Jewish Defense League Past Chairman
Matthew S. Finberg (Moshe) was born and raised in the bustling shtetl' of Portland, Maine. While his secular interests ran to areas not unfamiliar to most yankee kids growing up in the 1960's and 70's such as skiing, music, sports, and anti-establishmentarism, he always felt a strong draw toward Israel, his Judaism, and Jewish activities. An aunt, uncle and 4 cousins made Aliyah in 1968, a move which puzzled and upset him very much at the time. His family observed the major holidays. After his bar mitzvah, Moshe took very seriously the charge given him, but his home life was largely non-observant conservative by his rabbi to begin living life as a mensch and accept the yoke of Torah. He joined United Synagogue Youth, eventually becoming the Portland Chapter President, and participated in the Eastern Europe/Israel USY mission in 1975. Although he attended the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania which was almost 50% Jewish, Moshe's interest in Jewish activities became somewhat dormant while he completed bachelors and masters degrees there. He then moved to Washington, DC where he earned a J.D. degree from George Washington University in its evening program while working as a CPA in the national tax office of what was then the 10th largest accounting firm in the world. After 13 years in the nation's capital, Moshe had had enough of the rat-race, and resigned his position with the law firm of Hogan & Hartson, and moved to Boulder, Colorado to recapture quality of life he remembered from his youth. The mountains beckoned to him. He formed his own law firm which has grown to 4 lawyers and a paralegal, which, thank G-d, has done very well. He became active in Boulder's conservative synagogue Bonai Shalom, and eventually became its president. Following his term leading that congregation, Moshe became a Ba'al Teshuva seeking deeper Jewish meaning in his life, finding rich rewards from surrendering with complete faith and trust in HaShem, and plumbing the works of great Torah sages. He resonated most deeply with the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, ZT"L, and continues to yearn and strive to be a Breslov Chasid. He helped found a shul which had a great deal of focus on those teachings as well as those of Rabbi Shalom Carlebach, ZT"L known as Aish Kodesh and became president of yet another Boulder synagogue. He is not looking for a hat-trick. Nevertheless, his love of the Land of Israel and her People burst forth from his love of Torah and HaShem, and he has been diligently working for the past 4 years in advancing Torah-based Torah Zionism, and fundamentalist mindset which is the foundation for the religious settler movement in Israel. His teachers in this area have been Rav Kook, ZT"L, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Meir Kahane, HY"D, and Rabbi Binyamin Kahane, HY"D. This led to his co-founding of Kol Hamacabee, The Center for Torah Zionism with colleagues in Israel in 2002. Moshe has visited Israel 7 times in the past 3 years, and plans to make Aliyah in the summer of 2009. In June of 2005, Moshe Finberg resigned from the JDL Chairmanship to pursue a more active role in Israeli issues. The Jewish Defense League is proud of Moshe's accomplishments as our chairman and his dedication and love for the Jewish people and Israel.
A
Statement
by JDL Past Chairman Moshe Finberg in remembrance on the 60th
Anniversary of the liberation of the