Midrashic tradition tells us there are no coincidences, at least in the way the Torah tells its stories. When one verse (Numbers 20:1) says Miriam died and the next reports a lack of water – there is likely a connection between those events that goes deeper than simple chronology. The Talmud (Taanit 9a) explains that […]
Dear Jew in the City- I was raised to not be allowed to ask questions at my yeshiva, Is asking questions considered to be a bad thing in Judaism? Sincerely, Koby Dear Koby- I wish you had asked this question around Passover because nowhere is the ethos of asking questions more apparent: Maggid, the main […]
One of the most dramatic scenes in the Torah is when Moses descends Mount Sinai and sees the Jewish people dancing around the golden calf. Moses takes the two divinely-inscribed tablets he is holding in his hands and thrusts them to ground, shattering them. Whatever became of the tablets smashed by Moses? The Talmud in […]
Dear Jew in the City – I know that George Washington once said, “I cannot tell a lie.” Is that the Jewish approach or is lying justified sometimes? Sincerely, Pants on Fire Dear Pants, As the story goes, young George Washington once chopped down a cherry tree with his hatchet. When his father confronted […]
Dear Jew in the City- I heard that hitting kids in schools is still legal in 19 states and that unfortunately some of the most insular schools in the Orthodox world still hit kids and justify it with a Proverbs verse. Is that really what it means? Sincerely, Outraged in Ohio Dear Outraged- (For the […]
When you put yourself online – especially in a public way – you open yourself up to haters, trolls, and all sorts of nasty stuff. (Yay internet!) Thank God I don’t come across mean comments about myself too frequently, and I’ve managed to increase the thickness of my skin for when I do. But every […]
