis into CEOs that was your vision and you said You' heard of me that I was doing leadership stuff and what I interested in bringing a British contingent and I loved the idea and so we met for the first time in uh in Kelloggs Northwestern University for the f I think it would have been 2006 s maybe earlier I don't know I have it on my wall actually it was 200 uh yeah around then it was around then yeah yeah we added executive program we had we were trying to bring some management entrepreneurship leadership to rabbis to bring that business the best of business but in the business of what we're in and it was a great program we ran at Kellogg we're grateful to Dena Jacobs and Dean Jacobs of blessed memory for that great program and you took a chance I mean for us a ticket from here to Chicago was a limited risk for you and the group that came from England that was a much bigger risk to come from this unnown that first program for me it paid a lot of dividends a lot of my rabit a lot of my life I learned from my time at at Kellogg both that Rabbi program RAB Brody was involved and uh and the summer that I spent there but I'm grateful and and we've been connected ever since correct I mean for me you say that I remember that first night we we would land like I guess it was like 1:00 p.m. and come to the uh opening ceremony like 2 o'clock it was already like my body was like already we finished like 4 in the morning we were exhausted like that first day but it was I came I think for five years I did it and the first year I came as a student and I loved it so much I basically brought back delegations of rabbis and so many UK rabbis today the top UK rabbis the top UK shows were exposed to Kelloggs in those early years it made a big difference how they looked at they RAB and I think how they look sort of how you lead in the Jewish community so more that and toon bring it back yeah it's a shame it's a shame it ran its course um pun I guess intended but we we should bring it back because there's a lot of wisdom and a lot it's a different business and and we're in the people business we're in the Torah business we're in the Jewish people business but a lot of the principles and they're important from marketing and branding and conflict resolution and you know we learned fundraising fundraising and finances and and learning and bringing that was was something which was big let's get to the SAS Tor project and then we'll go backwards about what whether you were always going to be a rabbi and who was the inspiration in your life there's a lot to learn a lot to share but talk to us about the Simas Torah project you know October 7th Simas Torah it's very interesting that almost the whole world calls it October 7th and and and we do too and we understand why but for us it was a a different date in the sense that our orientation with it was T in Israel and this first year it'll be interesting to see will Israel join the world in in observing these events on October 7th ALS on Sim Torah one or the other one over the other but for the religious community the observant community and the whole Jewish Community who go to synagogue on Sim Torah our s Tor will never be the same again we will remember what it was like waking up that morning waking up going into SIM Tor and so for this first year you and I and every Rabbi on the planet is looking for how will we make this meaningful how are we going to how are we going to incorporate memorialize make meaning on this first s Torah of the events of last Torah and you had and have this amazing idea tell us about it so yeah I mean I think I was inspired um by Rabbi danan Perez is the the SE ofi and a very close friend of of mine and somebody I definitely would have brought to Kellog all those years ago because he really is a leader a PO leader but of course he faced a horrendous situation on the first day of the war on Sim when both his boys were sent into battle one one was already there Danielle and Jonathan made the journey Jonathan made the journey down there and he didn't know what had happened to to Daniel they they thought he'd been captured they didn't know um and those first you know few days were for everybody but certainly for him and I know my biggest connection to the war was when my closest friend son was missing that really I think for so many of us there were so many personal stories that connected us to families to to communities and then somebody wasn't expecting the Y was engaged to be married and I think ront I think it was said you know you got to go H with the wedding like we don't we don't postpone a wedding and so I think it was 10 days after October October 17th the wedding happened now of course none of us could go um but it was it was it was um it was streamed and watching that was just a mixture of so many emotions and I think for me watching next to his son under the like beaming proud proudly as a dad of his firstborn son about to get married and then the who was the r of both Jonathan and Danel he suddenly says before we we go within let's say to him for Daniel and Ron's face just just crumpled and you could see because there was a father of of a son who he had no IDE was happening so he had and then he spoke to us as a group I think a few days later a week later told us like what that meant that you he literally was celebrating with 100% joy for his for his son's and mourning and being terrified 100% for his son's desperately dangerous situation and he said you can do both you can mourn and you can dance and of course that you know sh and the whole idea of of of the complexive Jewish Jewish life is that so that's where the idea came from that we can use s t with that quote I mean again I I'm sure you've seen this is this is the uh the Torah Caba and that is what is highlighting the the top of the to Caba because that is what that is what sing this year it's it's a time to to mourn and a