I’ve heard all the jokes about the Bar Mitzvah being more bar than mitzvah and raising the bar, etc. But what is the actual meaning of the term “Bar Mitzvah”?
In religious school we started the new year with an assignment to research over the course of the school year. We’re supposed to split up into groups and see which group can come up with the best explanation of the difference between the secular alphabet and the Hebrew alphabet. Some kids thought there’s no real difference, Hebrew just happens to be the ABC’s of the Jews. Others, including us, disagreed and we feel there’s something special about Hebrew. We’re allowed to use any source, so we’re asking different rabbis what they think. Do you agree with the other kids or with us?
I get really disturbed to hear from some friends at school that they keep Chanukah as a way to have a Jewish Christmas. Some of them think that’s the only reason there is a Chanukah, that the Jews wanted to have a holiday that coincides with Christmas. Could you please help me explain to them why they’re wrong?
Something bothers me about Chanukah, which is not really specific to Chanukah but to all the holidays, (just being December I have Chanukah on my mind at the moment). I understand that winning against the Greeks back then was probably a very big deal to the Jews of that time, and I’m sure they were pretty amazed that the oil burned longer than it was supposed to. But that was a very long time ago and the Syrian Greeks mean nothing to us now; they are long gone; I don’t really get why we need to celebrate an isolated incident that happened so long ago and has nothing to do with us today. More so, it’s hard to see how someone like me should really be “happy” about those ancient occurrences that make no difference any more. I’m rambling now, but this has bothered me for a long time and I finally have the chutzpah to express it.
Why are some people particular to light Chanukah lights with oil? If someone lights with oil, how long does it need to stay lit?
Is it permissible to borrow or use an object belonging to another person without the owner’s permission, with the intention of returning it to its place after such usage (and I’m sure the owner wouldn’t mind if I use it, but they’re not around to ask)?
You mentioned last week, that Jews in America, are in the midst of a “spiritual Holocaust”. If that is the case, how could you ever be in a state of comfort; i.e. the Shabbat following the 9th of Av is called the Shabbat of Comforting. How could one be in a state of comfort in the midst of a Holocaust?
I have been troubled by a discussion with an orthodox rabbi about free will. It was stated that one should not be angry at a person who hits you as this action was ordained by G-d. In addition, it was stated that if you were hit you were meant to be hit as part of a life lesson. What is very troublesome about this paradigm is that it could become a rationalization for spousal abuse since a person who was hit was meant to be so. Please clarify the Torah stance on this matter.
I have an ailing uncle who enjoyed much material wealth during his lifetime and would like to have many things buried with him. He also wants to be buried with an Orthodox burial society, since his father was Orthodox. Would an Orthodox burial society allow him to be buried with money, gold and the like?
I recently read a book called “The Jew in the Lotus,” which chronicles the visit of a group of Jews to have a dialogue with the Dalai Lama in India. I was both intrigued and troubled by the continual attempt to show common threads between Judaism and Buddhism. What I’m most troubled by is that I don’t have the knowledge to know if the modes of meditation in Buddhism and Judaism are truly similar, and I was hoping you are familiar with the book and can offer some insight.