Torah Cafe

The Jewish people in ancient times were split into 12 tribes descending from the 12 sons of Jacob. Each tribe has unique features and roles in Jewish history.

A discussion about the 12 tribes, their histories, uniqueness and if we can know which of the tribes we come from today.

When the majority of Jews in the world were mostly assimilated by the mid 20th century, many observant Jews worked to build their own enclaves where they could build traditional observant Jewish communities.

The Rebbe who led the Chabad movement, took a different approach. He encouraged his followers to build communities for unaffiliated Jews and slowly bring each of them back to their Jewish heritage.

The fascinating story of how the Rebbe refused to give up on a single Jew leading to him sending thousands of emissaries to reach each and every Jew.

Jews pray three times each day with additional prayer for special occasions. Some of the prayers are quite long and can be confusing to follow.

An overview of the structure of our daily prayers and how they work.

One of the most challenging stories in the Torah is the Akeida when G-d commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.

This story raises some strong ethical questions. How could G-d ask for human sacrifice? How can Abraham agree to do it without questioning?

A fascinating discussion of the story of the Akeida and the ethical lessons we learn from it.

The story of our people began when G-d made a covenant with Abraham telling him that his descendants will be slaves but with then leave with great wealth. He promised to give his descendants the Land of Canaan. This covenant is known as the Brit Bein Habetarim - Covenant Between the Pieces.

A fascinating discussion about the original covenant between Abraham and G-d.

The Torah gives us ages for many Biblical figures. In the first few chapters, people live over 900 years. For the rest of the Torah it's common for people to live well over 100 years.

Are those ages really true? Could people really live that long? If they did, what changed? Why do we not live as long today?

Every day of sukkot we march around the Bima (podium) in the center of the synagogue with our Lulav. On Simchat Torah, we dance around the Bima with the Torah scrolls. What is the significance of circling the Bima and why do we circle the Bima on Sukkot and Simchat Torah.

Join us this Sunday for a delicious breakfast in the JCC Sukkah and a fascinating discussion about the customs of circling the Bima on Sukkot and Simchat Torah

In ancient Israel, every seven years, the entire nation of Israel would gather in the Temple where the Torah was read by the king or leader in an event called Hakhel - gathering. Today, with the Temple no longer standing, the original event no longer takes place, yet we gather together to recommit together to the Torah.

A class about this ancient event and how it is still relevant today.

One of the most notable prayers on Yom Kippur is the Yizkor Memorial Prayer where we mention the names of our parents and relatives who have died. Why is the Yizkor prayer so important? What does it signify?

A fascinating class about the origins, meaning and impact of the Yizkor Memorial Prayer.

The Torah commands us that every seven years at the end of the Shemitah (Sabbatical) year, all loans must be absolved and the creditor is forbidden from collecting those loans.

More than a thousand years later, the sage Hillel found a legal loophole called Pruzbul to allow creditors to collect their loan after the Shemitah year had passed.

What is the Pruzbul and how does it work? What is the point of a commandment if we have a loophole to get around it? Is G-d happy when we find loopholes to avoid his commandments? Even if it's legal, is it in the spirit of the Torah?

A class about the 'Absolving of Loans' and the Pruzbul loophole.