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NotAPerfectangel

Thu, Nov 09 2006, 11:31 pm

Shmais.com has learned that Rabbi Sholom B. Dubov, Director of Chabad of Greater Orlando, Florida, will be featured on NBC’s “THE TODAY SHOW” on Friday morning November 1oth, between 8:00 and 9:00 am.

The TODAY show is doing a segment on “Heaven” and found particular interest in Rabbi Dubov. Yael Federbush, producer of NBC’s TODAY Show sought Jewish lecturers versed in the mystical aspects and general understanding of Heaven and found in Rabbi Dubov a very knowledgeable and dynamic person suitable for this interview.

According to our source, Rabbi Dubov was not prepped with the questions he was asked. The TODAY show wanted to have his natural most spontaneous answers. The Rabbi was asked questions like “what does the Jewish Heaven look like?”, and “does everyone get to Heaven?”

Ironically, there is some humor to all of this too, says Devorah Leah Dubov, wife of the Rabbi and Program Director of Chabad of Greater Orlando. At Chabad it is very popular to say L’chaim and at the same time bless one another with good tidings and blessings for everything one needs. One morning, after Rabbi Dubov finished studying privately with one of his members, Jeff Berger, the two of them decided to bless each other especially since the days of Rosh Hashana were approaching. Rabbi Dubov blessed Jeff Berger and his family with health, happiness, prosperity and success. Then Jeff decided to bless the Rabbi. “What can I bless a Rabbi with”, Jeff said. “I tried to come up with something really grand”, he continued, “I bless my Rabbi that he become so famous that he gets on the TODAY show.”

When the Rabbi received the call from the TODAY show only about 10 days later, he immediately called Jeff Berger and asked for another blessing. Jeff Berger joined Rabbi Dubov for the interview in New York since he said he had to fulfill the rest of his blessing which was, that he would be in the audience. Jeff Berger, who lives in Winter Park, Florida, is also a “kohain” and leads the “Birchas Kohanim” on Yomim Tovim @ Chabad. “It's great to have a kohain whose blessings come true”, chuckled Rabbi Dubov.