BP: The ease of access to the vocalized Hebrew text and English, along with the consolidation into a weekly magazine format makes learning on the road possible.  Combine that with the accessibility of Chabad Podcasts such as Tanya with Rabbi Mannis Friedman and life is pretty good!

Which sections in Chayenu do you enjoy and why?

BP: I enjoy the sections on Chassidus and Tanya.  Again, large volumes of incredibly deep work are broken down into parts, that are digestible, which you can actually use and apply to daily life.

How has Chayenu positively affected your life and those around you?

Studying in general, and through the use of Chayenu as a guide, has significantly deepend my observance and studies.  It is hard to put into words the energy and feeling it generates after a long day of work, being able to study some Chassidus before davening maariv, and getting ready for bed.

On a larger scale, it has made me a better husband and father.  The delivery of the publication every month has highlighted a number of other Jewish personnel on the team and will hopefully serve as a tool to bring them closer to Hashem in the manner it has served me.

Where is the place you least expected to experience Chayenu?

BP: Here, in the middle of Winter Training in the Imperial Valley of California!

Do you have an interesting story to share about Chayenu?

BP: My wife and I have been in the process of adopting a son for the past six months, and we were both at a really low point.  We were frustrated that it was taking so long to place him in our home and the way he and our family were being treated by the current foster parents.  It had really been a trying few days.  It happened to be the week of the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Yahrtzeit.  Of course Basi L’Gani was a focus in Chayenu, along with other customs surrounding the observance, one of which was to send a letter to the Ohel.  I sat down and wrote a pidyon nefesh, asking for a  blessing that the son we were trying to adopt would be placed with us soon.  The very next day we received word that he would be in our home by Shabbos!  It was truly remarkable.

What would you say to people who have not yet subscribed to Chayenu?

BP: Do it! I am able to leave my seforim at home where they are safe and can inspire my children, while learning more than I ever thought possible.

        LT Bryan Pace

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Jerry with Shliach Rabbi Levi Mendelow @ Chabad Annual Kinus

Chayenu: Tell us a little about yourself and your background with Yiddishkeit?

Jerry Fensterstock: I live in upper Westchester County, I retired about ten years ago, after a forty-year career at IBM. During that time I was fortunate enough to travel all over the world and had a variety of challenging assignments. But, I have to say, that during that period, my contact with Judaism was episodic, at best. I was the prototypical three times a year Jew.

I was raised in a Conservative Jewish household where we kept Kosher and observed the holidays, but after my Bar Mitzvah my Jewish education remained frozen for the next fifty years. So, for most of my life, my appreciation of Judaism was through the eyes of a thirteen year old.

CH: When did exposure to Judaism change?

JF: That changed after I retired. I decided that I needed some structure in my day, and after reading about the new cycle of Daf Yomi that was about to begin, decided to give learning Talmud a go. Along with a group of friends, we began a Talmud study group. I found the Talmud to be absolutely fascinating. After I was in it for a while I came across an advertisement for a class at a local Chabad called “You Be The Judge.” It linked the Talmud to current legal issues. After a few sessions I was hooked. That led to numerous Chabad classes. As my knowledge increased, so did my level of observance at my Conservative synagogue. I was now attending services every Shabbat and taking adult education courses. After a fifty-year hiatus, my Jewish education had resumed in earnest. The ultimate expression of this is that now, after many years of study, I am teaching adult education classes at my synagogue in Talmud, Pirkei Avot and Tanya.

A major milestone for me was attending the Siyum HaShas after completing the seven and a half years of Daf Yomi. When I started, I really had no idea if I would get all the way through. The Rabbi at my Conservative synagogue also celebrated the occasion by explaining to the congregation the nature of the accomplishment and giving me an aliya that Shabbat. Now I am on my second cycle and enjoying it even more.

CH: How were you first introduced to Chayenu?

JF: At some point, at the Chabad, I came upon a copy of Chayenu. I had no idea that such a publication existed. As I was now a regular synagogue attendee, theChabad Rabbi, Rabbi Levi Mendelow, suggested that I study the daily Chumash with Rashi as a preparation to the weekly Torah reading. It quickly became a regular part of my daily study regimen. Although, of course, I was familiar with Rashi from my Talmud study, reading his commentary on each day’s Torah portion gave me all kinds of new insights.

