msamuel

An examination of the Postville Kosher meat scandal of May 2008

Atheism vs. Theism

A: The JPS Tanakh defines a mamzer as: Q: What is the Biblical meaning of “mamzer” ? Will the laws governing the mamzer not being able to marry ever change? “No one misbegotten shall be admitted into the congregation of the Lord; none of his descendants, even in the tenth generation, shall be admitted into the congregation of the Lord.” It is interesting that both the Septuagint and th...

While it is true that many translations of the Bible such as the New Revised Version Standard (NRSV), the King James' Version (KJV) and others render the word Shavat as "rested" a more accurate translation of Shavat is "abstained," i.e., "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because He abstained from all His work which God created to make" (Gen. 2:4). Nachmanides (12th century) interpr...

“Early in the history of Islam, the Sufis were not satisfied with the outward observances and rituals of religion. They wanted, instead, a religion of inner experience, an asceticism that renounced the luxuries of the world and devoted itself purely to obedienc

At age 16, I became a Baal Teshuvah (over 29 years ago!) and later went to the Lubavitch seminary in Israel where I studied in Kfar Chabad and in Jerusalem at Yeshivat Torat Emet located in the Old City. I later went to the Lubavitcher Seminary at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn New York. After receiving my semicha in 1976, I later went on to the Kollel where I studied for Yadin Yadin and event...

I am presently working for the Quad-Cities and I am currently in my second year. My synagogue is about 200+ families and we are quite active for a small but traditional community. My background in somewhat unusual. I am the child of a Holocaust survivor. My father Leo Samuel z"l came from a long line of rabbis and he lived in what use to be known as Czechoslovakia. My father continues to be...