Ancient versus Modern Hebrew Script- It’s known that the ancient Israelites wrote in a totally different script of Hebrew than the one used today. Wouldn’t the earlier one have been the original script of Hebrew – the one the Torah was given in? If so,… More »
Appearance of Names in the Torah- I’m trying to find a consistent pattern in the Torah regarding the identification of people. Sometimes very minor characters are named, while sometimes very significant ones are left anonymous. For example, the Torah mentions several Pharaohs – at the time… More »
Bible Translation- I just returned from a business trip where I stayed up late one night reading the Bible that was in the nightstand. Or I should say, that I tried reading it. The translation was indecipherable, with all the “shall’s” and… More »
Completing a Book of the Torah- I am a lay leader at my temple. Since our rabbi is away, I will be leading this week’s Shabbat service. I have beginner-intermediate skills for chanting Torah. Your parsha page was very helpful. Could you define the words "Chazak… More »
Crowns on Torah’s Letters- I’ve read that some of the Hebrew letters have crowns drawn on top of them when they’re written in the Torah. Which letters does this apply to? What do they look like? And what is the purpose of the crowns? More »
Cruelty of Capital Punishment- I have heard people claim that the death penalty of the Torah was barbaric, and man has progressed since that time, which is why it is no longer done. It doesn’t sound right to me that laws of the Torah… More »
Double Torah Portion- I enjoy attending synagogue every Shabbat morning. When it comes to the weekly Torah reading, sometimes we read two parshas. Why is that? More »
Gaps in Lives of Forefathers; Torah’s Purpose- I noticed that there are a lot of gaps in the lives of our forefathers. For example, we hear almost nothing about Abraham until he was 75 (Genesis 12:4). Jacob was also quite advanced when he escaped to Haran to… More »
Is the Torah Literal?- I am wondering how does one figure out what parts of the Bible are figurative, and what parts are actual events? From what I know, there are those who debate if such stories such as the world’s creation, Adam’s sin,… More »
Kid in Mother’s Milk not Taken Literally- The Torah states a clear law, “You shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk.” How in the world can this be taken as the basis for not eating meat and milk together at all, not even in the… More »
Mismatched Torah Portions- I flew to Israel last week and on Shabbat they read a different Torah portion than the one they were reading at my synagogue back home. What gives? More »
Number of Words and Letters- I am trying to find out how many words there are in the Torah. Short of counting by hand, can you help? More »
The Evil of Idolatry- Why does God command us to so utterly destroy idols? We are told for example not only to cut down an asherah tree but to thoroughly uproot it. We may also not refer to idols by name but we give them derogatory… More »
Torah versus Talmud?- I'm hoping that you can clarify a few terms that are not clear for me. What is the difference between Torah, Talmud, Mishnah, Gemara and Midrash. If the Bible is the written law, then is the Midrash the commentary? I… More »
What is Torah?- What is the literal meaning of the word Torah? Some I’ve asked have conjectured it means “The Book” or Hebrew for the Greek “Bible.” Someone else thought it meant tradition. Are these correct? More »
Who Wrote the Torah?- How did we get the Torah? Who wrote it down? If it was Moses, how could he write about his own death at the end of Deuteronomy? More »
Yearly Parsha (Torah Reading) Cycle- As we come to the end of the cycle of reading the Torah. I am curious as to when and who divided up the Torah into its different weekly sections, and who gave them their names? More »
To The Protesters in America Calling for an Intifada
