Religion; Religious Ritual

Keeping kosher is not a reasonable act, and neither is Shabbat, or the prohibition against mixing wool and linen. These are neither rational nor religious acts—at least not in the modern understanding of “religious” . . .

How scrupulous is too scrupulous? At what point does religious observance start to become neurotic?

As a rabbi, I assume you believe that Judaism is THE truth. If so, how do you explain the fact that there are so many other religions, and only a tiny minority of the world's population believes as you do?

Is it spirituality? Belief? Is it obedience to G-d?

There are a number of ways of approaching the issue. Let us try a scientific approach

We spend so much money, time and energy on synagogues, Jewish schools religious institutions. Wouldn't it be better if we applied all those resources to alleviating all the suffering in our world?

I don’t want my children to be small-minded or fundamentalist, so I haven’t given them a Jewish education. They have been brought up without any religion; they are free to choose whatever beliefs they like.

I would like to think that if I mess up, G‑d eagerly awaits my return, and when I perform a mitzvah, G‑d is pleased. But this contradicts everything I was taught about G‑d...

I like Shabbat. I like Torah, especially the Kabbalah stuff and Chassidic stories. I feel a strong attachment to the Jewish people. But I'm a non-conformist at heart -- I just can't see myself following all those regulations

Question: My wife claims that when I do the morning prayers along with the mitzvot of talit and tefillin, I seem to get lost in myself and become careless about her needs. Unfortunately, I am not aware of it or I would change it. One of my goals for this ...