Mourning Jerusalem II: A Brief History of the Second Temple

The Babylonian Exile that followed the destruction of the First Temple lasted for 70 years. Under the leadership of Ezra and Nechemia, however, the Jews began to return to the…

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This One and This One

Within the spectrum of Jewish law there are sometimes two seemingly incompatible opinions that are both correct. How can one rabbi permit something that another rabbi prohibits? The…

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Clothing Makes The Man – Clothing Makes The Woman

Although it is often noted that traditional Jews dress differently than members of their  surrounding culture (particularly members of the Chassidic communities), there is not much…

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Mourning Jerusalem II: A Brief History of the Second Temple

The Babylonian Exile that followed the destruction of the First Temple lasted for 70 years. Under the leadership of Ezra and Nechemia, however, the Jews began to return to the…

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Biblical Euphemisms

The Torah is not prudish. Nevertheless, the biblical stories in which sexual relations play a central role (e.g., Lot and his daughters - Genesis 19:30-38, Joseph and Potiphar’s wife -…

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Mourning Jerusalem II: A Brief History of the Second Temple

The Babylonian Exile that followed the destruction of the First Temple lasted for 70 years. Under the leadership of Ezra and Nechemia, however, the Jews began to return to the…

Read More

Mourning Jerusalem II: A Brief History of the Second Temple

The Babylonian Exile that followed the destruction of the First Temple lasted for 70 years. Under the leadership of  Ezra and Nechemia, however, the Jews began to return to the…

Read More

Mourning Jerusalem: A Brief History of the Second Temple

The Babylonian Exile that followed the destruction of the First Temple lasted for 70 years. Under the leadership of Ezra and Nechemia, however, the Jews began to return to the…

Read More

Know What Is Above You

It is human nature to value privacy. This value, probably dates back as far as Adam and Eve. Once they had eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, they instinctively wished to…

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The Inanity of the Blood Libel

Of all the unfounded accusations leveled at the Jewish people by anti-Semites throughout the ages, the most ludicrous is that of the blood libel, that of Jews murdering non-Jewish…

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