The Avrum Rosensweig Show

Episode 32 - Doctor Saul Kendal: An 83 Year-Old Dentist, a Friend & a Courageous Man!

Episode 32 features Dr. Saul Kendal, an octogenarian who has been practicing dentistry for fifty-nine years. He's my dentist and when we began the interview on Tuesday, August 13th, I was partially drooling from my mouth as it had been frozen, so Saul could put a crown in my tooth. I love this man and couldn't wait to release the interview to my listeners.  

Saul was born in Toronto. He was an only child. His parents were Louie and Annie. He was athletic and  played basketball (a guard) for his high-school, Harbord Collegiate. Saul excelled at rebounding because he was a big kid. His Dad, was a barber and told a story of how one day while working in a hospital cutting patients hair, he entered a room and found a man sleeping. He figured, 'okay, I'll cut his hair anyway'. And he did. Upon exiting the room a nurse asked him what he was doing. He resonded 'I was cutting the patients hair while he slept.".  The nurse responded, "he's not sleeping. He's dead!" Oy!!!  Saul loves that story. Me too! 

38:00 In this interview, Saul dad was what was called a felsher/barber, a part time 'doctor'/barber. It's an old time thing.  With that in mind, Saul and I schmoozed about a Yiddish folk remedy his dad practiced called bankus (cupping). Louie would heat up glass cups and place on his customers back, to alleviate pain and help with their conditions. They'd create a suction of sorts. "Did it really help," I asked. Saul answered, "They seemed to think it helped them". There is something even more intense than bankus -- ge'hakta bankas. Oy! Check them out around the 40:39:00 minute mark.  By the way, the red in the pole outside a barber represents bloodletting. Also oy! 

Early on the show Saul talks about his six decades as a dentist, giving us good insight into that doctor we all hate going to. 14:08 He loves the job and says it's a respected profession but adds that people don't like coming to the dentist. The first thing many of his patients tell him is that. Saul says, "it's not that they don't like us, but they don't like what we do." And he adds, "why should they?" This clearly adds to the stress of being a dentist. Thinking about it it's true. I dread going to the dentist. How must our dentist feel knowing that? At 15:32 Saul talks about his wife's sister's son, who is responsible for Saul's worst experience ever as a dentist. Have a listen. 

The tough part about my schmooze with Saul started at the 48:00 minute mark. Saul and his dear wife, Yetta, are parents to five children, two of whom have passed away. I knew, if I was going to do an interview with my dear friend we'd have to talk about the death of Darren and Neil. It's heartbreaking to hear about the car accident Darren was in on August 19, 1982. Saul identified his body, saw a chip on his front took, kissed him on the forehead and said, "good-bye". Saul then said without me asking, "Avrum, you go on with your life.The pain never goes away". 

Later on, 53:20, we talked about Saul's son, Neil, who died on May 20, 2014. Neil was Susan's husband, a dad, and he was Saul's partner in the Dentist office. They worked together for thirty years and at 54:05 Saul says with great pride, "we never had an argument". Every day, Saul goes into the office and sees Neil's scribbly script on patient's charts. "Brings back memories."  

"I never had a strong relationship with God, but after 'Darren' and after 'Neil', I lost it for sure."  Saul doesn't pray. But Yetta wants him to go to shul (synagogue) on the High Holidays, so he does. 

I asked Saul, after the death of his second son, what he was thinking. He said, "why us. Why did it happen to us. 55:16 We're not bad people. " Listen at 57:20 when Saul tells a story about going to a psychic, and telling her about a redbird that appeared at their house for about a month after Neil's death, and would repeatedly wack its beak against their window. The psychic said it was Neil. 

Episode 32 is a story about a couageous man, a dentist of six decades, a dad who stood tall while faced with extreme adversary.  The interview with Saul is highly inspirational. He reminds us you have to keep on living. And he does, together with his beautiful wife Yetta, his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren - - they should all live long lives. Saul is funny, a storyteller and he is all about friendship. I am grateful to Saul for doing this interview and  showing us he is still joyful. I commend him for his courage to talk about the tough stuff.

Have a listen folks, This man really is a gift to all of us! Hatradio! The show that schmoozes. 

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Thank you to Howard Pasternack for his handy work on Audacity.com and ability to do magic in post-production. Thank you too to my old bud, David Nefesh, who lends an intro and extro to each episode through his original score, the HatRadio! song! 

Credit for music in commercial:
"Slow Burn" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 31 - Miriam Borden: A Yiddishist, Third Generation Survivor & A Baker!

