Spirituality

10 Pros and 10 Cons of Religion and Judaism

Overview: Providing 10 pros for adherence to religion, 10 cons of it, and the compromising path to reap the positives and rectify the negatives. A crucial factor in decision-making is...

The Biblical View of Afterlife

Overview: The biblical view of an afterlife in the context of Canaanite belief in Sheol and the Egyptian belief in the spiritual afterlife of judgment; why the Torah makes no...

The Yeridas Hadoros Myth

Overview: Narrowing down the various ‘yeridas hadoros’ misconceptions to the few possibilities of its true meaning, from a rational and empirical perspective with rabbinic texts to support the conclusions. ...

Is God a Nice Guy?

Overview: Deconstructing the non-sensical attributes associated with God, such as God being a nice guy or mean guy in Heaven. The absurdity of judging God by human constructs of morality....

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Overview: Addressing the million-dollar question from an atheist perspective, the biblical perspective, the religious perspective, and the no-answer answer. This multifaceted question doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all answer. It depends who...

Do We Have Free Will?

Overview: Free Will vs. Pre-determinism. Is Free Will only an apparent power in the human body or is it a real tool? How do we know it exists? What is...

On the Origins and Authenticity of Zohar

Overview: The evidence for late Zohar authorship, Moshe DeLeon as the prime candidate, responses to the issues raised, and why it’s all irrelevant to the authenticity of Zohar. Many...

The Evil Eye, Demons, & Superstitions

Overview: A rational approach to the supernatural elements mentioned in the Talmud, including the “Evil Eye,” the existence of demons, and alleged superstitions, and whether they are real and why...

What is Prayer and Does it Actually Work?

Prayer is a key role in Jewish ritual. It embodies much of our day; much emphasis is put on it halachicly and it is a key source of inspiration for...

Can Logic Prove the Supernatural?

Overview: Our brains and all its reasoning are confined to the limits of nature; so how can it go out of its own box to prove the supernatural, such as...

Weighing the Incentives to Serving God

Overview: Evaluating the variable motives in serving God after granting that Torah is divinely-inspired. Motives of love, fear, a sacred mission, and the win-win gamble. Each for their own...

God of the Heaven and Earth or God of the Imagination?

Overview: Different approaches to philosophically concluding the existence of God, the implications of these approaches and the characteristics of this God. Monotheism and monolatry. The most wanted man ever...

How Can the Infinite God Care About Our Mitzvos?

Overview: How can God, who is infinite and independently complete, actually care about what we do and the trivial details of the Mitzvos we perform. Does He “want” or “need”...

Can God Become Man? A Study on Corporealism in Biblical and Rabbinic Literature

Overview: The question of corporeality, Maimonides’ principle and the diverging school of thought. Biblical and rabbinic texts depicting a corporeal God, and how to square that with the omnipresent God,...