Pesach Sommer

Apply for a Blog

May 5, 2014, 5:52 PM

When Our Rabbis are Wrong

From the moment I picked it up, I could not put the book down. What had been a regular Shabbos, changed as I read Ben Hecht's “Perfidy” from cover to cover. The book tells the story of the Kastner...

Apr 29, 2014, 7:48 PM

The Breakfast Club- It’s Time to Talk

For those of us who were teenagers in the 80s The Breakfast Club was an iconic movie. For everyone else, I offer a brief synopsis. . As much as I loved the movie, and can still, all these years later, quote...

Mar 11, 2014, 3:34 PM

Unity born of love and faith

Although Sunday was a wonderful one for me on a personal level, I was heartbroken as I looked at my Facebook feed throughout the day. There were a plethora of comments about the Prayer Asifa in Lower Manhattan, and...

Mar 5, 2014, 5:37 PM

Achdut, Achdus and Unity – The time is NOW

I hope I will be forgiven if I come off like a hypocrite or thief. Several days ago, my friend Aliza Lipkin sent me a blog post she had written for Times of Israel and asked for my thoughts....

Mar 4, 2014, 6:08 PM

Even if we must ‘fight’, let us fight as brothers

Punching and wrestling, my brother Eric and I rolled around on the soft grass. Though the intensity of our fight would not remind anyone of MMA, we were serious enough that a concerned counselor came over to find out...

Mar 3, 2014, 7:32 PM

Those who forget the past, are unlikely to understand the present

In the ongoing ideological battle between right-wing Modern Orthodoxy, and Open Orthodoxy, both sides seem to be talking at each other, or past each other. Oftentimes, they preach to the choir. One side screams “Tradition!”, while the other side...

Jan 27, 2014, 6:10 PM

Dignity and difference: A Jewish educator’s views on women wearing tefillin

"We should know what we see, not see what we know". -Rabbi AJ Heschel There is a story that is told (possibly apocryphal, but the lesson to be learned remains) about a Chassidic Rebbe from Eastern Europe who came to Germany...

Load more

About Me

Pesach Sommer is an Orthodox Rabbi, fundraiser, educator and runner. He is married and has eight children. He currently works for Just One Life, where he directs special projects including their charity running program Team Just One Life. Pesach is 42 years young.