Posts Tagged: Halacha
A Torah Quirk, and a Tale of Jewish Sustenance
A couple of weeks ago, during our Torah reading on Shabbat, the Torah reader suddenly stopped in his tracks and bent down towards the parchment...
Conversion Is Not About Halachah
Is conversion at all possible? This may sound like a rhetorical question, since the answer is in the affirmative. Yet, this question goes to the...
The Search for God: The Greatness and the Present Setback of Halachic Living
There is little doubt that Halacha greatly complicates life for the religious Jew. There is no other religion that requires so much dedication and includes...
The Abuse of Halacha, Part II
In my last essay, I questioned why so many highly unfortunate things have been done in the name of Jewish law – all in direct violation...
The Abuse of Halacha: Keeping Religious Law Under Control
Judaism is in trouble. More and more unacceptable things are being done and said in its name. Aside from causing infinite damage to Judaism’s great message, these...
On Ambiguity
Too many people fear ambiguity. We love Purim with its clear-cut heroes -- Esther and Mordechai -- and villain Haman. There's no question that Pharaoh, who self-hardens...
We Must Show Our Children That Judaism Is a Religion of Rebellion
The establishment of the state of Israel, together with the challenges that modernity has presented to the Jewish people, have confronted Judaism with a reality...
New Diapers Make it Kosher to Keep Babies Clean on Shabbos
There's Kosher wine, kosher meat, and now kosher...diapers? Indeed, the item has become a hot commodity in kosher supermarkets and convenience stores in very religious neighborhoods. "It's...
Sephardic Rabbi Endorses Concubine Scenario Under Jewish Law
A Sephardic Rabbi in Israel has ruled that the taking of a concubine is an act that in certain instances is permissible by halacha, the code...
