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Weekly Email by Rabbi Moss

Thousands of people enjoy the wisdom and inspiration of Rabbi Moss' weekly emails.

Can Faith Help Me Win the Lottery?

Question of the Week

I have a question about faith. If you look at the statistics, my chances of a happy life are pretty grim. I am very unlikely to make a lot of money or win the lottery. But my marriage has a high chance of failing, and at my age the odds of contracting some dreaded disease are increasing. So with the cards all stacked against me, am I supposed to just have trust in G-d that everything will be fine? Isn't it more realistic to say that everything probably won't be fine?

Answer

They say that 60% of small businesses fail within their first three years. And after ten years, only 10% are still standing. So for an entrepreneur starting a new business, the scales are tipped heavily against you.

Imagi… Read More »

What If I Miss My Chuppah?

 

Question of the Week

Is it permissible to have two wedding ceremonies? My fiance and I are from two different countries, and with all the travel restrictions we thought to have two Chuppahs, one with each of our families. Is that allowed?

Answer

If the Jewish wedding were just a ceremony, then it would be fine to repeat it. But it is not a ceremony. It is much more than that. 

A ceremony is a symbolic gesture, a public event that celebrates a milestone. An example would be a graduation ceremony. People wear funny hats and long robes (like I do every day) and receive a piece of paper wrapped in a ribbon, so they can get a photo of themselves wearing a funny hat and long robes holding a certificate wrapped… Read More »

Are Manicures Essential?

Question of the Week

Why do we look at our fingernails after making the blessing on fire at  Havdalah?

Answer

This is our weekly check-in. We are examining the most important aspect of our life. Our manicure.

It goes back to the first humans, Adam and Eve. Created by the hand of G-d, their physical bodies shone with a holy luminosity. Not only were their souls pure, even their bodies were sparkling and bright.

But then they ate the forbidden fruit. They misused their holy body for an unholy purpose. Their skin lost its lustre, and they were left naked and vulnerable. No longer did the body shine. Their holy souls now occupied not-so-holy bodies. 

From that moment on, the struggle betwe… Read More »

Do You Really Want to Leave Lockdown?

 

Question of the Week

After my non-stop complaining about all the restrictions for the last three months, now weirdly a part of me feels like I don't want to go out and face the world again. Is it normal not to want to leave lockdown?

Answer

After the last eighteen months, I am not sure what normal is any more.  But what you are experiencing seems normal to me. It is a common case of Ark Attachment. 

It all started with Noah and the flood. Noah, his wife Naama, and their three sons and daughters-in-law spent over a year confined to the Ark, in the company of wild animals. Which already sounds like a typical lockdown home arrangement. 

You would expect that at the end of that year, they wou… Read More »

Who is Lilith?

 

Question of the Week

I have heard that Adam had a first wife before Eve called Lilith. She refused to subordinate herself to him, and so she was replaced with Eve. I see no mention of this whole idea in the Torah, so is it true?

Answer

Yes it's true, but not quite as you say.

Authentic Jewish sources speak of a demonic spirit who preceded Eve as Adam's female companion. She was not a physical person, and so she can't be called his wife. But she is still around to this day. 

You see, before Adam had an actual relationship, he had the desire for a relationship. This desire begins as a physical urge, a selfish need for gratification. 

This base desire is personified by Lilith, Adam's imaginary first partn… Read More »

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