Question: I was assigned a project on whether or not people of the Islamic, Christian, and Jewish faiths can ever co-exist peacefully? Is there anything in any of the doctrines that you know of that would prohibit this from happening? Peace seems to be a quintessential element in all of the religions, but why is there strife between them and what can we do to fix it?

Answer: In my opinion, the answer to your question is no, they cannot coexist in peace, not in the long-term. This is because both Christianity and Islam are exclusive – they teach that if you’re not a Christian/Moslem then you’re damned, and that the entire world should and will become Christian/Moslem . Judaism doesn’t teach this – there is nothing in Judaism that says the Gentiles ought to become Jews. On the contrary, the Torah teaches that “the righteous of all the nations have a share in the World to Come.” So from our perspective, we should all be able to live in peace and harmony, but as long as Christianity and Islam are absolutist, I don’t see how that is going to happen.

Rabbi Seinfeld
http://rabbiseinfeld.blogspot.com

Question: Why does G-d need us to serve Him? What is the actual purpose of creation?

Answer: Your question addresses a complex, yet fundamental, concept in Judaism. R’ Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (aka RaMCHaL) in his work, Derech Hashem (The Way of G-d), deals with this issue. As his has become the standard approach to your question, I will borrow freely from his work in my answer. I encourage you to look at the source first-hand as it is impossible for me to completely convey the depth and richness of his work.

As you implied in your question, it is improper to believe that G-d NEEDS anything from us. This would imply a lacking on His part which is anathema to Jewish thought. G-d is perfect, complete, and absolutely independent. So, why does G-d “need” or want for us to serve him? The answer to this and the answer to your second question are one. Hashem’s purpose in creation was to bestow good. True good exist only in G-d , so for G-d , who is true perfection, to bestow the ultimate good would be to enable His creations to attach themselves to Him to the greatest degree possible. Through closeness to G-d , created things can thereby partake of the ultimate good and fulfill G-d ’s beneficent desire. However, in G-d ’s wisdom, He decreed that for such good to be perfect it must be acquired and not happen by chance. This is comparable to G-d ’s perfection which is an imperative fact and not a product of happenstance. For creatures to acquire for themselves the ultimate good, G-d created a world where they could distinguish and choose between perfection and the absence of perfection and thereby earn or acquire the good for themselves. Since G-d is true Perfection, all perfection must be associated with him, just as a branch is attached to its root. Therefore, when we perfect ourselves, we cleave to G-d . Since G-d is good and perfect, the absence of goodness and perfection is equivalent to the absence of closeness to G-d . As we draw nearer to goodness and perfection, we attach ourselves closer to the Root of Perfection and come closer to fulfilling the purpose of creation—our own acquisition of good.

I hope I was able to shed some light on this complex issue. I strongly encourage you to study the original text and wish you much success in your quest.

Sincerely,
R’ Daniel Fleksher

Question: When I was reading Numbers 22 – 24 I had a hard time understanding Balaam’s position. Was he a son of G-d or a False prophet? What is Balaam’s history and how can I understand his position?

Answer: Balaam was a Gentile prophet. The Talmud explains that his prophecy was given to him as a gift in order that the nations of the world not complain that they weren’t given prophecy like the Jews were. Generally prophecy is earned by achieving greatness in scholarship, piety, and the such. Nowhere does it say anything about a son of G-d. That idea only exists in Christian theology. Balaam misused his prophecy to do things like cursing others. In the event of the Jewish people he was unsuccessful in cursing them. He is considered to be a wicked person, especially after he gave the advice to Moab to attack the Jew’s moral standards by enticing them to immoral behavior.

Rabbi Ephraim Nisenbaum

Question: Why do we cover our eyes with our right hand while saying the Shema prayer ? Why not during the second line of “Baruch Shem Kavod…” ?

Answer: Covering our eyes during the recitation of Shema is one of those things that we do at least twice every day, and yet rarely stop to think about, so I applaud your taking time out to ponder this ubiquitous practice.

