The Avrum Rosensweig Show

Episode 20 Dr. Sandy Buchman: A Deeply Caring Physician

You know when you meet someone who wrote a book when they were twelve-years old or competed in the Olympics at fifteen. You know that sense you get, they will just fly high with success throughout their life. Well Dr. Sandy Buchman is one such person. 

Sandy, our guest on episode 20 of Hatradio!, was born and educated in Toronto. He dropped out of high school at the end of grade 11 because “I was unhappy.....bored....”. So you’re thinking he went to work in a gas station. Wrong. He started his own school with other guys in his situation and it was accredited by the Ministry of Education. The school rocked.

“I studied everything from calculus to Zen Buddism. For Shakespeare we hopped on our bikes and rode to Stratford to see it performed." Funnily, their school required an adult be the 'principal' so his buddy's dad was. "My grade 13 diploma was signed by him. He was a used car salesman." 

Sandy has always been like that, a creative independent thinker. Later on he wanted to get into medical school. The entrance interview at McMaster University. included the question, what have you done in life where you had a problem and you need to determine a solution. Sandy's response was, 'I started a school in grade 12.'  He got in. They liked that.

Sandy became a family doctor. He did because, "family medicine was about the social dynamic between the patient and the physician. within the context of their family and lives.” In essence he liked family medicine because it was about relationships. 

About 15 years ago, Dr. Buchman's family practice evolved into that of palliative care where he felt he could help minimize the suffering of his patients, be compassionate toward those who are dying and accompany them on their journey.

Since then Sandy has tended to many people in a loving, caring fashion including his work out of a hospice for the homeless. He is deeply saddened by the reality the average life expectancy in Canada is 83. For a homeless person it's about 40. This driven doctor is currently launching a Jewish hospice in Toronto, the first of its kind, called Neshama (soul). So far he and his team have raised $11 million out of the $18 million required. 

Sandy has traveled to Guayana, Zimbabwe and Malawi with non-profits, to play a role in medical care in these very poor countries. He is also part of a team of physicians who participate in medically assisted dying.

In short, Sandy is a type-A person and has been that way since the launch of his school at sixteen. He has worked hard to alleviate the suffering of many through countless programs and projects, many of which he's founded.

Sandy is an inspiring human being, someone who feels deeply blessed for what he has. Listen to Episode 20 and be inspired and challenged by Dr. Sandy Buchman.   

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes.

Episode 19 Rabbi Korobkin: A Brave Orthodox Rabbi

Rabbi Daniel Korobkin was born in California. His father was an entertainment lawyer with clients such as the enormous metal band, Megadeth. Daniel's mother is a Survivor who at 6 years old was on the Kinder-transport. 

Daniel was a fine thinker then, and an even better one now. He loves nothing more than to develop complex ideas which he can impart to others, simplistically.   Daniel received his Master of Arts degree in medieval Jewish and Islamic thought from UCLA's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, and his Master of Science degree from the Johns Hopkins University School for Engineering at the Applied Physics Laboratory. 

About a decade ago Rabbi Korobkin came to Toronto to step into the position of rabbi at Beth Avraham Yoseph Synagogue - one of the largest Orthodox Shuls in North America. While it took awhile to learn his way around the very big edifice, and around the membership, he ultimately took the community by storm with his fierce passion for learning, teaching and caring for his congregants.

What I really liked about schmoozing with Rabbi Korobkin was being with a man, a Jewish leader, who is courageous. He accepts the fact there are more than just Orthodox Jews within the Jewish family and in his own way, a very important way, he embraces them. He tells the Jewish man who is a homosexual and not accepted by the community, 'you are special and they don't know you like I know you. You hold your head high.' He's a man who is prepared to take the shots from other leaders, knowing he's doing the right thing. 

In essence, Rabbi Korobkin subscribes to King Solomons’s statement that, “there is no such thing as doing good and doing no evil.”  And he believes, like a great (mussar) Rabbi of the 19th century, ' you can lock yourself in a closet and you’ll never do anything wrong but, you’ll never do anything good either.

And what I respected about the man is his well developed sense of unity. This statement he made during our interview says it best:  "If we would only recognize the value in each and every Jew, what each person brings to the table no matter how different they are from us, we would have a much greater nation, a homogeneous nation that is made up of diverse parts. We would really bring redemption right away.”

