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Chol Hamo'ed, the "Intermediate Days" of Passover and Sukkot, have many laws of their own. Some holiday laws apply, others do not. Basically, labor is forbidden that is not required for Chol HaMo'ed, or the final days of the holiday. (The main...
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Just a few words in response to Katrin Federle 's question, about how a later Sanhedrin could undo an enactment of Ezra (and his Sanhedrin). The general rule is that a Sanhedrin cannot undo an enactment or decree of an earlier Sanhedrin,...
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Before we begin, let's remember what I have written elsewhere about Jewish dogma. There isn't any! Both Scripture and Talmud are vague about what we would call theology, concentrating more on our actions and on what G-d expects of us. Although...
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RAMABAM, and other rabbis committed to the philosophical, rational understanding of Judaism saw a world with fixed, logical rules. Only in the rarest of occasions does G-d intervene, temporarily suspending these rules for some greater purpose....
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One of RAMBAM's most radical teachings, and the main reason that his books were burned in Europe, is the Parable of the Island. He writes that there is an island, in the center of which is a palace, where a great King dwells. The people in other...
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Those of us who seek a spiritual, more than a cerebral understanding of Judaism, are motivated to touch the eternal and transcendent, rather than just learn yet another understanding of what we see. Solomon Schechter, one of the main sharpers of...
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The idea that ultimately, even idolaters connect with G-d on some level, opens the door to possibilities not generally considered, but also to charlatanism. When Mother Teresa died, there were numerous reports of people being healed of serious...
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'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God." (Leviticus 19:31)
Anyone who has grown up in a traditional Jewish home, will remember frequent visits to the cemetery to visit the graves of...
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An overriding consideration in all I have written, is the verse:
"Thou shalt be perfect with the L-RD thy G-d." Deuteronomy 18:13)
The word translated as "perfect" (Tamim) can also mean "blameless", as well as "simple". The Torah puts limits on...
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When I went into the rabbinate in 1971, placed in a prominent Midwest University, I asked the rabbi who had prepared me for ordination (as a young man, he had studied under the Chafetz Chaim in Radin, and was now a member of the Right Wing Agudath...
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