time to dance I think I you shared with me the vot why eight Lis and Li says because you can do them at the same time exactly there's a each of the other things it's either this or that but they're in Conflict you can't do that you can't be silent and speak simultaneously but you can eulogize and dance sometimes the way you honor and eulogize is through dance the dance is the way that you're honoring that's why there's no Lama it's not ace LOD aode it's a acode a time to eulogize a time to dance that could be the way and that's that's what you're enabling us to do this that's the de is sh and then of course the bottom it's lead sort of the um the what those who died and those in the war meaning there's been another I think 420 now please God it shouldn't go any higher of soldiers that have died and fighting and then on the back I me this is the this was the the first one we made which we made in memory of of Danielle um and each tah cover that's being made and being manufactured in Israel to go around the world has a different name of a kades on the back so I spoke to you I met with you when you were first having the idea and you were developing it you were in Florida we met right and the original idea was for the first anniversary the first Sim Tor since this atrocity this tragedy this Monumental event let's get 1,200 shws again more if you include the soldiers who were who were murdered so many more let's get 1600 shes to each get a new Torah and when you open the for Tor they'll take out a Torah dedicated to one of the victims but that quickly became something which was unfeasible and you pivoted to the Torah cover talk to us about that I mean when we when we had the idea people love the idea of the of the idea of Torah we then did the math and we worked out we would need to basic have a sort of a $65 million budget and and that became untenable especially when all the money was going quite correctly by foundations to help Israel AR of need it was not for us to now do this and we realized we could get most of the I guess not achievements but what we want to want want to achieve with the project by having a t cover which would go on a safeer and therefore you would have that ability to dance with it and rather than $65 million budget was like a $2 million budget which was far more manageable and of course shaes could then embrace it I think to ask shaes to find 20 30 $40,000 yes some could have done but the vast majority would not have been able to so for us it just allowed us to expand and and aim to get the 15600 shes involved um again it's been a challenge um it's a lot of shes it's a lot of people and you know to try and get jued anything on time is very challenging um so yeah but it's it's going and and so far we've been going I think now two three months we around 500 shes have joined the project across the world which is which is which is fantastic and we got 26 different countries we just had kabad of Beijing just joined today so China is now a part of of the project uh they've what does it mean to join just spell it out what does it mean to join the project people listening who sh hasn't yet joed they should watch this episode listen to this episode and quickly immediately send an email to your Rabbi to your executive director and say go to this website our sh has to be among those doing this so where they go it is www theim torproject.org that's it you click register and then you just fill in your details and then we get in touch with you um so Beijing got in touch with us we've had um there you go um just checking if correct and we've had you know Amazing Stories from you know from South America from Russia from um obviously from the main countries America Canada Britain South Africa Australia but but all across the world um and again not just Orthodox shs uh we've been reached out to by a lot of conservative and reform shs I spoke to a about this at the beginning of the project and asked and he said look it's it's a Jewish people's project like they also feeling the loss they're also feeling the sense of what are we going to do and in fact one of the reformed rabbis I spoke to I was in Los Angeles um and there was a a conference of I think with st with us there was a lot of different denominations there about who Who Loved Israel and one of them came up to and and she said to me she says last year we didn't do Sim we will this year so you have to realize that you know this is providing comfort and and hope for you know Jews who maybe are quite distant maybe from from the tradition and from so but but they they they felt the pain of what happened October 7th they're part of the Jewish people so for us we're not here to to judge we're here to say you want to be part of it take him a ill dance mourn and be a part of the Jewish people is is there a list that's being updated with all the synagogues that are currently using it so someone can say hey I'm proud that my synagogue right now is participating you put it on Facebook or on Instagram and someone says oh you know what why is my synagogue not listed and then they call you know it's a great I it's a great Point here here's here's where politics come to play because we could do that we've got the list of all the the 435 shes that have signed up but again it takes a godle to say you can do this but again having a list of different denominations would it upset certain people I'm just worried about the you know we are together but then I I can't my sh's part and you know I Rabbi I can't believe we sign a project that this Show's a part of we don't we don't work with this so that that's why I'm worried it's sad and maybe I'm wrong maybe I should say no just put them all down you know it's a sad commentary but I I think you're accurate meaning any sh can order art scroll kishes and put them in their sh no other denomination but art scroll is not going to have a website that lists