『Dear Rabbi』のカバーアート

Dear Rabbi

Dear Rabbi

著者： Menachem Lehrfield
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今ならプレミアムプランが3カ月 月額99円

2026年5月12日まで。4か月目以降は月額1,500円で自動更新します。

概要

 Concise weekly answers to your questions about Judaism. If you are a wondering Jew, visit www.joidenver.com/dearrabbi to submit your own questions.Copyright Rabbi Menachem Lehrfield スピリチュアリティ ユダヤ教
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  • If Torah Says Don't Add to Mitzvot, How Do Rabbinic Laws Exist?

    If Torah Says Don't Add to Mitzvot, How Do Rabbinic Laws Exist?
    2026/03/25
    🎧 Listen to this and other episodes at www.joidenver.com/podcasts

    In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I tackle an excellent paradox: The Torah explicitly states that one is prohibited from adding or subtracting from the mitzvot. So how then do rabbinic mitzvot come to be? Isn't that adding to the Torah? You're correct that the Torah forbids us from adding or detracting from it, and both adding and detracting are equally problematic. Your question is so good that the Rambam (Maimonides) himself asks it: How did the rabbis make fences for the Torah? Isn't that adding to it? I explain the crucial distinction between rabbinic mitzvot and adding to the Torah.

    Adding to the Torah would be claiming "this is what the Torah says" when the Torah doesn't actually say it. Rabbinic mitzvot, however, are very different. The rabbis are doing exactly what the Torah commands them to do—putting up protective fences to prevent people from transgressing actual Torah law. The key is that we understand the distinction between rabbinic law and Torah law. As long as we recognize these are safeguards put in place to protect us from violating biblical Torah law, it's not only acceptable but actually required by the Torah itself.

    Think of it like guardrails on a highway or a fence on top of a high roof - if we take Torah seriously and want to ensure we don't transgress biblical law, we need those guardrails to keep us in line. History proves the wisdom of rabbinic laws. I personally have looked at some rabbinic laws and thought, "Are you serious? You really think if X happens, then Y will happen?

    They seem totally disconnected!" But we have the benefit of history, and we can see that Jewish communities that abandoned rabbinic laws actually began abandoning Torah laws as well. The direct correlation between transgression of rabbinic law and the forgetting of Torah law is remarkable and validates the rabbis' foresight.

    Keep the questions coming! If you have a burning question about Judaism,
    Please email us at Dearrabbi@Joidenver.com📧

    Tune in to Dear Rabbi and uncover the wisdom behind Jewish customs and laws. 🎙️🌟
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    Subscribe to "JOI to the World" to access all our podcasts, including Yada Yada Yiddish, Kids Say the Deepest Things, Reconnect, and Dear Rabbi.

    Join us as we uncover the treasures in our backyard and explore what makes the Jewish people extraordinary! 🕎📚🎙️
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    3 分
  • Do Jews Believe in Reincarnation? Gilgul Neshamot Explained

    Do Jews Believe in Reincarnation? Gilgul Neshamot Explained
    2026/03/18
    🎧 Listen to this and other episodes at www.joidenver.com/podcasts

    In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I answer a question that surprises many people: Do Jews believe in reincarnation? The short answer is yes. Judaism does believe in the concept of gilgul neshamot (reincarnation of souls), according to many of our sages.

    Practically all of us alive today are reincarnations of previous souls and lives. What this means is that if a person, for whatever reason, did not fulfill their purpose in this world during their lifetime, they get to try again. I know it sounds a lot like a video game: you do your best, try as hard as you can, and if you die without finishing your mission, you get to try again.

    I explain how the Zohar finds a biblical reference to this in the laws of levirate marriage (yibum). When a man dies childless, his widow is obligated to marry his brother, and the Torah states that the firstborn son "shall succeed in the name of his dead brother, that his name not be erased from the Jewish people." " The Zohar reveals this as the secret of reincarnation: the child born from this union is actually a reincarnation of the deceased brother.

    The earliest biblical reference may be from the Book of Job, chapter 33, verse 30: "Behold, God does all these things with man two or three times... to bring back his soul from the grave, to bask in the light of the living." So yes, Jews do believe in reincarnation, though it's not as widely known as other Jewish beliefs.

    Keep the questions coming! If you have a burning question about Judaism,
    Please email us at Dearrabbi@Joidenver.com📧

    Tune in to Dear Rabbi and uncover the wisdom behind Jewish customs and laws. 🎙️🌟
    Follow us for more:
    Website - https://www.joidenver.com
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joidenver
    Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/JOIdenver
    YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JOIdenver
    Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/jewishdiy

    Subscribe to "JOI to the World" to access all our podcasts, including Yada Yada Yiddish, Kids Say the Deepest Things, Reconnect, and Dear Rabbi.

    Join us as we uncover the treasures in our backyard and explore what makes the Jewish people extraordinary! 🕎📚🎙️
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    2 分
  • How Do I Start Being More Involved in Judaism?

    How Do I Start Being More Involved in Judaism?
    2026/03/11
    🎧 Listen to this and other episodes at www.joidenver.com/podcasts

    In this episode of Dear Rabbi, I answer a question many people ask: What is the best way to get started in wanting to be more involved in Jewish life? The answer might surprise you with how accessible and flexible it actually is.

    Luckily, Judaism is not all or nothing. It's better to do something than to do nothing at all. While that might sound obvious, it's not the way many Jews approach Judaism. I hear people say all the time, "Rabbi, why should I light Shabbat candles?" I don't keep Shabbos." But here's the truth: the fact that you might go to the movies after lighting candles does not invalidate the mitzvah you've done by lighting those candles. This applies to all of our mitzvot.

    My recommendation is to find those aspects of Judaism that speak to you personally. Find what's most meaningful to you, and if you're going to start somewhere, you might as well start there. But how do you know which aspects are most meaningful? The only way to really know is to begin learning more about Judaism. The more you study Torah, the more you discover what's out there and learn the different ways Judaism can enhance your life.

    So the only way to begin is to start studying, whether one-on-one with a rabbi or anyone who knows more Torah than you, or through resources like Aish.com, which has thousands of articles on every topic imaginable. Rabbi Akiva famously said in the Talmud that learning is most important because learning leads to action. You can't possibly do the mitzvot until you learn about them, what they are, how they work, and how they can enhance your life.

    Keep the questions coming! If you have a burning question about Judaism,
    Please email us at Dearrabbi@Joidenver.com📧

    Tune in to Dear Rabbi and uncover the wisdom behind Jewish customs and laws. 🎙️🌟
    Follow us for more:
    Website - https://www.joidenver.com
    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joidenver
    Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/JOIdenver
    YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JOIdenver
    Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/jewishdiy

    Subscribe to "JOI to the World" to access all our podcasts, including Yada Yada Yiddish, Kids Say the Deepest Things, Reconnect, and Dear Rabbi.

    Join us as we uncover the treasures in our backyard and explore what makes the Jewish people extraordinary! 🕎📚🎙️
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    3 分
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