Welcome to Episode 31 of Hatradio!  My guest is Miriam Borden, a vivacious person, full of verve and a zest for life. Miriam is Lynda Kraar's daughter, whom I schmoozed with on Episode 11. You'll notice the two share a certain melody in their speak and a certain speed to their delivery, generally reserved for those who think a lot. Like mother, like daughter.

I so enjoyed this schmooze. It was full of sun! Full of light! 

And indeed, Miriam is a thinker. She is Ph.d student. Her major is Yiddish and throughout the show we speak about her passion for this medieval, 9th century Jewish language, including some of the quirky, uncomfortable, but to-the-point sayings. Check this one out: in response to the question of 'how are things' --  mi shlukt yiddin (1:03:35), Jews are being attacked (with a little shrug). Interestingly, Miriam laughs a lot and she laughed at this expression. Why? I think it has to do with her deep love for the Jewish people, and Judaism, which she calls "very rich", and an acceptance of our plight in history. Despite the fact Jews have been so persecuted, we've managed to develop an entire culture, a certain intellect and a major spiritual body of work.

Miriam gets that!  

At the 24:50 mark of the show, Miriam responds to the question: 'Why Yiddish?'. She says, "I study Yiddish because it yet another way to inhabit my Jewishness.  I study Yiddish for exactly the same reason I studied Gemarah (Talmud)....history...and that I love Jews...it's all part and parcel of the same landscape. It's the same reason I want to educate my kids in a Jewish way." Interestingly, she's married to a non-Jew. I asked her how that works? Miriam answered freely. 

Herring! At 52:28, I asked Miriam what her relationship is to herring, as she wrote a 2,000 word article, front page for the Canadian Jewish News (CJN). Well, apparently, the article started out as a joke with friends, and eventually Miriam was encouraged to offer it up to the CJN. In the article, and in this interview, we learn about  'herring anti-Semitism'; schmaltz herring versus marinated herring; and of course, the many centuries of this small fish as part of the Jewish menu.

Miriam speaks a lot about food. And she's a baker with some special and sweet insight into the character of air kicklach otherwise known as 'nothings',  and tsimis,  a traditional Jewish sweet stew. It's fascinating how she ties these foods into the Jewish pscyhe.   

1:00:56:  Miriam talks about being third generation Holocaust Survivor. She accepts the responsibility that comes with it especially as Survivors are dying off. Miriam says we are now the "keepers of that knowledge. We are the living legacy of 'those people' ". Listen to her wonderfully crafted description of her relationship with her Boobie and Zaidy, which was very special and a tad wonky.  When asked what she would do to continue the discussion about the Holocaust, she responded, "I  think I'm doing it." 

1:06:57:  A 5-minute play I wrote called: "Whether to to Save or Not, Jews in our Barn, in the town of Auschwitz'. I did so, in response to the question of: 'would you be a righteous Jew/Gentile?'. Miriam and I voiced the play. Howard Pasternack, produced the show afterward, brilliantly!!! Listen to this podcast-theatre about the quandary of rescuing a life at the peril of one's own life, the lives of one's children.  

Miriam was a wonderful interview. She was because of her celebration of life, her laughter, her full embrace of her Jewishness and her life. In episode 31, we learn about Miriam's deep love for her family, her husband and really for all person-kind. And she is having fun.

Enjoy this show. It is truly inspiring, thoughtful and full of meaning.  Lynda did a great job with her daughter. Miriam did a splendid job with her Mom. I have hope in our existence, our world, because of their effervescence and commitment to the beautiful spirit that lies within all of us.

Well done, Miriam! And thank you for a fine schmooze. 

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes. 

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Thank you David Nefesh for the Hatradio! song, and to Howard Pasternack for his brilliant post-production stuff. The make the show very special. 

Music from https://filmmusic.io
"Measured Paces" and "Despair and Triumph" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Credit for music in commercial:
"Slow Burn" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 30 - Irwin Elman: The Man Who Lives to Give Children a Voice!

"A hundred children, a hundred individuals who are people - not people to be, not people of tomorrow, but people now, right now -- today." - Janusz Korczak

On Tuesday, July 30th at 5 pm, Irwin Elman and I sat down to have a schmooze on Hatradio! I have always been intrigued by Irwin, the former Provincial (Ontario) Advocate for Children and Youth, because of his self-professed nutty professor character, his passion for Janusz Korczak (director of an orphanage in Warsaw Ghetto, who went to his death with 'his' orphans), and his deeply authentic, and unusually passionate commitment to children and youth of Ontario, especially those on Native Reserves, in group homes and foster care.

Throughout out talk, Irwin told stories about his decade as 'the' chief advocate of Canada's most populated province, Ontario. At around the 9:40 minute mark of the show, Irwin, a Jew from Quebec, discussed his visit to Japan to see group-homes which house up to 100 children. A staff member there said to him, "oh, you're Jewish? You must know Janusz Korczak?". Irwin had never heard of Korczak despite having been ensconced in the world of teaching, learning and child care. Immediately he set about learning about this man,considered by Europeans as the 'Father of children's rights'.

