Other Articles
The pages contains articles written by Michael Gros that have been published in various Jewish publications.
His Brother’s Keeper
Hamodia Magazine, December 8, 2010
When two non-observant brothers visited the concentration camps of Poland during high school, the experience launched them each on spiritual journeys of discovery. However it took them in completely different directions – one was inspired to become frum, while the other became so disenchanted that he left Judaism and became Christian. Their incredible story is one of passion, profound family love and the deep commitment of two brothers to help each other throughout it all.
A Cry From the Heart
Hamodia Magazine fiction section, November 17, 2010
The doors of the ER slid open and a pair of paramedics rushed in with another stretcher. This was the seventh injured child to arrive from the accident in the span of only a few minutes. When Dr. Avraham Gurya looked down at this patient, though, he gasped in recognition. The inert shape lying on the seventh stretcher was his son.
The Jewish Doctor
Aish.com, September 20, 2010
The small acts of kindness that a doctor witnessed 40 years ago changed his life and the lives of his patients.
A Man of Principles
Hamodia Magazine, August 18, 2010
Shimon Waronker has big plans for the U.S. public school system. He’s a Chabadnick from Crown Heights, a former officer in the U.S. army and a seasoned educator in New York City’s public schools. As a principal, he transformed one of the most violent schools in the city into a model of education and academic accomplishment. In September, Waronker is opening a radically new public school based on innovative educational principles. He even plans to open dozens of new schools nationwide based on its philosophy.
Polishing Souls Until They Shine
Hamodia Magazine, July 14 2010
After nearly fifty years in chinuch and kiruv, Rabbi Yehudah Silver looks back on the colorful people he has met and the remarkable events he has witnessed along the way, and looks forward to the work still to be done.
Despite Continued Anti-Semitism, Polish Jews Are Coming Home
Hamodia Magazine, Passover 2010
The Jewish community in Poland is today witnessing an epic story of rebirth, born out of the ashes of this century’s worst tragedy. Throughout the country, countless Poles who were raised as gentiles are coming to the startling recognition that they are actually Jewish. This brings them face-to-face with the challenges of how to live as a Jew in a country that is still riddled with anti-Semitism and is hostile to its Jewish community. But several rabbis and Jewish organizations are helping to guide these Jews back to their roots.
A Divine Partnership
Hamodia Magazine, March 10, 2010
Several years ago, Mayer Klein, a successful Missouri lawyer and president of the St. Louis Kollel, hit upon a startling new fundraising idea. Klein created a modern-day version of the Torah’s Yissachar-Zevulun partnership: the Kollel would daven for the success of a local businessman’s venture, and if it was successful, the Kollel would receive a percentage of the profits. This year alone, the St. Louis Kollel has its sights on making hundreds of thousands of dollars from the fundraising model. Organizations throughout the country are now following suit.
Illuminated Megillos Make the Purim Story Come Alive
Hamodia Magazine, February 25, 2010
Megillas Esther is replete with layers upon layers of hidden meanings. Throughout history and in communities around the world, sofrim and artists have produced beautiful scrolls with illustrations from midrashim and chazal to help uncover these secret messages.
A Shul And A Mission
Mishpacha Magazine, January 27, 2010
When Rabbi Emanuel Feldman handed over the reins of Atlanta’s Congregation Beth Jacob, Rabbi Ilan Feldman inherited a shul and a mission. The story of Beth Jacob is the incredible tale of observant and unaffiliated Jews working together to build institutions of Torah in the American South.
Searching for Hidden Treasure
Mishpacha Magazine, December 2, 2009
Rabbi Yitzchok Reisman, a sofer living in New York, made headlines recently through his involvement with the sale of a 700 year-old sefer Torah from Spain through Sotheby’s auction house. But for Rabbi Reisman, who collects, restores and writes sifrei Torah and other seforim, the sale was just one step in an electrifying lifetime journey. He has traveled the world researching and identifying ancient sifrei Torah, has made several remarkable discoveries and was even arrested once in Egypt under suspicion of being a spy.
Got A Minute?
Mishpacha Magazine, November 2009
Congregation Ariel, an outreach shul in the Dunwoody suburb of northern Atlanta, just completed a poignant learning program memorializing Holocaust victims. It began last year when Rabbi Binyomin Friedman challenged his members to collectively learn 1.2 million minutes of Torah in memory of the 1.2 million Jewish children killed in World War Two.