Do Jews Believe in the Afterlife?
I have always been taught that Jews don’t believe in an afterlife. But I recently learned in religious school that there are Jews who believe there’s a place called the world to come. Does that mean there is an afterlife after all? Where is the world to come?
The Three Weeks and Mourning The Temple
With regards to the three-week mourning period we’re now observing, I’m struggling a bit to find a way to make this meaningful in my life. How does one gain inspiration by mourning for Temples that were destroyed thousands of years ago?
Astrology, The Zodiac and Judaism. How are they connected?
We recently saw some ancient Jewish art pieces which were adorned with the signs of the Zodiac. This was confusing to us. Do Jews believe in astrology? Do we believe the stars have an effect on our lives and on who we are? If they do, how does that affect our free choice? Sometimes we read the horoscopes in the newspaper and it doesn’t seem very Jewish.
My boyfriend wants to abort our Down Syndrome fetus. What do I do?
I am 20 weeks pregnant, and am shocked and devastated to have just received the results from pre-natal testing that I am carrying a Downs Syndrome fetus. My husband wants me to do an abortion, and I am very confused and don’t know what the right thing is to do. What does Judaism have to say about this?
Keeping the Essence of Chanukah Throughout the Year & It’s Connection to Joseph
Two questions: how do we preserve the message of Chanukah throughout the year?
Secondly, I was studying last week’s Torah portion, and was bothered by a question. When relating the story of Joseph and his brothers, the Torah says that they threw him into a pit, “…the pit was empty, no water was in it”. I have always been taught that the Torah doesn’t use extra words; if the pit was empty, obviously there’s no water in it. Isn’t this statement redundant?
