60 essays
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Essays on the weekly Torah portion, the holidays and Jewish thought.
Chassidus A Woman’s Hair: A Chassidic Perspective The Torah requires that a woman’s hair be covered. What is so wrong with it being exposed? And why is a shaitel – which can some… G-d G-d And The Holocaust: What Is The Question? Where was G-d during the Holocaust? How could let it happen? How can one believe in a G-d that allowed Auschwitz? These and… Chassidus Graduation And Moshiach Every transition from one level to another, by definition, consists of both the level from which one is graduating, as well as the… Judaism Je Suis Juif The tragic events of the few weeks are a clarion call – or, in the Jewish vernacular, the “Call of the Shofar”—to the entire… Judaism Jewish Messianism: A Logical Mystery What is the common thread that runs through materialistic, secular ideologies and religious and mystical beliefs? It is the belief… Judaism Judaism: A Religion Of Paradoxes Judaism is a religion of paradoxes. In truth, Judaism is not really a religion. It is a non-religious religion, or a religious-non… Judaism Judaism’s Contribution To Medicine With the explosion of scientific discoveries in all fields, particularly in the medical sphere, in recent times, it behooves us as… G-d Letter To A Skeptic I was pleased to receive your response to the invitation to participate in our classes. Contrary to what you might think, I was… Holidays Response To 911 Our minds and hearts have been numbed. We have all become victims of history’s most heinous terrorists act. We are now grieving… Chassidus Outline Of The Faith 1. The essence, the main principle Judaism has a universal world view that sees the purpose of humanity in general and the Jewish… Judaism Response To An Anti-semite In brief, the question about marriage to a minor is evidence of a selective of knowledge of the Talmud, and a total lack of… Judaism Seeing The Other Side One of the problems that plagues the Jewish community (and, in truth, all of society) is division and discord. This is even more… Judaism Self Hating Jew?! Lately we’ve been hearing the term “self-hating Jew” employed to describe the various critics of Jews, Judaism and Israel. I must… Judaism Sexuality And The Rabbis What could an old-style Chassidic rabbi say about sexuality in the modern day? Some of the readers are expecting the routine fire… Judaism Should We Laugh Or Cry? Mourning and sadness are not the most natural Jewish feelings. How do we relate to Judaism’s saddest period of the year, the… Moshiach The Rebbe And Liberation: Liberation On All Fronts The Rebbe’s birthday on the 11th of Nissan coincides with the Festival of Passover, the Season of our Freedom. It is therefore not… Judaism The Philosophy Of Jewish Law In assessing the role and influence of Jewish Law on today's society, we frequently hear a reference made to the "Judeo-Christian"… Rebbe The Rebbe! Gimmel Tammuz—the third day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz—is the day that created a barrier between the Chassidim and the Rebbe.… Chassidus The Shammai-Hillel Approach To Tolerance And Love Who’s not for tolerance, unity and love? Yet, the more we seem to be talking about theses ideals, the more splintered and… Judaism The Uniqueness Of Jewish Ethics Ethics is what distinguishes the symphonic world of order from the cacophonous world of chaos. Whatever ethical system one…