As his career progressed, Irwin recognized he was doing similar things with the children of Ontario as Korczak had done in Poland with his orphans. As an example Irwin launched a newsletter run by the  kids for the kids, just as Korczak had done. He encouraged the children on Reserves and those in group-homes (who saw themselves as being in 'storage') to speak loudly, to manage their own voice, to make adults hear them, just as Korczak had done. Eventually, he printed up well over 1000 books  written by a 'Korczak orphan' and distribute it to all his staff and those affiliated with his work. 

At the 16:20 mark of our schmooze, Irwin tells about his upbringing, by parents who believed in the concept of repairing the world. Irwin's Mom told him, "you are not allowed to hate anyone".  Even when he talks about his the Federal Minister who was responsible for closing the 'Advocacy office without explanation', Irwin expressed without hesitancy, "I am angry at her", but he never hated her (despite the fact he heard about the office closing through his staff who had heard a report on CBC radio). Nor does he hate adults who are responsible for the suffering of children. 

At 1:42:50 of the interview, Irwin continued his story-telling answers to my questions. He said, "I've struggled to figure out why does it (the situation of the children he deals with) not make me sad." He answered his own question stating, "I'm an actor in the world so I'm doing my part.......I also believe in them (the children). They're okay. And if they're not okay, they can be okay....and I know that all the thousands of children who worked through our office, including children on the Native reserves,  had created change to the province of Ontario...they had influenced the way children's voices are thought about." 

In Episode 30, Irwin Elman repeated over and over, just like Korczak did, that it's not possible to legislate love however "you can legislate the condition in which love can flourish". This was told to him by one of his youth. Irwin added, if Korczak could give the children a voice in a ghetto in Poland during the war, why can't we do the same in an industrialized nation like Canada, in peace time. 

This is a dynamic interview with a regular guy, who is challenged by doing laundry at home (he didn't know there were rules). Irwin would go where the children were if they wanted to meet him. He stayed on the Attawapiskat Reserve for a week, where child/youth suicide had become a crisis. And Irwin knows first hand, better than anyone, the needs of children and youth in our Ontario.

Listen to: 

The thimble story at a group-home in Coboconk, Ontario, at 57:30 

Mr. Kleky story, and how one person can make a difference in a person's life, at 1:08:27

Irwin's reference to himself as 'a kite', at 1:48:55

The Korczak story, 'the cake tasted like love', at 1:54:00

Once again, I was deeply honored to share this time with Irwin Elman, who has accomplished a lot to date, in his lifetime. He told me he doesn't experience self-pride when he reviews his career at the provinces number one advocate, but instead looks at the kids and what they have done. That's impressive. Have a listen to episode 30 and be inspired, deeply. If you're not, let me know and we'll return the hour and a fifty minutes to you.  Hatradio! The show that schmoozes! 

                                   "We Can do this" - Irwin Elman

 _________________________________________________________________________________ Credit to Howard Pasternack for his post-producation work as well as to David Nefesh, for the Hatradio! song. Hear David's musical genius at:  https://www.reverbnation.com/davidnefesh

Credit for music in commercial:
Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 29 - Rachel Mamann: The Superstar Kindergarten Teacher

“True teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross; then, having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create their
own." ― Nikos Kazantzakis

She lives in a pretty regular neighborhood. It's nice. She's in her mid-forties and is a Moroccan Jew. Her husband, Sasha, is a lovely fellow, an only child, a protector, originally from Serbia. She herself comes from an enormous family who "love hard". Really hard. They loved me hard.

She's someones daughter. She's many people's friend and her name is Rachel Mamann. The thing is, she is a superstar kindergarten teacher. That's what I say.  And I do because I've known Rachel for a long time and I've learned how she thinks, how she behaves. She is what we would call, 'out of the box'. I remember how my old, dear friend once had a sick tropical fish and she plopped a Tylenol into the aquarium. The fish got better. I tried that years later. My fish died. 

Rachel whispers in conversation, to get your attention, but more so to create peace. She comes from loud. She said in this interview, "I always want more friends." And then added that the idea of managing friendships is nonsense because friendships are not to be managed.

Like a kindergarten student's own perception of life, Rachel describes her love for Sasha, like the sky. "It's like the ocean".  You mean it's vast?  She smiled, a beautiful smile. And I detected tears of appreciation in her eyes. 