all the shoes with art scroll kishes because art scroll will close the next day so it's it's what we could do by the way is have on a website check if your sh check if your Sho maybe has has listed that you can maybe put a thing and you can see if your SHO maybe but um but certainly again what's happening is we we keep Shifting the dead I mean the deadline is gone meaning what was what was the first deadline which I think August the 5th that was to have sh signed up ready for the launch ofes in in new we couldn't keep that going because we need to let well know how many people are coming for the launch um but in terms of the rest we have time to so we've said till September I think it's September 9th keep registering keep you know keep doing it we can we can we can hopefully um Supply the MIM to to Shores all across the world and please God we can reach the the 15600 whatever that figure is um on this year so we can each each each uh cover each montal is gonna have a name of another Fallen person so you're not just some brand the Sim T project that you're ordering the idea is that everybody who fell October 7th and since is represented on a Torah cover that will claw you so when the Jewish people around the world take the Torah out and dance we are dancing with the 1600 Souls who have fallen on October 7th and since one of the most I guess moving and painful parts of putting this together I went to the factory in the in the north where they were printing the mum and um there's a Instagram post we did of this where I went to the table where all of the um the Finish ones have been put out had laid out and they were all laid out back to front so so you didn't see this side you saw this side so all I saw was just names names names all going down the table everyone a different name and and the way we've done it we've put the name of the of the person their age where they were killed and and this was mostly lot of soldiers so like age 21 19 1 and it's just you're just seeing the lists and you realize you know every single Torah is another name and one of the things we're trying to say to people is you you know please sign up we want to remember all of them I don't want I don't want to go to the launch in September and say to the families we managed to remember 855 of you of of the Fallen people we couldn't do 1500 I'm sorry I mean that you know you know it's it's not easy to get every show signed up but we're we're we're not giving up we're not giving is it possible to to to request more than one let's say our community just as an example we have a connection to not one unfortunately but two soldiers that we've done we've spoken about so we have two shes one in one in Livingston and one in uh London who have asked for eight each um I think they felt a they wanted they had lots of names they wanted to remember but also B they have lots of different M they want to make sure every minan had a to to dance with so we're again also say to other shaes you know if you had one take two you had two take four meaning it's not about every Shore gets a different name so the eight names of it's in Livingston and ham G sub the two shaes they're going to be eight different names in in the sh and also if somebody wants to sponsor let's say there's a a small Sho in a community that can't afford not everybody has the discretionary money to sign up for a project like this you don't have to live or be a member of that Jew to just call and say I'd like to sponsor one of these covers send it to a Sho so that it could participate we we've started having that uh we've had a few people but we've just launched we're about to launch I think today or tomorrow a charity campaign charity got in touch with us said to us absolutely absolutely free no charges at all they want to help uh they want to make sure that 1500 sh or 600 take so there's now a charity Campaign which is has two legs the first leg is for any Shaw that has purchased wants to purchase an extra one to donate to another Shaw so that's one way you can set up a team and and then the other way is to allow shes who maybe can't afford it to maybe like send out to their friends and family to maybe donate so we're trying to allow that to happen because whether we like it or not for a lot of Shores they want every wants to take why wouldn't they it's just $1,800 or and that I think it's ,400 um it's it's a lot of money for some shoes a lot of money for smaller shes so yes we are definitely reaching out to the larger shes to Sayan can you please you know donate Another one not for yourself but actually for another sh in you know Bolivia or in Colombia or wherever it is to uh to afford to have one and is the idea that the sh will have this cover take it out for Sim Tor put it away but the next simor take it out again it'll be an annual s Torah Torah same way you have y cover for the Torah this is the Sim Torah cover for the Torah I think every sh's individual I've Heard lots of different things I've heard one sh wants to have it the whole year front and center whenever we open the ark they see and they remember what's happened to the Jewish people other have said no it's going to be just in the same way we take we change the covers we're going to change the covers for for another sh said to me this year we're buying one next year we're going to do another one So eventually our entire AR Kadesh will be on S just these covers but we don't have the money yet in this first year so again I think you said to as Goldberg this is not a one-year project unfortunately every single year Sim castar will be connected to what happen so this is just the first year and if we can't get the, 1500 in year one okay we'll we'll keep going we're not going to stop until every single name of kadash is remembered every in our in our community there are there are going to be other observances of October 7th not on the date necessarily even before