It’s not an everyday thing that a busy congregational rav and father of five publishes a sefer that shares his experiences answering halachic inquiries and offering spiritual guidance to his shul members. So when a rav has put in the time, and completed such a publication, it is well worth public notice and some praise.

In the case of Rabbi Eliyahu Tal, the rav of Congregation Etz Ahaim, the only Sephardic Congregation in Highland Park/Edison area, his new publication also attracted a visit to his book launch party at the shul, on Lag B’Omer night, by Highland Park Mayor Elsie Foster. Mayor Foster heard about Rav Tal’s milestone and dropped in briefly to wish him congratulations.

Rabbi Tal told the mayor that many of the questions and answers in the new book, entitled Minhat Eliyahu, relate to the differences in halacha between Sephardim and Ashkenazim. In the forward to the sefer, Rabbi Tal credits shul member R’ Doron Shalmon for editing, correcting and formatting the book and R’ Yaakov Ganon and students Gavriel Joran, Yitzchak Reichman and Ariel Reichman for their help with some of the translations.

Rabbi Tal has been the rav of Congregation Etz Ahaim since 2020.