This is Rabbi Daniel Korobkin. He is a bright, compassionate human being, a lover of the Jewish people and Israel, and a man who embraces all Jews and all of person-kind. This is a special edition of Hatradio!.

(Thanks to Howard Pasternack for his post-production on this show and every other we've done. And a hearty 'way to go' to David Nefesh for his blues song, 'In the Hat'.)

This is a beautiful edition of Hatradio! . 

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes.

 

 

Episode 18 Sadie Domb:The Fascinating Life of Avrum's Son's Bar Mitzvah Teacher!

Somewhere, sometime, a young boy or girl sits together with their bar/bat mitzvah teacher learning the ancient art of singing the trope - the notes devised two thousand years ago to celebrate every syllable of the Torah.

The ‘day of’ arrives – the Bar/Bat mitzvah day – and the thirteen year old boy, or the twelve year old girl walks up to the open scroll, the Five books of Moses, and begins to sing. Carefully they manage the revi’i, a note that modestly ends a Torah thought. They breathe deeply to chant the pazer, a noise that curls up, then goes higher, then dips half way back down.

Today they are a man. Today they are a woman. Their meticulously read Torah reading proves this. 

 

This week I had the distinct honor to interview Sadie Domb, a bar/bat mitzvah teacher, in fact my son’s bar mitzvah teacher. She is a delicate and very sure religious woman. Sadie carries herself as if a character in a Renoir painting - well coiffed, elegant and proud. 

Throughout our one and half hour schmooze I learned from Sadie that “I love what I do”. She repeated this sentiment several times. I knew it to be true because her voice rose and strengthened as she said so. She was intent.

"I just love being part of people's lives and watching them go through a metamorphosis," Sadie adds. 

As we talked, Sadie shared with me that she became a bar/bat mitzvah teacher in 1980. Since then she has taught around 1000 boys and girls their Torah portion and other aspects of Jewish services required for their ‘day of’. "I'm now starting to get the children of my (former) students," Sadie said.

Sadie continued, that every student, on the first day of lessons, makes an agreement with Sadie they will be diligent about their studies, prioritizing them the way Torah requires them to do. "We working as a team toward the common goal", Sadie said. 

She assures her student she believes in them and “I will get you there” and sure enough she does. 

With great pride the bar mitzvah teacher relates to me her memory of the child she taught who has autism. Sadie explained, every student is unique and in this case she taught the boy four songs to sing on the 'day of' as well as a dance.  It was good. It worked out well because both of them loved to dance.

Sadied recalled the child who was scared of chanting the long and winding Pa’zer, one of the trope (Torah notes) dotting a syllable in the scriptures. Sadie told the student, “lets just try it. You might be surprised." And sure enough he mastered the sound, was surprised and grew as a person because of it. 

I truly loved conducting this interview with Sadie?  I did because she is my son’s bar mitzvah teacher and such a person will only come along once in his life and mine. I did because the role of the bar/bat mitzvah teacher is special. They enter into a young person’s life, our offspring, as they transition.

Her responsibility is enormous and that is, to ensure with little hesitancy the bar/bat mitzvah will stand tall on their ‘day of’, pronounce all the words of the holy scripture and manage the challenging trope the way a seasoned ba’al koreh (a regular Torah reader) might.

Sadie is the guardian at the gate of my child's right of passage. I trusted she would be gentle as my progeny walked through that entry way into adulthood. She was. She is.

Sadie Domb is my son’s bar mitzvah teacher. A magnificent human being and our partner in my child's, many family's children, as they become a man, as they become a woman. 

Have a listen and remember your own bar/bat mitzvah. Remember your teacher and celebrate them, if you are able, as I am celebrating Sadie Domb and her responsible and loving approach to my son's ‘day of’ - his bar mitzvah.

Hatradio!  The show that schmoozes.

Episode 17 -- Steve Paikin: "I Don’t Know what I’m Doing Here"

Once I’ve completed an interview with a guest, I listen to it over and over to determine how it  can best be edited to reflect superlative production value and content. 

