Q. I need some help. II Samuel 6:16 says Michal “despised him in her heart” (NKJV)/”was disgusted with him” (TEV). My wife has asked me why Michal’s attitude changed towards David. What happened? My research has not given me an adequate explanation. So, I come to my resident rabbi for help.
A. Dear Reverend Don,
As per our earlier conversation on this subject, David never particularly cared for the royal pomp that went with being king. In his heart of hearts, David ...
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Chabad Reaction to Pope Benedict XVI’s Visit to Israel
Rabbi Sholom DovBer Wolpe, leader of Chabad’s messianist faction in Israel, condemns the Church and Pope. As Israel prepares for Benedict XVI’s historic visit, head of SOS Israel believes ‘rabbis must not meet with the pope because the Catholic Church tortured and murdered Jews and helped the Nazis annihilate the Jewish people’ (Efrat Weiss, Ynet).
Question: What is your opinion about this reaction?
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Categories: Askarabbi, Current Events, Holocaust Related Issues, Interfaith Dialogue, Israel, Jewish History, Political Commentaries
Tags: Evaluating Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust, Giving credit to Pope Pius XII, Righteous Gentiles among us, The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe's record during the Holo
Why did 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiba die?
Why did 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiba die [1]?
This is a question that has always fascinated me since the days I was a young rabbinical student in Israel. According to rabbinical tradition, it is because R. Akiba’s students failed to display proper respect to one another. Another ...
Categories: Askarabbi, Jewish History, Talmud, Zohar, and Midrash
Tags: Rabbi Akiba and the death of his students
Grieving for a non-Jewish spouse or parent
An interesting but poignant incident took place last week on one of my favorite websites where the participants were discussing the new Orthodox Siddur (prayer book) that the Chief Rabbi of Britain recently wrote. The participants made comparisons to the Artscroll prayer book and the discussions suddenly took an unexpected turn—one that was surprising and tragic.
One of the forum’s participants named Mordechai wrote the following message about a conversation he had with a well-known Chabad rabbi in Florida.
My soul-mate and ...
Learn More ShareCategories: American Jewish Issues, Askarabbi, Contrarian wisdom, ethics, good and evil, Halacha, Hassidic Theology, Heart-Centered Judaism, Jewish customs
Tags: Kaddish for gentile parent; prayers for a non-Jewish sp
What is the origin of the term “kosher”? What does it take to make an animal “kosher”?
It may seem strange to the reader, but the term “kosher” only appears twice in the entire Bible (and in the only place where it appears, it does not pertain to food!! Originally, “kasher” meant “to be right and proper” (as in Esther 8:5), or “to prosper” (cf. Ecc. 11:6). As a noun, it connotes, “skill,” ...
Categories: Askarabbi, Bible, Halacha, Jewish customs, Word Focus
Tags: Jewish Dietary Laws, Kashrut, meaning of "Kosher", origins of Kashrut