Yitro
Feature of the Week: Ask Rabbi Y
Did you ever wonder why we Jews do what we do? From why we check our fingernails during Havdalah to why some Jews have long sidelocks, and from why kosher pickles are called “kosher” to why Jews toast “l’chaim, “to life.
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Our forebears were prophets. Later, prophets and prophetesses guided us, chided us and comforted us.
After I’d been saying Kaddish for several months, it occured to me that I did not understand how the prayer related to my grandmother.
Torah refers to the Five Books of Moses, the entire Hebrew Bible, and the entire corpus of religious Jewish knowledge. Torah is how the Creator shares the purpose, intent, and desire behind all that exists.
The total number of lives cut short due to smoking is staggering. Do we find that cigarette smoking is indeed forbidden by leading halachic experts of the day?
The Prohibition Against Coveting Another’s Possessions: While it may seem intuitive not to covet what is not yours, the intricacies of this prohibition may surprise you. What is the actual biblical prohibition?
The definition of a tree according to Jewish law affects our everyday Jewish observance.
Anyone with any knowledge about the natural way of trees would say it should have died.
It’s a lovely Wednesday summer afternoon in South Africa and I’m sitting at my desk thinking about what to write for my upcoming column…
G‑d’s compassion was not based on our “deserving” it. And that is the deep reality of compassion: It is not earned; rather, it is given.
Trouble was brewing in St. Petersburg, and the Tzemach Tzedek immediately set to work to have the decree abolished.
“Every day, the Torah must be new to you.” (Sifrei)
Torah is our life, and life is here and now, forever new.
Which means that for you to be truly alive, the Torah you learn today must touch the core of your soul.
And the same tomorrow. And the next day as well.
To live with Torah is to be forever newly born.
