(Courtesy of Cong. Shaya Ahavat Torah) Rabbi Benjamin Blech will be the Scholar in Residence for the Dr. George S. Rotter Memorial Shabbaton at Congregation Shaya Ahavat Torah in Parsippany on December 2-3. The shabbaton will begin on Friday, December 2, with Shabbat services at 4:15 p.m. followed by a sumptuous Shabbat dinner at 5:30 p.m. Rabbi Blech will give his keynote presentation following dinner, speaking on “The Holy Jewish Treasures in the Vatican: A Miracle on My Mission to Rome.”
The shabbaton continues Saturday, December 3, with services at 9 a.m. Following a deluxe kiddush, Rabbi Blech will again address the congregation on “My Personal Encounters with Great Jewish World Leaders.”
Rabbi Blech is an internationally recognized educator, religious leader, author and lecturer. He has written 12 highly acclaimed and best-selling books with combined sales of close to half a million copies, including “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Judaism” and “Understanding Judaism: The Basics of Deed and Creed,” which was chosen by the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations as the single best book on Judaism in our generation.
Rabbi Blech’s book “The Sistine Chapel: Michelangelo’s Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican,” coincided with the 500th anniversary of Michelangelo starting work on the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. This major work proves that Michelangelo incorporated many teachings of Jewish midrash and kabbalah into the Sistine Chapel. Rabbi Blech, a 10th generation rabbi, is rabbi emeritus of the Young Israel of Oceanside, which he served for 37 years. He is a frequent lecturer in Jewish communities around the world—from New Zealand to Tokyo to South Africa—and has given countless shiurim across the United States.
Congregation Shaya Ahavat Torah is located at 113 Hawkins Ave in Parsippany, New Jersey and has expanded its community eruv to include the nearby Holiday Inn and the Ramada Inn. The deadline for shabbaton reservations is November 22. For more information, contact Naomi Rotter: [email protected] or Rabbi Shalom Lubin at 973-896-6577.
