Afterlife Video– I was interested to read your explanation on the afterlife. However, perhaps you could clarify one point. I heard that "time" is a concept unique to this world, not existing in the World to Come. How, then, is it possible…More »
Animal Souls– I have a dog that I love dearly. She has brought joy to my life and brought smiles to the faces of many. I've heard many people say that animals don't have souls or that their souls are different from…More »
Assisted Suicide– I am a university student in Alberta, Canada and I am doing a research paper on euthanasia from the Jewish perspective. Can you direct me to more information? Thank you.More »
Relying on Miracles– With the ongoing problems in Israel, do you believe that God will intercede on the Jews’ behalf? And if He has done so many times in the past, why are the Jews not relying on that level of faith?More »
Choosing Good Over Evil– For a long time it has bothered me what the Torah means by: "God created man in His image" (Genesis 1:27). Given that human beings are finite and corporal, how are we created in God's image?More »
Effort versus Trust in God– I heard a joke about a man who wants to win the lottery. Each week he prays to win, and after many weeks go by, he finally complains to God, "Why haven't I won?" Replies God, "You should have bought…More »
Abraham & Independence– I notice that the first “command” given to the first Jew, Abraham, is to "Go for yourself from your land, from your relatives, and from your father's house to the land that I will show you." (Genesis 12:1) Is this…More »
Are Religious People Happy?– I grew up Orthodox but fell out of practice in my early 20s. In the few years since then I have dabbled with several other religious beliefs or just secular living, and I never really felt fulfilled. At this point,…More »
As Great as Moses– All my friends seem to be talented and smart. I'm just kind of average. I try really hard, but can't seem to ever reach a level of excellence. It's getting me worried about my future. What should I do?More »
Absolute Truth– I'm struggling with the sense on one hand that I want to instill Jewish beliefs in my children, but on the other hand I feel that would be diminishing the value and equal importance of the beliefs of other faiths.…More »
Downfall of the Enemy– I married a negative person who has a very negative attitude. All these years whenever his meanness or negativity was pointed in my direction, I would scream and cry and pray to God to help me. Never in all my…More »
Harry Potter and the Jews– The Harry Potter series is so popular, but it got me wondering: Does it classify as witchcraft? Should children be allowed / encouraged / discouraged in its reading?More »
Adam’s Sin and the Decree of Death– The Torah states that on the day Adam would eat of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge he would surely die (Genesis 2:17). Yet although he was punished when he sinned, he didn’t die on that day, but lived…More »
Egyptian Children Punished for Parents' Sins?– In the Book of Exodus, God indicates that He will slay all the Egyptian first-borns if Pharaoh will not allow the Israelites to leave. Why should the son suffer for the sins of the father? This contradicts the normal concepts…More »
How Our Forefathers’ Merit Helps Us– I see we often ask in our prayers that God remember the righteousness of our ancestors and as a result treat us mercifully. I'd like to understand how this works. Just because Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were righteous we should…More »
Bitterness of Suffering– My friend's child was recently killed in a drive-by shooting (he was an innocent bystander) and she is so angry at God for taking him away. Can you offer a suggestion for how she can process this, because I don't…More »
Handicap: Why?– A woman in our neighborhood has spina bifada. It's so heart-breaking to see. And it has me wondering: Why do some people suffer and others seem to have it so easy? It is not evenly divided between "good" people and…More »
Martyrdom & Sanctifying God's Name– In the Yizkor memorial prayer which we say on the holidays, we commemorate the souls of the martyrs who were "killed, murdered, slaughtered, burned, drowned and strangled" for the sanctification of the Name. This raises two questions: Why is it…More »
Doing Teshuva– In my youth I did some horrible things - both unethical and illegal. Is it possible to make amends for having lived a sinful lifestyle? Sometimes I feel so low that I can't imagine how I'll ever get back up.…More »
Family Friction– I am a new Baal Teshuvah and have been struggling with my family's acceptance of my new way of life. After the March of the Living, I realized that I wanted to take my interests in Judaism further than ever…More »
Identifying as a Jew
