We thought it quite funny to see Yossie Weiss, one of the Torah Live staff members, drowning in all the mail from the over fifty teachers that signed up this week to get the Mezuzah presentation educators  kit.

This sudden surge of demand is the result of Torah Live’s new partnership with NJOP to make its material available to a broader audience.

Thank you Michael and Karine Bloch of Raanana for sponsoring the DVD in honor of their children: Eitan, Yoel, and Tali. Michael was not only the brainchild behind the creation of the DVD but is also the one who introduced our work to Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, director of NJOP and made this partnership happen.

Best caption for this picture gets the Mezuzah DVD for FREE! Congratulations to Ilan and Simone Goldstein who won last month’s free Mezuzah DVD.

Dan

PS. If your organization or someone you know wants to partner with Torah Live to distribute the material, we have a sponsor who is willing to chip in in a major way to make the cost almost free to participating outreach and educational organizations.

The Financial Times praised him. Magazines called him ‘revolutionary.’ The BBC aired a 30 minute documentary about him. The Prime Minister invited him to dinner…

 But to me he was, and always will be – Zeide.

With gratitude to the Almighty, it gives me great pleasure to share with you the exciting news that the Schreiber Charitable Trust is sponsoring a multimedia Torah Live presentation in memory Mr. Chaim Schreiber – my late grandfather.

As the newspaper quotes below attest to (a small sampling from the scores of articles that appeared about him in the media), my grandfather was a master of treating workers properly. He had absolute trust in his 8,500 workers and the feeling was reciprocated. “I’ll be sick when he goes,”  said one hard-bitten union negotiator, “but they tell me his grandfather lived to 110, so there’s hope for us yet!’ Not exactly the usual tribute from an employee to his boss!

“The latest Schreiber scheme is one in which workers get extra pay when they have holidays. ‘He said we need more money to spend then,’ said a union official.

- Electrical & Trading, April 1979 

“It’s called the sick committee and it’s certainly Schreiber’s oddest innovation. It meets every Wednesday morning and it alone decides who will get sick pay and who won’t…”

- The Risk Business, BBC, October 1981

“In 1970 clocking-in was abolished. It was the kind of policing system that was highly unsatisfactory in Schreiber’s eyes. Apart from anything else it is, to him, a control that implies mistrust. ‘Now time keeping is better than ever before,’ says production director Fred Noyes.”

- Business Administration, May 1973

“When he decided in 1971 to make Schreiber public, he wanted all employees to become shareholders, and therefore partners in the company. But the government ruled that the share scheme he had developed would be considered a backhanded pay increase during a pay freeze. They said he could go ahead with the flotation but not with the share-scheme. As the banker explained, ‘A very small matter, a small detail- the flotation will be going through but you won’t be able to apply the share-scheme for your employees’.

But to Zeide this was the ultimate deal breaker: “If there are no shares for my employees there is no flotation.” He cancelled the whole thing. They were flabbergasted at how progressive he was, they couldn’t believe he wouldn’t go public because of employee benefits.

Source: Chaim Schreiber’s Way by Avital Schreiber Levy. (Thank you Avital!)

The presentation will be called, The Jewish Contribution to Industrial Relations, and will deal with such subjects as: paying workers on time, strikes, fixing executives salaries and other employer employee related issues.

The presentation will also include a short biographical video about his life legacy.

A big thank you to Mrs. Sara Schreiber (my grandmother), Ms. Judy Schreiber, (my mother), Graham and Ruthie Morris and David and Ruthie Schreiber (my uncles and aunts) for commissioning the project.

To dedicate a Torah Live presentation in memory of a loved one and leave your mark on the Jewish world, write to: sponsorthefuture@torahlive.com

Meet the faces in our new ‘behind the scenes’ video…

Exciting news from New York! YU’s MTA high school is licensing several Torah Live presentations. Rabbi Michael Taubes, Principal, found Torah Live’s material to be “exciting and very professional. Today we need to find new teaching methods to get kids to learn”.

Students, parents and teachers – want to see Torah Live in your school? Let us know in the comments below.

Yes, that’s Torah Live in Russian! Torah Live materials have now spread to the former Soviet Union, with teachers using the material to teach a new generation of Jews thirsty to learn more about the Torah that their grandparents were forcefully detached from.