and um it's interesting because you're talking about which date to select obviously for US simplus tour is very important next year I think October 7th falls out on on suus so it doesn't even for those communities the secular way they want to observe doesn't even work what are you gonna do dat right but then yeah I this year October 7th is the day after I think it's the day after fourth after sadalia Al s um are there other are there are there other communities that have already come forward again with creative ideas of what to do on Sim Torah itself in addition to you know uh you know obviously you're gonna be dancing with it it's be a different type of dancing than we've ever had before are there suggestions to how to make Sim Tor this year even more special that we're not thinking aboutt perz is currently writing um a guide to give to abon him about what he feels the kavut or educ tionally we should be we not should be to add to this to kind of and you know you've got your maale as you said like what's the what are the shoe and what are the ideas we can share as a b with our communities uh in line with with this idea so yeah it's not just about um you know the Torah it's about the education that goes with it I mean we're going to try hopefully to make sure that every sh receives a lot of shes will have this already because they they've got a C they've been connected to details about the person they are they are remembering that you know their life story and that sort thing so there's there's a way of that kind of education about the person to make it personal um but I think yeah there will be some education and again you know for me one of the most powerful things last which really affected me was normally when they you know as a kid or even even as an adult you know when you're looking forward to when they start the first like yeah just get over with so we can get to the dancing whereas last year it was actually those lines of asking has really hit home far more than ever before so again it's that understanding of what maybe a we look at what about you know they're not about wild dancing they're about literally each time to ask Hashem to help us and maybe that's we need to refocus our energies to understand you know tell you another one one of the most powerful things for us BR and I went to Israel several times many times since October 7th and and the first time when we we went with a group to Bei which I think changed our lives forever it was the closest thing of going back to Poland and walking the camps and the burnt homes and when we went it was so soon after October 7th there were still blood stains there was still a smell that we'll never ever ever forget and when we walked into that schul and which was only founded relatively recently because it's not a religious yesu and the was only relatively recent on the be still was the page of the anash and and the the rules for hakos for hak and there was this sense that the were interrupted they didn't get to finish them in they were attacked in the middle of s Tor and brother you remember this we we grabbed everybody we we started dancing and we we we sang and we basically said we have to pick up the song we have to continue the hakos that were interrupted and maybe that's also a theme that could go this year with these toras is that the names of the people on these toras didn't get to finish aaos so is for them to complete it for them their Sim Torah was interrupted it was abruptly halted and so arakas are a continuation whether they literally were singing and dancing them or whether many or most of the victims weren't in a Sho that morning but but there were people who didn't get to finish there are soldiers we just had a soldier with us for shabas a dear friend of ours who's describing you know he didn't get to hakus last he packed a bag he got attacked and he and he ran into the army to get his uniform his weapon left his wife and kids and he didn't get hakas so how many among the living didn't get hakas last year that this year we're we're helping them or we're completing or it's tashlin for their Haka so there's a lot of angles on on what it will be this year one other angle as well is the families they left behind I've been getting whatsapps and phone calls from families in the area Ina you families of soldiers saying to me like we've just heard that this community like we're just so touched and we're just so moved because again that they're they're going to come out to this and that it's going to to the outsight of their son their daughter whoever it is their brother their sister so I think to have the Jewish World envelop them in a hug and say no no no don't worry we're going to call you we're going to be with you I think one's gone so far to invite the family to their sh for Sim flying them out to America to say join us for y we want you to be with us we're going to Vel you so that there's that kind of you Jewish you Amel just realizing we're all in this together so I think there also those not just those who we lost but those who left who were left behind to grieve something tangible we can do we can reach out to these families and you know say say we you know we're we're a community in Seattle but we're remembering you know we're there for you so it's it's uh I think it's also very special each family is gonna get get get a notification of which synagogue is gonna be dancing with their yeah we're just now correct so next week or so we're just now it's again logistically this has been quite a challenging proc project um I mean just the emails from shes oh we didn't read it properly we thought it was this month was a closing date so can we still have this I'm like you know that sort of thing but no the idea is we're we're just now finalizing you know the list of shes you know which kashim and and and and going to communicate that with the shes um as soon as possible so