From: Ted Dear Rabbi, I have seen over and over in many shuls that toward the end of davening people tend to wrap up their prayer early and gather toward the exit door in anticipation of making a quick exit at the end of the service. It seems to me that this can’t be right.[…]
From: Harry Dear Rabbi, All the recent events regarding the Temple Mount in Jerusalem have peaked my interest as to what role the Temple played in our past. As the holiday of Passover approaches, could you perhaps describe what it was like in Temple times? Dear Harry, The number of people who went up to[…]
From: Anonymous Dear Rabbi, I need advice about my marriage. When we were first married, my wife and I got along fine. Over time, I started to feel unhappy with the relationship, mainly because I felt it became dull, and also because I expected more attention from my wife, but she always complained that I[…]
Jewish Dress From: Nathan Dear Rabbi, It seems to me that if there is such a thing as Jewish appearance, it’s not about dress or style but about the visual appearance of specific mitzvot such as tefillin, or actions in general according to Torah commands. Even what many might consider to be “Jewish dress” is not really Jewish, such as black and white among Ashkenazim, or[…]
From: Lisa Dear Rabbi, Was Hebrew the first language spoken by mankind? If so, how did Adam and Eve know how to speak it? And what was the origin of the other languages? Why didn’t G‑d want all peoples to speak the same language? If Hebrew was the first language spoken by all, is there[…]
From: Tomer Dear Rabbi, I am intrigued by the role of the lion in Judaism. On the one hand, it’s not kosher. But on the other, it seems to represent holy concepts. One, for example, is the Tribe of Judah. Can you please explain? Dear Tomer, It is correct that the lion is not kosher,[…]
From: Bracha Dear Rabbi, I know someone who claims to be Jewish but a Karaite. The person was saying things about Judaism which didn’t seem right to me and the discussion became a little sensitive so I changed the subject. But I was wondering what you can tell me about Karaism and its relationship to[…]
From: Mathew Dear Rabbi, Is there some kind of promise that all Jews will be in the World to Come? Some kind of “spiritual green card”? This doesn’t make complete sense to me. Isn’t the World to Come something that one has to earn? Dear Matthew, Your intuition is right. There’s no favoritism regarding entry[…]