Weekly Email by Rabbi Moss

Can a Doubting Heart Get Married?

Sunday, August 28, 2016 - 8:30 PM

Question of the Week

Is it normal to have doubts during an engagement? My friends tell me I should be 100% certain that I have made the right decision, but I would be lying if I said I had no doubts. Is it a bad sign if I am just not sure?

Answer:

There are two types of doubting. One is an alarm bell that should not be ignored. The other is a sign that you have made the right choice.

The great Kabbalist Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Schneersohn wrote a letter to his recently engaged son, explaining that engagement and doubt go hand in hand. The union of soulmates is such a lofty and super-rational event that the mind cannot possibly grasp it. Something is at work that is beyond our understanding and therefo… Read More »

Would You Donate a Kidney?

Tuesday, August 23, 2016 - 7:48 PM

Question of the Week

I have been pondering some random philosophical questions, and would love to hear your take: If we lose our memory are we still ourselves? Am I still myself if I lose my mind? And how do I know that I didn't wake up this morning in this body with this memory, but yesterday I was someone else with their memory?

Answer:

Assuming you are still you when you receive this, I will attempt to answer your question. Let's approach this theoretical topic by first looking at a very real story.

My brother-in-law Rabbi Zalman Sandhaus did something heroic this week. He donated a kidney to save the life of a stranger. A man who suffered from kidney disease for 24 years now has a new lease on… Read More »

Did I Just Have a Spiritual Experience?

Tuesday, August 16, 2016 - 11:09 PM

Question of the Week

I am just back from my big trip to Israel. I thought I'd never get there. I think it's the first Jewish thing I've done since my bar mitzvah (which wasn't so Jewish either).

But here's the weird part. I went to the Wall in Jerusalem, and you know me, I'm the last person to have a "spiritual experience". But as I approached the Wall I started to cry uncontrollably. I felt this strange magnetism towards the Wall, almost as if G-d was pulling me. What do you think? Not bad for an agnostic, huh?

Answer:

You have a powerful Jewish soul, and you caught a glimpse of its power at the Wall.

The Wall is the last remnant of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Wh… Read More »

Why Doesn't G-d Feed the Poor?

Tuesday, August 9, 2016 - 12:35 AM

Question of the Week

G-d is surely not a hypocrite. If He tells us to do something, He should do it Himself too. So shouldn't G-d be obligated to feed the poor? Why doesn't He help His own children rather than commanding us to do it for Him?

Answer:

Imagine you know someone who needs food to feed their family. You want to help them. So you send a nice check in the mail. But it never gets there, as the mailman kept the check for himself.

So you order a meal online for them. But the restaurant got the order wrong and gave the food to someone else.

Not giving up, you arrange a grocery shop for them. But the delivery truck never showed up.

Exasperated, you go on to your bank app t… Read More »