Author Archives: alreguelajat

In Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables, the main character, Jean Valjean, is sent to prison, initially for five years, for stealing a loaf of bread. The novel is set in France in 1795. Today, in some Islamic fundamentalist regimes, the punishment … Seguir leyendo →

The first Temple in Jerusalem was built by King Solomon on Mount Moriah in the early years of his reign (970-931 BCE). It was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in 586 BCE. The second Temple began construction in 538 … Seguir leyendo →

The Talmud tells us that, during the Roman siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), Rabbi Yohanan Ben-Zakai managed to remove the sages and leaders of the Jewish people from the city and bring them to Yavneh. However, his actions could not … Seguir leyendo →

Professor James A. Diamond tells us: “One problem that the sages of the Talmudic era encountered was the fact that no biblical figure even remotely walked or talked like a rabbi.” This anomaly was particularly serious when those figures were … Seguir leyendo →

Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, known as “Rabbi,” (135–217 CE) lived in the Land of Israel during the Roman occupation. He was very wealthy and highly respected by the Romans. He was a key leader of the Jewish community at that time. … Seguir leyendo →

Jacob Neusner says: “If you talk to any Jew who cares about Judaism, the subject of “assimilation” will surely come up, a term fraught with negative connotations for loyal and devout Jews. They argue that assimilation can only lead to … Seguir leyendo →

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach was born in Berlin in 1925 and grew up in Baden, near Vienna, where his father, Naftali Carlebach, was the chief rabbi. With the arrival of Nazism in Germany, the Carlebach family began a journey through several … Seguir leyendo →

It is written in Kiddushin 3:12: To be Jewish, one must be the son of a Jewish mother or have converted to Judaism. By this rule, scholars say that Judaism is «matrilineal.» However, this was not always the case. Professor … Seguir leyendo →

Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardoso tells us: “The greatness of the Talmudic sages was that they shared their own conflicts and doubts with their students, as well as their attempts to resolve them. This is demonstrated in the debates over halachic … Seguir leyendo →

Breishit (Genesis), the first book of the Torah, recounts the lives of the first members of the Jewish people, the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo questions how the patriarchs can be considered Jews if the rules … Seguir leyendo →