Elie Weinstock

Apply for a Blog

Apr 25, 2025, 8:19 PM

Yom HaShoah Song Selection & Understanding the Week Ahead

The post-Pesach “Yom”s” are a lot. Just days after Pesach ends, we observe Yom HaShoah. Just one week later, we commemorate Yom Hazikaron and celebrate Yom Ha’atzmaut. First, we try to properly capture the magnitude of the Holocaust – the...

Apr 18, 2025, 7:32 PM

Just More Matzah & We’ll All Be Free!

Can one ever eat enough matzah? I know. Some of you are thinking: “Even a little is too much.” Nevertheless, as Pesach ends there is a practice to fit in just a little more matzah on the last day. Rabbi...

Apr 11, 2025, 8:39 PM

Pour Out Thy Wrath!

It comes towards the end of the Seder. After Birkat Ha-Mazon and just before Hallel, we pour a cup for Eliyahu HaNavi, open the door, and recite: “Pour out Thy wrath upon the nations that do not know You, and on...

Apr 5, 2024, 8:23 PM

Total eclipse of the sun

Reservations made? Gas tank filled? Glasses ready? I mean eclipse glasses of course. Everyone is getting ready for the total eclipse of the sun taking place on Monday, April 8. (Anyone else have Bonnie Tyler’s song playing in your head now?) As...

Mar 30, 2024, 12:50 AM

Average Joe and Ultimate Modern Orthodox Jew

I’m proud to have had a connection with Joe Lieberman, who passed away this week at the age of 82. We were not on a first-name basis, but each time we met we would reminisce about shared friends and experiences...

Mar 8, 2024, 10:39 PM

More Zionism of the Heart

I present to you Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Kalischer and Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg. Rabbi Kalischer (1795-1874) was an Orthodox German rabbi who expressed views, from a religious perspective, in favor of the Jewish re-settlement of the Land of Israel. His...

Mar 2, 2024, 9:16 AM

Everyone must serve

Haredi men who decided to join the IDF following the October 7 onslaught by Hamas arrive at recruiting offices in Tel Hashomer, near Tel Aviv, October 23, 2023. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90)

Defense Minister Gallant has boldly raised the question of ultra-Orthodox IDF service in light of October 7. It behooves us all to keep the conversation going

May 13, 2023, 3:15 AM

A $50 Million Bible & True Value

It is the “Earliest Most Complete Hebrew Bible,” and it is expected to fetch $30-50 million dollars at auction. I am talking about the Codex Sassoon, which is on display at Sotheby’s until the auction next Wednesday. (Please spell...

Aug 5, 2022, 11:09 PM

What Did Kamtza Do Wrong?

Rabbi Yochanan said… Jerusalem was destroyed on account of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. (Gittin 55b) We all know the story. A certain man was hosting a large party. He sent out his servant to deliver invitations – including to his good...

Feb 18, 2022, 6:41 PM

The masks – or veils – we wear

“Virtue has a veil, vice a mask.” - Victor Hugo For the past two years, masks have been a big part of our lives. In a few weeks, masks will take center stage on Purim. This week, in Parshat Ki...

Load more

About Me

Rabbi Elie Weinstock is Senior Rabbi of the Jewish Center of Atlantic Beach in Long Island and serves as a Chaplain for the Nassau County Police Department. A Past President of the New York Board of Rabbis, he is a believer in a Judaism that is accessible to all and prefers "Just Judaism" to any denominational label.