Torah Cafe

The festival of Shavuot marks the date when G-d 'gave' our ancestors the Torah at Mt. Sinai. What exactly does 'Giving the Torah' mean? What happened? What did we receive? How did it happen? A discussion of the full story of the giving of the Torah, how it happened and what it means.

The first book of our Oral Torah is the Mishnah which stands at the center of all Jewish law and teachings and is one of the most important texts in Judaism. A discussion about who wrote the Mishnah, how it was written, what it contains and how it is studied today.

There has been much debate recently about the impact of offensive speech particularly on social media. Should we allow people to write and say things that offend others? Should we block people from such offensive speech or even "cancel" them? A fascinating discussion about the Jewish ethics of curtailing offensive speech.

Our society is being torn apart over what many perceive as inherent biases built into our culture and institutions. The complaints and demand for change are premised on the expectation of equality for all that has become a bedrock principle in our society. But should all people really be equal? Is it true that all people were created equal? A fascinating discussion about t...

Have you heard of the Trolley Dilemma? Imagine there was a trolley heading down the tracks and five people were stuck on the tracks with no time to stop the trolley or save them. However, you could press a button that will send the trolley down a different track where only one person will be killed. What do you do? While this case is theoretical, there are many practical implications to the questi...

How much should we be paying in taxes? Are we paying too much? Too little? Is our tax system fair? What would a fair tax system look like? Tax policy can be complicated and often a source of political friction in society. We Jews have had to deal with tax policy in our communities for thousands of years. What do Jewish teachings say about tax policy? Who should pay? How much is the ideal amount? A...

Of the many laws of Judaism, about one fifth involves the laws of Tumah & Taharah; a complex set of laws that are largely no longer observed. Learn about this fascinating missing part of Judaism, where we explore why it is no longer observed and what it means to us today.

On Passover Eve at the seder we eat Matzah. It is the only mitzvah we have where we are commanded to eat something in particular. Our traditions teach that Matzah has great power to impact our physical and spiritual wellbeing. Learn about the great spiritual power of Matzah and how it can impact our wellbeing.

At the Seder on Passover, we drink 4 cups of wine as a symbol of our freedom. We also fill a fifth cup but do not drink it. That cup is called Elijah cup dedicated to the prophet Elijah who lived over 2700 years ago. Jewish traditions say that Elijah, now an angel visits every seder. A talk about the Seder and Elijah's unique role at the Seder

In Judaism, we believe that everyone has a soul. What is a soul? What does the soul look like? What is the soul made of? Where is the soul before we are born and after we die? Do animals have souls? Learn about the Jewish belief in souls!

For over 800 years, two Temples stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. We've been praying for close to 2,000 years to rebuild the Temple. What stops us from rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem today. Is it only geo-political concerns or are the other reasons we have not begun to build the Temple?

Learn about one of the most famous prophets in Judaism is the prophet Elijah who lived during the First Temple period. He is not only known for his exploits in his lifetime but also for his unusual death and for his continual reappearance throughout history.

Einstein refused to believe that there was randomness in quantum mechanics because G-d would not play dice with the universe. But does he? While Judaism believes in Providence, the name of the festival of Purim means 'lottery'. Throwing dice of lotteries have special significance in our relationship with G-d. A talk about Purim and the unique gambling relationship we have with G-d.

The Torah commands us to remember what nation of Amalek did to us and to destroy them. Who is Amalek? What must we remember? How and why must we destroy them? Learn about this strange and challenging commandment and a discussion of how G-d can ask us to destroy a nation.

What are the rules for Kosher milk or milk products? Is all milk Kosher? Are the kinds of milk, cheese or other dairy products that are not Kosher? A discussion about Chalav Nochri, Chalav Yisrael and what makes milk Kosher.

Medicine has always been a very Jewish profession. Some of our most famous Jewish leaders were also doctors such as Maimonides. A talk about Judaism's view of medicine and the history of it's practice in the Jewish community.

For thousands of years, Jewish men have worn Tefillin, black leather boxes and straps when they pray on a weekday as prescribed four times in the Torah. What exactly are these Tefillin? How are they made? Why do we wear them? And why are they not usually worn by women? A fascinating discussion about the Tefillin, their significance and a demonstration of how they are made.

Pronouncing God's name can be confusing. Sometimes we say Hashem sometimes we switch his name, sometimes we mispronounce it. Writing God can also be confusing. Many write G-d or misspell his names. Why is God's name so confusing? Learn about God's different names and why we often avoid writing or pronouncing them correctly

We have always been called 'the People of the book'. Throughout history, Jews have always have a love affair with books, building and retaining large libraries, printing and distributing large numbers of books even a personal library in every Jewish home. TLearn about the history of Jewish books and how our people became so obsessed with the printed (or written) word.

Our people have gone through many ups and downs over our very long history. At times we were threatened by people who hated us and sought to destroy us. Today though, the main threat to our survival comes from Jews blending into society and losing their Jewish identity. What is the key to Jewish survival? How can we ensure our people will continue to thrive despite the lure of assimilation? How ca...

For much of history people wondered if there were extraterrestrial beings living on other planets. Our imagination has dreamed of what these creatures might look like and how they might live. In recent times we've spent billions of dollars searching for these extraterrestrial beings. What does Judaism say about Aliens? Could they exist? Do they exist? Should we spend time and money...

One of the most fascinating and challenging personalities in Tanach (Scripture) is Job, the successful and happy G-d fearing man who had many tragedies happen to him and then wonder why G-d was making him suffer. Job and his friends had deep discussions trying to understand what was happening to him. Learn about the story of Job and the fascinating philosophical discussions he had about why good p...

Jews have always been a very clean people. We were so hygienic that when plague struck our gentile neighbors, we were often spared the worst of it. This led to us being blamed for the plague as happened when Black Death struck Europe in the 14th Century. Where did the Jewish value of cleanliness come from long before society around us had any concept of proper hygiene? A fascinating discussion abo...

Jews started as a people with the Exodus from Egypt and entering the Promised Land. Where did we come from before that? The Torah tells of our ancestors Abraham & Sarah were Hebrews but where did they come from? Who were the original Hebrews and where did their Hebrew language come from? A fascinating discussion about the origins of the Jewish people and where our ancestors came from.

The Jewish people are generally split between Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities who have various customs, foods and cultures. When and how did the two groups split?  What are the differences between the two groups? What about Jewish communities that do not fit into either group? Learn about the history of the Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jewish communities.