"I don't generally have to work loving someone." - Rachel Mamann

I believe Rachel is one of those teachers we'll talk about. I say this because her approach to teaching four, five and six year old children is organic. It is routed in love. I said to her, "you know how to love". Her response: "I was loved". I pushed the point and Rachel responded: "there's a lot to love". 

Rachel closes the door of her classrooms and dances with the children. If someone won't dance, "then we all hurt. It's like family". If one child in her classroom hurts another one, they form a circle, and talk it out.  It's what the Natives have taught us. Restorative justice.  

Rachel stated in episode 29 of Hatradio!, "We really, really, really need to know how incredible their (the children's) minds are. We dumb things down and that is wrong. I make an effort to not do that." She says that when the school year is over, and she and the students part, "it is horrible".

I said "horrible". She said "yes". I asked her if I could join her class. I don't care that I have to go back to kindergarten. She smiled and said, "join us". I might.

Rachel concludes: "I hope I taught (my students) to be mindful of others. To care about themselves and others."  I believe she has. 

I loved doing this interview with my old friend. Hopefully you'll enjoy listening. It is very special. Let me know your thoughts at info@hatradio.ca. 

Rachel Mamman, the superstar teacher on Hatradio! The show that schmoozes.  

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” 
― Malala Yousafzai, I am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood up for Education and Was shot by the Taliban.

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Thank you to David Nefesh for the show's intro song and extro. And thanks as well to Howard Pasternack for her post-production work. They make the show something special!

Music in Commercial:
"Slow Burn" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) 
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 28 Vac & Danny: A Show on The Vomit of Poverty & The Elegance of Survival

Welcome to Episode 28 of Hatradio! . This show is different than the others as I recorded it one on the road, in a low-cost housing environment. I did so I could have the chance to speak to two very charming, humorous and intelligent fellows, deeply impoverished, physically busted and essentially surviving from day to day. 

Here's what you'll learn throughout the show: The room was small and quickly filled up with smoke. Strangely, after having quit smoking close to thirty years ago, I wanted a cigarette. In my mind, I asked for one.

The two men, Vac Verikaitis and Danny Saroff are in their sixties. They are well-spoken, highly intelligent, funny as  hell, well-read and engaging. At one point Danny drew upon Greek mythology to make his point about the beauty of horses (and his love of horse-racing). 

Danny has been homeless on-and-off over the years. Vac got really close prior to securing a room in this building where mental health illness is abound, and curdling nightly screams jolt tenants awake. Throughout our schmooze both my guests drank beer and smoked. Danny has had lung cancer, two strokes and is an alcoholic. Vac has had heart challenges, numerous muscle injuries and recent surgeries and is an alchoholic. But regardless, they imbibed and dragged on smokes while we talked.

I'm not standing in judgement of Danny and Vac. Not at all. I know how smokes and drink can be a friend when you're suffering badly and family and friends aren't around. I have my own addictions. But clearly these habits, while part of their survival mode, are reflective of a certain hopelessness with comes with poverty. Poverty is expensive and knowing resources just won't come, pushes you down, over and over again.  Would you smoke or drink in their shoes? Damn right.

Vac was a semi-professional soccer goalie. He was a superlative Formula-1 journalist and is an award winning documentarian. My handsome Lithuanian friend from way back, speaks four or so languages and is an awesome cook. Danny, was a cab driver who made pretty good cash, and had two accomplished lovers whom he lived with, one of whom was a high-profile journalist with a Canadian newspaper. He looks younger than his sixty-six years, speaks intelligently and cogently about his atheism, passion for the ponies (which includes an appreciation of the smell of horse shit. I get that), excitement of Kentucky Derby day over Christmas and an acceptance of not being liked by everyone. "I wouldn't be doing some right, if everyone liked me," Danny said.

Both of them use a walker. Their gait is careful.

 

There were some technical problems during the show and you'll notice the interview stops abruptly. Equipment malfunction. That's bullshit. It was my ineptness. But you know, that was okay, because it just added to the rawness and unbridled nature of my schmooze with Danny and Vac. But I felt badly when the computer shut off, and I Vac was in the middle of an important soliloquy in which he rarely said 'um'. His eyes lowered knowing his voice had to stop. 

Not sure why exactly, but there was a certain comfort I felt in their environment, more so than what i often feel in rich opulent homes I've been in; a particular safeness I experienced with these fellows who spend their days surviving. Vac and Danny have no airs about them. There was no falseness in that diminutive room (except perhaps for what I missed). What ever exited my friend's mouths, was fine.  There masks had left them many years prior - no strengths to keep them on or simply no reason.  I felt a type of authenticity myself. Their's was somewhat infectious. But I've always felt this. My Dad translated that into having 'bad friends'. Dads! 

