From: Josh in San Francisco Dear Rabbi, My family has not been religious for many generations. If maintaining tradition is important, I feel my most immediate family tradition is to be secular. The last person who was observant in my family was my great-grandfather, who I recently found out was a rabbi in a community[…]
From: Alex in LA Dear Rabbi, Would you please explain to me what the significance of the two “shins” on the head tefillin is, and why one has four arms instead of the usual three? Dear Alex, The presence of the ‘shins’ on the head tefillin has many explanations. I’ll discuss just a few here.[…]
From: Anonymous Dear Rabbi, I don’t particularly get along with my daughter-in-law. I have heard that the Torah predicts that this is normally the case. I was wondering if the Torah also teaches how to rectify this situation with practical advice how to improve the relationship between mothers and daughters-in-law. If you choose to publish[…]
From: Ken in CO Dear Rabbi, I am an avid ski-buff gone religious. Is there any reason according to Judaism not to go snow skiing? Dear Ken, There’s nothing wrong with snow skiing per se. It’s good exercise, invigorating, and is practiced in a natural setting that inspires awe of G‑d. But there are some[…]
From: Amy in WI Dear Rabbi, I was wondering, according to the Jewish belief of Resurrection, whether a resurrected couple would remain married. I know this may sound morbid on the one hand, but if they have a good marriage in this life, it might be nice to know if the honeymoon will continue. Dear[…]
From: Stephanie in RI Dear Rabbi, I enjoy listening to classical music. Particularly if I’m upset, or want to relax, or even if I just want to tune out what’s going on around me and concentrate on things I’m doing like reading, studying or whatever. Is this OK? Is there any problem with listening to[…]
From: Ian in Toronto Dear Rabbi, Why does G‑d try the righteous? And why did G‑d try Abraham with 10 different trials, culminating in the command to sacrifice Isaac? Dear Ian, Our Sages asked, Why did G‑d try Abraham? They answered with three parables: To what may the matter be compared? To a seller of[…]
From: Carson Hughes Dear Rabbi, Is a “white lie” a sin? This question was raised in our Sunday School class by a 7th grade student. Dear Carson Hughes, A “white lie”, a falsehood that does not cause any harm, is not as serious as cheating or being dishonest in business, but it is still prohibited.[…]