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In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I address a profound spiritual question: Why does God want some distance? Even when we draw close with broken hearts in prayer, why does God remain hidden? I explore this concept through the lens of Purim, where God is famously hidden throughout the entire story. In the Book of Esther, which we read on Purim, God's name is never mentioned explicitly. Yet our sages tell us the name is there, hidden. Every time the text says "HaMelech" (the King) by itself, it refers to God Himself - the ultimate King. When it says "Ahasuerus," it refers to the historical Persian king. I explain the mask analogy: When someone wears a mask, they're very close to you - if they were far away, the distance itself would hide their identity.

You only need a mask when you're close. Similarly, God was very close during the Purim story, which is why He needed the "mask" to remain hidden. But why does God do this? The simple answer is: I don't know. Moses himself asked God to understand His ways - why bad things happen to good people and vice versa - and God answered that humans cannot comprehend this and live. However, I offer an analogy from parenting: when my kids are in ski school, I want to watch their progress, but I hide behind a tree because if they see me, they won't work as hard. When something's difficult and your parent is right there, the natural tendency is to give up and ask for help.

Just as God told the Jewish people at the Red Sea, "Don't pray to me now - start walking, start doing, start acting," sometimes we need sink-or-swim moments. We need opportunities to rise to the occasion, and for that to happen, God needs to be hidden. It's uncomfortable and scary, but this is what eventually makes us become the people God knows we're capable of becoming.

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Parshat Shemini This Week: The Torah gives us kashrut, laws about what we can and cannot eat. But it’s not just about food.

We are what we consume. What we surround ourselves with. The people we follow, the music we listen to, the movies we watch, and the social media we scroll—all of it is absorbed through osmosis into our personalities, our psyches, and our souls.

Often, we don’t even realize the effect it’s having on us. Kashrut reminds us: what you imbibe affects who you become. Before you scroll, ask: Is this nourishing or toxic? Before you watch, before you listen, before you eat, pause. Consider what you’re letting in. You are what you consume. Choose wisely.

Shabbat Shalom. 🍎

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📖 Parshat Tzav This Week: Last week's Vayikra covered the big concepts behind sacrifices: the philosophy and the meaning. This week? Tzav gets unromantic. It's all the nitty-gritty details: how the kohen actually performs the service day in and day out. No drama. No inspiration. Just showing up.

The Korban Tamid—the daily offering—is mentioned specifically because it represents consistency. Not the days you feel spiritually high. Not when it's easy. But the 'ugh, another day' moments. When you show up anyway. When you do it, even when you don't feel like it. That's when it's real. Inspiration comes and goes, but what truly matters is what you do every single day, consistently. Shabbat Shalom. 📅

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In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I tackle an excellent paradox: The Torah explicitly states that one is prohibited from adding or subtracting from the mitzvot. So how then do rabbinic mitzvot come to be? Isn't that adding to the Torah? You're correct that the Torah forbids us from adding or detracting from it, and both adding and detracting are equally problematic. Your question is so good that the Rambam (Maimonides) himself asks it: How did the rabbis make fences for the Torah? Isn't that adding to it? I explain the crucial distinction between rabbinic mitzvot and adding to the Torah.

Adding to the Torah would be claiming "this is what the Torah says" when the Torah doesn't actually say it. Rabbinic mitzvot, however, are very different. The rabbis are doing exactly what the Torah commands them to do—putting up protective fences to prevent people from transgressing actual Torah law. The key is that we understand the distinction between rabbinic law and Torah law. As long as we recognize these are safeguards put in place to protect us from violating biblical Torah law, it's not only acceptable but actually required by the Torah itself.

Think of it like guardrails on a highway or a fence on top of a high roof - if we take Torah seriously and want to ensure we don't transgress biblical law, we need those guardrails to keep us in line. History proves the wisdom of rabbinic laws. I personally have looked at some rabbinic laws and thought, "Are you serious? You really think if X happens, then Y will happen?

They seem totally disconnected!" But we have the benefit of history, and we can see that Jewish communities that abandoned rabbinic laws actually began abandoning Torah laws as well. The direct correlation between transgression of rabbinic law and the forgetting of Torah law is remarkable and validates the rabbis' foresight.

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📖 Parshat Vayikra This Week: At a YU commencement, Rachel Goldberg-Polin said, "Judaism is not about what you think. It isn't about what you learn. It isn't about what you say. Judaism is about what you do.' 

The sacrifices in this parsha seem archaic, but here's what we can connect to: when something was wrong, you didn't just feel bad; you brought an offering. You took action. You noted that something was out of alignment and needs to change. 

Today, when we're stuck, when we mess up, when we need to transition, thinking about it isn't enough. Saying it isn't enough. Action is what transforms. Don't just think things. Don't just say things. Do things. Shabbat Shalom. 💪

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In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I answer a question that surprises many people: Do Jews believe in reincarnation? The short answer is yes. Judaism does believe in the concept of gilgul neshamot (reincarnation of souls), according to many of our sages.