So that's what you'll hear in Episode 28 of Hatradio! Joy and melancholy. Intelligence and street. Coughing, hacking and elegance. What you might illicit from this show is that Vac and Danny were once little boys, someone's children, who grew into men battered by poverty, a system that can rip the kishkas out of you, but who did so with huge doses of style and peonage. 

Take out of this show, that those indigent guys and women you see leaning against a wall to brace themselves from falling, might explain Neitzsche better than Professor Grossbaum could or certainly more astutely than those idiots who go around physically bashing homeless in the head, because of their disgusting demons.

Know that Vac and Danny will share a beer with you (not sure if their last one), when people with affluence might horde their suds;  that within poverty is a clarity about life, a generosity of spirit sometimes couched in vomit, but that sloughs off that layer of 'I'll be who you want me to be'.

Is this simple to get, or even to explain? No. But I know something important happened in that room. Listen closely. Tell me what you hear from Vac and Danny. Tell me what truth you uncover from my time with two very complex and simple guys on a hot, muggy day in downtown Toronto. 

Hatradio! It's the show that schmoozes.    

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Yisha ko'ach (yiddish for 'well done') to Howard Pasternack for his post-production work, accomplished like a true engineer. Thank you too, to David 'Middleman' Nefesh for the Hatradio! song. Have a listen to David on Youtube......man has a voice like an angel. 

Credit for music in commercial:
Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 27 Benjamin Shinewald: A Worldly Winnipeger Destined to be a Forklift Driver

Welcome to Episode 27 of Hatradio! with our guest, Benjamin (Benjy) Shinewald. 

A question I always ask myself when I write these blurbs is, why did I bring this particular person on Hatradio! I'm not willy-nilly about my choice of guests. Not at all! I am very particular in fact, as I want to interview folks who are articulate and can express their narrative in a cogent fashion. I delight in schmoozing with a man or woman who has a colorful past. And mostly I enjoy nice people who are thoughtful and by definition, inspiring.

All of that being said, Benjy was an obvious choice 0as a guest because he is a fine person who is highly inspiring. He has a sweet disposition and from what I know about him through the time we worked together at Ve'ahavta (Benjy is on the board), and when he was the CEO of Canadian Jewish Congress, Benjy has always displayed generosity of spirit - a trait that is paramount to the strengthening of our world.

A good example of that, is Benjy's thoughts on his memorial article in the Canadian Jewish News having to do with his Jewish school teacher, the late Mr. Berger. Benjy didn't eulogize the man as if he was a superstar or a hero. Instead he recognized the passion his teacher had for the kids and for learning and turned that into something organically epic, small town big. He reminded us that our teachers, often lead us intellectually and ethically, quietly, stick in hand, in a way that can impact on us forever. And we can imagine Mr. Berger's leadership. And that image parks itself on a shelf somewhere, deep down in our soul.

That generosity of spirit is a big deal in our day and age, in fact at any time in history. It's the niceness, the decency, the caring for others that allows our world to edge forward ever so slightly, a step at a time. Listen to this show. Be conscious of Benjy's compliments for his family (especially his 106 year-old grandma), his colleagues and the kind words he directs toward me. It's subtle but incredibly important.

We like people like that. Mostly, they are the ones we want to make our friends.

The other thing that compelled me to ask Benjy to be a guest is that he is bright. The man has developed his intellect. Not so much like a Talmudic scholar, but more so like a well-read neighbor, with a fertile curiosity and a drive to know and uncover. You'll detect this in our guest a number of times when he replies to a question, "I haven't really thought of this", or "Good question, Avrum". It's clear from these short retorts, that Benjy did not come Hatradio! to simply toss out answers to stuff. He's not fluffy. Benjy was there to share with us truths he'd arrived at or postulations he'd mulled about, or to say, "I don't know". We had an honest, thoughtful dialogue, one which I believe will compel the listener to consider alternatives. 

 

There's a lot more to the interview like: Benjy's many trips abroad and visits to synagogues in far away lands like Beijing, where he saw a mother-of-pearl inlaid ark; like his no-holds-barred challenge to Jewish leadership for being somewhat namby-pamby in its response to anti-Semitism; like his 9-year old wonderment and magical thinking, as to why his tie-wearing Dad, the boss, didn't ride the forklift at his work all day instead of administering systems from his office. And yes, we're privy too, to Benjamin's work on the Privy Council and his toil today bringing green to buildings in Canada and around the world. 

I chose Benjamin Schinewald as a guest on Episode 27 of Hatradio! because there are aspects of his character that I'd like to emulate, and suspect others would as well. Again, this father of two girls, is a decent sort full of love for all personkind, caring and he's bright with the nuts to be contentious. And yes, Benjy is a tad off balance just like the rest of us.  But that just adds to the layers of excitement in our schmooze.

