Blog
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Is Aliya a Halachic Obligation?
Rambam, Shulchan Aruch, the Vilna Gaon, and a Chafetz Chaim who tried making aliya at 86. Q. Is Aliya an Halachic…
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Should ‘Nachem’ Be Updated After the Six-Day War?
Jerusalem is no longer ‘destroyed and desolate’ — three different answers. Q. Since the liberation of Jerusalem in the Six Day…
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What’s Different when Tisha b’Av falls on Shabbat?
A calendar quirk changes some rules for this particular Tisha B’Av. Q. What’s different when Tisha b’Av falls on Shabbat? When…
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Why Pray in Hebrew?
Speaking from the heart matters most — but there are also many reasons for doing it in our eternal national language…
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Pornographic Internet — What’s the Problem?
The Rambam’s four-part test for when the Torah deters especially forcefully, and why all four apply here. Q. Pornographic Internet —…
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Was the Lubavitcher Rebbe the Mashiach?
The Rambam’s own criteria for mashiach, and why spiritual greatness and miracles aren’t among them. Q. Was the Lubavitcher Rebbe the…
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Should I Go by My Hebrew Name?
Our forefathers in Egypt weren’t observant, but they used their names — and that alone merited redemption. Q. Does it make…
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Do the ‘Three Oaths’ Forbid a Jewish State?
The Satmar reading of a Talmudic legend, and the roughly dozen mainstream sources that contradict it. Q. Is it true that…
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Is ’13’ Unlucky?
The fear of thirteen is borrowed from other religions — in Judaism it’s actually a good number. Q. I am planning…
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Can Rabbis Make Mistakes?
A skeptical questioner is told: meet the rabbis yourself before judging them from a distance. Q. Why should I listen to…