Idolatry
It’s Never Wrong To Do the Right Thing

It’s Never Wrong To Do the Right Thing

There are few commandments in the Torah that seem as violent and as ruthless as the rules that are set out for dealing with a city that has been led astray (Ir Hanidachat). In this situation, the majority of the people in a specific city...

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The Torah Prohibition Against Blood and Hunting

The Torah Prohibition Against Blood and Hunting

In Leviticus, God prohibits Israel from eating blood in the strictest terms. This prohibition also includes hunting and eating from the carcass of a dead animal (Leviticus 17:10-16), and the punishment for one who violates this is karet....

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A God of Gold

A God of Gold

In a divine tour de force, God brought the Children of Israel out of Egypt with miracles and wonders including the ten plagues and the splitting of the sea. Never before had men witnessed such direct proof of God’s actions. Nonetheless,...

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What is the Book of Maccabees?

What is the Book of Maccabees?

The Book of Maccabees is a collection of four volumes that recount the history of the Maccabees, the leaders of the Jewish rebellion against the Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes, and the Seleucid dynasty. They do not appear in the Jewish...

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Weekly Torah Portion: A Man, not a Superhero

This week’s portion begins with the commandment to conduct a census among the Children of Israel through the donation of a half shekel.  Other commandments follow, but the focus of the portion is the story of the Golden Calf.   It has...

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