Rabbi Lazer Brody in Five Towns Last Night - Audio Shiur

Rabbi Lazer Brody's drasha in the Five Towns last night was a big success. We planned for about 30 people maximum. But there were almost 60 people there. Thanks to Rabbi Brody, several people who helped solicit sponsorships, and well over 20 people who came forward to help sponsor the shiur, and to all the attendees, it was a big success.

It was an eclectic crowd and many people got to speak with Rabbi Brody after the shiur. I received a number of requests to have the shiur recorded from people who knew that they would not be able to make it. Therefore, thanks to Reb Chaim, who recorded the shiur, I would like to present a wav recording of the shiur.

The very beginning of the shiur is not in the recording because there were some slight tecnical difficulties with the recorder, but the following is the beginning of the story Rabbi Brody opened up the shiur with... Poking fun at people like himself who come to America to raise money for worthy institutions in Eretz Yisroel, he told the following story:

A galach (priest) back in Feudal Europe noticed that while plagues and sickness were afflicting the gentiles in the town, the Jews did not seem to be afflicted by these things. The priest went to the rabbi to ask what the secret was to their immunity from these diseases. The rabbi told him that all Jews keep a mezuzah on their door, and that they are therefore procted from many forms of danger in their homes.

The priest asked if he could buy a mezuzah to put on his door as well. The rabbi responded that it was not one of the mitzvos that a gentile may not perform, so he saw no problem with it and assited the priest in obtaining a mezuzah, which the priest installed on his door.

Soon aftwardward, the town was overrun by cossaks who raided Jewish homes.

But to hear the rest of the story and the punchline, you will have to listen to the shiur. Enjoy!

CLICK HERE to get the shiur by either left clicking to listen to streaming audio or right clicking and selecting "Save Target As" to download the shiur. If it were up to me to title the shiur, I would call it, "Achieving Peace of Mind By Making Peace With Hashem."

Picture courtesy of R. Lazer Brody. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Liiiitle More Help Needed to Bring R' Lazer Brody to Five Towns

As announced here, Rabbi Lazer Brody will be speaking at "The Shtiebel" in Cedarhurst on Wednesday night at 7 (men & women invited). But, as mentioned here, sponsors are still needed.

Thanks to several people who responded to the first post, and to several others, over 2/3rds of the sponsorship has been raised. However, we must still raise another $450. So if you (or someone you know) can pledge $36, $50, $100, whatever, please respond. It will facilitate the Five Towns Community's ability to bring Rabbi Brody and it will help support his "Emunah Outreach" work.

So again, to help out, please e-mail Benyomin Wolf or call him at 516-668-6397.

Picture courtesy of R' Lazer Brody. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.

Rabbi Lazer Brody Speaking in the Five Towns Wednesday Night!

Rabbi Lazer Brody will be speaking in the Five Towns/Far Rockaway area this week on Wednesday night, November 4th at 7 PM. Here are the details:

When: Wed. night Nov. 4th at 7:00 PM

Where: The Shtiebel,

504 W. Broadway, Cedarhurst

(near corner of Cedarhurst Ave.)

This event is open to both men and women

Rabbi Lazer Brody was born in Washington, D.C. in 1949. After receiving his bachelor's degree in agriculture from the University of Maryland in 1970, he moved to Israel and joined the Israel Defense Forces regular army, and served in one of the elite special-forces units. He is a decorated combat veteran of two wars and dozens of counter-insurgence and anti-terrorist missions on both sides of Israel's borders.

After surviving a near-suicidal mission to Beirut during the Israel-Lebanon conflict of 1982, Brody could no longer ignore the hand of G-d in his life. He became a baal-tshuva and left his mountaintop farm to study Torah in Jerusalem.

Nine years of intensive Talmudic, ethics, and legal studies, led to his rabbinical ordination in 1992. He devoted another two years of postgraduate study to personal and family counseling, and subsequently spent two years as rabbi and spiritual rehabilitation director of a major Israeli prison. There, he created a highly successful program of spiritual rehabilitation for prisoners based on Tshuva.

In 1996, Brody moved to Ashdod and became the understudy of the famed Melitzer Rebbe, a contemporary giant in rabbinical law and personal counseling. Two years later, Rav Shalom Arush opened a branch of his renowned of the "Chut Shel Chessed - Breslev" Yeshiva in the port city of Ashdod, and appointed Brody as the "Rosh Kollel", or Dean of the rabbinical program.

Today, Lazer Brody dedicates his time to Jewish Outreach, and particularly to spreading the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslev around the globe.

Brody's first book, "Pi Habe'er", is a contemporary commentary of Torah based largely on the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslev. The book has been widely acclaimed, and has received the approbations of Rishon Le'Tzion Rabbi Ovadiah Yossef, the Bes Din of the Eda Haredis in Jerusalem, Rabbi Eliezer Berland, and others. His second book, "Nafshi Tidom", is a unique guide to coping with verbal abuse, embarrassment and insult.

Brody's third book - his first in English - is "The Trail to Tranquility". Biographical info courtesy of R. Lazer Brody.

Check out the image below for Rabbi Brody's full U.S. schedule:

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Help Needed to Bring R Lazer Brody to Five Towns Area

Rav Lazer Brody will be in the New York area the second week in November. There are some people who would like to bring him to speak in the Five Towns, in Nassau County. They have some sponsors but more are needed in order to invite him for the last available date he has open, Monday night, November 9th. If you are interested in becoming a partial sponsor to help make this happen, please e-mail Benyomin Wolf or call him at 516-668-6397.

Picture courtesy of Mesillat Yesharim. Click here to get Dixie Yid in your e-mail Inbox or here to subscribe in Google Reader.