Rabbi Yoel Spotts
46 answers
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The Seder Plate
Why are there places on the Seder plate for the Bitter herbs, horseradish and Charoset? What is the distinction? That’s a wonderful question. I often wondered why there were two places for horseradish (albeit they are given different names), and…
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Hurried Blessings
Please excuse me if this question seems like criticism; it is not. I’m simply asking about something I observe. At several synagogues I have attended, each person called to the Torah zooms through the Blessings at a mile a minute.…
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Torah Commentaries
How were Written Torah and Oral Torah learned before the commentaries and before the Talmud was written? An excellent question. Let’s discuss each component separately: 1) Written Torah: most of the commentaries we have on the Torah date from one…
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Faith and Dealing with Cancer
My son has been diagnosed with brain cancer. I’m considering giving a talk to a group about my experience. How can I relate our hope and the comfort we receive from Prayer and the Torah. I want to share our…
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Anatomy of the Tefillin
Can you tell me what are the names of the different parts of the Tefillin (phylacteries) and what are their significance (meanings)? Here are the basic components of Tefillin: a) The parchments upon which are written the 4 sections in…
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Adam’s rib … or side
In Genesis ch.2 verses 21-23, in the original Hebrew, what did G-d say he took to make woman? Was it rib or just from his side? Great question. The Hebrew word used by the Torah is “tzelah”. Depending on the…
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Minyan Counting
In counting a minyan, one is not supposed to “count” the people. So, custom says, count “not one, not two…” What is the tradition of reciting the ten words of Torah? What verse is recited? As you correctly point out,…
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Marriage Verses
My daughter is getting married. She would like me to read a message in english from the torah that would have meaning to “marriage”. While not from the Torah section of the Bible per se (but rather from the Prophets)…
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“Yahrzeit” – Judgement for the Deceased
Why do we say that on a Yahrzeit (annual date marking the passing of someone) that a person’s Neshama (soul) should have an aliya (be “raised” to a higher level)? Hasn’t he been judged on the day he died? If…