Rabbi Azriel Schreiber
855 answers
Whenever possible, JewishAnswers.org tries to include the name of the author on every post. However, at certain times, we make significant changes to the answers posted. In that case, we will often sign the post with our generic “pen name” – Rabbi Azriel Schreiber. This “pen name” may also be used when a writer declines to have his name published.
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Kabbalah
What is Kabbalah? In general, “Kabbalah” means “tradition”. More specifically, it refers to Jewish mysticism and esoteric teachings.
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The Trinity
Do Jews believe in the trinity? G-d has many attributes, but they aren’t separate personalities. In Christianity, Jesus was transformed from a Davidic messiah into a savior who was an incarnation of G-d. The incarnation obviously couldn’t be identical to…
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How Moses was given the Torah
How did Moses receive the written Torah? There is a difference of opinion in the Talmud (Gitin 60a) as to whether Moses was given the whole Torah at Sinai (but revealed it a little at a time as the events…
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When was the Bible Canonized?
When did the Jewish Bible become canonical? The canonization of the Jewish Bible was not finalized until around 100 CE; but only a few of the books, such as the Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes, had doubtful status as late…
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Permanence of the Torah
Why do we no longer observe some parts of the Torah? We are certainly not allowed to do away with any part of the Law; the Torah tells us “you shall not add to it or subtract from it” (Deut.13:1).…
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The Apocrypha
What are the apocrypha? They are books, written in Second Temple times, that the Catholic churches (both Roman and Eastern) accepted as part of the Bible, but the Protestants rejected. The best known book of the apocrypha, which is quoted…
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The Authorship of the Talmud
Who wrote the Talmud? The two Talmuds (Palestinian and Babylonian) both contain discussions of the Mishnah, by Rabbis who lived after 200 C.E. (when the Mishnah was compiled). The material in the Babylonian Talmud covers about a 300-year period, but…
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How a Halakhah becomes Accepted
How does a Halakhah become accepted? Any post-Biblical Halakhah is the result of a Rabbinical decision. Until about 1000 years ago there were Rabbinical courts whose authority was generally accepted — for example, the Sanhedrin in Israel or the Yeshivos…
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How Jewish Law Develops
How does Jewish law develop? A Jewish law (Halacha) develops as decisions are made about questions that hadn’t previously been raised. This is generally a process of addition rather than change; Rabbis can’t overturn decisions made by earlier Rabbis, especially…