Abraham: Discovering God at Three- I had always heard that Abraham recognized God when he was three years old. Was that really the case? How much could a three-year-old possibly understand about the world? More »
Children Punished for Sins of Parents- How do we understand verses such as Exodus 20:5 (in the Ten Commandments) that God punishes not only sinners, but their descendants till four generations? How is it possibly fair to punish children for that which they did not do? More »
Down-to-Earth Spirituality- I am perplexed about a certain juxtaposition in the Torah. Parshas Yisro describes the dramatic revelation of God to the Jewish People at Mount Sinai. And then the next parsha, Mishpatim, lists mundane laws regarding personal injury, property damage, returning… More »
Eishet Yefat To’ar – Woman Captured in War- I find Deuteronomy 21:10-14 to be quite shocking. How can the Torah permit soldiers raping and capturing women in battle and keeping them against their will? It seems so inconsistent with so much else the Torah teaches us about marriage… More »
Golden Calf- If the Jews had just witnessed God's awesome power in the 10 Plagues, the splitting of the Red Sea, and the revelation at Mount Sinai, how could these same people turn around and worship a Golden Calf?! More »
Great Teshuva- My friend and I are having a disagreement about degrees of righteousness in God's eyes. Who is greater: One who is virtuous by inclination, or one who is virtuous by choice - i.e. one who must struggle with his passions… More »
Intentional Mistakes- I've been enjoying the philosophy articles on Aish.com. The approach to life resonates with me much more than the Western style of consumerism and media hype. Regarding the obligatory nature of mitzvot, however, I think sometimes humans have to disregard… More »
Jacob’s Incomplete Name Change- I noticed something very curious. Abraham’s name was changed from Abram to Abraham (Genesis 17:5) and that’s how he became permanently known. Likewise Sarai became Sarah (17:15). But God changed Jacob’s name to Israel (Gen. 35:10) – and even so… More »
Judaism and Snakes- I have always had the impression that snakes are inherently evil. I’m sure it’s an idea I picked up from the Genesis account of the Serpent tempting Adam and Eve to sin. Is there any accuracy to this? In fact,… More »
Keturah’s Origins- Who was Abraham’s second wife Keturah? The Torah writes nothing about her background and origin – although if she was a wife of Abraham and mother to six of his children, she must have been a pretty important person! More »
Moses' Horns- I am taking an art appreciation class and we recently studied Michelangelo's statue of Moses, which is adorned with horns. This has anti-Semitic overtones and I am wondering where this idea got started? More »
Number of Jews at Exodus- Thank you very much for all your wise and interesting writings. For the last two years, I've been teaching an adult seminar called "Discovering the Beauty of Judaism" at a Reform congregation, and I use Aish HaTorah material. Now my… More »
Rape- I was reading in an online forum that Judaism advocates that a rapist marry his victim. This sounds so backward and oppressive, and difficult to reconcile with the compassionate Judaism that I know and love. Is what I read accurate? More »
Significance of Hebrew Year- I know the Hebrew calendar year is counted from Rosh Hashanah, and the current year is 5778. But what is that measuring – the years since the world’s creation? More »
Raise a Glass to Freedom
