Rabbi Michoel Reach
145 answers
Rabbi Michoel Reach was a member in the Yeshiva Derech Chaim
Kollel in Brooklyn, NY and the Ner Israel Rabbinical College in
Baltimore, MD for many years. He has taught advanced classes on the
Chumash (Five books of Moses) for three years in Baltimore and is the
author of a not yet published book on Chumash. He also has a Bachelors
in Physics and Math from the California Institute of Technology and a
PhD in Math from the University of California Berkeley with a
Dissertation on the Recursion relation for K-Soliton solutions to the
Schroedinger Equation. He is presently a database consultant for the
Pathology Data Systems Department for the Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine.
-
Do Angels Talk to Women?
My son would like to know why in the Torah Portion of Vayera (Genesis 18) when the guests, who the Commentaries say were really angels, bring news to Sarah that she would have a child, why was the guest facing…
-
Why did Hevel (Abel) have to die?
Cain had murdered his brother. But considering that nothing can come about without G’ds permission, what sin did Hevel do to deserves being killed by his brother? Answer: Hi! I am fascinated by your question, based, as it is, on…
-
Why not begin the Torah on Rosh Hashana?
If Rosh Hashana is the beginning of the year and the time of Adam’s birth why do we not start the cycle of reading the Torah until Simchat Torah? Shouldn’t Simchat Torah and Rosh Hashana technically occur simultaneously? Answer: Thanks for…
-
Keturah’s Sons and Names Listed in the Torah
In Genesis, Chapter 25, (Shishi of Chayei Sarah), the Torah begins by telling us that Avraham married Keturah and had six sons with her. It names them and then names the sons of two of them, the sons of Jokshan…
-
Numbers in Wilderness — all to the tenth?
Why are there no odd numbers in the Torah’s counting ( 637….2349…. ) of the Jewish people in the Torah Portion of Bamidbar, only round numbers ? Answer: This question is very interesting. I’ve wondered about it for a long…
-
Ritual Purification Without a Temple
Can you direct me to a treatise on the evolution of the practice of ritual purification (childbirth, skin diseases, and secretions) following the destruction of the Second Temple? Answer: Hi! The Talmud Shabbat says that the laws of ritual purification…
-
Korach and the New Month (Rosh Chodesh)
Is there any connection between Korach and Rosh Chodesh (the new Jewish month)? Answer: Hmm – interesting. Korach and Rosh Chodesh don’t seem that obviously connected, but the Torah is one; every part is connected to every other. So I…
-
Hebrew Synonyms – Kahal and Edah
The people of Israel are sometimes called collective Kahal (קהל), sometimes Edah (עדה ,עדת) and sometimes plain Israel, and although they probably point to the exact same group of people they seem to be well chosen. What’s the nuance between…
-
The Ark that Didn’t Take Up Space
Why did the Aron Hakodesh (The holy ark) in the Mishkan (Tabernacle) have no measurment or no space what so ever? What was the reason for that? Answer: Hi! The Aron haKodesh had no measurement because it was not a…