Lazer Beams

New Year baby boy for the Kosoys

When Eliezer Kosoy of Elyon was strolling with me down Pushkina Street after Mincha prayers on the second day of Rosh Hashana in Uman this past Friday, little did he know that his wife had been taken to the delivery room back in Israel. The Kosoys have been blessed with a beautiful baby boy. Emuna Outreach and everyone here at the Beams wish them all the joy in the world. May the Kosoys bring their newborn into the holy covenant of Abraham on time, and may they raise their son in health of body and soul to Torah, chuppa, and good deeds. Mazal Tov!

I can't resist playing this Eliezer Kosoy - Yonason Hill song again. Enjoy!

Keep Your Eye on the Light

Happy Birthday, Mama'le

My beloved mother, Chasia (Annette) Brody Ludwick is celebrating her 81st birthday this week, may Hashem bless her with long and happy days. This post is a special birthday present for her: Renowned Russian cantor Baruch Finklestein and the Men's Jewish Choir of Moscow singing "Mama'le." You don't have to understand Yiddish to appreciate this song - your heart will tell you what it means. Jewish children went to their deaths - pulled from their mother's arms in concentration camps - crying this song. This is a taste of old-time European Jewry that I hope you enjoy. By the way, every single day in the Jewish calendar is Mother's Day. Honoring our parents properly is one of the most difficult mitzvas in the Torah. Call your parents and tell them Shabbat Shalom - it takes so little to make them happy.

Here's a tip: Calling your inlaws once a week and wishing them a good Shabbos is one of the best shalom-bayit ploys there is. Do it, and you'll be glad you did.