You don’t have to open up more than the first page of the Shulchan Aruch, Code of Jewish Law to see the importance of sleep in Judaism. How to wake up, how to go to sleep, how much to sleep to get, which position to sleep in, which direction to put your bed, sleep on […]
We always focus on the obvious miracles of Chanukah: the miraculous military victory of a small band of fighters against a might army, the fact that the Maccabees found a small jar of oil in the rubble of the Holy Temple and that that oil burned for eight days, when it should have only lasted […]
What’s the purpose of a miracle? There are of course many answers, including those that are specific to the particular miracle in question. For instance, I recently learned how Abarbanel (15th-century Portuguese commentator) explains the purpose of one particular miraculous moment in the Book of Judges. In Judges Chapter 13, a malach appears to the […]
Dear Jew in the City- What’s the significance of the number eight in the Chanukah story? Thank you, Noam Dear Noam – Sometimes I read a question and I have to ask, “What’s this person really asking?” This is one of those times. The reason I don’t take your question at face value is because […]
As traditional media will tell you again and again, religious Jews who leave observance primarily do so because they are shrewder and more clever than their co-religionists. The community is mostly made up of patsies who can’t see past the theological garbage they’ve been indoctrinated by. But those of exceptional intelligence are able to free […]
When you dig into your Thanksgiving turkey this year, remember that it’s not only an American tradition, and an opportunity to express gratitude for our great country, but a mitzvah. Surprised? Let me explain. The Torah, in Leviticus Chapter 7, discusses a “korban todah”—a “thanksgiving sacrifice.” The commentator Rashi explains that a person brought such […]
