Torah Cafe

One of the core Jewish beliefs (and perhaps most challenging) is that all who died will come back to life in a future time. Why do we believe in resurrection? Who will come back to life? How will we all come back to life? What will it be like? A discussion about the important Jewish belief in resurrection.

What is the process of making Kosher wine? What makes wine non-Kosher? Why do some only drink wine that is Mevushal? A fascinating discussion about what makes wine kosher

Jewish traditions tell us of 70 nations who speak 70 languages. Who are those 70 nations? What are the 70 languages? How did they form? What relationship do they have to modern nations and languages? Learn about the historic 70 nations and what they mean to us today.

Simchat Torah is the most joyous day in the Jewish calendar when we celebrate the completion of the Torah by dancing in the synagogue with the Torah scrolls. When did we start celebrating Simchat Torah? Why do we celebrate by dancing with the Torah scrolls? A fascinating discussion about the celebration of Simchat Torah

The Torah commands us to hold 4 kinds of plants together on the festival of Sukkot. How do we identify them? What do we do with them? What is the significance? A fascinating discussion about the story behind the Lulav and Etrog that we shake on Sukkot.

One of the strangest (and for many problematic) customs is Kapparot. In its traditional form, Kapparot is when people swing chickens around their heads and then slaughter them as a form of atonement (Kappara) before Yom Kippur. Many people find the tradition of Kapparot very disturbing. Where did this strange custom come from? Why is it done? How does Judaism allow the chicken to suffer...

One of the most fascinating and most challenging stories in the Torah is the story of creation found at the very beginning. The story is the basis of the most fundamental belief in Judaism; that we were created by G-d. Yet not only are there so many details that do not match modern science, many of the details don't make sense at face value and contradict each other.

The year of 5782 which will be a Shemitta year, the seventh year in a seven year cycle. The Shemitta year is a holy year when farmers cannot work the land in Israel and certain loans are absolved.

We often think of G-d as punishing us whenever we do something wrong. But is that really true? Does every bad person get punished? Why do good people seem to get punished too? Is G-d really vengeful that he punishes us for every infraction? A fascinating discussion about the Jewish belief in punishment.

One of the most fascinating Mitzvot (Commandments) in the Torah is the Command of Shiluch Hakan, sending a bird away from her nest.

For much of our history, Jews have lived among other nations and often faced discrimination and persecution. As a result, we developed a history of Jewish diplomacy known in Yiddish as Shtadlonus (Jewish lobbying) with Jews who represented their community before kings, princes and nobles often called court Jews. A fascinating discussion about the history of Jewish diplomacy and lobbying.

Many Western nations have welfare programs to help those in need. What is the Jewish view on government handouts? Should our government be handing out money or other forms of support to people in need? Should there be any limits or conditions to such handouts? A discussion on the Jewish view of government welfare.

One of the most notable and tragic events in our history was the killing of ten great Jewish leaders by the Romans in a tragedy known as the Asara Harugei Malchut  - The Ten Martyrs. Learn about the tragic story of the Ten Martyrs, the historical background and the controversy around its historical accuracy.

The first major fall of Jerusalem was at the hands of the Babylonian Emperor Nebuchadnezzar about 2,500 years ago. When Jerusalem was captured, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the first Temple built by King Solomon and exiled the people to Babylon.  Learn about the story of the fall of Jerusalem to Nebuchadnezzar based on the story of the prophet Jerimiah who witnessed the destruction.

After leading the People of Israel for 40 years, G-d told Moses and Aaron that they will die in the desert and not get to lead the people into the Promised Land. However, the Torah does not make it clear what they did wrong to deserve such a harsh punishment. Some resolutions to the big riddle of of why Moses and Aaron did not enter the Promised Land

People often make commitments that they have no intention of keeping or sometimes circumstances change and keeping a commitment is no longer realistic. How important is it to always keep your commitment? Under what circumstances can you break a commitment? A fascinating discussion about the ethics of keeping your commitment.

One of the greatest tragedies to befall our people prior to the Holocaust was the Crusades who destroyed countless thriving Jewish communities as they marched across Europe. Listen to the tragic story of the Crusades and the horrific destruction that they caused.

In 1927, the previous Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson of Lubavitch was arrested in the Soviet Union for his work in keeping Judaism alive in the Soviet Union. After almost four weeks in prison, he was miraculously released and shortly after allowed to leave the Soviet Union. Listen to the story of the arrest and imprisonment of the Rebbe.

Our kitchen and our diets have evolved dramatically from the days when the only appliance in the kitchen was an oven and grocery stores only carries flour, sugar, oil and salt. As our food preparation and consumption evolved, the kosher kitchen evolved with it. A talk about the basics of a kosher kitchen, what makes it kosher and how to balance the milk and meat in the kitchen.

The Rebbe was one of the most influential leaders and greatest Jewish teachers in history. The Rebbe inspired millions with life changing teachings to change their communities and the world around them.  Discover 5 life-changing teachings of the Rebbe.

Central to Jewish life and practice today is the 'Rabbi'. Did Judaism always have rabbis? Was Moses a rabbi? When did rabbis begin and how did the position evolve?  What is the role of a rabbi? Are there different types and status among rabbis? Learn about what makes someone a rabbi, what the rabbi's role is and how the position evolved over the past 3,000 years.

King Saul was the first King of Israel who reigned almost 3,000 years ago. He began his short reign as a promising monarch who united Israel into a functioning kingdom but things quickly went sour.

Moses led the 12 tribes of Israel out of Egypt and to the promised land. But over 2,500 years ago, 10 of the tribes were exiled from Israel leaving only 2 tribes behind in Israel. Where did the 10 tribes go? What happened to them? Where are they today?

Karma is a popular Hindu belief that every action has a direct consequence, which will come to fruition and impact us in either this life or a future life. Does Judaism believe in Karma? Do we believe that all actions have direct consequences on our lives? Do we believe that we can see things that happen to us through the lens of our previous actions? A discussion of the Jewish perspective on...

A central Jewish belief is that G-d communicated his instructions to us through the Torah. But does G-d really speak to people? What is talking to G-d like? How does someone know if G-d is talking to them? Does G-d speak to people today? A discussion talk about the Jewish belief in G-d communicating with humans and how it works.