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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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…
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The Authorship of the Bible
Who wrote the books of the Bible? The first five books of the Bible (the Pentateuch) were given to Moses by G-d. The next group of books, the Prophets, were written by prophets, and so were also Divinely inspired. The…
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Angels
What are angels? The Bible uses the term “Malachim” (Hebrew for “messengers”), which is often translated as “angels”; see, for example, Genesis 16:7 and 19:1. The Jewish tradition is that the angels were created on the second day, and that…
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Observing the Torah for its Own Sake
Must the Torah be observed only for its own sake? A person who wants to follow the Torah is at a higher level than a person who follows it because he feels compelled to, or because he knows that he…
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Angels having Wings
Do angels have wings? Angels with wings appear in (Christian) art, but the angels (“messengers”) mentioned in the Torah aren’t described as having wings — they were usually indistinguishable from people. Other types of supernatural creatures, such as the Keruvim…
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Inheritance by the First Born
Do the laws of inheritance by the first born apply only to males? The word BECHOR is used only for males in Tanach. The sources don’t explicitly say that a boy is called a BECHOR even if he was preceded…
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Satan
What is Satan? “Satan” in Hebrew means “adversary”; see Num.22:22. Angels (“messengers”) are sometimes assigned to rebuke or test people; examples are Balaam (loc.cit.) and Job (1:6ff).