Most of my schmoozes require some editing work, but this one, my interview with Steve Paikin of TVO's The Agenda, I left mostly intact. I did because Steve is as articulate as they come, a  storyteller par excellence who relays his colorful experience like few others. Editing this piece too much, I felt would detract from the value of our time together. 

I am uber-excited to share Episode 17 of Hatradio! with you because of this. Here, you have a unique opportunity to hear from Steve Paikin, a Canadian media-icon, and to learn about him, about Canada, Ontario, Hamilton, Toronto, Ontario Premiers and politicians, the Rwandan genocide, hockey, summer camp and a plethora of other stuff he generously shared with me. 

I stress 'unique' because Steve said he has never done an extensive interview before about himself. I felt good about that. 

 

So why did I title the show, “I Don’t Know what I’m Doing Here”?  Good question. Steve is a very accomplished fellow including the author of seven books, an on-air host of 25,000 shows and interviews as well as the producer of a number of documentaries. Yet, when he accepted the Order of Canada from the Governor General, the first thing he said to him was “I don’t know what I’m doing here.”  The Governor General responded, “I do”. This relaxed Steve even though he was baffled as to what he was doing in the company of doctors looking for the cure to Cancer and other such accomplished folk.

I appreciated  the man's humility and felt it apropos to title the show after a statement which reflects that.    

Listen to this episode and you'll discover, Steve Paikin of TVO's The Agenda, has a fascinating life. He has interacted and schmoozed with the whose who of Canada and many Americans including one of his on-air mentor, Ted Kopel. You just know,  Steve felt deeply blessed to be able to interview and write a book about the last nine premiers of Ontario. And with all this, h is greatest influences in life were: his parents, school and camp (which he is over the top about). 

In short, this interview was full of gems about Steve Paikin, the country he loves and so much more. We covered the stars like Gino Vannelli, the hockey players including Steve’s favorite, Ron Ellis, and of course the politicians, focusing on John Robarts, the 17^th premier of Ontario (Steve called his life a Shakespearean story). Steve is also compelled to talk about humanitarian issues in a big way including the Rwandan genocide. He talked extensively about his love of shinny hockey as well as his mother's lengthy volunteer resume, and his father's passion - refurbishing old railway cars.  

But the thing I took away from my interview with Steve is that he takes his work very seriously, as he does the issues, but not himself. And I like that. I appreciate it. Steve does not bask in the glory of his fame. Quite the opposite. He doesn’t really care about the lights, or the cameras. He does care however about the action and his ability to highlight the chapters of a hard working person and give them the coverage they deserve.

In short, this is a uniquely compelling episode, one which might encourage you to watch The Agenda with Steve Paikin, appreciate the country we live in, and be inspired to grow the way our guest, Steve Paikin, has. He may not have known what he was doing at the Order of Canada acceptance program, but it's clear to a bunch of us, it made a lot of sense for him to be bestowed with one of this country's highest honors. 

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes!

 

Episode 16: Pat Rush - Slide, Patty, Slide!

Pat Rush is an internationally acclaimed guitarist. He has played and jammed with Johnny Winter, The Allman Brothers, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and many more. He toured with James Cotton for three years. Pat was also a member of The Jeff Healey Band for twelve years.

I was so honored to schmooze with him on Hatradio! this April 2019, all the time sensing I was with someone very special and highly accomplished. The interview felt historic in nature.

 

Pat was thirteen when he learned how to play guitar. He bought his first axe for $13.99 from his neighbor Bobby Miles. His mom loaned him the cash of which he repaid mowing lawns at .50 cents each.

After a few months of lessons using the Mel Bay method, his teacher, Don Russell, told Pat’s mom he couldn’t teach Pat anymore as he’s already so far ahead in the books. He said, “you don’t need me anymore. Let Pat learn and he’ll teach you (Pat’s mom was taking lessons with him).”  And that’s what happened.

Pat grew and grew as a guitarist playing churches and school venues. His first paid gig was in a church. He received $20 and shared it with the band members. The years passed and eventually Pat launched a band called Thunderhead. “We filled the places we played. Thunderhead was a big band,” Pat said.

The iconic guitarist, Johnny Winter sat in. He also produced one of their albums. Edgar Winter played piano on it. Ultimately Pat came to see Johnny and Edgar as dear friends. Later on Pat toured with Johnny, and they lived together. “Edgar used to beat me in pool,” Pat said, “even though he was legally blind”.

