Torah Cafe

In addition to the reading from the Torah in the synagogue every Shabbat and holiday, we also read a Haftorah from one of the books of our Prophets. When did the Haftorah start? Why do we do it? How do we choose the Haftorah each week?

A fascinating discussion about the Haftorah.

We all love watching sunset, but when exactly is the sunset, the moment when day switches to night?

This question is very relevant in Judaism since Shabbat and Jewish holidays begin at sunset. Time is a central pillar in Judaism. Shabbat and Jewish holidays begin and end at certain times. Many commandments must be fulfilled on specific days, at specific times or during the day or night. Jewish scholars have analyzed time and debated classifying days, nights and other moments for over 3,000 years,

A discussion about Zemanim - Time in Judaism

Jews have lived in Ukraine for over 2,000 years making it one of the oldest continuous Jewish communities in the word . For the past 500 years, Ukraine had one of the largest Jewish communities in the world and remains so today. Ukraine has also seen some of the worst anti-Semitic atrocities in our history.

Hamantash is a delicious pastry with filling that we eat on Purim. Not only is the Hamantash delicious, it has a unique mystical significance that ties in with a lesser known Purim food, the Krepel.

A talk about the Purim holiday with a fascinating discussion about the mystical significance of the Hamantash.

Through the Torah and Jewish prayers we use human terminology when referring to G-d including gender (usually male), body parts (hands, eye, ears, nose, feet), feelings (angry, happy, sad, merciful, kind) and actions (speaking, smelling, hitting, touching). Yet Judaism believes that G-d is beyond any human description. How can we use human terminology for G-d while believing he is beyond human description?

Hillel the Elder who lived just over 2,000 years ago was one of the most influential Jewish scholars and leaders in history. Hillel was President of the Sanhedrin Supreme Council of Judaism) during the reign of Herod and founder of Beit Hillel, one of two prominent academies in Jerusalem during late Temple period

Jewish law places limits on how far we can travel on Shabbat even when walking by foot. We are also given ways to extend those limits.

A discussion about travelling on Shabbat.

Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman of Girona, Spain, known as Ramban or Nachmaines was one of the greatest Jewish leaders, scholars and thinkers in our history. In the 13th century, he served as the chief rabbi of Girona as well as the most important rabbi of Aragon and the Iberian Peninsula.

Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman wrote extensively making a major impact on Jewish thought, commentary, law and mysticism. Perhaps he is most renowned for the debate he was forced to have with Christian scholars about Judaism.

The Choshen - Breastplate was a special garment worn by the High Priest when the Holy Temple stood with 12 precious stones engraved with the names of Israel. The Choshen had miraculous powers. The Jews would use the Choshen to ask G-d questions that they had.

A fascinating discussion about the amazing Choshen and its miraculous powers.

We know we should be giving charity but how much should we give? Are we giving enough? Perhaps we are giving too much! Can we really help everyone who needs it?

A discussion about the parameters of giving in Judaism where we will talk about whom we should give and how much we should give.