Connecting. Caring. Understanding. Empathizing. Being a mensch. These are the hallmarks of being both a good Rabbi and an effective Rabbi. When Rabbi Yitzhak Miller set out to use 21st century technology to reach both Jews and people interested in Judaism, the greatest challenge was not the webcams or video-

Conferencing; not how to provide Jewish Education classes or guidance for people exploring Conversion to Judaism; not how to provide Bar Mitzvah lessons or Bat Mitzvah

Lessons; not how to be a Rabbi for a wedding or officiate a baby naming ceremony. No, the greatest challenge of being a "CyberRabbi" is how to not only utilize, but to transcend the technology-to truly be "in contact." The old ad used to say "Reach out and touch someone." That's the goal here: to touch hearts, minds, and souls, not only in person, but by phone, webcam, or video conference-and to use every tool available to connect people to each other. Providing services is easy; connecting with people is not. Rabbi Yitzhak Miller's website contains an array of useful information about Judaism-whether someone is looking for a wedding Rabbi or a Rabbi for a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah; whether they're having an interfaith wedding or a Jewish wedding; whether they seek Jewish Education or Spiritual

Counseling; whether they want to study Mussar, Jewish Philosophy, Jewish History, or Jewish Theology; whether they have a bris coming up or they're considering conversion to

Judaism. As he says in his introductory video-there are two things that are more important than any other piece of information on the website-Rabbi Yitzhak Miller's phone number and

email address - 831-594-YITZ and RebYitzi@yahoo.com.

Why are these the most important? Because whether you're looking for Bar Mitzvah tutoring or Bat Mitzvah tutoring; ideas for a mitzvah project or a holocaust project; an interfaith Rabbi or a wedding officiant; Torah learning or Basic Judaism-all of these services start with one fundamental thing-a connection. Whether Synagogue Rabbi or

CyberRabbi, connecting with the community is what it's all about. Rabbi Yitzhak Miller's work shows that even for a 4000-year-old tradition, the web is a powerful and effective tool, but just that-a tool. Anchoring these tools with the soul of a Rabbi-no matter what the technology-that remains the key. It's amazing how little changes over the years...