It's an incredible joy and honor to welcome Ravstav back to the Tickf Center here in New York City

for some teaching with us over the course of this week together and for the opportunity to talk

with Ravstav more intimate setting in a more Hamish, a a more folksy but still serious way tonight.

So I thought I would begin at the beginning really with an area of your life of Stavv that

we don't get to hear much about.

We know your accomplishments as the founder and current chair of Sohar.

We know your work on behalf of the Jewish people

in bringing halakah to a wide audience

and in bringing a sense of meaning and purpose

to the life of halakha to many Jews who aren't raised

in that community of observance.

But we don't know a lot about you, Ravstav, the person.

And I thought it would be interesting just to hear a little bit about your background.

Where you come from, your early education, your family, your home life.

I was born in New Shalheim to a family.

My parents were immigrants from Eastern Europe. My father comes from Poland and my mother comes from a very famous rabbinic family in Ukraine.

By the way, when you come to Jerusalem to visit my grandfather, my mother's father, grave is a few hundred

meters from the Knesset.

And if you see there, it's a very crowded place

because thousands of people come to pray on his grave.

And I think after the grave of Rabbi Shimon Bahiai,

it's one of the most popular graves in Israel.

...