Torah Cafe

Samson was a Shofet, leader of Israel in the Shoftim period when Israel first settled in the land of Israel. He was best known for his superhuman strength and mighty feats in battle with the Philistines. He was later betrayed by his wife Delilah who shared the secret of his superhuman strength with the Philistines.

Discover the fascinating story of Samson.

One of the greatest Jewish figures in our history was Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon known as Rambam of Maimonides who lived in the 12th in Egypt. This Sunday will be the 813th anniversary of his passing.

Discover the fascinating story of Maimonides, his impact on Judaism and the way he singlehandedly organized the Torah.

The Torah we were given includes two parts. The Written Torah and the Oral Torah. We consider the Oral Torah to be the primary source of all our laws and rules in Judaism?

What exactly is the Oral Torah? How do we know it is true and was transmitted accurately over the many generations?

A discussion about the Oral Torah, what exactly it is and how we know it to be true.

Rashi, a 12th century scholar from France was one of the greatest Jewish scholars of all times. Best know for his commentaries on the Torah and Talmud that have become the standard commentaries on those central Jewish text

Learn about Rashi, his life story and the great impact he made on Jewish scholarship and Judaism.

Tithing or separating a tenth of one's earnings for charity originates in Judaism where it is known as Maaser Kesafim and has since been adopted by other religions built from Judaism.

When did we start tithing? Why do we tithe? What kind of earnings should be tithed? Where should the tithes go?

A discussion of Ma'aser Kesafim - Tithing in Judaism

Modern medicine has given us the power to extend lives even when the individual is not expected to recover and may be in extreme pain or not responsive. At what point can we stop offering live saving treatment that is just temporarily extending the suffering? Can we do anything to make them die sooner and end their suffering?

End of life care is relevant to all of us who have had loved ones that have faced or likely will face End-of Life care dilemmas. We ourselves may need to deal with them one day. Unfortunately, it is hard to make the right ethical decisions while sick or while caring for a loved one.

Learn about the Jewish perspective on End-of-Life treatment to get a better understanding of our Jewish ethics and how they contrast with prevalent medical ethics and practices.

Do Jews have martyrs? There are religions in which it's a great thing to die for your faith, and doing so makes you a saint or gets you a ticket to paradise.

What is the Jewish view? Millions of Jews have died for being Jewish but is it a central value in Judaism? Are martyrs heros? Do they get a ticket to paradise? Is Jew person supposed to die for their beliefs?

What is the Jewish view on martyrdom?

The ethics of capital punishment has been hotly debated for decades with our Governor recently taking a strong position against capital punishment. Throughout this debate, the perspective of Judaism has been brought up repeatably by both side including by the Eighth Circuit in 1988 Hayes V. Lockhart case.

What does Judaism in fact say about the death penalty? On which side of the debate does Judaism fall?

One of the biggest cultural debates in the past century has been over abortion. Does allowing abortions protect a women's right to choose or does prohibiting abortions protect the fetus's right to live? What about abortion in cases of rape, teen mother, when the child poses a health threat to the mother or when the child is handicapped?

What does the Torah say about abortions and the arguments on both sides?

Many of our early ancestors including Abraham and Sara, Isaac and Rebecca and Jacob and Rachel suffered with infertility. Today, we have modern medical solutions including in-vitro fertilization that allows for couples that would otherwise be infertile to have children.

What is the Jewish perspective on infertility? Why does G-d give some people children and not others? Should those who are infertile, spare all expense and effort to have children? Does Jewish law allow infertility treatments?

A fascinating discussion about the Jewish perspective on infertility and infertility treatments.