The 13 principles of Judaism: 3. God does not have a...
"The Creator, blessed be His name, has no bodily form, and bodily conditions cannot affect Him; He cannot be compared to nothing whatsoever."
Attributing to...
Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh mi-Modena (Venice 1571–1648)
Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh (Leon) mi-Modena was born in Venice in 1571.
A prodigious child, he studied Bible, Hebrew language, poetry, letter writing, voice, music, dancing,...
Shema Israel. Pasuq 2. “You shall love HaShem your God”
The words of the Shema Israel are so important that we say them three times a day, every day of our lives.
The first thing...
Practical Monotheism
The following lines are quotes from the book " The Jewish religion ethically presented" written by Rabbi Hayim (Henry) Pereira Mendes in New York, 1904.
"You shalt not...
Organ donation cards
In the previous weeks (see here), I explained the opinions of the Rabbis regarding living organ donation, and the differences on opinion over the...
Shema Israel, word by word
And you shall love, HaShem your God, with all your heart... (Debarim 6:5)Loving, in the Hebrew mind, is voluntary. Otherwise, it would not have...
Pidyon haBen: The ceremony
Pidyon haBen is the ceremony by which the father redeems his first born son from the Cohen. The Pidyon takes place after 30 days...
Organ donation: the heart or the brain?
As we explained last week, the issue of cadaveric organ donation in Jewish Law depends directly on the criteria applied to define death. First of...
God is one. Understanding monotheism.
The second principle of our faith is that God is One. Last week we explained that monotheism, is not just an arithmetic reduction of...
Rabbi Abraham de Sola (London 1825- NY 1882)
Abraham de Sola (1825-1882) was a Canadian Rabbi, an orientalist and a scientist.
De Sola was recognized as one of the most influential leaders of...
Barukh Shem Kebod Malkhuto le’Olam va’Ed
After we say the first pasuq "HaShem is our God, HaShem is one", we read a sentence which is not part of the Biblical...
Pidyon haBen: when does it take place?
Previously, we explained the Mitzva of Pidyon haBen (redeeming the first born male) and in which circumstances is done.
Today we will discuss when does the ceremony...
Organ Donation: the definition of death.
Last week we explained organ donation. We started from the situation in which the donor is alive. This type of organ donation includes bone...
The 13 principles of the Jewish Faith. # 2. God is...
Last week we explained the First Principle: God's existence.
The second principle of Jewish faith asserts that "God is One".
Maimonides explains: "He is not...
Rabbi Raphael Meldola (Livorno 1754- London 1828)
Raphael Meldola (1754-1828), was the son of Moses Hezekiah Meldola (1725-1791), professor of Oriental languages in Paris. Raphael was born in Leghorn (Livorno), Italy...
Shema Israel: Pasuq 1. God exists. He is our God. And...
Last week we explained the first word "Shema". Which in Hebrew means, listening while paying attention and understanding what you are told. Elsewhere, I...
Pidyon haBen. How frequent is it?
Last week we explained the Mitzva of Pidyon haBen, and why the first born males have to be redeemed from a Cohen.
The Pidyon HaBen...
Organ Donation in Jewish Law
In today's Halakha we will focus exclusively on living donors. The cases under this category are, for example, kidney donation; bone marrow and blood...
The 13 principles of the Jewish Faith. # 1. God exists
In his Perush haMishanyot, Maimonides (1135-1204) formulated the principles of the Jewish faith.
"The first principle involves the belief in the existence of God".
God is...
Understanding the Shema Israel
The Shulchan Arukh clearly writes that the kavana (usually translated as attention, or focus) we are required to have when we pray consists primarily...