they can I mean another idea we want to we want to do I think R Gober gave me the idea so thank you um was when the M arrives in the vicinity to have a to kind of bring that meal into the community I mean I know in London because we're you know London is is a lot of shes are quite close together so like in the edge Wear Community where there's five shes that are taking like six seven million we're going to have a in one of the shs get everyone together when it comes and have a have a ceremony to welcome these six and the shamat into our community so again I don't know how it works in Florida or in New York about you doing this same sort of thing geographically when there are Shores close by that are doing the project together um you have that kind of it will be sometime in El or maybe you know whoever it is to bring them in together and to make that sense of look these are you know it's hard but these these these represent six people or seven people whatever it is in each in each uh each area so yeah it's a beautiful thing you're doing and and you've really done a tremendous gift to CLA well because all of us are wondering and worried about what we'll do and you've given us a great platform and a meaningful way to express that combination the Ace of a or code the combination of the grief with the dancing and the continuity of the Jewish people that that this represent but knowing you for a long time it's just it's not surprising because you are a Serial spiritual entrepreneur and uh you know there are serial inventors who are constantly inventing the next thing and every time I meet with you I would say probably once a year RAB you reach out to me and you're like can I call you I have an idea I don't know why you call me you know we just we brainstorm and you shoot it off me and and I love it whether it was marking a major event in America americ history you know or you you have the you're like a Serial spiritual entrepreneur with ideas an idea generator incubator so you're now doing that in the rabet were you always going in the rabet were you were you thinking about going into business or bringing this entrepreneurial Spirit to the business world before you became in the Rabin how didd you end up in the Rabin it because you're not just the CEO of mrai UK you're you're an active Rabbi as well so how did that end up being I mean it's interesting I never ever ever dream of becoming a rabbi um I mean as a kid it was the I wanted to be a cricketer they what Cricket is it's a holy sport um but you know once you know once I got to my teenage years you know and and and you to aiva and University it was accountancy that that you know my my dad's an accountant was an accountant my brother's a lawyer that was you know that was the the path and it was changed pretty much by I'd say one man uh one godle uh Rabbi John because he was 1991 and again everything happens for a reason he became the chief Rabbi and that said I just got back from Yeshiva and he came to leads where I was studying and I was annoyed because he didn't come to the students um because you know the community wanted him and what one the students so he spoke in the lead town hall to the community so he made sure he said invite the students so we okay I remember sitting there and he told the story about him and the BBA how the Reber said to him what are you doing for the Jewish people and he he looked at the looked at the sort of the the Gathering and said like we all have to hear that message what are we doing for the Jewish people and he looked you know he he looked and he literally looked at me he wasn't mean to look at me at all maybe he didn't look at me but I kind of felt his gaze for a second and it affected me and and and a lot of us that day kind of went back think to ourselves yeah he's got to what are we doing um and I got involved at University had a wonderful uh R chapl by by Jonathan Gian D who incredibly supportive and again it was about how the religious students on campus we wanted to be Role Models so we started having Friday night dinners and onx shabbats for our fellow students and it made a huge impact on on them all and um a lot of them became you more involved jewishly and some became sh Shabbat not because we were trying to do kir all we're trying to do is show them what we loved about being Jewish we love Shabbat we love you know we love learning and we just showed them be a part of our this is our world be a part of it and I just realized that so many people I spoke to in those first year university had never had anybody who could relate to them growing up who connected to them and I got this feeling you know what maybe I want to do this maybe I should you know be a rabbi maybe I should be the person these people someone like these people needed when they were growing up and never had so and a lot of us Rabbi sack I I always blamed him for for uh for changing a lot of lives in the UK um I remember my phone call to my father Shalom and I said to him dad I made a decision I I want to become a rabbi and there was silence he says to me Andrew your brother's a lawyer I'm an accountant what was Rabbi for a Jewish boy um now he was joking but I think in a way in our world you know hardly any of my friends became rabbis they they became you know doctors and lawyers and bankers and um but for me Rabbi Sachs was was that Catalyst uh and I've never looked back and in fact a lot of the work is doing now in the UK is to create those leaders on campus because that's where it's so important when you get to campus you become a leader I know jlic does amazing work in America with this so we're we're trying to mirror that with mrai working with benan Kea working with the United synagogue to create leaders on campus to hopefully create next generation of rabbis for the UK Community what what's the connection between United synagogue mrai is an overlap they're separate organizations