I had the pleasure of going to an Aish Kiruv Seminar at the White Shul in the Five Towns last night. The first lecturer presented a very short excerpt from the Discovery Seminars. I have heard the material in much more depth many times and I think it needs an update to take into account [...]

Project Inspired has their Rosh Hoshana campaign underway and they are providing great pamphlets about the Yomim Noraim that you can send for free to your non-observant friends and neighbors. In their own words: Project Inspire is a campaign to unify the Jewish People by means of monthly / bimonthly initiatives to share the richness [...]

Project Inspire – Know What to Answer Project Inspire is sponsoring a three-part program at the Young Israel of Queens Valley to instruct members of the frum community to effectively engage in kiruv discussions and activities. The second session is scheduled for Tuesday, November 25, from 8:00 to 10:00 pm. The cost for the entire [...]

I just came back from Inspired Too and I highly recommend it. This film is focused more on those doing Kiruv, with helpful ideas on doing Kiruv. It is also filled with a number of great and inspiring stories from the Baalei Teshuva themselves. There are 5 million non- observant Jews in America. The bottom [...]

I had mentioned in an email to Gil that this project has Rabbinic backing, which he wrote up as Rabbinic approval which is being speculated about in parts of the blogosphere as Rabbinic supervision. To start this project, we talked to Rabbi Herschel Welcher, Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz, the Rabbis listed as contributors and others. They [...]

It is not uncommon for the following exchange to take place on BBT: Dear Beyond BT, I have a great project which will help a certain segment of the Jewish People. – Gary Ideaguy —————– Dear Gary, It’s a great idea. Please send us a short writeup and we’ll be glad to post it with [...]

The Neshamah Project is a wonderful and meaningful new organization. You may have seen the book we are distributing: The Neshamah Should Have an Aliyah – What you can do in memory of a departed loved one. This new book stands at the forefront of our mission, which is both simple and profound: To help [...]

We recently received the following request: My name is Natalie Weiser and I am a graduate student at York University in Toronto. I am currently working on my Master’s thesis. My project is about young Jewish women (18-30) who were not raised in religiously observant households, but who as adults choose to become increasingly observant [...]

No, we’re not going to start off with existential Jewish philosophy. But we do want to give people an idea of what this blog is about. We’re here to discuss issues of common interest to Baalei Teshuva and to help Baalei Teshuva from around the world connect and strengthen one another. This blog and the [...]

I recently received the e-mail below from a friend, asking for my thoughts on how he should allocate his time for a certain aspect of what he feels is perhaps his “life’s work,” the reason why he was placed on this earth. If you can, think about his question and my response to him. Perhaps [...]

Pesach is over and I’m sure many had a wonderful Yom Tov. How do you deal with the inevitable let down as we return to the day to day struggles of life? What impressions, insights and lessons have you taken out of Pesach this year which can continue to inspire you and others in the [...]

Rabbi Shaffier in a recent Shmuz about Kiruv made a great case for Grass Roots Kiruv. He pointed out that a non Rabbinic figure can often make a great impact because he is relating to the person peer to peer. He also pointed out many reasons that we should get involved. The only don’t in [...]

I had the pleasure of hosting Rebbetzin Tziporah Heller for lunch and dinner yesterday as she visited Kew Gardens Hills on the tail end of her 2 week US tour. In her “to the heart of the matter” style, she commented that conformity cuts you off from your past, while non-conformity cuts you off from [...]

My wife and I spent this past Thursday through Sunday at the Aish Partner’s Conference. The term partner in this context is anybody involved with in Aish in any way. The organization aims to be inclusive and if you want to: help bring Jews back to Judaism; avocate for Israel; or just learn Torah, then [...]

We’re starting a new project at Beyond BT. We’ll be learning Mesillas Yesharim by Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato (Ramchal) together. We’re going to go at a slow pace and we’ll supplement the text with posts, audios and of course comments. Whether you’ve already learned Mesillas Yesharim or not, why not take advantage of this great [...]

Hi I’m frum for about 16 years and I have a close friend who’s been frum for about the same amount of time. We’re both married with families. My friend worked very hard on his Yiddishkeit for many years, but in the last 2 years he has noticeably declined in devotion to his learning and [...]

Last night I saw the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation’s video on the Attitude of Gratitude. Rabbi Rietti, one of the speakers was amazing as usual, and he made the point that Hashem gives us so much and wants nothing in exchange, except a thank you which we express in a brocha. In fact, he doesn’t [...]

Use these suggestions to infuse new meaning and excitement into your seder and create a lasting experience for you and your family. 1.Make the most of your Seder and best fulfill the mitzvah of V’higadita L’vincha by staying focused on telling the actual story of Yetzias Mitzrayim; concentrate on the events and their lessons. 2. [...]

We are closing registration for the Beyond BT Shabbaton on Monday, July 31st. It should be a great time, so if you are planning on coming, let us know by Monday. American Chayal is a chesed project for soldiers and residents from the North of Israel. Rabbi Noson Weisz on Parshas Devarim: Assigning Blame. Torah.org [...]

One of our primary goals of this project is to provide connection, information, ideas and support for Baalei Teshuva. A number of people have suggested we also discuss issues effecting the entire Jewish community, perhaps providing some new perspectives. One of the wonders of the Internet is the ease at which we can communicate and [...]