All Questions Answered by
Rabbi Lev Baesh (Emeritus)

Question: It's tough to draw the line between socio-cultural practices and food wastage. Should we draw a line when preparing meals for Shabbat?
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Question: Should we continue to mourn the destruction of the Temple in this day and age, when the Jewish people once again have sovereignty in the land of Israel?
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Question: Should we be proactive and try to explain our customs to non-Jews, or is it better not to, since many of our customs may seem strange and be viewed negatively by the larger world? For examples: circumcision, and waving the Lulav & Etrog (palm branch and citron - four species).
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Question: At what point should parents give up their efforts to “control” how their children observe religion? For example, if a child decides they do not want to attend weekly Shabbat services or wants to stop wearing a kippah, what should the parents' response be?
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Question: How should donors to synagogues be thanked?
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Question: Lag Baomer - the 33rd day of the 7 weeks observant Jews count between Passover and Shavuot - is a total mystery to me. The celebrations, what seems to border on pagan ritual at rabbis' graves - all of it...very odd. Can you provide clarity / insight / rationale?
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Question: Is there validity to the debate within small pockets of the Jewish world to fold Yom Hashoah into another remembrance day such as Tisha B'Av or the 10th of Tevet?
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Question: Can someone transfer their obligation of saying kaddish for parent over a 12 month period to another person or organization for pay (Tzedakah)? Or is this just a tradition with no real obligation?
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Question: Purim (as I understand it) celebrates Jewish victory over enemies who sought to destroy us. We killed a bunch of them before they killed us. Two things: What's with the costumes? And: In this day and age where we actually have a sovereign state with an army, isn't it rather insensitive to celebrate this holiday?
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LATEST BLOGS  view all blog entries

National Slow Cooking Month

Posted on 12/31/2019 by Marcia Goldlist in Beliefs and Practices
January is National Slow Cooking Month. A slow cooker, also known as a Crock Pot (the way that tissues are known as...

A Halachic View of ‘Freedom of Religion’

Posted on 12/24/2019 by Rabbi Ben Hecht in Holidays
It’s Chanukah time and Jews, around the world, are again celebrating this holiday which is said to mark our...

Why You Should Know the Name of Beatie Deutsch

Posted on 12/20/2019 by Marcia Goldlist in Beliefs and Practices
Beatie Deutsch may not be a household name, but she should be. She is a running dynamic who moved to Israel from the United...

I Haven’t Owned A TV Since 2001

Posted on 12/19/2019 by Rivkah Lambert Adler in Beliefs and Practices
When I go back to the US for a visit, I am overwhelmed by the ubiquitousness of television in public spaces. I hear it...

When Anti-Semitism Is Inconvenient

Posted on 12/15/2019 by Moshe Daniel Levine in Beliefs and Practices
So it turns out that non-white supremacist anti-Semitism could be deadly in America. Who would have thought? It...

Wright Brothers Day

Posted on 12/15/2019 by Marcia Goldlist in Beliefs and Practices
You may wonder what you can do in just twelve seconds. Could you make history? Could you even make dinner in that amount of...
 
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