The Land of Israel
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What’s the Holiest Thing?
What is the most holy thing or object in Judaism, and how is reverence to it expressed by the believer? For example, if it is the Torah, do believers stand when it is opened, and is it not touched by…
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Jewish Presence in the Land of Israel
How can it be that the Torah states that we have to live in exile until the coming of the Messiah, yet still we are living in Israel today? Is it now a sin to live there or not? Answer:…
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The Land Flowing With Milk and Honey
Why is the land of Israel called a “land flowing with milk and honey”? Answer: The phrase was used to describe the Promised Land when the Jews were still in Egypt (Exodus 3:8,17;13:5), and many times when they were in…
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The Preservation of the Tribes of Judah and Benjamin
What were the merits of Benjamin, so that his tribe, in addition to Judah’s, was preserved into modern times? Answer: Thank you for your interesting question! I think it’s important to point out that all the tribes were preserved. The…
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Trading Land For Peace
Is it permitted by the Torah to give away a part of our G-d-given land in the hope of peace? In principle, we do anything except for three cardinal sins (murder, adultery, and idolatry) in order to save even a…
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Skin of the Tachash
At least 6 times, G-d calls for the covering of the sacred parts of the Tabernacle (see Exodus 25) “with the skin of the dolphin.” Why the dolphin? I assume that you have read some translation of the Torah that…
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Temple Maintenance
How was the curtain (parokhet) separating off the Holy of Holies cleaned? Or was it? With all the blood sprinkled on it wouldn’t it get ‘smelly’? There is a much more general question: How did Temple repairs take place? The…
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Alligators and Hebrew Translation
I just found a strange translation for something in Genesis 1:21 – it translates “Taninim” as “sea cretures” or “sea monsters” or even ” whales”. I couldn’t find even one translation that called them alligators or crocodiles as this is…
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Are Palestinians Like the Native Americans?
Was it fair to the Palestinians, and other people living in the land of Israel, to have their land taken away? I know it’s the Jews supposed “promised homeland”, but the Palestinians in this generation had nothing to do with…