Sam Reinstein

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Jul 16, 2019, 5:27 PM

Why I Don’t Go to my own Shul’s Minyan

I didn’t realize that my going to minyan was a problem, until about a year ago when I came home from shul. It was late Friday night after a very long week, so we weren't hosting. Our 2-year-old son...

Jan 24, 2018, 6:19 AM

Baltimore and the Death of the Firstborn: Drasha Parshat Bo

Many of you may have seen an article in the NY Jewish Week citing allegations of child sexual abuse (CSA) and cover up in the Baltimore Jewish community. You can read more about it over, or after, shabbos, but...

Nov 6, 2017, 3:29 AM

A piece of Talmud on rape culture

Scrolling through my Facebook feed over the past few weeks has been devastating. Before, I did not understand how many of my female friends and colleagues routinely felt unsafe, faced verbal abuse and/or confronted sexual harassment and assault. (Yes,...

Jan 10, 2017, 6:33 AM

Lessons from paternity leave

Bonding with his son helped him understand his wife, parenting, Judaism, and the bigotry of low fatherly expectations

Jan 1, 2017, 8:12 AM

2016 Was Much Better Than You Think

It has become very popular online trope that 2016 was an overall awful year. From the war in Syria, ethnic cleansing in Sudan, and bombings in Yemen, to various shootings, the crisis in Flint, to an ugly Presidential campaign in...

Dec 29, 2016, 8:21 PM

A Rational-Religious Explanation of the Miracle of Hannukah

The Talmud in Shabbat (21b) asks the seemingly simple question, one that is still not fully explainable today: "מאי חנוכה?", "What is Hannukah?". On the one hand, that page of Talmud answers with the miracle of how one day's oil...

Nov 15, 2016, 3:30 AM

How Avraham Might have Reacted to the 2016 Election: Lech Lecha Drasha

Who doesn’t love a true origin story? America certainly does. From yet another restart of Spiderman to going through Batman's origin in Gotham, we are pumping out movies consistently that reboot characters, starting from their origin and seeing them grow...

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About Me

Sam and his wife, Hannah, moved to Crown Heights 4 years ago when he became the Rabbi at Congregation Kol Israel (CKI) . Sam received his ordination from Yeshiva University where he also received his MA in Philosophy, and BA in Mathematics. During the week, Sam works for Munich Re as an actuary, and makes too many puns for his wife's well being.