Torah Cafe

In addition to the birthdays that most people celebrate, we also have Jewish birthdays. What is a Jewish birthday? What does it mean? How do we celebrate?

A discussion about the significance of our Jewish birthday.

Philosophers and physicists have always wondered if there are other realities beyond our own that we are unaware of and cannot reach. People have imagined and fantasize about what such parallel universes would look like.

A discussion about the Jewish belief in parallel universes and what we believe they are like.

While most of the world is starting their new year in the Gregorian Calendar, we Jews use an entirely different Jewish calendar whose dates only sync with the Gregorian calendar periodically.

Where does the Jewish calendar come from? How is it calculated? How does it work? When does the Jewish calendar sync with the Gregorian Calendar?

Napoleon introduced French revolutionary values to all of Europe as his armies marched across the continent. Among those was his treatment of the Jews. To many Jews, Napoleon was a savior to others he was a villain.

A fascinating discussion about Napoleon's complex relationship with the Jews of Europe and his impact that is still felt today.

Much of the Torah is stories about our early history. Many of the stories are very down to earth and relatable but some of them seem unrealistic with the events unnatural.

Do Jews believe that all the stories of the Torah are true? Could some stories be metaphors?

Ezra was a Jewish leader who lived over 2300 years ago yet made a greater impact on Judaism than anyone other than Moses.

A discussion about Ezra, the great Jewish leader who transformed Judaism

Oil is central to the Chanukah celebration. We are celebrating how the oil of the Menorah in the Temple was only enough to last one day but miraculously lasted eight days. Many light their Menorah with oil candles while we eat oily foods such as latkes and donuts. Why is oil so important to the Chanukah story?

A fascinating discussion about oil, its unique role in Judaism and lessons we can take from oil.

For thousands of years, Jews have been exiled from their land and forced to wander from land to land living under the rule of other people who were often hostile to them.

A discussion about the story of the Jewish exile, why we have wandered for so long and what we have achieved during our exile.

In early medieval times a kingdom emerged in Southern Ukraine where the royal family and many aristocrats converted to Judaism. While this Jewish led kingdom of Khazaria was short lived, its existence has fascinated Jews from the time the kingdom came into existence until today. It even gave birth to the notorious Khazar conspiracy theory claiming Ashkenazic Jewry descends from Khazars.

Most Jewish families have unique Jewish sounding family names. Where do those family names come from? When did we start using Jewish family names? Can we tell from our family name where we came from or who our ancestors are?