In this spiritual journey, we call life, we all stumble and fall. For me, those stumbles led me down a path of addiction and incarceration. I felt like a captive being kicked in the face daily for no reason. Nobody understood my pain, and it seemed like nobody cared. Life was unfair, or so I…

Life is full of ups and downs, and sometimes the downs can be overwhelming. It can be challenging to see the light at the end of the tunnel, especially when we’re going through tough times. For the Jewish people, it is precisely when we are stretched to our breaking point when we feel like we…

Short Stories About The Hasidic Man, Rabbi Samet… If a person is blessed, he’ll meet a man one day, a Hasidic man who is more than the kippa on his head, more than the tzitzit hanging beside his legs, more than the mitzvot he performs, and more than the Torah that he studies.  A Jew…

77 days into being locked down, 24 hours a day, locked in our cells due to Covid-19, here in Otisville Prison, we had great hopes of the lockdown being lifted on July 1. The Covid rate was decreasing, and nobody in prison was sick from Covid. It finally looked like it was time for us…

As the Jewish people, we must understand that our most prized possession on this earth is the ability to serve H-shem and to study Torah. It isn’t about all the money, clothes, or cars in the world. It’s simply about serving H-shem wherever we may be and wherever we are. During the six years I…

  A Jew must always be aware to never engage in bitul Torah. But what exactly is bitul Torah? Isn’t it not engaging in Torah study every second of the day? May H-shem grant us the merit to be able to study Torah every second of the day. But sometimes it’s not practical. You might…

  In Chapter 2 of Faith and Trust, The Chazon Ish opens with a groundbreaking statement. “There is an old misconception rooted in the hearts of many when it comes to the concept of trust in H-shem [known as bitachon (trust)]. This term, used by the righteous to name a celebrated and central character trait,…

Growing up, my family wasn’t religious. The term “G-d” was rarely mentioned. We ate like everyone else; we lived like everyone else but rarely mentioned G-d. I knew that I was a Jew, and I’m sad to say that I wasn’t proud of it. Still, something inside of me always told me that I was…

I Barely Slept That Night I barely slept that night. Emotions of anxiety, happiness, euphoria, and excitement flowed through my body like a tornado as my release from six years in prison was imminent. It was finally today.  I thought about the day I came to prison. Worry and fear of what will happen to…

Even though Prison Was Hell… Six years in prison was hell. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world. It made me the observant Jewish man that I am today. It gave me a lot of strength and a will to fight hard. But it was very challenging. And one of the hardest things about…