Enjoy! It's a good show. I liked doing it with Benjy. Please share it with others and be in touch with any questions or suggestions for guests at info@hatradio.ca. 

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes (with regular folk).

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Thanks to David Nefesh for the Hatradio! blues song. A pat on the back to Howard Pasternack for his post- production, like deletions of coughs and finger tapping on the Hatradio! table, and goofy things I said that I'm too embarrassed to share with you. :) 

Credit for music in commercial:
Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 26 - Aaron Lightstone: His Metronome is a Dying Person's Heart

This show includes live, moving, beautiful Yiddish music including 'Shein Vi Di Levone' - 'Beautiful Like the Moon' at 58:00 minutes. Be inspired. Share it!)

Learn about 'Quickenings' through music, when a person with dementia comes out of themselves. Fascinating!  

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Welcome to Episode 26 with Aaron Lightstone. For some reason I am feeling an overwhelming sense of joy and awe because of this schmooze. These feelings started when I booked Aaron, a friend of twenty years, to do the show, and were strong throughout the interview and afterward. I believe the reason my response is so powerful is because..... 

Aaron Lightstone is mostly a music therapist at heart. For about 50 minutes of this 80 minute episode, Aaron talks about playing music for people who are dying. Think about that. A person is leaving this earth and their loved ones asks a man who is well-trained as a therapist, is highly proficient on the guitar and who can sing, to join the most private inner sanctums a family can create where the soul of a family member is slowly escaping them and beginning to rise toward the heavens. And Aaron does join them. And he is entirely present through his music, throughout the divine journey starting on earth, that man/woman are taking. What an honor.

While in the room, Aaron plays music the individual loves. He tells us in this interview, how he listens for the dying man's or woman's breathe and he plays according to its rhythm.  My God! His metronome is the person's heart beat.

Sometimes Aaron plays and sings Yiddish songs and other times, improvised notes and chords built upon eastern music.

- LISTEN TO THE IMPROVISED MUSIC. CLOSE YOUR EYES. IMAGINE, BEING IN THAT ROOM. 

- LISTEN TO AARON'S RENDITION OF TWO BEAUTIFUL YIDDISH SONGS HE PLAYED FOR A WOMAN WITH ADVANCED DEMENTIA. DURING THIS EPISODE.  THIS BEAUTIFUL MAN HAS A STIRRING VOICE AND IS SIMPLY MAGNIFICENT AT BRINGING OUT THE SOUL OF JEWISH SONG. IMAGINE WHAT THE ELDERLY WOMAN FELT WHEN HE WAS PERFORMING JUST FOR HER.     

Episode 26 of Hatradio! is spiritual in nature. Listening to it is like hanging out in the forest surrounded by nature's brilliance. Near the second half of the show, Aaron tells us about a band he helped create made up of members with severe physical ailments such as cystic fibrosis. It is called Bliss I-Band. Their instruments? The I-pad. How do some play their instrument? Well Samantha, a member, moves her head and buttons on her the headrest on her wheelchair sends a message to her I-Pad and she plays.

Listen to this Youtube video. 'Heart of Gold' by Neil Young...perhaps one of the coolest jam ever, just like the leaves on a tree. 

(https://youtu.be/F07j_oGbhRc - watch this video on Youtube about the Bliss I-Band) 

Near the end of the show, Aaron and I schmoozed about Jaffa Road, a fusion band he formed in which he plays the oud, guitar and is a composer of many of its songs. Under Aaron’s leadership Jaffa Road has toured widely in North America, won a Canadian Folk Music Award (CFMA), the John Lennon Songwriting contest, and has 2 JUNO Award nominations.

So, I think I love this interview so much because I felt I was with an individual who is a regular guy who performs acts of kindness and who repairs the world a lot, through his music. I want to do what he does. I want to emulate his kindness. I believe, simply put, this shows personifies what Hatradio! is setting out to do....to inspire through regular folks. 

What a wonderful world we share.   Hatradio!  The show that schmoozes (with regular folks). 

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Thank you Howard Pasternack for your post-production work. I love my Thursday nights with you. Well done to David Nefesh, a fine singer/songwriter, for his HATRADIO! song. You start and finish the show. You're our holy book-ends Dave! :) 


Credit for music in commercial: 
Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 25 -- Greg Rogers: Brash, Compassionate...a Man with a Walrus Penis Collection

Greg Rogers is from Fredericton, New Brunswick. He has an accent from Eastern Canada. He stands about 6 feet and has longish white hair with wicked sideburns. The thing about Greg is, he's as brash and straightforward as you want people to be with no qualms about calling anyone out, especially himself. 

