Weekly Email by Rabbi Moss

I'm Completely Shaken By This

Sunday, April 25, 2021 - 9:01 PM

Question of the Week

Why will my rabbi not shake a woman's hand? I find it highly offensive. I would think in this day and age women could be treated equally to men, not as inferior untouchables. Why can't a religious man have the basic courtesy to shake hands with me?

Answer

Does anyone shake hands anymore? I thought the hand shaking tradition died a quiet death during the pandemic. People stopped shaking hands, a nd curiously, no one took it personally.

When someone refuses to shake hands for health reasons, it is like saying, "Lovely to see you. If you don't mind I won't touch you because you may be infected, or unhygienic, or both. I'd rather not get sick from you."

This is completely acceptable. No one takes o… Read More »

Why Are You Always Late?

Sunday, April 18, 2021 - 10:03 PM

Question of the Week:

I have a friend who is never on time for any social arrangement, and is often outrageously late. He is otherwise a great guy. His tardiness drives me crazy and is affecting our friendship. Does our sensible religion have something to say on why it is wrong to be late? I suspect that if Judaism promotes punctuality, he might lift his game...

Answer:

The Kabbalah teaches that people come under two personality types: chessed or gevurah.

A chessed type is someone who is giving and outward, generous and expressive. They are easy-going, spontaneous and free-spirited. But sometimes a bit all over the place.

A gevurah type is more inward and disciplined, cont… Read More »

He Just Won't Commit...

Sunday, April 11, 2021 - 11:51 PM

Question of the Week

You may find it strange that I am writing to you, rabbi. You know I am not very involved in Jewish life. I am very spiritual, but not religious. I am turning to you because you know my boyfriend very well. We've been so long together and he still won't commit. He says our relationship is fine as it is, and we don't need to be married. Maybe you can give him a little nudge and explain that a relationship needs commitment to be real?

Answer

I would be glad to try and bring him around. You are a great couple and he would be a fool to lose you. But I must say, you can't blame him for not committing. You are doing the exact same thing as he is.

When he says, "I love you, but I don't want to marry you,&q… Read More »

A Fortnight of Pesach

Monday, April 5, 2021 - 8:59 PM

Question of the Week

Why do we have the Moshiach meal on the last day of Pesach?

Answer:

You often hear people say, "I wish Pesach would last another week."

Well, not so often.

But the Zohar teaches that when Moshiach comes, it will. Instead of just one week, Pesach will last a full fourteen days. The first seven days will celebrate Moses taking us out of Egypt, the mother of all redemptions. The second seven days will celebrate the coming of Moshiach, ending almost two thousand years of exile.

Before anyone starts to panic about fourteen days of Pesach, let's make things clear. We will still eat Matzah for the first week, to remember how we had to rush out of Egypt. And then, for … Read More »