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One of the most moving and memorable moments in public oratory was, for me, an evening at a theater in Seattle several years ago featuring Rabbi Lapin as well as about four other radio talk show hosts who had gathered to deliver lectures on issues of the day.

This lecture happened to fall on a Friday.

Rabbi Lapin is an Orthodox Jew, and as a result he is prevented from using any voice amplification on Fridays. The other hosts delivered their lectures using the massive house sound system, and we all sort of chuckled in expectation of Rabbi Lapin's address not because of who he is, as the thousands of assembled people in the big theater already knew him quite well, or at least as well as the common person can know a public figure or celebrity. We were all anxious to hear his words, and that was the issue....he wouldn't be able to use the P.A. system.
After a jovial introduction, Rabbi Lapin walked to the edge of the stage, set the microphone off to one side, and proceeded to fill the theater for over an hour with one of the most inspirational speeches on our society and culture that I have ever heard. What was inspiring was not only the fact that this man, who is not a giant by any means, was able to so effectively speak unaided to such a multitude, but the feeling that what was amplifying his voice was his passion and towering intellect. Thousands in the theater sat in silent, rapt attention as Rabbi Lapin moved our hearts, unaided by any technology.

As a Christian, I consider Rabbi Lapin to be "my Rabbi" and I hope that he will gain greater prominence in both the Jewish and Christian communities as the truly brilliant man and solid voice of reason that he is.

BTW, after the lecture, he took his wife and many children home on a city bus, because on Fridays he cannot drive.