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Are we, heaven forbid, idolaters, bowing down to wood and parchment? Rabbi Menasheh ben Yisrael, of blessed memory, addressed this very concern in his book, Teshuat Yisrael. He fel...
Isn't it fascinating how often we grapple with the line between respect and worship? Where do we draw that boundary? It's a question that goes right to the heart of Jewish thought....
The ancient Israelites, our ancestors, were intensely careful about anything that could be perceived as foreign worship. And I mean intensely. The Talmud, that vast ocean of Jewish...
Yes, kissing! We often think of kissing as a sign of affection, love, or respect. But in ancient times, it could also be a form of worship. Strange, right? The Bible itself gives u...
Sometimes, understanding a practice means understanding its context. The medieval philosopher Maimonides, in his Mishneh Torah, specifically in "Laws of Idolatry," grappled with th...
The story goes that when the seventy-two elders presented it to him, he didn't just nod politely. He rose from his throne, and prostrated himself before it not once, but seven time...
Our tradition teaches us a vital principle: we don't prostrate ourselves before the Sefer Torah, the Torah scroll itself. It's not about worshipping parchment and ink. Instead, as ...
That’s kind of the vibe I get from this passage. Someone (we don't know who, exactly) has just asked a question about prophecy. Now, the author of this text (also unnamed in this s...
This isn't just some dusty historical document. This is a raw, unfiltered response to someone wrestling with complex ideas about God, the universe, and the role of Jewish tradition...