 

Pat, as mentioned, has played with the gurus of rock and blues including, James Cotton and Muddy Waters. He learned slide guitar from Duane Allman (in Holiday Inns where they stayed after gigs in the South) and later on taught Jose Feliciano how to play that same style of guitar.

One evening, during a concert at Toad’s Place in New Haven, Muddy called Pat up on stage. They jammed and then Muddy told Pat he wasn’t feeling well and wanted him to play the encore. Pat figured he’s use Bob Margolin’s (a band member) guitar but Muddy handed him his red telecaster instead. Muddy exited the stage and they played ‘Dust my Blues’. Pat said the place went nuts. Later, Bob said to Pat, “do you have any idea what happened here tonight? Muddy won’t even let me touch that guitar”. Bob said Muddy never loaned his guitar to anyone in fact denied Eric Clapton the right to play it one night. Pat is special and Muddy got that.

 

Pat loved Jeff Healey. They traveled together. Listened to records together. And of course, played the blues and rock together for a dozen years. Pat describes his time with Jeff as magical and says he misses him dearly.  He spoke about him in very fond terms. “Jeff had an uncanny ability to remember the titles, tracks and musicians on all of his 35,000 albums”, Pat said.

Pat made up a game called “Stump the Jeff”, in an effort to trip up Healey. Pat said, “I never did. Not once. He was a savant. “   By the way, the name of this episode - 'Slide Patty, Slide!' is from a YouTube video I saw where Jeff instructed Pat during a wicked rock song, to play a lead. Jeff said to him, "Slide Patty, slide". And he did. I loved that!  

 

Pat Rush is indeed a special man. He is soft spoken and has a sweet way about him. And, Pat is  one hell of a guitar player, a prodigy, who is an integral member of the rock and roll and blues world. I was proud to have him as our guest and to hear about his life, his history, his stories.

Have a listen to my schmooze with Pat Rush and let me know what you think. Thanks so much for listening!

Happy Passover and Easter. Fight for freedom. Unlock the chains of slavery. Today, in our world, there are still 45 million slaves, 10 million of which are children.

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes

 

 

Episode 15 - The Marty & Avrum Radio Years

Can you say which of the decades in your life was the most fun? Is that possible?

From 1995 - 2005, Marty Galin and I, were partners on radio and television, and there is no doubt that those ten years were an absolute blast and indeed, the funnest of my life! Have a listen to this podcast and you'll here all about those special years and our time together, including five years on Talk 640, five years on CFRB and the TV shows we did together like The Movable Feast.

My dear, best friend Marty, is one of the most exciting, vivacious, spirited and animitated people on planet earth. I had the luck, or as we say in Hebrew, the mazel, of meeting him at Julius Ciss's (now there's another crazy story), Passover Seder in 1985 and we hit it off immediately. Not only did Marty introduce me to the world of entertainment, he showed me a different way of life, a downtown sort of way (versus my Jewish uptown lifestyle). I absolutely owe him huge amounts of gratitude for all of this and more, and I said so on this Hatradio! podcast.

Tune into our one and a half hours together, Episode 15 on Hatradio!, and learn about our friendship. Discover our interviews with such greats as chefs: Marc Thuet (Centro RIP), Mark McEwan (North 44, RIP), Michael Stadlander (Eigensinn Farm) as well as our live musical guests like: Michael Buble, Jose Feliciano (whom we sang 'Light my Fire' with) and Harry Belafonte.

Listen and hear about our many, many interviews with local cooks, waiters and waitresses, restaurateurs, sommeliers, Ontario and international vineyard owners, fire-fighters who cook, little Jewish ladies who made us a sabbath on our show, The Movable Feast and more. 

I love my beautiful friend, Marty and am grateful for what he has done for me. I was excited to do this schmooze/interview with him and felt like I was presenting him with a gift in response to the legacy he has helped me build.  

I love you Marty and am honored to have spent my funniest decade with you. Have a listen folks to HATRADIO!, The Show that Schmoozes! 

