Rabbi's Blog

Rabbi Mendel's Blog

Rabbi Mendel's blog features his Dvar Torah (Torah lesson) column from the weekly E-TORAH, ocassional musings and other articles that he authors from time to time.
Your comments are welcome.

The Best Résumé

Friday, October 31, 2014 - 11:00 AM

The name Ryan Leaf is virtually synonymous with epic draft bust. He was selected number two overall in the NFL draft of 1998. Yet his football career was a disaster. Subsequently, he got in trouble with the law and is currently incarcerated in a Montana prison.

His football résumé was stellar. He led his college football team to its first Rose Bowl in 67 years and was a Heisman Trophy finalist. Everybody agreed he had a stronger arm than Peyton Manning, who was picked number one overall in the same draft.

Aside from his personal issues and character flaws, he failed miserably on the football field, with a pathetic career passer rating of 50.0. Just goes to show that the greatest résumé cannot guaran… Read More »

Isolation

Friday, October 24, 2014 - 2:00 PM

I first heard about Ebola when I visited the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2000. At the time I was told that this “bush virus” was extremely dangerous and that the no treatment existed. Rumors circled that the army would lay siege to a village with Ebola and quarantine the whole village until the virus was gone. It was a controversial claim, but one that had quite a few backers.

I’m not sure exactly what Zaire’s army did with earlier Ebola outbreaks, but the virus’ reemergence today on an international scale has gotten the entire world’s attention.

Much debate is currently centered on this tragic outbreak of Ebola. Aside from the questions of how best to treat Ebola, another concern is whe… Read More »

Looking for older posts? See the sidebar for the Archive.

Profile

Rabbi Mendel Lifshitz was born in Brooklyn and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. In addition to living in the Midwest, the East Coast, the West Coast, and Florida, he has spent several years living abroad in France, South Africa and Israel. He has traveled extensively to over 35 countries, often on assignment for Chabad Lubavitch World Headquarters.

Rabbi Lifshitz moved to Boise with his wife Esther in 2004. They count raising their eight children as one of the great joys of life.

Their appreciation for wonderful quality of life, friendly environment and great outdoors make Idaho a natural fit.

With a great passion for teaching, sharing and learning - coupled with their dedication to the individual - they have become a critical asset for the Idaho Jewish community.

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