The Thirteen Principles

Now that the month of Tamuz is here, I believe it is an appropriate time to discuss belief, Emunah.  An ideal place to start is Maimonides, who, writing in the 12th Century, was the first Jewish scholar to systematically list and explain the principles of Jewish belief.  His “Thirteen Ikarim,” principles of faith, became the most authoritative formulation and they are studied in Jewish communities around the world. A condensed ...

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Able to Say Kaddish

I recently observed the Yarhzeits (yearly anniversary of the passing of a relative) of my parents of blessed memory. Unfortunately due to the current circumstances I was not able to say kaddish for them.  Thank G-d in the last couple of weeks I have been able to attend a minyan again, albeit outdoors, socially separated and with a  mask, but a minyan nonetheless. I recited kaddish at the first minyan ...

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This is the Statute of the Torah

The Torah reading for this week begins with an intricate series of laws regarding purity, impurity and purification. This involved many details which appear to some to be, excessive, a complaint commonly heard about Jewish law in general. I would like to explain one idea behind all this detail: consistency. Consistency is much more difficult to achieve than one might expect. Imagine someone waking up one morning and making a firm ...

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