EPISODE · Jun 17, 2026 · 8 MIN
She Decided to Change Her Personality - And Did | 10@9 | 2026.06.17
from Mining The Riches Of The Parsha · host Rabbi Michael Whitman
Who greeted you every morning when you arrived at school as a child? For me, and for thousands of students who attended Memphis Hebrew Academy, that person was Mrs. Finkelstein. She smiled. She helped. She made people feel comfortable. Year after year, she was a warm and reassuring presence in the lives of generations of children. After her recent passing, I heard a story that surprised me. As a child, Mrs. Finkelstein was known by a very different nickname: "Grumpy." At some point she decided that was not the person she wanted to be. She chose to change herself - and she did. Most of us think of personality as something fixed. Mrs. Finkelstein's life suggests otherwise. Her story reminds us that while we cannot change everything about ourselves, we can change more than we think. And sometimes the person we become touches thousands of lives. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.
What this episode covers
Who greeted you every morning when you arrived at school as a child? For me, and for thousands of students who attended Memphis Hebrew Academy, that person was Mrs. Finkelstein. She smiled. She helped. She made people feel comfortable. Year after year, she was a warm and reassuring presence in the lives of generations of children. After her recent passing, I heard a story that surprised me. As a child, Mrs. Finkelstein was known by a very different nickname: "Grumpy." At some point she decided that was not the person she wanted to be. She chose to change herself - and she did. Most of us think of personality as something fixed. Mrs. Finkelstein's life suggests otherwise. Her story reminds us that while we cannot change everything about ourselves, we can change more than we think. And sometimes the person we become touches thousands of lives. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.
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She Decided to Change Her Personality - And Did | 10@9 | 2026.06.17
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