My old friend, 62 years old, who helped me when Ve'ahavta was established as the executive director of Na Me Res (Native Men's Residence), told me in the interview about his walrus penis collection. He told me the first term he learned in Inuktituk which directed as his wife to be, "pull down your pants".  He told me a story of a 'zaidy' (Yiddish for grandfather), whose family lived in his building out east, who used to take all the kids in the neighborhood out in his Cadillac on Sunday. And Greg said, one day something went wrong in the house and he (Greg) called the Zaidy, 'you dirty Jew'.  He said, "that's how i thanked him for taking us out. I'm ashamed of myself." 

The man does not follow convention when it comes to schmoozing. He says what's on his mind, exactly in the way he hears stuff in his head. That is refreshing because so many of us are just so full of shit and believe our own fiction.  

And the thing about Greg is (and he denies this) he is a highly compassionate human being having spent most of his working-life managing non-profits, usually assisting the homeless. He and his wife adopted two children, and he has the ability to understand individuals especially very complex ones. Listen to this episode and discover:

1.   Greg's overwhelming love for his wife, and their romance in Northern Canada (he sent her love notes every day for a year in her native language).

2.   Our shared discussion about the early days of Ve'ahavta and Na Me Res, especially when his clients offered to scrub swastikas off tombstones in a Jewish cemetery in eastern Toronto, and ultimately did so.

3. His thoughts about hatred, racism, good and kindness. He candidly and honestly tells us about his early dislike of French Canadians, which he eventually overcame.  

Greg is an honest, non-judgmental man. He looks at himself and fixes what is broken inside of him. He feels entirely blessed to have a woman he loves (married for 32 years), a wonderful career and great experiences in life.

Greg is a man to emulate and to be inspired by. And they simply don't get funnier that he is.

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes. 

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Yisha Ko'ach (Yiddish for 'way to go') to David Nefesh for the Hatradio! song, and to Howard Pasternack for his post-production work. They help make the show what it is. 

Credit for music in commercial:
Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 24 Avrum Rosensweig, Just Me!

THIS EPISODE IS IN MEMORY OF OUR CHILDREN WHO DIED OF HIV/AIDS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA, OR WHO BECAME ORPHANS BECAUSE OF IT. IT IS IN MEMORY OF OUR NEIGHBORS, WHO LIVED ON THE STREETS OF OUR TOWN AND DIED THERE THIS PAST WINTER. REST IN PEACE. THANK YOU FOR COMING OUR WAY! 

Episode 24 of Hatradio! is a first of its kind. It is a 1-man show, Just me!.

I quite enjoyed doing this segment. I enjoyed it because it gave me the chance to talk and hear my own history and how tikun olam (repairing the world) was so prevalent and a lead up to the creation of Ve'ahavta.

Doing this show was therapeutic. It allowed revisit my past and 'hang out' with my zaidies and boobies (grandfathers and grandmothers). I adored telling the story of my mother, Gitel, walking through Queens Park with her father on Shabbat, seeing that image in my head....the squirrels running past them, the two of them sitting on a bench giggling and telling stories about the old country. I loved talking about my father, Shragah Phyvle, and his two brothers, all of whom were community builders, and cared deeply about the Jewish people and Israel. 

I think when you hear about my family, their journey from Easter Europe and the solid lives they made in the West, you might consider aspects of your own life, your parents and grandparents. You might smell the mothballs in their homes as we did in our grandparent's home, and recall the communication challenges you had with the Boobie, as we did. They were warriors though. They worked arduously. They were beautiful spirits. They lived their lives with verve and purpose and truckloads of love.  

And then their is the second half of the show about the genesis of Ve'ahavta. Man, those were something. They were glorious and golden years. Everything shone. I remember telling my girlfriend at the time, Roz, to remember the coat-hanger we'd purchased for our new office because it was the first coat-hanger of the first Jewish humanitarian organization ever.

In this segment you'll hear about our homeless initiatives including our Mobile Jewish Response to the Homeless and our Ve'ahavta Street Academy for the Homeless.  You'll learn about our international work including medical missions to Guyana in Bartica and the rainforests, and the outstanding work we did with our teams through the brilliant efforts of Dr. Michael Silverman. You'll discover our successes at the Howard Hospital in Zimbabwe, through the tenacity of Scarborough born, Dr. Paul Thistle who has made a life for himself there.

Folks, we met superstars. We were mentored by them. We shared with them. We were exposed to divergent cultures, different peoples, the children! Oh, the children! 

Our toil was holy in its own way and I loved every minute of it.  Every frickin minute. 

