After many years of oppression and crushing labor, the long-awaited moment arrived: Klal Yisrael (the Jewish nation) was ready for redemption. Moshe’s Reluctance to Lead Moshe Rabbeinu (our leader, Moses) […]
Judaism 101
Explore deep Jewish concepts like free will, the soul, and Divine Providence—made approachable.
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz My family has a tradition to commemorate yahrtzeits (nachalot– anniversaries of death) with a seudah (meal) at a restaurant, together with friends. But it has become very expensive, […]
Why Are We Called Yehudim? Have we ever stopped to consider why the Jewish people are called Yehudim? After all, Yehudah was not the firstborn—he was the fourth son of […]
Yaakov’s Final Blessings and the Language of Animals What does it mean that Yaakov (Jacob) compared some of his sons to animals? In this week’s Torah reading Yaakov calls all […]
Exploring the reason behind our desire to fit in Yosef’s Strategy in Presenting His Brothers to Pharaoh In this week’s Torah reading, Parshas Vayigash, the family of Yaakov (Jacob) moves […]
The Emotional Reunion of Yaakov and Yosef Words can hardly capture the emotion that Yaakov (Jacob) must have felt when he was finally reunited with his beloved son Yosef (Joseph) […]
As December marches on towards the end of the year, I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon. All sorts of companies are producing “Year in Review” e-mails to remind me of my […]
This week’s Torah reading begins with Pharaoh’s dreams. Pharaoh dreamed one dream in which he saw seven fat and healthy cows rise from the Nile, and then they were swallowed […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz What should parents do when they can’t afford the luxuries their children see others enjoying—whether because they’ve chosen a spiritually meaningful career, like studying and teaching Torah, instead of […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz I am Sephardic, and in our home we light only one menorah for the whole family. But I send my son to an Ashkenazic school, […]