The Young Israel of Teaneck (YIOT) is pleased to announce that Rabbi David Fohrman, an internationally renowned lecturer on biblical themes and principle educator at Aleph Beta Academy, www.alephbeta.org, will deliver the The Dr. Asher Ze’ev and Mrs. Pnina Leah Rabinowitz Memorial Shiur on Sunday, September 16, at 7:30 p.m., on the topic “The Five Most Important Minutes of the Yom Kippur Prayers.” This event is part of the YIOT’s Dr. Bertram J., z”l, & Ann Newman Adult Education Program and is sponsored by Sivan and Neil Greenspan in commemoration of the yahrtzeits of Sivan’s parents, Dr. Asher Ze’ev and Mrs. Pnina Leah Rabinowitz, z”l. The lecture takes place each year around the Yamim Nora’im as a way to inspire the community and help us prepare ourselves for this important time of year. This year the lecture is taking place during the Aseret Yemei Teshuva.
This will be a return engagement for Rabbi Fohrman to Teaneck and to the YIOT in particular. Rabbi Fohrman told The Jewish Link, “I’m really looking forward to getting back to Teaneck to explore with the community some of the powerful themes of the Yamim Nora’im.
“These days are hard to prepare for. We meet them with a strange sense of trepidation, mixed with hope and intensity. The notion of being judged, even by God, is a hard one. I think the feelings we have toward the Almighty around this time of year are almost as complicated to sort out as the prayers through which we try and express them. I hope together we can make some headway in coming to grips with all this.”
According to Rabbi Beni Krohn, rabbi of the Young Israel of Teaneck, “We are grateful to the Greenspans for once again making it possible for us to bring an acclaimed speaker to YIOT in preparation for the Yamim Nora’im. Rabbi Fohrman is a master teacher who utilizes sophisticated textual analysis to inspire and move his audience. We know it will be an evening to remember.”
Rabbi Fohrman founded Aleph Beta in 2011. It offers innovative ways to learn Torah through engaging, illustrative and imaginative videos. Online courses and materials are geared toward learners of all different levels, and everyone will come away having learned something. Using the tools on the website gives participants the ability to examine and grapple with the Torah and hopefully find satisfying answers. For more information about Aleph Beta, visit www.alephbeta.org.
Rabbi Fohrman is the author of “The Exodus You Almost Passed Over, The Beast That Crouches at the Door,” finalist for the 2007 National Jewish Book Award, and “The Queen You Thought You Knew.” He was a senior editor and writer for ArtScroll’s Schottenstein Edition of the Talmud and taught biblical themes at Johns Hopkins University. He currently serves as the resident scholar at the Young Israel of Woodmere and lectures internationally on biblical themes.
The YIOT is located at 868 Perry Lane in Teaneck. The event is free and open to the public. For more information contact [email protected].
By Sara Kosowsky Gross