United synagogue is you have different than we in America America you can be a member of the OU or Aura but there's really no centralized system like you have in over there in the UK the United synagogue is the most important organization in the country I worked for it for 15 years I was a director of education for it I found the tribe which is the young United synagogue the youth M of United synagogue um because it's a remarkable thing and it's not just United synagogue it's any of the shs on in the OCR under the office of the chief Rabbi it's about a 100 or so shes uh across the country 65 I think in United synagogue shs and these are shes where the members of the sh belong to an orthodox um but they're not religious I remember when I I left my job as youth director in in new hemster New York my wife's uh from Spring Valley New York from upstate New York so we were used to exit of a Shore and it was about 120 member families and when I left on my job as the assistant rabber of stanmore synagogue in London United synagogue they said to me so rabash how many member families are there in stano I said there's 2,750 members like wow like how big is the main sanctuary must SE like 2,000 I said seats 500 oh so you mean they have many different MIM on on chabas I'm like no he says they said what do you mean I said no most of their members were the members sh morning they D I said no they they just don't come to sh and they couldn't understand it and this is the as Rabbi saak used to call it the the the blessing of of the United synagogue that we have the ability to connect to and inspire people with with traditional Orthodox Judaism from a wide range of of different observances and I saw my work in stano synagogue and in tribe and synagogue the impact you can have in a community over a long period of time has has changed so many countless lives so M we work with all the United synagogues both centrally and also locally to give them programs and projects and speakers so they're our biggest clients I would say and we we we know we see such value in the work we do with them um because the the membership there just you know they are traditional Jews just who are very proud Jews very proud zionists they're just not observants and our job is to help them along that Journey you know whatever way we can that's amazing what's life like now with the with the uprising you hear all the protests and in uh in in United Kingdom I guess it's same everywhere meaning I would say how can anyone live in New York it's crazy there everyone's bordered up their things and LA right Florida that's where they're all moving out of New York look I mean look since October 7th if if I didn't look at like social media and I didn't look at you know you know the news my life nothing has changed in my life meaning I go to my local Shool you know and and my kids go to school and there's been no issues yes if you go to the center of town or the shabas you will meet some very very angry and Hate for people uh but I don't go I live you know 11 miles from the center of town um but there's no question that there are worrying signs um within the country uh but also what we've also seen is people coming out the woodwork saying we love Jews we love Israel um which is also important so I think I I've seen both I've seen the hate is hate and the Love Is Love if that makes sense interesting you said that I was just on a panel on anti-Semitism with from London from London from London yeah just down the for me at the at the jli at kad's annual conference here in Florida and he said that he said October 7th revealed to us that the people who hate us they hate us much more than we ever knew but it also revealed to us that the people who love us love us much more than we know yeah it was such it was such an interesting Insight yeah you're right and and again I I think like just just yesterday two days ago I think whatever it was last last week I was I went to visit some in a hospital uh in the center of town in in a place called uh ha it's near town and I'm walking towards hospital and this woman like crosses the road walks towards me and she said and walks by me and goes look after yourself buddy I'm is chai um and it was like it just you know a stranger just saw gipa and just wanted to come and say like we're with you like we're with you and it's like I never had that we never had that before October 7 um and I think you know yeah there's definitely you know ra quite rightly said we're worried about what's happening on the political left a lot and and you know I'm not saying the right is is perfect either but certainly we've seen a lot of lot of worrying signs um but you know I think the message I think you you said this I think when we had our conversation the the the response to anti-Semitism is more semitism um is is more Jewish pride and in some ways the project you know this is I'm I'm working now with um um or I think is what they're called they do a lot of campuses Across America um because you know these poor students uh on American Camp British campuses who've had to enure this let give something positive to dance and sing on Sim is something that's positive but something that's not political um because I think that's what people need to do and I think people have done it's another I'm not going to say benefit but we know there's people in America and UK who because of this have kind of come back to Judaism have felt a sense of reconnection um as well so that's also something that we've we've seen I think maybe more so in America but but here as well can you can you share with us a couple differences maybe three differences between being a Torah Jew in in the UK versus in America aside from the fact that you guys drive on the wrong side of the street and you have smaller portions in your restaurants but what what's the difference of being an observant Jew in in America versus