Basics of Judaism
- Basic Values and Morality
- Chosen People
- G-d and Torah
- Heaven and Hell
- Other Denominations
- Reward and Punishment
- Science and Torah
- Sin and Repentance
- The Messiah
- Who is a Jew?
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Midrash
What is Midrash? Midrash is a process that associates ideas with Biblical verses. The ideas need only be suggested by the verses; they needn't be their literal meanings.
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The Text of the Bible
Has the text of the Bible been preserved exactly? In many places, the Talmud, the Midrash and the Rishonim appear to have had different spellings or punctuations of words in the Tanach than we do. For a long list see…
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Unicorns
Does the Torah mention the unicorn? The Torah doesn't mention an animal with one horn, but the Talmud does mention it, and there are even Midrashim that associate it with Adam.
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Basic Values and Morality, Basics of Judaism, Rosh HaShanah, The Calendar and Holidays (incl. Sabbath)
Rosh Ha-Shanah in the Torah
Why doesn't the Torah mention Rosh Ha-Shanah? Probably the term Rosh Ha-Shanah isn't used in the Torah because it would be ambiguous; as the Mishnah (Rosh Ha-Shanah 1:1) tells us, there are several different New Years. Celebrations on the first…
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Moses' Farewell Message
Did Moses read HAAZINU twice? Moses recited HAAZINU to the elders and the "congregation" (31:28,30) using very strong language (31:29), and afterwards he recited it to the "people" (32:44-45) using much softer language (32:46-47). The point seems to be that…
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The Age of the Torah
How old is the Torah? The Torah existed before the creation of the world (Proverbs 8:22-31). It was given to us through Moses, on Mount Sinai, about 3500 years ago.
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The Purpose of the Torah
What is the purpose of the Torah? The Torah tells us how the world was created, how the Jewish people originated, and how they should behave.
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The Status of Angels
Why were angels created? Apparently G-d wanted to populate both the heavens and the earth with thinking beings; and in both cases the beings weren't perfect – they had free will, and were capable of sin.
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Psalm 91
Is Psalm 91 effective against evil? The curative or protective power of Psalm 91 is mentioned several times in the Talmud (Shevuous 15b; Yerushalmi Shabbos 6:2, Eiruvin 10:11).