The most obvious reason for covering our eyes during the Shema is to enhance our concentration during this most important prayer. The Shema is the ultimate declaration of faith in the One True God, and as such deserves our utmost attention. Covering our eyes enables us to fully devote our thoughts to the One Above.

That reason is certainly true and correct. There is, however, another, deeper reason which explains this practice.

The Shema declares our belief in the One True God. That is, that ultimately, the universe exists as a single entity, and that is God. There is nothing else, but God. However, in the world that we currently inhabit, we cannot easily discern that reality. It seems like there are a multitude of forces and energies competing in the universe. It is just about impossible to truly experience and understand that God is the ONLY force, the only energy that exists; it seems like God, God forbid, is just one of many entities that exist. Only in a future time, with the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of God’s true dominion of the universe, will this reality be clear to us. In the world to come, we will truly comprehend that God is the only One, the only thing that exists. The Shema reaffirms our belief, that no, there are not a multitude of forces in the universe—there is only One—God. In order to shield us from the illusion of this world, a world where we cannot easily see the Oneness of God, we close our eyes, shutting ourselves off from this world. The covering of the eyes is an indication to us, that seeing, in this world, is NOT believing, that we cannot trust our senses; that the truth, that God is the only force, is hidden from us, at least for now. In this manner, we can better understand the true meaning behind the declaration of the Shema. That is the deeper reason for covering our eyes during the recital of Shema.

As far your second question, my understanding is that, indeed, one SHOULD cover one’s eyes not only during the first sentence of Shema, but during the recitation of the second passage, Baruch Shem Kvod…, as well. In general the passage Baruch Shem Kvod is considered an extension of the Shema declaration.

Be well,
Rabbi Yoel Spotts

Question: Was Abraham the first Jew? Was he a Convert?

Answer: You are asking a great question. In Jewish tradition, Abraham is indeed considered the very first Jew. This title is bestowed on him for he was the first person in the world to arrive, on his own, to a recognition of God as Master of the World. Although people before him acknowledged the existence of a God, their knowledge was based on external information: a tradition passed down, parent to child, since Adam. Abraham, in contrast, arrived at the knowledge of an existence of a Supreme Creator on his own, without any external information. This fact marks Abraham as unique in the history of the world.

Whether Abraham is considered a convert may get into a question of semantics. The formal laws of conversion, per se, were not concertized until the Torah was given to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai. Before the giving of the Torah, becoming a Jew was a much less formal procedure, more predicated on one’s belief than a formal conversion ceremony: acceptance of God as the One Supreme Ruler of the universe sufficed to label one as a Jew. As such, Abraham could certainly be considered a convert to Judaism, but not in the same sense that we think of the conversion process today.

Be well,
Rabbi Yoel Spotts

Question: I would like to speak to a youth group about graffiti in the Jewish religion. Is it a frowned upon form of art in the Jewish religion?

Answer: Thank you for your excellent question. There are many volumes of the Talmud speaking of the laws of torts and damages, mostly referring to the consequences of accidentally damaging another person’s property. Intentionally damaging another person’s property is considered to be theft, and is most certainly forbidden. Even though graffiti is very common in Israel, there is no excuse for doing so if it is not your own property, and anyone who defaces another person’s property must pay for the damages, unless the owner gives them permission. Even if the owner forgives them permission later, and does not demand their right to payment, the act itself is a sin if it is done without permission.

However, there is nothing wrong with the modern-day art form itself if it is done to your own property or with the permission or hiring of the property owner where it is done. I would imagine that there must be some religious graffiti artists who do ask permission, considering how widespread it is in Jerusalem.

To summarize, there is nothing wrong with the art form itself, as long as it is done with permission (or on paper or another medium).

All the best,
Rabbi Kolakowski

Question: Who actually writes the Haftorah portions?

Answer: From the time that God gave the Torah to the Jews about 3300 years ago, and throughout the time that the Jews lived in the Land of Israel, until about 2400 years ago when the Jews were exiled, there were prophets – people through whom God communicated messages to the world. Some of those prophets wrote those messages down, and we still have those writings. These writings were collected into what is called the Books of Prophets (in other words, they are considered part of the Bible.)

