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: Y.W. Dear Rabbi, Basically, G‑d, HaShem is Master of the Universe. He is One and of course there is no other. With regards to other religions and other people of non-Jewish faith, when they pray and have a connection with their god, and he answers their prayers or they feel a great devotion and[…]
From: David Dear Rabbi, We are told that G‑d is perfect. How do we know that? If G‑d is perfect, then how did He create an imperfect world? Rather, since His creations are imperfect, doesn’t that show that He is imperfect? Dear David, This is a great question! It is one of the things that[…]
From: Yarin Dear Rabbi, There is a certain life decision which I am facing and I just don’t know what to decide. What’s more, it’s not entirely dependent on me, but also whether I’ll be accepted even if I apply. Ultimately, I feel I’m procrastinating starting the process because I’m afraid I’ll be rejected, and[…]
From: Allison Dear Rabbi, All of the “celebrations” surrounding the New Year made me ponder whether there’s a particularly Jewish approach to calculating time. I know Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, but is there a Jewish number of years? Also, I was wondering whether there are Jewish months, or even Jewish days for[…]
From: Joel Dear Rabbi, How do we “know” that the Torah was given by G‑d at Sinai and not man-made? And even if it was given by G‑d, how do we know that all the teachings ascribed to the Torah were given by G‑d as opposed to the rabbis having made much of it up?[…]
From: Simeon Dear Rabbi, I came across your response Lunar Liturgy on the meaning behind the practice of sanctifying the new moon, which I found very interesting. I was wondering if you could elaborate on the details of the service regarding how and when it’s done. Thanks. Dear Simeon, Kiddush Levana, the Hebrew term for[…]
Esav Complex From: Gabe Dear Rabbi, I don’t understand why Jacob was allowed to deceive Isaac to get the blessing that belonged to Esav, and why he was allowed to take that blessing. Furthermore, what was he doing dressing up as Esav, which certainly seems to indicate that he knew he was doing something wrong?[…]
From: Jonathan Dear Rabbi, I read that G‑d remembers good deeds for thousands of generations. However, bad deeds are carried onward for three or four generations. This infliction on those who are yet unborn or on those who are not directly responsible for the bad deeds does not seem right to me. Perhaps you could[…]
From: Vladimir Dear Rabbi, I have heard various teachings about the Jewish midnight which are intriguing. Could you please elaborate? Thanks in advance. Dear Vladimir, I’d be happy to shed some light on the Jewish midnight. First, unlike the well-known song in Fiddler on the Roof which goes, “Sunrise, Sunset…”, the Jewish day starts at[…]