THE JEWISH COUNT-DOWNS The countdown to Shavu’ot is the 49 days of the Omer. Beginning on the second evening of Pesach we formally count the days that link the two festivals. Not that this is the only count-down in Jewish practice and philosophy. Every time we are on the road …
Read More »Oz Torah: Heaven & hell – Ask the Rabbi.
HEAVEN & HELL. Q. What do Jews believe about heaven and hell? A. Judaism does not prefer the afterlife to this life. Samson Raphael Hirsch says, “The purpose of God’s rule does not consist in death and destruction, but in the advancement of life and having men develop and unfold …
Read More »Oz Torah: Fear & the shofar – Rosh Hashanah features.
THE ROSH HASHANAH SEDER. On Rosh Hashanah evening many people put an array of “simanim”, symbolic foods, on the table – not just apple and honey but other foods too, which are tasted one by one as their meaning is explained. The apple and honey signify our prayer for a …
Read More »Oz Torah: How to treat a convert – Ask the Rabbi.
HOW TO TREAT A CONVERT. Q. How should we treat a convert – to Judaism, and away from Judaism? A. The convert to Judaism must be treated with respect and love. This rule is supported by the verse, “You shall love the stranger (‘ger’), for you were strangers in the …
Read More »Oz Torah: Misrepresentation in business – Ask the Rabbi.
MISREPRESENTATION IN BUSINESS. Q. What is the Jewish perspective on a business exaggerating or misrepresenting its worth both in terms of its good will and the service or product it provides? A. There are several leading Jewish researchers and writers on business ethics such as Dr Meir Tamari and Rabbi …
Read More »Oz Torah: A dying person’s right to know – Ask the Rabbi
ABORTION. Q. Does Judaism permit abortions? A. Judaism regards children as a blessing and procreation as a religious and moral obligation. Through children a couple cement their own relationship and ensure personal and cultural continuity. Through children they enrich the world: who knows whether the child they bring to life …
Read More »Oz Torah: After the plague – Torah reading: Pinchas.
WHO WAS PINCHAS? Pinchas had “pi-nechas (nechoshet)”, “a mouth of brass”. He was a gallant warrior who was indignant when he saw people rebelling against God and the Torah. As a priest, a grandson of Aharon HaKohen, he should never have taken up a weapon and killed …
Read More »Oz Torah: Keeping all 613 Commandments – Ask the Rabbi
KEEPING ALL 613 COMMANDMENTS. Q. Does anyone keep all the 613 commandments? A. There are two answers, the practical and the theoretical: 1. The practical answer: many commandments only apply to certain groups (kings, farmers, judges, women, kohanim, etc.) or certain places and times (the land of Israel, the time …
Read More »Oz Torah: AMEN – Ask the Rabbi
AMEN. Q. Why do we say Amen after certain prayers? A. From one point of view, saying Amen shows that we care. When you hear a statement of fact or opinion and are concerned enough to say Amen, you are not indifferent or apathetic. You know there are some things …
Read More »Oz Torah: Leaving a legacy – Shavu’ot.
NOT COMMANDMENTS Central to Shavu’ot is the Revelation on Mount Sinai, where God gave “Aseret HaDibrot” (Ex. 20:1-14). We call them “The Ten Commandments” in English, so why isn’t the Hebrew “Aseret HaMitzvot”? The Hebrew means “Ten Words”. “Word” has several meanings; in this context it is like the phrase, …
Read More »Oz Torah: B’rachah or Kiddush – Ask the Rabbi
B’RACHAH OR KIDDUSH? Q. In South Africa the refreshments after a Shabbat service are called a “b’rachah”. Elsewhere it is a “kiddush”. Which one is right? A. It is all very confusing, very interesting and very wonderful to see how the other half lives. Many communities have their own way …
Read More »Oz Torah: Ask the Rabbi – Handling your employees.
HANDLING YOUR EMPLOYEES. Q. What does the Talmud mean when it says that whoever acquires a servant acquires a master over himself? A. The source is Kiddushin 20a. In the literal sense it probably means that an employer is at his/her workers’ mercy. The workers know the business cannot continue …
Read More »Oz Torah: Hansen’s Law – articles for the end of Pesach
HANSEN’S LAW. Pesach, when the Haggadah talks of parents whose children ask, “What are the testimonies and the statutes of the Torah?”, is the tailor-made occasion when observers of Jewish life get a reminder of Hansen’s Law which says, “What the son wishes to forget, the grandson wishes to remember”. …
Read More »Oz Torah: What is the question? – Pesach articles.
WHAT IS THE QUESTION? Abraham Joshua Heschel said that our generation knows the answers but has forgotten the questions. With regard to Pesach we know that our ancestors were slaves in Egypt, God redeemed them and took them out across the Red Sea to become a free nation, and we …
Read More »Oz Torah: Ask the Rabbi – Jewish view of lawyers.
JEWISH VIEW OF LAWYERS. Q.. A few weeks ago you answered a question about doctors and said that Judaism regarded them as doing God’s work. Is there a Jewish view of lawyers? A.. Despite the fact that so many Jews are lawyers, Judaism was ambivalent about whether it approved of …
Read More »Oz Torah: Ask the Rabbi – Does God care how we worship Him?
DOES GOD CARE HOW WE WORSHIP HIM? Q. Whether in a synagogue, church or mosque, does God really care how people worship Him? A. Our prayer does more for the one who prays than for God. He is not improved by our praise. He is perfect already. Humans are susceptible …
Read More »Oz Torah: Ask the Rabbi – Torah in space.
TORAH IN SPACE. Q. Can the mitzvot be observed in space? A. The general principle is that the mitzvot are for “all the days which you are alive on this earth” (Deut. 12:1). The view of Rabbi Benzion Firrer is that the mitzvot only apply in our territorial habitat and …
Read More »Oz Torah: Ask the Rabbi – Women in the military.
WOMEN IN THE MILITARY. Q. Is there a Jewish view as to women in the military? A. The Talmud (Kiddushin 2b) says, “It is the way of a man to make war and not the way of a woman”. On the whole this has been the fact of life, that …
Read More »Oz Torah: Ask the Rabbi – Eastern Religions.
EASTERN RELIGIONS. Q. I know why Judaism disagrees with Christianity and Islam, but what does it say about Buddhism and Hinduism? A. It rejects the negativism of Buddhism, the idea that you and I and the entire universe are nothing: When something in life goes wrong we cannot handle it …
Read More »Oz Torah: The real Moses – Torah reading Sh’mot.
THE REAL MOSES. Now that we have concluded the Book of B’reshit we have moved on from the patriarchs and meet up with Moses, who will be our companion to the very end of D’varim. Ahad HaAm asks the question, “What, essentially, was Moses?” Note the question – not “What …
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