the UK that maybe the average American Jew doesn't appreciate I think less than there was I'll start with that meaning I think growing up um as a CH you there were no Kosher restaurants here it was maybe one or two that's now changed now thank God you know London is is a a thriving uh in terms of kosher food you got restaurants everywhere so that's not a um a difference anymore same with a him growing up there was no a in London you you couldn't carry on shoers you know it's I'm saying we've caught up with those kind of basic things that I guess America's had for years coach restaurants a but I think the main main difference is is the idea of the non-observant Orthodox Jew that doesn't really exist anymore in America um I think you know I think Rabbi wine uh said it once that America is kind of five hours behind in time um but about 50 years ahead in terms of what will happen if england doesn't fix what it needs to fix meaning we know we've got about 10 15 years left till we lose that middle ground not to the reform but just to obliv simulation um so I think one of our advantages as as BR we work very hard to as to keep that middle ground in involved so that's one big difference I think a second big difference is the fact that we are much more traditional Community than America meaning we don't have a large reform and there's no conservatives mity and reform um make up maybe 15 20% of the community 7 80% is orthodox again they may not be from but they belong to Orthodox sha and I think that's a very important part of who we are you don't find people here in the UK who don't know anything most Jews and they know they're Jewish they know the Shamar they kind of know a lot of them have been to Israel because Geographic we close to Israel I think okay this year unfortunately not as many but normally about 50 to 60% of all Jews age 16 go to Israel after their High School exams so there's a lot of connection to to Israel much more so than America uh because of distance and one other one I think is also very important we have a monarch this is a very interesting point was made to me Years Ago by by an American Rabbi um who said he really feels part of Britain's kind of traditionalist is we understand the idea of Mel the idea of of of of that and you know there's a lot of the Jews here we love what we love the queen and we we love the king maybe not as much as we love the queen uh but it's growing on us but the idea of you have a Mel and and again the messaging she gave uh through her life and even towards the end of her life idea of being a servant and I I wrote a whole piece on this a lot of her lives you could literally see about she saw herself as a servant of the people somebody who you have a mission in life you have to be a servant of God that messaging comes out loud and clear from the royal family I think it has an effect in the in the sort of Anglo jury that we've been this kind of traditional you know we understand you know again a lot of people I know who are completely not religious would never go near a reform Shore not in a nasty way they just feel no that's not I know what Judaism is you know the sh I don't go I mean I remember one story I've shared so many times with with people and it's very powerful what England can be was I went as a kid to a reform Shore for about mid I was 11 um we invited to went I wasn't I was I wasn't sh yeah my family wenter from we went with another family but we were quite traditional we didn't drive on Shabbat we didn't ride on Shabbat certain things that you have levels of servces and this other family did they drove on Shabbat they went to football on Shabbat so much less religious than we were but they walked with us out of respect for us fine we get to the reformed synagogue we sit there it was it was a very different service than I was used to organ and so and so forth it came to Adon Alam and the organ started Adon [Music] his wife said that he made us sit in separate rows the guy who drives on Shabbat made the men sit in woman and the women sit behind us we couldn't sit together and when his wife began to sing of the love he worldwi and said don't you dare sing in this church like angry and I was shocked this is a guy's driving on shabas he's going to his football team and he's telling his so a kid as she came up to me he said andw what do you think of the service so I felt I you know I was I was a bit Brave I said actually uh I'm a little upset what happened and I told him he said let me tell you something and and never forgot he said to me he says when I drive on Shabbat I know I'm doing wrong one day I may change one day I might stop it but I know it's wrong they think it's okay and that's the problem and it was I was 11 but I've never forgotten where I was standing and it's that's the beauty of what Angley has non-observant Orthodoxy people know what it should be they're not there yet and by this guy Ben became shat made alah kids are from you know I'm saying so uh um you know it's uh that's the yeah and again and as Rabbi JJ sha explained to me about America America he said is a no's Arc of Orthodoxy in a sea of assimilation um we're not there yet and please God will'll never be there because we can hold on to the people and keep them connected to uh to to the m thank you for being with us thank you for the Sim Tor project it's a gift to CLA Isel and we're very very you're a gift to CL I love your energy and and your leadership and and your ideas keep them coming the spiritual tell about another time okay the next big one well we'll have to have you back on to reveal it on behind the beima but look forward to seeing you on your next trip here and our next trip to uh to to the UK but mostly to see you in please godes all of us permanently hopefully in the very very near future thank you so much thank you so much thank you very much indeed catch us next time for another Peak behind the beima