From: Marsha Dear Rabbi, My husband and I (we were recently married) will be traveling during the summer break and we will be staying with family and friends for various lengths of times. Does the Torah offer any advice that we should keep in mind on how to be good guests? Dear Marsha and Hubby,[…]
From: Marnie Dear Rabbi, Some years ago I was in a flat-mate situation with some people I did not know beforehand, so I did not know them and they didn’t know me. They were renting the apartment and subletting a room to me so they had no longstanding connection to the flat, and they were[…]
From: Marc Dear Rabbi, My family and I have just returned from a visit to Israel in honor of my son’s bar mitzva and I wanted to share with you an interesting aspect of our trip, and to hear your take on it. It seems that wherever we went, average, non-religious Israelis knew a lot[…]
From: Anonymous in NYC Dear Rabbi, I have been friends with a guy since we were kids. We were brought up traditional or modern Orthodox. In high school, we were not exactly the best example of Jewish behavior. Now we go to college together and room in the same dorm. I can’t say we’ve gotten[…]
From: Caroline in NC Dear Rabbi, I was recently at a Jewish community event attended by members of the local community of all ages, gender and denomination. I saw there an Orthodox couple that seemed friendly and nice so I went over and introduced myself. To my utter surprise, when I extended my hand to[…]
From: Susan in Newport, RI Dear Rabbi, Is there a mitzva do to kiruv and bring Jews back to Judaism? Isn’t it each person’s personal business how to live his own life as he or she chooses? Dear Susan, Every person has a “right” to live his or her life as one chooses. This is[…]
From: Melissa in Milwaukee Dear Rabbi, I am very upset about something. I recently took a final exam that I really studied hard for. During the test, a friend of mine kept looking over my shoulder to see what I wrote. I really didn’t know what to do. On the one hand, I didn’t want[…]
From: Frank in Edinburgh, Scotland Dear Rabbi, There’s a personal question that I have for the Rabbi. You see, I am Jewish, and I am on a long journey back to being more observant. The problem is that I notice that shortly after things start going well for me, religiously speaking that is, I mean[…]
From: Ryan in Philadelphia Dear Rabbi, When I first started becoming religious I became aware of the difference between Ashkenazi and Sefardi Jewry. At first, it seemed strange to me that there should be differences among Orthodox Jews, but I have come to understand it in terms of the great geographical distance separating the communities[…]
From: Jake in Denver Dear Rabbi, Why can’t men wear earrings according to the Torah since we find that the Jewish men gave their earrings for the golden calf, and also the Torah says a Jewish slave should have his ear pierced? Don’t these sources suggest that in Torah times men wore earrings? Dear Jake,[…]