From: Stephan Dear Rabbi, Apparently, King David said about himself, “I am a worm and not a man.” I don’t get this. Was this some form of exaggerated humility? Is it to be understood metaphorically? What was he getting at? Dear Stephen, You are correct, King David wrote in Psalms 22:7, “I am a worm[…]
From: Daniel Dear Rabbi, I am a bit new to prayer but I’m having trouble with what seems to be an over-emphasis on the formal liturgy in the prayer book. It doesn’t seem to me that these prayers are in the Torah, and somehow, intuitively, I think G‑d prefers a more personal approach to prayer.[…]
From: Mordechai Dear Rabbi, The whole period of Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and even Succot through Hoshana Raba, is a period of judgment. The righteous are judged for life, the wicked for death, and the rest are in balance depending on how they, or G‑d, decides to tip the scales. This judgment is for life[…]
From: Yehuda Dear Rabbi, I know it’s Elul, and that this is the time to do teshuva in preparation for Rosh Hashana. But I also know that to do proper teshuva that is accepted by HaShem, a person has to: 1. Verbally express his transgressions, 2. Feel regret for having done them, and 3. Accept[…]
From: Caren Dear Rabbi, I have a friend who is a Christian minister. At times, he will tell me about an article he has read regarding the so-called “Messianic Jews”. I have tried to get across to him that these so-called “Messianic Jews” are just another sect of Christianity, that the minute someone says Jesus[…]
From: Moshe Dear Rabbi, Would you please explain the significance of names in Judaism? Does it matter what name a person was given, or gives to his children? Dear Moshe, Naming is taken very seriously in Judaism. We find that the names of all the important and central figures of the Torah were significant and[…]
From: Aleksey Dear Rabbi, The summer break is approaching. Would you please share with me the Torah’s teachings on vacationing, and is there even such a thing as taking a vacation from Torah? Dear Aleksey, Thanks for this very timely and important question. The answer is yes, we take time off from Torah, providing that[…]
From: Monica Dear Rabbi, I have come to the realization, with the help of some of my friends, that I tend to make mistakes and then have to do things over, or I buy things that easily break or don’t suit me and then have to buy something else instead. Do you have any idea[…]