Hayim Leiter, at The Blogs

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Aug 13, 2024, 2:01 PM

When Kinot actually work

My wife was away for just over a week. Since her work involves a good deal of travel, it was nothing new. But this was for a family wedding during a grossly different world climate. We usually bring a...

Aug 6, 2024, 1:07 PM

Israel is not your enemy

I’m an Israeli surfer. Actually I was born in Philadelphia and learned to surf in Cape May, N.J. I spent my adolescent years surfing up and down the East and West coasts of the US. In college, I competed...

Jul 22, 2024, 2:36 PM

The ebb and flow of surfing

I’m known as (one of) the surfing rabbi(s). Surfing is everything to me. Perhaps I should qualify that: beyond my family and religious commitments, surfing is at the top of the list. If it weren’t for the Mediterranean Sea,...

May 29, 2024, 11:26 PM

Fire from above

My work days are not the standard nine to five. The schedule changes almost daily. It’s the reality of being self-employed. I usually have one, maybe two events in a day; be it a Brit Milah, a conversion or...

May 6, 2024, 4:02 PM

As I rocked the baby in my arms, he cried off and on. I tried every trick I knew but he wasn’t ready to sleep. And then the siren sounded

Feb 11, 2024, 5:15 PM

One of the greats

I don’t have a “sport.” I’ve never been a diehard fan of any of the mainstream pastimes. I never painted my body or screamed obscenities at a referee. I barely even watch the Super Bowl commercials. But that’s not...

Dec 21, 2023, 7:43 PM

Shabbat ended as it normally does in times of war. We all ran straight to our phones to see the news. The first notification said that talks of hostage negotiations may be resuming, so for a moment things were...

Oct 1, 2023, 12:23 PM

A Jewish pot calls the kettle black

An article entitled, “An anti-circumcision activist’s lawsuit sheds light on concerns over antisemitism in the movement,” recently appeared in the Forward. The piece is about filmmaker Brendon Marotta’s lawsuit against Bruchim, an organization committed to “fostering welcoming spaces for...

Jul 19, 2023, 8:04 AM

Don’t cut corners when choosing a mohel

Recently there have been two news reports in two different Hebrew publications about the dangers of Brit Milah. The first is a Haaretz article entitled “They Thought a Brit Milah Done By a Doctor Was The Safest Way. They...

Jun 4, 2023, 1:06 PM

How far have we come?

While Israel was under a barrage of rocket fire, US Jews were busy worrying whether they could get a stove installed on Shabbat

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About Me

Rav Hayim Leiter is a rabbi, mohel, wedding officiant, and member of a private Beit Din in Israel. He founded Magen HaBrit, an organization committed to protecting both our sacred ceremony of Brit Milah and the children who undergo it. He made Aliyah in 2009 and lives in Efrat with his wife and four children.

Contact Me