Mrs. Sara Katz from Moscow wrote:

I work for Torah mi-Tzion in Russia in the field of outreach with students and women. I was very impressed by the videos of Torah Live. I think that’s exactly the way of working with people who yearn to have Torah presented to them by means of modern technology.

Mrs. Katz and her husband have licensed 3 presentations (Mezuzah, Brachot, and Kashrut) and are already considering more. Besides being our first Russian presenter, Mrs. Katz is also Torah Live’s first woman speaker. Welcome on board!

If you know anyone that wants to sponsor the translation of Torah Live material into Russian, give us a holler in the comments below, or email to info@torahlive.com.

I’m amused and somewhat embarrassed at the sheer number of doughnuts that disappeared yesterday at the first ever Torah Live staff get-together. Below are some photos you might want to check out….

But first, with 50,899 views so far and counting, view Torah Live’s “Against All Odds” video which will help you experience Chanukah in a new light. (There are seven more when you finish watching that one!)

Wishing you a beautiful and meaningful Chanukah, Rabbi Dan Roth.

View the rest of our Chanukah series here.

Am about to change out from these horrible smelling clothes from today’s camel ride in the desert. Today’s video shoot is for an exciting new film on tevilas keilim – the Torah command to immerse new utensils. Torah Live’s team of six used a video crane mounted with weights to capture the breathtaking dining room table set in the desert. We climbed mountains and dressed up as waiters to serve the public a video fit for a king – The King of Kings.

If you want to get a link to the final film when it is ready, let us know in the comments below!

Rabbi Roth just concluded a three-day marathon of presenting our yet to be released brachot lecture at EYAHT. The students enjoyed the lectures and applied their discerning minds to offering constructive feedback. With their help, we are nearing completion of this presentation. Rebbetzin Miriam Gross wrote us,

In name of EYAHT we would like to thank you for an exceptional presentation. Our girls gained tremendously from attending this Brochot series and reported it was fascinating. Thank you for so generously presenting us with this rare opportunity. Hatzlocho in all your undertakings.

Thank you EYAHT for helping us bring great presentations to audiences around the world. Bring Torah Live to your community – for more info, write to info@torahlive.com.

I am delighted to share with you the thrilling news that Stuart and Stephanie Ronson are sponsoring Torah Live’s Shabbat presentation. The presentation will be an introductory class, covering the importance of honoring and celebrating this holy day, as well as the basic laws of Shabbat – candles, kiddush, challa.

Stuart and Stephanie are the first to have the honor of dedicating one of Torah Live’s 18 upcoming presentations. To to learn more about sponsoring a presentation and other partnership opportunities, write to sponsorthefuture@torahlive.com.

     To date, Torah Live has produced 10 presentations, which have been given at over 180 venues in more than 50 cities worldwide (New York, Atlanta, London, Munich, Sydney, Johannesburg, Jerusalem) to both secular and religious audiences.

     Based on the overwhelming demand for our work, Torah Live intends to create 18 unique and interactive presentations over the coming two years for a broad range of audiences. These dynamic presentations will be used in 40 seminaries and yeshivot in Israel, 300 schools in America, England,South Africa, Israel and Australia by many of the 3,700 rabbis and kiruv professionals who are currently serving worldwide, and will inspire tens of thousands of Jews from various backgrounds.

     Torah Live believes that the communication revolution we are experiencing today is a Divine gift – a powerful tool to achieve unmatched levels of clarity in complex concepts. Join the revolution – to learn more about sponsoring a presentation and other partnership opportunities, write to sponsorthefuture@torahlive.com.

List of Future Presentations:

Businessmen and Professionals
Employee Employer Relationships [Reserved]
Advertising & Honesty
Laws of Loans and Interest

Youth at Risk
Drug Abuse and Addiction
Leadership Qualities [Reserved]
The Making of a Hero: Character Development

Outreach
Living Other Peoples Lives: Overcoming Jealousy
Wisdom of the Hebrew Alpha Bet
The Temple Mount: Past and Present
Jewish Life Cycle: From Cradle to Grave

Seminaries and Yeshivot
Land of Israel: Intrinsic Holiness
Shabbat: Finding Meaning in the Day of Rest [Reserved]
Putting the Holy Back into Holiday: Yom Tov
Higher Living: Emunah and Bitachon

Schools
Judging others Favorably
Spiritual Graduation: Bar & Bat Mitzvah
The King’s Knights: Kiddush Hashem
Ashkenazim and Sephardim: Understating the Roots

Miguel Abadi enjoying a private viewing of Torah Live presentations in his house in London with his children. Miguel, originally from Argentina, is helping spread Torah Live material to the Spanish speaking world. We look forward to keeping you informed of exciting developments soon.

