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Times Square Rabbi: Finding the Hope in Lost Kids' Lives

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I never thought I would read a heart pounding thriller based on a real life rabbi and gripping inspirational tales from the street. Want to learn about life after midnight in NYC, then read this book.It reads like a novel and yet is a true tale of NYC street life. Why this book is not a bestseller is beyond me. This is a powerful book that features true to life stories of teens caught in the web of drugs, prostitution, family violence and world that does not care. In that world walks Yehudah Fine, a real time hero whose human side is so real and vivid you feel after reading the stories in his book that you know him and the kids who he loves and cares about.This is a one of a kind read that will give you hope springing from the darkness forever. It will inspire you and make you cry.

"Religion is for people who wish to avoid going to hell. Spirituality is for people who have been there." So wrote Abraham Twerski, founder of Gateway Rehabilitation Center, in his cover blub for Yehudah Fine's book, "Time Square Rabbi." Rabbi Fine (who prefers to be called "Yehudah") has that rare balance of religion and spirituality, combined with a down-to-earth love of sports, music, and life itself, that enables him to reach lost teenagers on the mean streets of New York.

His writing style is clear and poignant, combining good descriptive details with well-written dialogues. Each story illustrates one of the 8 steps in a recovery program that Yehudah has developed, based on the writings of Maimonides. Although the characters and stories are composites (to protect the kids' privacy), they are so well done that they virtually leap off the page.

Every parent should read this book. Yehudah pulls no punches about how these kids ended up on the streets. For many, it was an escape from unbearable home situations. In other cases, the parents kicked their kids out of the house with no idea what would happen to them out there. In still other cases, kids from "good homes" set out with high hopes and unrealistic fantasies, only to be victimized by the predators that roam "The Way Beyond." That's Yehudah's name for the street culture that exists in the same physical space as up-scale Manhattan, but in a different world entirely. Like real life, some of these stories have happy endings, others do not. But all of them will make you think. As the subtitle says, this is a book about finding hope.

Hadassah Magazine-March, 1999

Portrait of Yehudah Fine: Times Square Rabbi By Naomi Geschwind

For over a decade until five years ago, Rabbi Yehudah Fine roamed the seamy fringe society of the docks, bus stations and porn shops of New York; nightly he patrolled the territory wearing a Yankee cap instead of a kippa, shmoozing and offering hot chocolate, peanut-butter sandwiches and hope to drugged-out kids, runaways, hookers and transvestites.

But Fine, author of Times Square Rabbi: Finding the Hope in Lost Kids Lives (Hazelden), never pushes religion when he talks to the young. "The Torah speaks for itself," he says. "You can't have an agenda; spiritual healing is not a business."

Fine has mainstreamed the thrust of his work. He is a member of the guidance staff at Yeshiva University. In lectures and in-depth seminars across the country, he helps parents, grandparents and teens deal with "the real dope": issues of drugs, depression, sexuality, spirituality. "Kids today do want help dealing with moral, spiritual and ethical dilemmas. I encourage them to turn to their families, and I also give them a profound look into Judaism's timeless message of compassion, activism and caring."

In sessions that have reached thousands, Fine encourages parents to roll up their sleeves and talk with their kids on all the issues, to take positive and proactive stands that reflect their own style. "I help parents rediscover what I call the astute grasp of the obvious, that they don't have to be perfect - and that they also need to have reasonable expectations. They have to have the courage in spite of all their insecurities to reach out and talk to their kids. Secrets are toxic," he warns. "It doesn't matter what the secret is, the kids know about it anyway."

Special News: For all of you who have enjoyed reading Yehudah's book, Times Square Rabbi-Finding The Hope In Lost Kids' Lives (Hazelden) there is some exciting news. Yehudah just signed a movie/tv rights contract for his book. Pamela Hayden, one of the voice stars of the TV show, the Simpsons, purchased the rights to his book.

   "Times Square Rabbi: Finding the Hope in Lost Kids' Lives reads like both a memoir and an inspirational guidebook. In recounting his encounters with ... troubled kids through eight different stories, Rabbi Fine spells out his 'eight-step' program. Based on Maimonides' 12th-century work ...[the] eight principles revolve around 'vidui', hurling out the pain, spiritual awakening and the ability to change, assume personal responsibility and sustain a love for life." 

-- Jewish Week

The message Yehudah Fine brings to parents and teens in his book is that even when a teenager's life is in crisis, caring can produce profound transformation. The author's unique street experiences opened up a window into the world of disconnected teens. Fine's message should resonate in every home.

         "In 'Times Square Rabbi,' a book that is at once heartbreaking and heartwarming, Fine writes about his outreach to kids in trouble      Though the stories are all different, similar lines run through them all. Parental abuse and neglect are the starting points for the downfall of most of these kids. ...what comes through again and again is the amazing rapport Yehudah has with street youth, who are drawn to confide in him. He is able to gain their trust even as an adult outsider and a visible rabbi.      The book's real strength lies in the stories of the kids, the dedication of Fine, who takes a modest approach to his accomplishments, and his engaging writing style."

--Jewish Bulletin of Northern California      

   

Rabbi Yehudah Fine begins his book with two questions.
How can we find meaning and hope in suffering?
How do we live in order to uncover purpose and find understanding in our daily lives?
Rabbi means teacher and scholar. Rabbi Fine honors the meaning of rabbi by helping the reader discover the answers to these questions. Through the stories of hopelessness and desperation in lost kids lives, the reader encounters an illuminating wisdom in the transformation of these kids lives to hope and positive renewal. Rabbi Fine relies on the eight principles taught by the twelfth century Hebrew philosopher Maimonides. As profoundly as he touches the lives of the kids he works with, will he also touch the heart and mind of the reader.

Times Square Rabbi: Finding the Hope in Lost Kids' Lives is inspiring, informative, and lays out a practical, workable, successful blueprint that could be applied by caring people in other urban wildernesses (other than New York's Times Square) where these young souls wander -- lost, abandoned and vulnerable.

Had I not fallen, I would not have risen
had I not sat in darkness,
God would not have been a light for me.
~Midrash Tehillim Socher Tov, Psalm 5

Yehudah Fine is The Times Square Rabbi who can now be found spreading his message of hope on radio shows and in nationwide seminars. He works as a family therapist and lecturer and continues to share his wisdom with parents and teens across the country.

Finding the Hope in Lost Kids' Lives is the story of eight kids involved in the street culture in New York City's Times Square. Through the example of eight lives, he explores eight steps towards spiritual renewal. These stories can be read by anyone to encourage their own awakening and to give a pathway to hope for anyone trying to climb out of their own painful situation.

"While change at a profound level is rare on the street, nevertheless it does happen. And when you witness such a change, first was darkness and then came the light." ~pg. 4

You don't need to live on the street to hit an all time low in your life but the gritty lifestyles these kids lead exposes them to a world of danger and vulnerability. The first step in this book begins when the pain of life has become unbearable. An analysis of action follows along with a renewal in self-esteem. As the stories progress we witness a separation from an old way of living in order to embrace a new life. There are sad and happy endings, but all have a profound message of love and compassion.

~The Rebecca Review