Display All Questions

Q1: When you see the guys in Santa suits ringing bells at Christmas time, is it considered tzedakah to give money to them?
The short answer is yes...

Q2: Why do we light the Chanukah candles from left to right?
Well this took a bit of research! If you remember, we light the Chanukiah (Chanukah menorah) by starting on the right side...

Q3: How do we know when G-d is helping us?
Well you can look at this in a number of ways. A simple answer would be that we don?t know...

Q4: Does G-d know everyone's name?
Yes. G-d knows everyone and everything; He is infinite...

Q5: Since Jews don't have the same concepts of Heaven and Hell as Christians do, where do we believe we go when we die?
Many opinions and theories exist in Judaism about what the afterlife entails...

Q6: Why is it a commandment to love Israel if every place has just as much of G-d in it?
You bring up a good point. G-d is everywhere on earth...

Q7: As Jews why do we always refer to ourselves as the best or The Chosen People? Isn't that being prejudiced?
Well first of all, let�s define the word "prejudice"...

Q8: What was here (or anywhere) before the earth was created?
Before G-d created the earth and gave order to the rest of the universe, there was only G-d. ...

Q9: Do Jews believe in angels or ghosts?
Yes, we believe in both...

Q10: Can ghosts hurt people, and if you see one, should you be scared?
We discussed in class that some ghosts are good...

Q11: When people die and others are born, does the amount of people remain the same or do the numbers increase?
In case it is unclear to others, this is a question regarding reincarnation...

Q12: Why do we refer to the Almighty as G-d? Isn�t He above names like that?
Of course G-d is so great that any name we could refer to Him with would be inadequate...

Q13: What is Yiddish? What does Yiddish mean?
Yiddish literally means "Jewish."...

Q14: What does Shabbat mean?
The word Shabbat (or Shabbos in the Ashkenazik pronunciation) literally means "rest"...

Q15: Why are we raised to believe in G-d? How can we believe in G-d if we do not know if He is real?
The answer to this great question is currently being revised...please check back soon to see it!

Q16: Is G-d all over the earth?
Yes, there is no place that we humans can perceive or physically go to that is devoid of G-d...

Q17: My grandma died in her sleep. Did her soul escape before she passed away?
Yes, her soul went to the place it was supposed to go to...

Q18: Is Judaism the only religion with a certain language associated with it? If not, what are some other examples?
No, Judaism isn�t the only one...

Q19: When you are buried, does your soul stay with your body, or does it leave your body and go up to Heaven with all of the other souls?
Ultimately, the soul goes on to Heaven, but we believe that there are many steps in between...

Q20: When and why did Israel become the Jews' homeland?
The land we now call Israel (and a lot of the surrounding area) was promised to Abraham and his descendants by G-d...

Q21: Why do people who say they don't believe in G-d pray?
G-d has many names and many ways to hear us, just as we have many ways to communicate with Him...

Q22: Do you always say a blessing for study even if you aren't studying Jewish subjects?
As far as I know, there is no formal blessing for secular subjects...

Q23: Why do we pray in Hebrew when we understand English better?
There's no doubt that understanding what you say when you pray is important...

Q24: Why do we read the Torah over and over and over again?
There are many reasons to read the Torah over again every year, but the most important and obvious reason is so we don't forget what it says...

Q25: Can black people be Jewish?
Yes, Jews can be black...

Q26: Why is food that doesn't have a Kosher mark on it but that doesn't have any non-kosher ingredients in it still not considered Kosher?
Depending on the food, there could be many explanations...

Q27: Do animals get reincarnated?
Any answer I've ever found has said no...

Q28: When you die, does your life flash before your eyes?
In short, I have not encountered any text or lesson in Judaism that has dealt directly with this reported occurrence, but we hear lots of stories of this nature...

Q29: Why is Hebrew read and written from right to left?
Hebrew is an ancient language, at least 4,000 years old...

Q30: Does G-d see everything that we do?
Yes, G-d has the ability to watch over us at all times...

Q31: Whenever I eat with non-Jewish friends they always ask about the way I eat. Is there a simple way to tell them?
Like most rituals, traditions, and laws in Judaism, there are many answers, but you can start by telling them that the Torah gives us guidelines for eating...

Q32: Is G-d a male or a female, or both?
G-d has elements of both male and female...

Q33: Can people become holy and then lose it and be lowly again? If so, can they regain holiness?
When we do things that help connect us with G-d, we increase the holiness in our lives...

Q34: Has G-d ever had an assistant?
While G-d does have helpers, He does not NEED anyone to help Him...

Q35: If a child was dying and G-d really, really liked him or her, would He stop that child from dying?
G-d really, really likes all of us! We are all G-d's children...

Q36: Who invented the dreidle, and how did it come to be so important for us on Chanukah?
The first time we hear about dreidles or s'vivonim in our history, it is around 165 BCE, during the story of Chanukah...

Q37: When writing G-d's name, we make a "-" so that we aren't disrespecting G-d , but wouldn't it be more respectful to write the name out so that we are not just referring to Him by an abbreviation?
While you bring up a good point, we don't write out G-d's "name" so that we will not disrespect Him by later erasing it or throwing out the paper...

Q38: Does every religion have a symbol like we have a Jewish star?
Many other religions have picture symbols that "define" their identities...

Q39: Why do American coins say, "In God We Trust" on them?
Actually, original American coins did not have this saying on them...

Q40: Who are Saint Nicholas and Saint Valentine, and why are there Christian holidays for them?
There are historical and mythological sources for both of these people, and the combination of Christian beliefs and pagan seasonal holidays is probably what popularized them in the first place...

Q41: Does it offend G-d if we don't keep Kosher?
First of all, I am not qualified to speak for G-d. However, G-d gave us the mitzvot, including the laws of kashrut, for a reason...

Q42: Is it a sin not to keep Kosher?
The Jewish dietary laws, or kashrut, are commandments, and not obeying a commandment is technically a sin...

Q43: If the earth were to be destroyed, what would happen to G-d?
In essence, if the earth was destroyed, whether as a planet, or just speaking of people and civilization, nothing would happen to G-d...

Q44: Who is G-d and who or what made Him?
We believe the Being we refer to as G-d transcends space and time...

Q45: What type of Jews are in Israel?
The short answer is--all kinds!

Q46: What is the second highest or holiest being next to G-d?
Angels are the beings that can be in G-d's presence and directly do His bidding, but humans can transcend even the level of the angels...

Q47: Why did G-d only show up to Moses and the people with him?
According to the Torah and other holy scriptures, Moses and the Israelites with him were not the only people to be in the presence of G-d...

Q48: Was G-d ever married?
We believe G-d to be one being, with no counterpart...

Q49: What religion does the Aramaic language belong to?
Aramaic is one of Semitic languages, which are a group of languages that were used from the beginning of human history...

Q50: Why do we light candles on Passover?
We light candles on Passover and other holidays like Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Shabbat, Sukkot, and Shavuot, for largely the same reasons...

Q51: Who were Adam and Eve's children?
Adam and Eve had many children...

Q52: Can you murder/kill a criminal to stop him/her from causing harm to others?
First you have to determine whether people are in certain danger or potential danger...

Q53: Is G-d responsible for everything that happens?
We are all responsible for our own actions...

Q54: Why did the Israelites go into Egypt?
Remeber Joseph, the one with the "Amazing Technocolor Dream Coat?" His story is the one that takes us to Egypt, although it was all clearly part of G-d's plan...

Death and the Afterlife

G-d

Israel

Rituals, Holidays, and Mitzvot

Miscellaneous

Language