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Aug 22, 2008

Rabbi Lau opens Judaism to the people

5 minutes with the Rabbi. That is all you need.

Rabbi Lau, the former Chief Rabbi of Israel, has started a television program called "Do you have an idea?". The program runs for 5 minutes a couple times a week and Israel TV. He spends those 5 minutes talking. Just talking about Judaism. Describing a mitzvah, a Jewish concept, a Jewish holiday, whatever he chooses, he spends 5 minutes talking about some Jewish concept.

(sorry - I looked for an archived show on the Israel Channel 1 website but could not find any)

The purpose of this is not kiruv how we know it, at least not blatantly to make people decide tomorrow to be religious, send their kids to religious schools and start wearing kippa and tefillin and keep shabbos (though maybe as a residual long term effect that is the goal, I don't know). But it is kiruv in the sense that it is opening up Judaism to the masses, to the general secular public many of whome within this comunity are disconnected almost completely from Judaism and know very little about it, and opening up the masses to Judaism.

If there is anybody who can do it, if there is any one person who can talk Judaism in a non-confrontational way, and really do it with no ulterior motive other than introducing Jewish concepts to people, if there is anybody who can talk about religion who the average secular person would feel comfortable listening to, it is Rabbi Lau.

Rabbi Lau has a certain charisma. Rabbi Lau has a certain open intelligence. Rabbi Lau has a certain type of calmness about him. Rabbi Lau has a certain type of openness about him. When he talks, you want to listen. When he talks, you feel you are missing something if you do not listen.

Ynet ran an article by someone (in Hebrew), someone who calls himself a secular Jew, who writes very nicely about why this show is perfect and why Rabbi Lau is perfect for it.

5 comments:

  1. Put anything on TV and it becomes non-confrontational entertainment.
    I just hope he doesn't start telling people to turn off their TVs, he'd lose his audience.

    ReplyDelete
  2. did you see this on Ynet: http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3584316,00.html

    it's on the kashrut thing you published a few weeks back.

    There are actually a lot of great Torah oriented shows on tv that aren't "kiruvy" per se, but open up Torah in a great way to the general audience. There's a parshat hashavua show in channel one right now led by Dov Elboim, a datlash who still loves shteiging away. great show.

    I'm sorry I didn't get to meet you at the conference!

    ReplyDelete
  3. thanks abbi - this one and another one on NRG came out while I wa son vacation. Hopefully on Sunday or Monday I will comment on it...

    I did not know you were there... otherwise I would have looked for you...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think the show has been on for quite a while. It's a good show for those willing to listen.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I wish I could do that with my blog.

    ReplyDelete

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