#22 Torah vs Prophets: Sacrifices
The Torah’s message differs from the prophets’: the former focuses on law, the latter on morals. Nowhere is the difference starker than in regard to sacrificial worship; when the prophets insist that God does not desire animal sacrifice and wants only kindness, justice and righteousness, the discrepancy becomes outright contradiction. But on close analysis we […]
#21 One God, Un-gods and Other Gods
Of major focus in the Torah, idolatry is the subject of numerous commandments, warnings and punishments; but what, precisely, is it? And who are those “Other Gods” that the Torah forbids to worship? Are there more gods than the One God? According to Rambam, idolatry is, essentially, a forbidden practice. While it is theoretically fitting […]
#20 Keeping Time; Sefiras Haomer, Pesach and Shavuos
One, two, three, four days; we bridge the Exodus to the revelation at Sinai by marking time’s passage, seven time seven weeks, and all this is rooted in the harvest and its special sacrifices of barley on Pesach and wheat on Shavuos. How? This mitzvah takes us back to the beginning of time, to Bereishis. […]
#19 Tests and Trials
Why does Hashem test people? Isn’t the outcome known to Him in advance? One of the “greatest problems in the Torah” according to the Rambam, the idea of trials is given various explanations by the great Jewish thinkers. But all the reasons only serve to justify an imperfect relationship between man and the Divine, for […]
#18 The Second Temple, the Greeks, and the Oral Law
Many people think of the Second Temple as a replay of the first: the Jewish nation returned to the holy land to rebuild the great house of worship and revelation. But it was nothing of the sort. In that pivotal era, prophecy ceased, the divine presence did not return to its sanctuary, and the period […]
# 17 The Tree of Knowledge, according to the Rambam
The story of man eating from the Tree of Knowledge is the fundamental, foundational story of mankind, of humanity’s capacity for perfection or failure. It is the key for us to understand ourselves – but what does it mean? What would man be without knowing good and evil, and how does this knowledge lead to […]
#16 The Nature of Evil, according to the Rambam and Avodas Hakodesh
Evil – what is it? Where does it come from? Is it real? Will it last forever? The Rambam and the Mekubalim teach diametrically opposed approaches to the ancient problem of evil in a good God’s world. According to Rambam, evil has no real existence, being merely the lack of good. God’s creation is absolutely […]
#15 The Significance of Shabbos
Why is Shabbos so central to the Torah? What is signified by abstaining from work? This simple practice contains the most profound declaration of faith and, Chazal teach, purifies its observers from all sin. Rooted in the creation story and man’s original, root transgression of knowing evil along with good, Shabbos proclaims the pure goodness […]
#14 The Meaning of Matzah
Why is the mitzvah of matzah so important?How could a food be so fundamental to redemption and its remembrance? The story of Avraham, Lot and Sodom allude to the secrets of this simple bread. Sodom, like Mitzrayim, was economically secure, supplied with water from a river, while the land of Israel depends on rain, Hashem’s […]
#13 Resurrection of the Dead, according to the Rambam and Avodas Hakodesh
The significance of The Resurrection is a matter of dispute: according to Rambam, it merely serves as the greatest miracle – the dead will come back to life, live and die again, while perfect, eternal reward is purely spiritual; according to the Mekubalim, resurrection is the ultimate and everlasting reward. This dispute is rooted in […]