Image above - Dennis Prager speaks during Shabbat services at Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus in North Miami Beach. (Courtesy of Ariel Cuello)
Jewish Journal / Jun 02, 2022 at 5:24 pm
Beth Torah Benny Rok Campus in North Miami Beach hosted radio talk show host and writer Dennis Prager for its Shabbat services.
Prager is the co-founder of Prager U, short for Prager University, an advocacy group that creates videos from an American conservative perspective. He provided the special keynote presentation, “How to Raise a Mensch – How to Be a Mensch” during Beth Torah’s services.
Rabbi Mario Rojzman, the synagogue’s senior rabbi, said regarding Prager’s presentation, “The highlight was when he challenged us to ask our kids ‘What do you think my expectations are about you? That you are smart, successful, happy or good?’”
“He told us that in his research, people answered all of those different options [smart, successful, happy or good], and the one that was less answered was good,” Rojzman continued. “He said that’s a problem, because we don’t teach our kids that being good is the priority. It made us all think. We went home and did our exercise.”
While introducing Prager, Rabbi Edwin Farber, the synagogue’s rabbi emeritus, told the congregation, “Introducing Dennis Prager is a great privilege for me because throughout all the the years I’ve read him, listened to him and studied from him, he has challenged me in so many ways to rethink or to hone my own thoughts and approaches.”
During his presentation, Prager said regarding Judaism, “This is a great religion because it’s preoccupied with making good people.”
“Judaism, unlike all other religions, divides the world between the decent and the indecent, not between Jew and gentile,” he continued.
Visit Facebook.com/beth.torah to view a recording of Prager’s presentation. Click on the video, “Friday, May 27, 2022.” The presentation starts at the 2:08:30 mark with Farber’s introduction.
Visit btbrc.org for more information on the synagogue, or dennisprager.com for the speaker or prageru.org for the organization he co-founded.
