Torah Cafe

In Judaism we believe that every person is entrusted with a life-mission by G-d. How can you find your life's mission? How do you know if you are on the right track?

Jewish communities throughout history have always had their own court systems called Beth Din (or Batei Din) for Jewish ritual, family and legal purposes. These courts often served in parallel to local Christian, Muslim or secular courts. Today, there is a developed system of Batei Din in Israel, the US and other countries with Jewish community that serves the Jewish community in parallel to the s...

Judaism began when Israel stood at Mount Sinai and heard the Ten Commandments. Moses climbed to the top of Mount Sinai where G-d taught him all the commandments and gave him the Torah. Mount Sinai is also the spot of an earlier revelation to Moses and a later revelation to Elijah the Prophet. Where is Mount Sinai? Why was it chosen as the place for Judaism to begin? Is it a holy spot in Judaism?

Jews have lived in Yemen for well over 2,000 years until they were almost all forced to flee to Israel in 1949-1950. The Yemenite Jews who were somewhat isolated from other Jewish communities developed their own unique Jewish customs and traditions.  A fascinating discussion about the Jews of Yemen. 

A central Chassidic teaching is that our thoughts control our destiny. When we think positively, it makes good things happen to us. But how do we get ourselves to think positively? Are we expected to be naive and ignore the challenges that we face? A fascinating discussion about thinking positively, how to get ourselves to think good and how that will impact what happens to us.

Jewish sources speak extensively about evil angels and spirits that exist in our universe and sometimes impact humans. Do Jews believe in demons? What are demons? How can they impact us? Should we be afraid of them? A fascinating class about the Jewish belief in demons

Overcoming challenges and hardships is central to the Jewish ethos. Before Judaism began, our ancestors worked hard as slaves in Egypt preparing our people for a history filled with challenges and hardship. Why did G-d make life so hard? Why do we have to face so many challenges and hardships?

Special episode with guest speaker Rabbi Mendel Mintz In 1967, just before the outbreak of the Six Day War, the Rebbe started a Tefillin campaign, to encourage all Jewish men to wrap tefillin every day. In the years since, millions of Jewish men have been stopped on the streets by Chabad students and were asked to put on Tefillin. Many put on Tefillin while visiting the Western Wall.

Jewish history is over 3,000 years old and therefore often confusing. For much of our history, Jewish scholars divided our history into broad historical periods. Understanding these historical periods is the key to understanding Jewish history. Listen to fascinating overview of the primary periods of Jewish History

The Big Chanukah Riddle, best known as "The Question of the Bet Yosef" is probably the most famous and most discussed question in all of Jewish literature. It has been discussed by countless scholars since it was first raised for the wider public by Rav Yosef Kairo in the 16th Century. More than 1,000 known answers have been given for this riddle.

Honoring and respecting parents is one of the most important commandments in the Torah. It is included as one of the Ten Commandments. Why is honoring parents so important in Judaism? How do we honor our parents? What is the difference between honor and respect? Do we need to honor parents who have harmed us? A fascinating discussion about the Mitzvot of honoring and respecting parents.

Kosher butchers don't usually sell the animal hindquarters but are they kosher? It's complicated. Here's why

Rabbi Moshe Schreiber, better known by the name of his book, Chasm Sofer, was a Hungarian Rabbi in the late 18th and early 19th century whose brilliance and leadership helped shape religious Judaism in modern times. Confronted with the early attempts at religious reformation, modernity and secularism in central Europe, Rabbi Moshe Schreiber, became the leading Jewish religious figure of his day na...

With so many things today demanding our attention and so many things to do, how can we stay on top of our time without getting overwhelmed or frustrated? Jews have always been high achievers. We have an old Jewish technique to allow us to maximize our time without stressing. 

he Torah tells us about ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah that stood where what is now the Dead Sea. The people of these cities were evil so G-d destroyed the cities in the days of Abraham almost 4,000 years ago.  A fascinating discussion about the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, their destruction and the implications for us today.

As a young man our ancestors Abraham discovered G-d through his own philosophical investigation. This week we will follow Abraham's analisis to answer the most fundamental questions of Judaism; how do we know there is a G-d and that he created us? We will also take a look at the big question of who created G-d. A fascinating discussion addressing the big questions about G-d and creation.

Adam & Eve, the first humans initially had two children Cain and Abel. When Cain was jealous of his brother, he killed him. This first story of sibling rivalry, of jealousy, of murder and of repentance is one of the first and most dramatic stories in the Torah with countless important lessons for our lives. Listen to the fascinating story of Cain and Abel. 

One of the central roles of the High Holidays Service is the Chazzan, the cantor who leads the prayers singing melodies and tunes to the words of the prayers. Chazzanim (cantors) have been part of Jewish liturgy from the earliest times and many of the tunes have been used for hundreds of years or longer. A fascinating discussion about Chazanim and Chazzanut - Cantors and the history of Cantorial m...

It is a fundamental Jewish belief that G-d created us. But why? Why did he create the universe? What did he expect to get out of creating us?

One of the central parts of Jewish services in the synagogue is when the Torah scroll is taken out of the ark, placed on the Bima. Various men are called up to say blessings and then the Torah is read. Learn all about the Torah reading in the synagogue. 

People often think of G-d in the Torah as being angry, vengeful and punishing. The Torah tells us of the plagues brought against the Egyptians and others who disobeyed him. The Torah warns a number of times of punishments that we will get for not listening to G-d's instructions.  Is G-d vengeful and angry? How does that fit with the description of a loving and caring G-d?

What happens when a spouse disappears and cannot be traced. Could they have died without anyone knowing? Could they be alive but have taken on a new identity? What should the remaining spouse do? Are they still married? Are they widowed? The question of a missing spouse, called Agunah, has been one of the most troubling scenarios that Jewish scholars grappled with throughout Jewish history, becomi...

One of the more intriguing mitzvahs in the Torah is the ceremony of the eglah arufah (decapitated calf), performed in ancient Israel when a murdered stranger was found out in the field and the killer was unknown. A fascinating discussion about the Eglah Arufa ceremony, why and how it was performed and how it impacts us today!

The Torah says that for fish to be Kosher they have to have fins and scales but what exactly are the scales that make a fish Kosher? Do fish that drop their scales or have a handful of scales count as kosher? What about fillet where the skin has been removed? How can we know if the fillet is kosher?  A fascinating discussion about what makes fish kosher and how we can identify kosher fish.

Ever wonder if we really exist or perhaps we are just figments of someone else's imagination? Chassidus (Jewish mysticism) teaches that indeed we are simply figments of G-d's imagination. Discover how we know we are figments of G-d's imagination and what that means for us.