The 13 principles of the Jewish Faith. # 2. God is One
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 He is one.
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...
Understanding the Mitzva of redeeming the first-born son
In Biblical times, the first-born males would be consecrated to the service of God, assisting the priests (similar to what Channa did with his...
Rabbis Jacob and Isaac Abendana (17th Century)
Rabbi Jacob Abendana was born in Spain in 1630. At some point in time, his family moved to Amsterdam where he studied at the...
The celebratory meal
The berit mila is one of the most important and joyous events in the life of the parents and family of the newborn baby....