The greatest challenge doing this podcast was being articulate throughout the 1 hour and 40 minutes but mostly telling a good story, that flowed, was cogent and consistent - that made sense.  Howard and I worked on the post-production and while it wasn't the most editing we'd ever done we had to listen closely to ensure a poetry of words. And I think we figured it out. I think you'll enjoy the show.

Have a listen and let me know what you think. Share this link as I am hoping people will be encouraged through it to pursue their own dreams and enhance our world and those whom we share this planet with. 'm hoping our community of listeners here, will see their blessings and recognize what we have, versus what we lack. That is not easy, but it is do-able. 

Hatradio! The show that schmoozes (with regular folk). 

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Thank you to David Nefesh for creating the Hatradio! song. David's been my brother since we're eight year old. We adopted each other. He's talented as hell. Do a google search on David Nefesh and listen to his music. He has a voice of an angle and his lyrics live.  And thank you to Howard Pasternack, my friend, for his post-production work which he does consistently every Thursday afternoon - Thursdays with Howard. We have amazing times together, editing but more so, attempting to understand the world. He's a fine teacher and cerebral partner. Well done Howard! 

Credit for music in commercial:
Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Episode 23 Massimo Capra: A Joyous Culinary Superstar

Massimo Capra was thirteen, living in a small town in Italy, when he first started working in a kitchen. Today Massimo is fifty-nine and a superstar in the Canadian culinary industry. If you’re into restaurants, familiar with Prego, Mistura and good food, then you’ve heard of Massimo and/or delighted in his handy work - superlative food. 

But the real thing I've discovered about Massimo, over the years and through this interview, is that he is a decent man with a generous spirit. Indeed, Massimo does not reflect those silly stereotypes we frequently see of head chefs. In his words, "it's hard to bring out the ugly" in him.

Massimo is the type of fellow you feel safe around. He laughs a lot even when we schmoozed about his near-death experience last year. He told us, the doctors said he may not live through the night, and Massimo laughed. (I didn't when I had my heart attacks). It's clear, humor is the walking stick he leans on unabashedly! And his thick Italian accent makes every sentence he utters seem so damn fun, tasty and scenic!  

 

Massimo is the son of a dairy farmer. They were "poor, poor, poor". So early on this highly talented man, learned about sharing. Massimo understood he'd have to work his ass off  to accomplish his dream of one day being a self-made man. Today he is. Massimo owns a successful restaurant in Clarkson, called Capra Kitchen and has three others licensed in his name: one in Niagara Falls, another at Toronto airport and a third in Qatar. And he found love over thirty years ago. He adores his wife. 

When I opened the door to my place to greet Massimo, I was delighted he had brought with him his beautiful Rosa. I think he did because he likes being with her and she clearly gives him lots of support. Similarly, Marty Galin was the co-host of this show and all of us go way back as buds.

Rosa and Massimo seem the type of couple who hold hands after a few decades of being together. You know those couples? 

Rosa is a demur, quiet but a strong woman who gives balance to Massimo's very effusive and big character. The two suffered a terrible loss last year when their son, Andrew passed away in Prague. Man, such a loss! Sometimes i was unable to find words to say to them (like we all get after hearing of such a tragedy). Marty and I knew Andrew. He was a good kid.

But in truth, Massimo and Rosa have strong inner selves, powerful love between them and their son, Daniel, and they are rooted firmly to the ground. I like to think this interview helped to bring Andrew to life in a way, for a moment, and give his parents some happiness at the gift of having had him as their son. Rest in peace, dear Andrew.

I like to think Hatradio! has the ability to give people gifts.

So this episode (23) of Hatradio! is a special show because Massimo, Rosa, Marty and I were back together again. It was like the old times, days passed when we were all involved in TV shows like ‘Beer Buddies’ and many radio shows. We reminisced about those days and our famous dinners at Mistura Restaurant, an upscale eatery once co-owned by Massimo. We thanked Massimo for taking Marty and me seriously. Some chefs did not. 

We schmoozed about the genesis of Massimo's beet risotto;  the process of creating recipes; how Massimo was never interested in being the best (i think he wanted just to be happy); how he was kicked and abused by mentor-chefs in his early days (sometimes the stereotypes are true) and his appreciation of our friendship and the gifts he has in life. 

Listen carefully to our interview with Massimo Capra, and be inspired by his joy (real joy, not the bullshit joy people put on), his drive to create and his intentionally strong hold on every second of life. Hear his laughter. You get this sense he's mocking the devil and saying, 'you'll not make me unhappy Devil. I love life way too much.' 

Hatradio! It's the show that schmoozes (with regular folk). 

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Credit for Music, the very talented, David Nefesh.  Credit for post-production:  the very detailed (unlike me), Howard Pasternack.

Credit for music in commercial:
Slow Burn Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/