Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz I sometimes find myself committing aveirot (sins) that serve no real purpose for me, such as gossiping about people. I understand why I desire physical pleasures, but what is driving me […]
Judaism 101
Your go-to Jewish beginner’s guide: explore mitzvot, customs, and Jewish life basics—clearly and accessibly.
One of the hardest of the Ten Commandments is the direction that we not be jealous. Not killing, not stealing, not worshiping idols? I think most of us feel pretty […]
Why is the first haircut so significant in Jewish tradition? When a Jewish man receives a haircut, he must be sure not to completely remove his pe’ot (side locks). The […]
First Haircut Chalakah or Upsherin1 refers to the Jewish custom of cutting a boy’s hair at his third birthday.2 In many Jewish communities, they refrain from cutting a young boy’s […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz Every year, as we light our menorah, my children express their disappointment that our little flames seem so insignificant next to all the […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz: Rachel was buried on the side of the road in Kever Rachel, and not in Me’erat Hamachpeilah. This was so that when the Jewish people would pass her tomb on their way into galut (exile), she would daven (pray) […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz: Someone is asking me information about a boy for a shidduch. (What is a shidduch?) I know some unfavorable things about him and want […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz: Lately, there’s been a trend of adding musical instruments to Hallel and Selichot. Should this innovation be welcomed or avoided? Rabbi Chaim Mintz […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz: During havdalah on Motzei Shabbat (Saturday night) we recite a bunch of seemingly random verses and blessings on spices and fire. Why do […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz: We often have guests — or even family members — at our Shabbos table who are not interested in hearing words of Torah, […]
