July 16, 2021
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As we approach the ninth of Av once again to mourn the destruction of the two temples, we are left wondering what exactly are we missing? And more to the point, we are not a religion that simply dwells on the past and laments. There must be something that we can do right now. But how can we rebuild the temple? It seems that it is out of her hands. Aside from the political upheaval that it would cause, even we believe that to rebuild the temple is the job of a messianic figure. Gi...
April 29, 2020
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Moral problems in Halacha: Women (With a short piece on Zeligman's "forbidden thought" attack at the end)Zeligman now attacks the Torah’s stance on women. Many of the attacks - and the ones that are commonly used by others as well - are based on quotes taken out of context, misunderstandings of Jewish law and literature and a general approach to women’s issues that judge the Torah using secular values and perspectives, instead of trying to p...
April 29, 2020
3 Views
Could The Torah Have Been Written Down By Moses
Question: The Torah, written before the Jews entered Israel, mentions the city of Dan, which was only settled years later. Answer - http://www.aishdas.org/toratemet/en_vayera2.htmlAdditionally, Zeligman dismisses the explanation of many Rishonim (medieval bible commentaries) that the verse was stated in a prophetic sense and was referencing the city that would be eventually called Dan. Their explanation, however, is not unreasonable, since we b...
April 29, 2020
2 Views
Da Ma Shetashiv - Series by Harav Aaron Lopiansky
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April 29, 2020
2 Views
Moral problems in the Halacha:
The status of non-Jews
Zeligman attacks Torah for its attitude regarding non Jews. These issues have been discussed many times over the past two centuries. I will attempt to point the reader in the right direction and demonstrate that the Torah, when properly understood and in context, is not immoral. Some websites that deal with these issues: Gil Student’s: http://www.angelfire.com/mt/talmud/Also: http://www.frum.org/talmud/index.aspx (It should be noted that...
April 29, 2020
2 Views
Archaeology
Special thanks to Yosef Back and Lisa Liel, both archaeological researchers with extensive experience and knowledge, for helping me with some of the approaches.
A word about archaeology
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April 29, 2020
4 Views
2 Likes
Evidence of the Divine Origin of the Torah
We will now take a break from our analysis and refutation of Zeligman's attacks and focus on what is the rational basis of belief in Judaism. We will resume our refutation of Zeligman at a later date.
The purpose of this essay is to provide evidence that G-d gave the Jewish people the Torah at Sinai approximately 3300 years ago. I will not attempt to provide absolute proof for this, since absolute proof is almost impossible to find for most historica...
April 27, 2020
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In front of the Smithsonian museum of Air and Space, a tour group of Asian students sat on the steps waiting for the bus to come. Out of the ten students in front of me, I counted eight engaged with their ipad oblivious to the other members of the group. Although these gadgets are produced in Asia, I don’t think this sight had anything to do with their Asian background. This is a standard scene for most young adults in the developed world and it may explain a strange incident t...
April 27, 2020
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Great concern about women’s rights has erupted in Israel over several incidents- some inexcusable while others seemingly innocuous. There are two aspects to the issue. First, does the separation of men and women imply discrimination against women, as Bill Gates commented in a recent interview on the BBC? Secondly, should the separation and cover up be enforced in the public domain? The second issue is fairly simple, no, and especially not in the way certain situations have been handled. To be...
April 27, 2020
1 View
The media is not known for its affinity for the religious establishment. Yet, it could be the media unknowingly will help create a religious revival. With the constant conjectures of what the future holds: will Greece default, will Israel attack Iran, and what will be with this so called Arab spring, the media is creating a culture of dealing with an unknown future on a consistent basis. This creates a mentality that the future will be different, that what there is now won’t be. Used healthil...
