The hope of this site is to be educational and inspirational. I see the Torah as an instruction manual given to us by a
benevolent Father in heaven to help us navigate our lives, with
stories and examples for us to learn from.
BIBLE
= Book of Instruction By which to Live
on Earth
FROG = Forever Rely On
G-d
Frogs only jump forward not backward.
So too must we continue to move forward in our quest for
spirituality and contentment.
I am a Baal Teshuvah, I was brought up in a traditional Jewish home and I was Orthodox until I was fifteen years old. I stopped being observant at that age and became completely secular. I still believed in G-d, but I wanted nothing to do with organized religion. Eighteen years later my son was born and I wanted to thank Hashem for that miracle. His birth made me look at myself and ask, whether I wanted him to grow up to be me, and the answer was no, and so I came back. I was a bit apprehensive, after all I thought I knew what serving G-d was all about and I had my reservations. I opened up the Chumash and began to read. The first of the commentaries that I used was Me’am Lo’ez. I never read a book twice or see a movie again, so reading the Torah again seemed like a waste of time, after all I knew how it ended. However, I was quite surprised, I found myself enjoying what I was reading. Somehow I wasn’t just reading I was living it. I remember sitting in my chair, and as I read the words that Yaakov had died tears were falling down my cheeks, I had just lost a zaide. I continued to study, and began to realize that G-d and His Torah are one. It wasn’t a book but a connection to a benevolent father who though I couldn’t see Him was helping me to live my life. Everything that I needed to live my life, every answer to real life situations, I found in the Torah. I began to read every commentary that I could find and began to write down their thoughts. I also found that I was formulating answers in my own mind that were, I feel, G-dly inspired. Then I began to teach them to others, those with Torah knowledge and those without. Somehow, miracle of miracle, both were able to glean knowledge at the same time from my lectures. Then my lectures found their way to Chabad. Org. and people were contacting me from all over the country with their positive responses. However, what really made me want to start this website was when I heard that a teacher in a seminary in Tzefat, Israel used my recorded lecture as the basis of one of her daily classes.
It is my sincere wish and desire to open up people’s heart and mind to the beauty and wisdom of G-d and His Torah and with His help I will continue to try and do so. May G-d bless you and yours and may He open up your eyes to see and feel Him, because just like a parent He yearns to have a relationship with you even more than you do with Him.
Sincerely,
Mordechai, (Marty) Goodman
I feel privileged to introduce to the public the classes of my chavrusa of the last twenty five years, Reb Mordechai Shimon (Marty) Goodman. Mordechai Shimon is not only an expert in the area of Drush, the homiletical component of Torah; his wide-ranging knowledge of Talmud, Shulchan Aruch, Chassidus and Mussar all come together to produce classes which will fascinate and enlighten people at all levels of Torah knowledge. Mordechai Shimon's classes are legendary in Sara Tugman Bais Chabad Torah Center. His new website will give an international audience access to the teachings of a master teacher.