Torah Cafe

Chacham Yosef Chayim of Baghdad was the greatest rabbi and sage of the Iraqi Jewish community and perhaps the entire Sephardic world in the 19th century. Chacham Yosef Chayim's became known by the name of one of the countless books he authored Ben Ish Chai. He became famous as a master scholar, Halachic (legal) expert, Kabbalist, preacher, author and Jewish leader. 

As humanity has developed and industrialized, we became increasingly concerned about the impact of our development and industrialization on the environment. Many believe that we are not concerned enough and much more needs to be done to care for and avoid harm to the environment.

What is the Jewish view on caring for the environment? Do we have a responsibility towards the environment? Should we be concerned about the environment even at the cost of human development?

While the Torah gives us signs to recognize Kosher animals and fish, the Torah doesn't list any signs of Kosher birds. What signs then make a bird Kosher? Which common birds are kosher to eat?

A fascinating class about which birds are Kosher. 

Link for Jewish Belief in Sacrifice Class

Spodify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Y8ytem9XHTMs3CkVqRyyw

Apple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-jews-believe-in-sacrifice/id1459281504?i=1000483642088

The Soviet Union moved quickly to almost entirely stamp out Judaism across the massive country within a decade of coming to power. By the 1930's virtually all major Jewish leaders in the world's largest Jewish community had either been killed, fled or went into hiding. 

One Jewish leader, Rabbi Levik Schneerson, the Rabbi of Dnipro in Ukraine survived and almost single handedly kept the Jewish spark alive. In 1939 he was arrested and sent to Kazakhstan where he died in 1944

A fascinating discussion about Rabbi Levik Schneerson and his role in standing up to the soviets.

In 1240, the Talmud was put on trial in Paris for blasphemy where it was convicted of being burned. On June 17, 1242, 24 wagon loads with more than 10,000 Jewish manuscripts were burned in Paris in the Place de Grève. 

Why was the Talmud burned? How did it survive? And what was the impact of Jews and Christians in Europe?

A fascinating Tisha B'av themed discussion about the burning of the Talmud 

When praying in different synagogues, one would notice that there are considerable variations between the prayers and prayer books (siddurim) in different Jewish communities. The different variations for prayer are called Nuscha'ot

Why are there so many variations of the prayers? Where did these differences come from? How does someone choose which prayer variation they should follow?J

A fascinating class about the Nuschaot, variations in Jewish prayer.  

Just a few decades after the destruction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, Emperor Cyrus of Persia gave the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. The euphoria didn't last long, soon after they started building the Temple, permission was rescinded

A fascinating discussion about the starts and stops of the building of the Second Temple and the fulfillment of Jeramiah's cryptic prophecy.

One of the most horrific episodes of jewish history began in 1827, when Czar Nicholas of Russia decreed that Jewish communities supply boys for his army. These boys would be taken at young ages and pressured to convert to Orthodox Christianity. They would have to remain in the army under horrific conditions for decades until they reached their early 40's. 

The Cantonist Decree (as it was called), not only tore apart families, it tore apart communities as each family looked for ways to save their children at the expense of others. 

Hear the tragic story of the Cantonists and how it continues to impact Jewish in the United States today. 

For more than 70 years, the Soviet Union outlawed most Jewish practice in the Soviet Union. Yet throughout that time, a vibrant Jewish Underground existed with synagogues, schools, yeshivas, kosher slaughter, Jewish circumcision, Torah classes and more.

The punishment for being caught committing any of the above 'transgressions' was hard labor in the Gulags of Siberia or death. Thousands of members of the Jewish underground were killed, thousands more spent years in the Gulags but the clandestine Jewish activities continued and grew.J

The fascinating untold story of the Jewish Underground in the Soviet Union.

The Ohel, the burial place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in Queens NY is the most widely visited Jewish shrine in the United States. Since the Rebbe's passing in 1994, more than one million people visit the Ohel each year to pray and be inspired.

A fascinating discussion about the Ohel and why so many people visit the Ohel.