  

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

  

Episode 14 Vicky Weiss: A Foodie Without Borders

“Unless I go to your house, and you come to mine we will not truly get too know one another”. - Vicky Weiss

A bowl of soup might just be a thing to slurp for some, but to others it’s a warm broth that acts as a tool for caring and reaching out to others. Vicky Weiss, born in Ottawa, a mom of 2 and a very serious foodie, is one of those people who knows how to make, manage and present a bowl of soup with finesse to help family and friends afflicted by loneliness, colds, or regular hunger. Soup to Vicky is a way of forging relationships, and strengthening the world.

Vicky is my feisty, beautiful friend whose dad owned a sporting store when she was kid, and and whose mom owned a lingerie store (and that should be enough for a good interview). She is generous of spirit in an uncomplicated and straight forward way. Her heightened level of giving is a talent Vicky developed after becoming a religious Jew (for love and marriage) and joining the Or Chaim Yeshiva community, modern Orthodox Jewish folk.

Vicky was a recipient of their caring following the birth of her son who had a physical challenge, such as home visits by a few doctors from the yeshiva, other moms with hordes of food and dads and families with offers for assistance in any way she needed.

To this day she attributes her heightened level of giving to Or Chaim even though she ultimately gave up “Frum” (religious) Judaism. The marriage had a shelf life of two decades.

Vicky Weiss is a crazy, frickin foodie, not the regular type who celebrates a pink sirloin steak, but more-so a person who will posts all over social media her recent dinner of cabbage steak and portobello mushroom burger. 

Similarly, unlike most who adore cheese Vicky has actually taken many cheese classes because of her appreciation of its “flavours, the gooeyness and its stickiness”. She adored stinky blue cheese.

While she hasn’t had cheese in a year because of her conversion to veganism she misses it greatly and can still taste it in her brain. Vicky loves colourful food like cumquats and appreciates artistic serviettes. She had a serviette collection.

There is no doubt food is a way of forming friendships, a way of saying thank you, a way of being kind to someone who is sick, Vicky says.

Listen to episode 14 with Vicky Weiss, an extraordinarily kind sort, who comes from romantic and adventuresome parents who imparted to their daughter the tastes of Eden and the joys of life.

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes.

 

Episode 13 Gabrielle Klein: Doctor to Charedi Jews

Dr. Gabrielle Klein was born in Toronto, Canada. She is the child of a Holocaust survivor, a man who driven by knowledge and the intention to teach his two daughters as much about our world as possible.  Gabrielle devoured what her father had to teach.

Her intellectual growth took her down a road which lead to University of Toronto Medical School, where she ultimately graduated as a doctor. But Gabrielle was not only passionate about medicine. She had a deep seeded love for Israel. She says unabashedly, "I am a Zionist".  

Gabrielle, often known as Gabby, married Dennis Klein (a yeshiva friend of mine) and the two set about creating a family of six children, and eventually moved to Israel where they live in Efrat in Judea and Samaria. Nearby, in Beitar, Gabby built a practice where she tends predominantly to the Charedi community, the ultra Orthodox community in the area.

In this episode, Gabby speaks fondly of her patients and is deeply proud of her ability to help them enhance their lives through health care and education and advocacy. Gabby gives us insight into the thoughts and feelings of this often mysterious community, including those of men, women and children. It's fascinating to hear.

Gabrielle is a type-A personality. She is a wife and mom, a loyal and committed daughter, a doctor and she loves adventures including her successful 2018 climb of Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Shalva, a non-profit in Israel 'that supports and empowers individuals with disabilities and their families'. I cringed when she spoke about maneuvering over thin crevices thousands of feet in the sky.  I am not brave. 

Listen to this episode of Hatradio! and learn about this fascinating and courageous woman who explores many facets of her life and the world in which we live in. Gabrielle Klein is inspiring to listen to and compels one to begin preparing for their own mountain climb. 

Hatradio!   The show that schmoozes. 

 

 

 

 

Episode 12 Clive Caldwell: Squash & The Man

Clive Caldwell was born 67 years ago to good British folk. He was lousy at school and in fact failed grade 10. But his Dad, Brian,who is now 97, recognized his son's special nature and the old man set about teaching his strappingly handsome son the game of squash.

