A Project Genesis website

Family and Relationships

Parenting

The Extent of Honoring a Parent

Rabbi, I need your help. I am 18 years of age and my parents are divorced. My father constantly abuses me verbally by telling me that I’m a bad son, I’ll go to hell, and be unsuccessful in life. Nevertheless,…

Rabbi Boruch Clinton
G-d and Torah, General Relationships

Relating to G-d by Relating to Man

I have a question regarding the concept of unconditional love. For example, how can it be that Hashem (G-d) really loves the righteous and the wicked the same? Or is it that Hashem loves the righteous more and unconditional love…

Rabbi Boruch Clinton
Basic Values and Morality, General Relationships

The Great Principle of “Love Your Neighbor”

I have read that “Treat your neighbor as yourself” is how one Rabbi summed up the Torah. Is that a common theme of the torah? Answer: The verse states. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Rabbi Akiva expounded, “This is a…

Rabbi Boruch Clinton
Basic Values and Morality, Family and Relationships

The Spiritual Dimension of Work

I work with undergraduate students who are in the process of finding their first professional job after graduating college. One often unarticulated, but clearly present, issue for them is what one might call the spiritual dimension of work e.g. what…

Rabbi Boruch Clinton
General Relationships, Mitzvos (Commandments)

Constructive Slander

In a meeting yesterday in trying to explain my husbands mentality, I’m afraid I spoke Loshon Hara (slanderous speech) on people I never knew and are no longer alive. If my husband would know it would be a disaster…. What…

Rabbi Boruch Clinton
Basic Values and Morality, General Relationships, Mitzvos (Commandments)

Judging Favorably

I’m having trouble understanding “judge everyone favorably”. If I turn a blind eye and I don’t use my mind and say “he’s a honorable, he’s correct he only does what’s right, he doesn’t have bad character”, then that means I…

Rabbi Boruch Clinton
Abortion

Fetus vs. Newborn

In Mishpatim, 21:22, we are shown that if a man injures a pregnant woman and she miscarries the crime is treated as bodily harm to the woman and not murder of the fetus. The guilty party is to be fined…

Rabbi Boruch Clinton
Modesty & Sexuality, The Chumash (Five Books of Moses), Women’s Issues

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…

Rabbi Boruch Clinton
Marriage and Dating, Sukkos

Secret of the Seven Rounds

Why do we march with the Torah on the Simchas Torah holiday seven times and why does the bride walk around the groom seven times? Answer: Good question! In general, we find many patterns of seven in the Torah. The…

Rabbi Boruch Clinton