Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

[caption id="attachment_22661" align="alignright" width="100"] Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel[/caption]

Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel is spiritual leader of Temple Beth Shalom in Chula Vista, California.

His books, available on Amazon, include:

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*A Shepherd’s Song
*Gentle Judaic Wisdom for a Troubled World
*Maimonides Hidden Torah Commentaries: Genesis 1-21
*Maimonides Hidden Torah Commentaries: Genesis: 22-50
*Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Torah Commentator (Vol 1): Genesis
*Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Torah Commentator (Vol 2): Exodus
*Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Torah Commentator (Vol 3) Leviticus
*Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Torah Commentator(Vol 4) Numbers
*Rediscovering Philo of Alexandria: A First Century Torah Commentator (Vol 5) Deuteronomy

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Review: A guide to Jewish religious vocabulary

What sets Weinstein’s work apart from standard references (ArtScroll’s dictionaries, the Jastrow Talmud lexicon, or even free online tools like Sefaria’s glossaries) is its deliberate accessibility and Orthodox integrity. Every entry was vetted through Torah-centric sources only—no secular etymology or Reform reinterpretations. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

‘Sacrifice’ in Judaism not transactional; it’s transformational

Whenever I read the Book of Leviticus, I find myself asking: What is the purpose of sacrifices—especially for people living in the 21st century? Leviticus may not have the excitement of Genesis or Exodus, but I do believe there is much we can learn from its lessons and laws. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Parsha Vayakhel: Shabbat brings with it an extra soul

On Shabbat, we receive an expanded vitality: heightened joy, deeper peace, expanded capacity for gratitude, and a profound sense of wholeness. It is as if God breathes fresh life into us anew, allowing our souls to “catch up” and even surpass the pace of the week. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Ki Tissa: The Golden Calf and the ache of separation

Moses climbed the mountain to receive the tablets. He carries no provisions, no visible sign of return. Day after day the people wait. No Moses. No voice from the peak. Only silence and the smoldering summit. In their minds the unthinkable takes shape: the man who brought them out of Egypt, who split the sea, who spoke face to face with God—he is gone. Perhaps swallowed by the fire. Perhaps dead. [Rabbi Michael Leo Samuel]

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Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

The Purim Spiel: An explanation and an example

Beyond the surface-level parody, the Spiel functions as a sophisticated tool for the mastery of terror. By transforming a genocidal antagonist—whether the biblical Haman or his modern iterations—into a buffoonish, pitiable caricature, the community performs a collective “reclamation of power.” [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Israel, Jewish Religion, Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Middle East, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Trivia, Humor & Satire, USA

A new standard Jewish Bible or a noble compromise?

This edition presents Sacks’ own modern English translation of the Torah, a compiled commentary drawn primarily from his Covenant & Conversation series, along with books, lectures, and other writings—with the sections for Shemot through Bo newly adapted for this project. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi

‘Hostage’ is a first-hand account of a hijacking

She boards the plane like anyone else, and suddenly she’s in the middle of a nightmare. Now, as a retired cultural anthropologist and professor emerita from the University of Arizona, she brings this incredible mix of lived experience and scholarly eye to the story. She doesn’t just recount what happened—she digs into how it messed with her head and heart for decades. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Books, Poetry & Short Stories, International, Israel, Jewish History, Lifestyles, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors, Travel and Food, USA

Parshat Mishpatim 2026

This week’s Torah portion focuses on an old but familiar theme: the social laws known as Mishpatim.  In this Parsha, we discover that the God of Exodus is the God of history and of political liberation more than he is the God of nature. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Israel, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Opinion, San Diego County, Science, Medicine, & Education, Staff and Bylined Contributors

Light Amidst the Pyres: A Review of Richard Zimler’s The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon

Richard Zimler’s 1996 debut, The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, is a towering achievement in this genre. It is a work that breathes life into the suffocating atmosphere of 16th-century Portugal, weaving a narrative that is simultaneously a grisly locked-room mystery, a pulse-pounding thriller, and a profound meditation on Jewish mysticism. [Rabbi Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Antisemitism, Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Staff and Bylined Contributors

The erasure of the Jews: A new front in Holocaust distortion

It was a day intended to honor the six million Jewish souls systematically extinguished by the Nazi regime. Instead, two of the world’s most influential entities—U.S. Vice President JD Vance and the BBC—delivered messages that achieved a chilling feat: they commemorated the Holocaust while effectively erasing the Jews. [Rabbo Dr. Michael Leo Samuel]

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Antisemitism, Holocaust, International, Jewish History, Michael Leo Samuel-Rabbi, Opinion, Staff and Bylined Contributors, USA