Rabbi Roth gave the Hilchot Yichud presentation at Michlala seminary to the shana bet students. Mrs. Batya Makarov, who coordinated the program, commented, “Thank you so much for addressing our students today.  They found the lecture extremely clear, exciting and interactive.  I think it was the highlight of their day.” Bring Torah Live to your seminary, yeshiva, shul or workplace - click to get in touch.

Rabbi Zecharia Reznick delivered the Torah Live Sukkot at Immanuel College, helping his students achieve a deeper understanding and appreciation for the holiday. Give your students the chance to enjoy Torah Live – click here to contact us.

The students of Ahavas Chaim a the Torah Live presentation on the four species, hosted at the home of their rebbe, Rabbi Dani Kunstler and delivered by Rabbi Dan Roth. Noam Katz, one of the students, commented that it was “fun, informative, and well edited”.

Rabbi Reuven Epstein delivered the Ultimate Shelter lecture at Congregation Shaarei Simcha in Staten Island, New York. Rabbi Epstein writes us that

Class was a tremendous success! They loved the presentation and were asking for more. The Halacha aspects of the video, combined with the entertaining segments, presented the community with an inside look at the market of the Daled Minim, from the harvest through the selection process. It made my job as a presenter easy while educating the crowd from beginners to the more advance. Thank you Rabbi Dan Roth for the wonderful work you do. Wishing you much Hatzlacha in your future endeavors educating Klal Yisroel!”

Rabbi Nate Segal, rav of the shul, joined the audience for the entire presentation despite his famously frantic schedule, for which we are very grateful. He was very impressed and told me Rabbi Epstein that he would like to see an ongoing series of Torah Live presentations. He said he would definitely recommend this to other communities around America.

Comments from the audience:

Very educational… very clear explanation of the Halachos… great visual effects
-Elliot Strusman

I should’ve bought my Esrog after I saw this great video
-Yoshi Bender

The video was extremely informative, I learned a lot from it and now know what to look for. I look forward to seeing more presentations from Torah Live.
-Scott Pere

Rabbi Alexander Coleman offered the Torah Live Sukkot presentation at Eitz Chaim in Philadelphia, with great success. If you’ve used Torah Live materials in your community, we’d love to hear about it and share photos. If you’d like to get started with Torah Live, check out our store or send a note to info@torahlive.com

Image Credit: JanoMan

Torah Live’s mezuzah presentation was recently the focus of an article in the Jewish Press. Gavriel Horan writes, “Together with a team of talented graphic designers and programmers, Torah Live – a unique, multimedia educational organization – has set out to translate the Torah into today’s language. Torah Live’s most recent DVD, “Mezuzah: The Ultimate Connector,” has proved that what may have seemed like an obsolete and uninteresting mitzvah is really an essential tool for teaching the most profound messages of Judaism.

Check out the rest of the article here at JewishPress.com and let us know what you think….

As many of our supporters use this time to give charity and finalize their ma’aser kesafim (monetary tithes) accounts, we think you will agree that these emails are timely and a great introduction to the new year. We will be adding a new video to the top of this post each day for the next 4 days, so be sure to keep checking back. (Scroll down to view earlier ones).

Video #4: Israel or Teaneck?

Video #3: All to one, or one to all?

Video #2: Charity Shmarity – Who says I must give?

Video #1: Priorities in Giving

Artscroll is now distributing Torah Live products in USA and has sent an e-mail featuring our mezuzah DVD  to their 40,000+ customers. Lehmann’s is our official distributors for Europe, and Feldheim, Shankis, Mannys, Galpaz are taking care of Jerusalem. With God’s help, we hope to have enough Torah Live presentations to line the entire wall. To find out about stocking our products, write to info@torahlive.com.

Having given TWENTY FIVE Torah Live presentations, Rabbi Dovid Tugendhaft is the official TL speaker record breaker. Rabbi Tugendhaft comments, “Rabbi Dan Roth’s material is so clear, contemporary and engaging – how could anyone not be thrilled to be a part of this unique ribuy kvod Shomayim!”