CH: Which sections in Chayenu do you enjoy and why?

JF: Rashi still continues to fascinate me. And so the Chumash with Rashi remains my favorite section. I find that the footnotes are also extremely informative. Associated with that, I also like the Daily Parsha Insights from the Rebbe. This year I started the chapter a day of Mishneh Torah and am finding that it is a great complement to my Talmud study. I also find that the HaYom-Yom provides some wonderful tid-bits of wisdom from the Rebbe. Each year I try to add a new section to my daily reading program.

CH: How has Chayenu positively affected your life and those around you?

JF: As I mentioned earlier, Chayenu has become a part of my daily study program, along with Daf Yomi and Tehillim. I find that having this block of time set aside provides an anchor of stability in an otherwise hectic day. Since retiring, and getting reconnected with Judaism, I have become very active at my synagogue as well as at Chabad. Under Rabbi Mendelow’s gentle tutelage my involvement with Chabad has now grown to include attending the annual kinus of Shluchim, frequent trips to the Rebbe’s Ohel and attendance at JLI retreats. My daily study of Chayenu has given me a foundation of knowledge that forms a basis for an increasing range of activities. I am participating in, or running programs on a regular basis. Being able to sit down with Chayenu is something that I look forward to each day. I know that for that period of time I can be totally absorbed in Jewish wisdom. For all the years I was working, I spent the majority of my day trying to improve the fortunes of my company. Now, with my daily study, I can spend my time trying to improve myself. Chayenu is a major part of that effort.

CH: Where is the least place you expected to experience Chayenu?

JF: Several years ago my wife and I took a trip to China. As the digital version was not yet available, I made sure to take the next three weeks’ books with me. I assume that I am the only person to have ever flown from Xian to Beijing while reading Rashi’s commentary during the flight.

CH: Do you have an interesting experience to share about Chayenu?

JF: About three years ago I started a parsha discussion group at my synagogue before services on Shabbat mornings. In leading the discussion I rely heavily upon the Rashi commentary in Chayenu. I also draw upon the parsha overview. In addition, I often bring in one or more of the Rebbe’s parsha insights. After several months of this activity, some of the attendees started asking me what was the little magazine that I was reading from? So, I introduced a bunch of Conservative Jews to Chayenu. At this point, a number of them have subscribed and read it regularly. This has dramatically enriched the level of the discussion.

CH: What would you say to people who have not yet subscribed to Chayenu?

JF: Chayenu is the most effective way to implement a self-study program to raise your level of Jewish knowledge. Daily study is at the heart of being Jewish. And Chayenu brings it right to your doorstep. What are you waiting for?

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Tuvya with one of his grandchildren CH: Tell us about your background and your journey to Yiddishkeit? TS: I was born and raised in Columbus Ohio. I did not attend Jewish day-school (it was not established until 1958) and my Chinuch (Jewish education) consisted of private lessons geared towards my Bar-Mitzva preparation. Although my parents, of blessed memory, had a great respect for Yiddishkeit and chinuch (my family were among the founders of the local Jewish day-school), growing up in an out of town community in the 1950s, I did not have many Jewish educational options.

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The truth is it’s not a mistake. Chayenu really is a prescription, and thus the Freudian slip. Chayenu is a prescription for life curing many ailments.

And yes, we find that this particular remedy, is in fact highly addictive. Which is why we take this responsibility very seriously. We are vigilant with the content we include in Chayenu- always ensuring it’s accurate  relevant and fresh. We also take pride in our exceptional delivery policy- if you haven’t received your Chayenu for the coming week by Wednesday, contact us and we will expedite replacements ASAP free of charge.

After all, we wouldn’t want anyone to get CWS (Chayenu Withdrawal Syndrome), for which only a Chayenu subscription is a known cure.

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“Kalalau” is an 11-mile hike on the Napali (meaning: Cliffs) Coast of Kauai – Hawaii’s Garden Island.
Kalalau Beach is only accessible, either by foot (11 miles into the mountains from where the road ends) or by boat (when the strong currents and pounding surf allow for it). It is one of the most spectacular places in the world.
This remote beach – besides from the breath-taking scenery – also the Westernmost point.