Practically all of us alive today are reincarnations of previous souls and lives. What this means is that if a person, for whatever reason, did not fulfill their purpose in this world during their lifetime, they get to try again. I know it sounds a lot like a video game: you do your best, try as hard as you can, and if you die without finishing your mission, you get to try again.

I explain how the Zohar finds a biblical reference to this in the laws of levirate marriage (yibum). When a man dies childless, his widow is obligated to marry his brother, and the Torah states that the firstborn son "shall succeed in the name of his dead brother, that his name not be erased from the Jewish people." " The Zohar reveals this as the secret of reincarnation: the child born from this union is actually a reincarnation of the deceased brother.

The earliest biblical reference may be from the Book of Job, chapter 33, verse 30: "Behold, God does all these things with man two or three times... to bring back his soul from the grave, to bask in the light of the living." So yes, Jews do believe in reincarnation, though it's not as widely known as other Jewish beliefs.

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📖 Parshat Pekudei This Week: The Mishkan is complete. Donations poured in. Gold, silver, and precious materials. But then the Torah does something unexpected: it provides a detailed accounting of every single donation. Wait, why? Nobody was accusing Moshe of embezzlement. Because inspiration is intoxicating. When we're caught up in a mission that feels good, we can skip the details, assuming 'if it feels right, it must be right. ' The Torah says, "Pause." Slow down. Account for everything. Make sure nothing slipped through. Inspiration without accountability is dangerous. Feel inspired, yes, but stay rational. Check the details. Ensure integrity. Even the holiest projects need transparency. Especially the holiest projects. Shabbat Shalom. 📊

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In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I answer a question many people ask: What is the best way to get started in wanting to be more involved in Jewish life? The answer might surprise you with how accessible and flexible it actually is.

Luckily, Judaism is not all or nothing. It's better to do something than to do nothing at all. While that might sound obvious, it's not the way many Jews approach Judaism. I hear people say all the time, "Rabbi, why should I light Shabbat candles?" I don't keep Shabbos." But here's the truth: the fact that you might go to the movies after lighting candles does not invalidate the mitzvah you've done by lighting those candles. This applies to all of our mitzvot. 

My recommendation is to find those aspects of Judaism that speak to you personally. Find what's most meaningful to you, and if you're going to start somewhere, you might as well start there. But how do you know which aspects are most meaningful? The only way to really know is to begin learning more about Judaism. The more you study Torah, the more you discover what's out there and learn the different ways Judaism can enhance your life.

So the only way to begin is to start studying, whether one-on-one with a rabbi or anyone who knows more Torah than you, or through resources like Aish.com, which has thousands of articles on every topic imaginable. Rabbi Akiva famously said in the Talmud that learning is most important because learning leads to action. You can't possibly do the mitzvot until you learn about them, what they are, how they work, and how they can enhance your life.

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📖 Parshat Ki Tisa This Week: Immediately after the highest spiritual moment in history, receiving the Torah directly from God at Mount Sinai, comes the Golden Calf, one of the lowest points in Jewish history. How does that happen? How do you fall so far, so fast? The lesson: inspiration is not permanent. That spiritual high, that moment of clarity, that burst of motivation it fades. Always. And if you're not ready for that, the fall can be steep. If the Jewish people at Mount Sinai could sink so quickly, we certainly can. So when inspiration strikes, act immediately. Do something concrete. Take a step. Put it into action before the feeling disappears. Capture the spark while it's still burning. Don't just feel it; build on it. Shabbat Shalom. 🔥

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In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I answer one of the most common misconceptions about Jewish law: Can a person with a tattoo be buried in a Jewish cemetery? The short answer is yes - even someone with a tattoo can absolutely be buried in a Jewish cemetery.

That's not to say tattoos are condoned by Judaism. The Torah (the Bible) makes it very clear that it is forbidden to get a tattoo. But why? I explain that we look at our bodies as holy receptacles for our souls. Just like you wouldn't borrow a Bentley from someone and put bumper stickers all over it, we believe our bodies are, so to speak, borrowed. They're here to fulfill a specific purpose - housing our souls and allowing us to connect spiritually through action in this physical world. Therefore, we don't want to permanently mark them up with those proverbial bumper stickers.

However, having a tattoo doesn't disqualify someone from Jewish burial. This is just one of many misconceptions people have about Jewish law and burial practices. The reality is far more compassionate and understanding than the myths suggest.

Whether you have tattoos yourself, know someone who does, or are simply curious about Jewish burial customs and what actually disqualifies someone from Jewish cemetery burial, this episode clears up a widespread misunderstanding about Jewish practice and law.

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