Soon enough Clive started to fly, dominate the game and over time arrive at a place only champions get to - seeded number 2 in the world and an international doubles champion! The perils of Grade 10 seemed pretty far away and like many of us do, Clive showed school doesn't necessarily illicit the brilliance inside of us. That can come from a place far far away from a classroom, sometimes a squash court.  

Time galloped onward and Clive married Marianne. They had three children, two of whom are physically challenged. But as always, Clive 'kept his head up' and he and his wife raised those kids with gumption and purpose. Slowly but surely, the squash champ turned instructor, began owning pieces of sports clubs in downtown Toronto, well placed ones with incredible potential. The clubs grew and became the hottest work out spots in the downtown area attracting people such as the late philanthropist, Ken Thomson and internationally renowned singer/songwriter, Gordon Lightfoot.

Unfortunately, Marianne got sick. Cancer. Clive took care of her. He took care of his kids. Marianne passed away, RIP. Today, Clive is married to the lovely, Lorna. It's always special when two people share their lives happily and with blessings. 

Clive continued to grow personally and professionally. He began to give back to the community he appreciated so much through the launch of Urban Squash, a non-profit that "combines an intensive after-school, 7 days-a-week, yearlong education program with concentrated athletics (principally squash)...with youth in the Jane-Finch." The goal of Urban Squash is to give young people at risk the chance to maximize their "academic, athletic and personal potential". The students involved in the program begin in Grade 6 and continue right until the end of high-school. I’m 2013, Clive raised money for Urban Squash by walking the Camino de Santiago, a 820- kilometers pilgrimage across Spain. He then walked another 100 kilometer to the ocean.  Upon the completion of his trek Clive stated, “it was one of the most emotional days of my life.”

Clive Caldwell is an inspirational fellow. Listen to this interview on Hatradio! and learn from the man. Learn how to be positive in light of enormous challenges. Learn how to maximize life and its gifts and how to grow every single day. Clive can teach you that. And it's well worth learning from  him. Hatradio! The show that schmoozes. 

(Special thanks to David Nefesh for Hatradio! music and Howard Pasternack for post-production and voice-over.) 

Episode 11: Lynda Kraar A Masterpiece of a Woman

I've never met another woman like Lynda Kraar. We've been friends for many years, albeit with some hiatuses along the road (similar to that of many good friends), but when we have a reunion of sorts, little has changed. The moment she and I connect, my dear Lynda, 59,  mother of two, lets me know with the warmth of a mother bear, how much she loves me, missed me and begins to make plans for us as we move forward, again.

I first met Lynda at United Jewish Appeal. She and I raised some shit there including writing a regular newsletter. One edition was titled, 'the morale in this place stinks'. Nobody said a word about it. I fell for her right away because she had that certain bravado that one only sees in people who are struggling to make good, of which she was, being a second generation Holocaust Survivor. 

As you'll hear in the eleventh episode of Hatradio! Lynda's parents didn't speak to one another. They were 'bro'gis' as we say in Yiddish (really deeply pissed at one another), and little Lynda, at four or five years old would yell at them to stop fighting. But they didn't and she learned how to live with that. Mostly, this only child, developed a way to move forward in life including picking up the guitar at eight years old and learning how to play it despite the fact her little fingers could not reach around the neck.

Today, Lynda performs around New Jersey, here in Toronto and wherever the wind will take her. And she is kick-ass on the axe, owns a dozen of them, and she sings heartfelt songs of her own composition that makes you wonder about who you love and how much. And she plays the oud and has attended oud camp. Listen to what she has to say about the renaissance of music. The woman is well versed in music, most aspects of it.

My dear Lynda has been married three times and loved em' all. Her final marriage, so far, was to Jewish community worker rock-star, Marty Kraar, who passed away at 69, when Lyn was 51. They were soulmates. Nuts about each other. He whipped her into shape and showed her how to love well because, in her own words, "I was terrible at being a wife".  Listen to Lynda talk about mourning for Marty. 

Lynda has raised millions of dollars. She surrounds herself with friends and frequently will let you know about new and old ones. I love the way she states their names as if I know them. Lynda Kraar, is a refreshing and unique human being. I've never met anyone like her and likely never will. She is a masterpiece of a woman. Enjoy her. I have.

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes.