Weekly Email by Rabbi Moss

Should I Feel Guilty?

Monday, June 24, 2019 - 9:50 PM

Question:

You know me, I always feel guilty about something. Since my mother died, I feel guilty every time I have fun or even go to the hairdresser, as if I have no right to enjoy my life now that her life has ended. I know this isn't healthy but I can't seem to let myself live. Are there any Jewish teachings on this that might help me?

Answer:

The only thing you should feel guilty about is feeling guilty. Not only is it holding you back, it's holding your mother's soul back too.

The connection we have with a loved one reaches beyond this lifetime. It is a soul connection, a bond deeper than the physical and temporary confines of the body. Just as souls never die, so too our relationship with a soul… Read More »

The Corner of the Table: Will I Stay Single Forever?

Sunday, June 16, 2019 - 10:40 PM

Question of the Week:

In my family, it is strictly forbidden for any unmarried person to sit at the corner of the table. We were told from a young age that if you do sit at a corner, you will never get married. To this day I can't bring myself to sit at a corner, or let anyone else do so. Is this a Jewish belief?

Answer:

This belief is widely held, and has been handed down for generations in a range of cultures. If your grandmother is Polish, Russian, Hungarian, Rumanian or Ukrainian then there is a good chance she grew up with this superstition. The fact that many Jewish families originate from those countries may explain why so many share this belief. But it doesn't come from a Jewish source.

Who Wrote the End of the Torah?

Monday, June 10, 2019 - 9:49 PM

Question of the Week:

If Moses received the entire Torah at Mt Sinai, how did it contain things that hadn't even happened yet, right up to Moses' death forty years later?!

Answer:

That's a great question! Moses didn't receive all five books of the Torah all at once. It was a process of unravelling.

At Mt Sinai, G-d gave Moses the Ten Commandments along with all the Torah passages from creation up until that point. That included the book of Genesis, and part of the book of Exodus until the description of the revelation at Mt Sinai. Then in the following months G-d dictated to Moses the rest of Exodus, Leviticus and part of Numbers. The rest of Numbers and Deuteronomy were given to Moses in… Read More »

Does My Kippah Make Me a Target?

Sunday, June 2, 2019 - 10:40 PM

Question of the Week:

My work takes me to all kinds of places, and often I find myself in neighbourhoods that are pretty hostile to Jews. My friends are telling me that I should remove my kippah as I am endangering myself by being openly Jewish. I wear my kippah with pride, but am I making myself into a target?

Answer:

There are two ways to wear a kippah. You can wear it on your head, or you can wear it in your head.

Wearing a kippah on your head means it is an article of clothing, an accessory, an external addition to your self.

Wearing it in your head means it is part of you, it is a fixture, a piece of your very self. It is not just what you wear, it is who you are.