The Haftorah portions are actually selections from the books of Prophets. They were chosen because they have a theme similar to something from the Torah portion of that week. (Originally this was done because the non-Jewish government at the time banned the Jews from reading from the Torah. So the Jews chose to read portions from the prophets to remind them of the Torah portion. When the ban ended, and they began reading from the Torah again, they continued reading from the Prophets as well.) So the authors of the Haftorahs are various prophets who live thousands of years ago. Some of the famous prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Samuel and others.

All the Best,
Rabbi Azriel Schrieber

Question: What really happened at Sinai? Did G-d actually speak? Did G-d really dictate every word of Torah verbatim? Please tell me what you think.

Answer: It is certainly a primary element of my Torah faith that G-d actually was heard by the entire nation (though among Midrashic sources there is a variety of opinions as to precisely how much was heard directly from G-d and how much through Moses) and that G-d really did dictate every word of the Five Books verbatim.

But that’s just my opinion. Why should it carry any weight? Why and on which logical basis do I believe it? For that, you might like to see a very tightly written free on-line book by a former professor of analytic philosophy at Johns Hopkins University – Rabbi David Gottlieb: http://www.dovidgottlieb.com/publications.htm

Nevertheless, one quick (and incomplete) answer to my own question involves observing that the Torah text itself clearly confirms these beliefs. If, in fact, G-d never actually spoke to our ancestors, then Exodus ch. 19 is a lie. Not just an error; an innocent myth that evolved from a primitive and superstitious time, but a willful scam. Someone who knew these events to have never occurred would have to have written them down with intent to defraud the entire world.

Similarly, had the entire text not been dictated by G-d to Moses and then committed to writing in his lifetime, then Deut. 31: 24 too would have been a complete fake. Every last ounce of the Torah’s credibility in every field – morality, history, jurisprudence – would be lost. If any part of it is demonstrably fraudulent, the rest is entirely worthless (beyond some inherent poetic value).

Of course it is theoretically possible that it’s a fake (although highly unlikely – see Rabbi Gottlieb’s book), but it’s not such a comfortable fit with the Torah’s greater context.

In a sense, then, the Torah itself allows no middle ground: either it’s all true or the greatest fraud in all history. I suppose it’s our job to assess the evidence and figure out which is the most probable.

With my very best wishes,
Rabbi Boruch Clinton

Question: I want to teach my students about body piercings and tattoos from a Torah perspective in a way that they will be receptive. If you have any suggestions please let me know.

Answers: Jewish law does prohibit the application of tattoos (see Vayikra. 19, 28; Gemara Makkos, 21a; Shulchan Aruch, Yore Deah, 180 et. al.). The medieval Spanish summary of the 613 commandments, the Sefer Hachinuch, suggests as a possible explanation for the commandment the fact that various pagan cultures used tattooing for ceremonial purposes and, since the Torah wants to place great distance between Jews and paganism of any kind, the practice was prohibited.

Relevant also are the difficulties associated with removing tattoos. I do have experience with Jews who have chosen to make their way to full Torah observance and felt the presence of tattoos to be an impediment. In at least one case, a young man felt such discomfort with his tattoo that he was compelled to undergo what I understand was a painful and invasive procedure to remove it.

In addition, as you’re obviously well aware, the social implications of tattoos, body rings and the like are also worth considering. It’s certainly true (as you can see from Shmos 32; 2) that earrings seem to have been common even among boys (but apparently not among adult men – as the men were not told to donate their earrings). But, nevertheless, such dress is unknown among orthodox families today. So even if a practice is perfectly acceptable from a legal perspective, integration into all or part of the traditional Jewish community might be hindered by such a non-verbal “statement.”

Another thought: the way we dress and the jewelry choices we make are all statements of cultural loyalty. Rather than “expressing individuality”, adopting a popular fashion style is far more likely to be slavish imitation of some media hero. Now there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that; we all do it in one way or another. But it could be of value for a young person to think carefully about this hero’s moral and social standards before copying his or her habits.

I hope this is helpful.

With my best regards,
Rabbi Boruch Clinton