In this photo, Rabbi Moshe Shemtov of Uruguay is seen learning Torah from his Chayenu, while on the Kalalau Trail (at Hanikapai Beach).
Moshe spent the High Holidays in Hilo on The Big Island, working with Rabbi Avraham Chazanow, the local Chabad Shaliach. He, along with two others, ran the services on the island’s Eastern side.
After successful Yomim-Tovim on Big Island, Rabbi Chazanow – who is renown for his endless energy – flew over with his brother-in-law, Mendy Krasnjansky and Rabbi Moshe Shemtov to do the world-renown Kalalau Trail.
Given that it was Chol HaMoed Sukkos, the trio had to secure a Lulav and Esrog before/after the trail, as well as taking along tools to build a temporary Sukkah on the remote beaches.

The group were boated out by a local Hawaiian fisherman, who took them along the coast (from where the road ends), where they had to jump off into the ocean, together with their belongings, and swim 100 feet to shore.
They, then hiked the trail over the next day and half.

Moshe Shemtov took along his Chayenu, not to miss even one day of Torah learning.
Bringing the timeless teachings of Torah to the furthest, most remote parts of earth!

More about the trail, visit www.KalalauTrail.com

Chayenu reaches Kalalau

HERE is a link to Kalalau Beach image

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Prophetically so. I needed a magazine, delivered to my door every week. The magazine needed to be packed with meaningful content. I wanted to be able to either study the contents in-depth or glance through the magazine when I had a couple of minutes to spare. It had to be based on Torah. I’m a Jew and some random Christian-evangelical weekly publication wouldn’t do it for me. Oh, I also needed the magazine to change my life.

Now in terms of tools, I had Google and a Visa issued credit card. That was it.
I launched Google on Chrome, my favorite browser, and typed; “Please help me find a weekly Torah magazine that features classic and original content, is; stimulating, inspirational, practical and accessible for the layman and scholar alike, can be delivered to my door and will change my life!”

Astonishingly, the results for that query were exactly zero. Great niche though, and I made a mental note to pursue with my publisher. Meanwhile, I still needed my fix and I had an endless amount of searches to use on Google. Thank G-d that’s still free- imagine if Larry and Sergey monetized each query? So with infinite possibilities at hand and the relentless desire to match my quest with the ultimate Torah magazine, I began hammering away at Google servers.

I can’t tell you how many possibilities and variations of the above query I tried. But I can tell you that I got lucky (the “I’m feeling lucky” feature on Google takes you directly to the first webpage that returns for your query). Finally, I found the right keywords that produced the exact result I was looking for: “Weekly torah magazine that will change my life” (You can try that). I whipped out my Visa and before I could say: “its freaky how Google knows what I need” I had subscribed to Chayenu.

Less than 10 days later the first batch of my Chayenu subscription arrived.

As I paged through the magazine with a cool satisfaction of having found what I needed to nourish my mind and soul, and the realization that despite Google and technology, print as a medium is not going away, I made another mental note to myself: no need to pursue with publisher. That specific niche has already been filled.

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During the day I am the owner of a risk management/insurance agency in Greenwich, CT. And let me tell you, it’s not easy to study, go to the gym and work.

About 3 years ago I saw a small booklet sitting on a table at my Chabad House and picked it up. This was the first copy of Chayenu and no one really knew what to make of it. No one was publicizing it and so I took it home.

At that time, I was struggling with deciding what to Torah learn and through a previous association with kabbalist Rabbi Leibel Wolf, he suggested a bit of Talmud and that I should add some practical learning.

This little booklet appeared at just the right time as the Rambam section was perfect for that. I was surprised at some of the information in Rambam. There are sections on food, the Temple, relations, sacrifices, death, kings, contracts and just about everything we run into all day long.

I always marveled at the guys who carried around a Dvar Malchus and would learn from it. I could not do that since I really can’t read Hebrew that well.

So today, every morning with my coffee, I sit with my Chayenu and read the day’s sections. Some of it is quite confusing and some is very practical. I do feel a bit like this isn’t enough, compared to the guys who are learning 3 chapters a day, but if you fall behind on a 3 chapter a day schedule, well, that would be hard to catch up on.

I consider this my first pass – just reading through it. Starting the 2nd cycle, I purchased part of the Rambam set so I could have the commentary and notes and I hope that will give me more info for my never-ending learning journey.

Chayenu is distributed around the world, and in prisons around the US.

Learn more and sign up to receive Chayenu at Chayenu.org.

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