A Time to Tell: Stories and Recollections of a Rabbi from Kristalnacht to the Present. Dieser Artikel ist nicht verfügbar.A Time to Tell: Stories and Recollections of a Rabbi from Kristalnacht to the Present

The early 1930's were a period of dire foreboding for the entire world. The dark clouds of World War II were rapidly gathering, as the Jewish population of Europe was becoming especially vulnerable to the most hideous form of genocide that had ever been devised. It was with this background that a young boy made his way to school on the morning after Kristalnacht. In the fascinating and absorbing chapters that follow, the author, Norbert Weinberg, vividly describes how his family made it to the shores of America, via a year in London. Dressed in European-style knickers and hardly able to speak English, the boy tackles his social and educational challenges. His success is apparent when he is ordained as a rabbi at Yeshiva University in New York. Many captivating incidents and situations are discussed as the rabbi meets with personages such Senator Edward Kennedy, President Jimmy Carter and opens a session of the House of Representatives with an invocation. But the heart of the book lies in his warm relationships with congregants, members of other faiths and family. The pages are infused with humor as when, for example, the rabbi is housed in a small hotel in Quebec City, Canada, for a rabbinical interview. A brooding portrait of Jesus stares at him from over his bed. How do they get along? Or when, in that same city, he was invited to a formal event at which everyone raised a glass of wine to toast the Queen and his wine was not kosher. Was this a soluble predicament? The poignant pages of this book promise to warm the heart of every reader.

Rabbi Dr. Norbert Weinberg received his BA from New York University and his MA degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and was ordained as a rabbi. He also studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and has had a distinguished career in the Rabbinate. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinities, honoris causa, by his alma mater, the Jewish Theological Seminary, in recognition of his service. He served as Rabbi to Hollywood Temple Beth El in Los Angeles, California, from 1990 to 1996, where his primary focus was the integration of the new wave of Russian Jewish immigrants into American Jewish life. He has returned to serve the congregation on a part-time basis. Prior to that, he directed the Central Institute for Jewish Studies at Bet Berl, Israel, under the auspices of Israel's Federation of Labor. His mandate was to help bridge the gap between the secular and religious Jews within the labor movement and to emphasize Jewish societal values. He and his wife, Ofra, ran the Huntington Learning Center and School Services in Encino, California, from 1996 through 2013, where they provided WASC-accredited supplemental education services for children on a private pay basis and in conjunction with the Los Angeles Unified School District under the Federal No Child Left Behind Act. Rabbi Dr. Norbert Weinberg is currently compiling research on the Jews of twentieth-century Europe in a series titled Courage of the Spirit: The Story of Europe's Jewry in the Twentieth Century, based on family accounts and historical documents. His work is posted online at www.courageofspirit.com. He is advisor to live360.com, a social media service for health and wellness. He also posts essays on www.vintagewein.blogspot.com. He and Ofra have three children, Danit, Adi, and Eran, and four grandchildren.