I am not a religious person nor a Jewish person. I need someone like you someone who can guide me. I worked faithfully until about 3 years ago and then due to economical down turn situation I was let go of my work. I haven’t finished my education; I haven’t even finished high school. I...
Is nothing sacred? Over the past few years, the idea of being the ‘fun aunt’ or the ‘cool aunt’ has become popular. Yet, I am seeing a change in the definition of the role, especially on trendier sites. From one perspective (the healthy one), being an aunt allows you to be an important presence in...
“You look at the sun three times a week?” asked George’s optometrist incredulously. George explained that counting sunspots was his hobby and he depended upon his eye-care professional to keep his vision healthy. “I can only keep your eyes healthy, George, if you follow the rules,” insisted his doctor. How ridiculous of George to keep...
In episodes of Ancient Jewish Wisdom, you discussed how the money you have is a reflection of how many of God’s people you’ve served. Maybe I am mistaken. The example of a restaurant server was given. It’s in the name of the occupation; server. A server serves God’s children. It makes sense. A teacher is...
There is a lot of construction going on outside our window. Bobcats are maneuvering around cranes and cement mixers are dancing around excavators. If I was a seven-year-old boy, I would be ecstatic. But I am not; so I am not. Access to our street is often impeded, our parking spots are blocked, construction noise...
Dear Rabbi, I really enjoy hearing your podcast. We recently lost our dog of almost 14 years of age. It was hard on my entire family and me. We are all still grieving the loss of our dog. What is the Jewish perspective of dogs with regards to if they go to heaven after they...
When an airplane falls from the sky, we are quick to ask, “What happened?” Yet, as my husband points out, that is the wrong question. The answer is a rather simple one – gravity. The question we should be asking is, “What amazing forces regularly keep airplanes up in the sky?” Many of us are...
One of the most frequently recurring questions that I am asked is this: “Rabbi Lapin, I try to live my life as an upright and decent person and I try to make my decisions according to the Biblical code of good and evil but I often feel exploited. Sometimes relatives count on my good nature...
Does that mean I don’t have a covenant? Is it possible for a single and/or divorced woman [who identifies as Gentile] to enter into a covenant relationship with God, and if so, how? Due to the female anatomy, I can not be circumcised. This is something I’ve wondered about for years. Is there a verse...
There is so much going on that one could get whiplash toggling between breaking news headlines. Are we watching the collapse of the great American experiment and a tragic answer to Benjamin Franklin’s words from 1787? Asked what the Constitutional Convention had produced, he responded, “A republic, madam, if you can keep it.” Well, we...
