Torah, Ice Hockey, and Astrophysics

This book contains Ira's stories about growing up in the sputnik era, a unique time in our nation's history where science was richly funded and exciting new ideas in physics were developing.  It was a rich culture to nourish budding scientists such as Ira, who as a high school student develop a plan to of build a cylotron in his parents' basement.  Prompted by a comment from Rabbi James Mirel, Ira wrote a series of essays weaving the ideas of ice hockey and physics into the weekly Torah portion. As Ira struggled, with his terminal illness from kidney cancer, his thoughts also found their way into his Dvrei Torah.  Ira completed a draft of this manuscript only a few days before his death. It represents his thoughts about Torah from a unique perspective and the values and ethics he wanted to leave as a legacy.

This book contains Ira's stories which he completed only a few days before his death. It represents his thoughts about Torah from a unique perspective and the values and ethics he wanted to leave as a legacy. He broadened "Astrophysics" to include all of physics, mathematics and computing as well. Not every chapter has something on all three topics, but you may find a connection of which he was not aware. Some chapters are transcripts of divrei Torah that he was privileged to give at local synagogues in the Seattle area, along with some additional explanatory material. Some are accounts of thought-provoking experiences and his struggles with cancer. Perhaps you will be inspired to write your own. There is much more to learn.