The following is adapted from Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed. The concept that God puts people through trials is the most debated idea in the entire Bible. Most people assume (incorrectly) that God afflicts individuals not in response to their own sins but to provide them with an opportunity to earn reward. Trials are discussed […]

  Ben Taplin was born in Israel and grew up in Lakewood in a normal Yeshivish family. But when he was in high school, he started to challenge the teachers, asking why he had to think and act the way they did. He bounced around to different high schools and ended up at Waterbury Yeshiva. […]

During a family trip several years ago it worked out that I needed to go to the mikvah. I checked for the closest one online, and the website explained that you had to make an appointment ahead of time. I called the day before my mikvah date and left a message but didn’t hear back. I […]