The Ben Ish Chai

People often argue that we should live and let live. We should not bother others about things that they do that do not directly harm anyone else. What is the Jewish approach? Should we let everyone decide their values on their own and respect those decisions or do we have a moral responsibility to ensure everyone else acts as they should?A fascinating discussion about the Jewish approach to the question; should I care what other people do? 

In 1897, Rabbi Shalom Ber, the Rebbe of Lubavitch opened a new Yeshiva - school for advanced Jewish learning called Tomchei Temimim. The school was unique as the first Chassidic Yeshiva that studied Chassidus in additional to the Talmud and Halacha (Jewish Law) studied in all Yeshivas.In the years since, the Yeshiva has graduated tens of thousands of students, many of whom became leaders and builders of Jewish life across the world.A fascinating discussion about the Tomchei Temimim Yeshiva and why it had such an enormous impact. 

Chacham Yosef Chayim of Baghdad was the greatest rabbi and sage of the Iraqi Jewish community and perhaps the entire Sephardic world in the 19th century. Chacham Yosef Chayim's became known by the name of one of the countless books he authored Ben Ish Chai. He became famous as a master scholar, Halachic (legal) expert, Kabbalist, preacher, author and Jewish leader. 

As humanity has developed and industrialized, we became increasingly concerned about the impact of our development and industrialization on the environment. Many believe that we are not concerned enough and much more needs to be done to care for and avoid harm to the environment.What is the Jewish view on caring for the environment? Do we have a responsibility towards the environment? Should we be concerned about the environment even at the cost of human development?

While the Torah gives us signs to recognize Kosher animals and fish, the Torah doesn't list any signs of Kosher birds. What signs then make a bird Kosher? Which common birds are kosher to eat?A fascinating class about which birds are Kosher. Link for Jewish Belief in Sacrifice ClassSpodify https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Y8ytem9XHTMs3CkVqRyywApple https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/do-jews-believe-in-sacrifice/id1459281504?i=1000483642088

The Soviet Union moved quickly to almost entirely stamp out Judaism across the massive country within a decade of coming to power. By the 1930's virtually all major Jewish leaders in the world's largest Jewish community had either been killed, fled or went into hiding. One Jewish leader, Rabbi Levik Schneerson, the Rabbi of Dnipro in Ukraine survived and almost single handedly kept the Jewish spark alive. In 1939 he was arrested and sent to Kazakhstan where he died in 1944A fascinating discussion about Rabbi Levik Schneerson and his role in standing up to the soviets.

In 1240, the Talmud was put on trial in Paris for blasphemy where it was convicted of being burned. On June 17, 1242, 24 wagon loads with more than 10,000 Jewish manuscripts were burned in Paris in the Place de Grève. Why was the Talmud burned? How did it survive? And what was the impact of Jews and Christians in Europe?A fascinating Tisha B'av themed discussion about the burning of the Talmud 

When praying in different synagogues, one would notice that there are considerable variations between the prayers and prayer books (siddurim) in different Jewish communities. The different variations for prayer are called Nuscha'otWhy are there so many variations of the prayers? Where did these differences come from? How does someone choose which prayer variation they should follow?JA fascinating class about the Nuschaot, variations in Jewish prayer.  

Just a few decades after the destruction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, Emperor Cyrus of Persia gave the Jews permission to return to Jerusalem and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. The euphoria didn't last long, soon after they started building the Temple, permission was rescindedA fascinating discussion about the starts and stops of the building of the Second Temple and the fulfillment of Jeramiah's cryptic prophecy.

One of the most horrific episodes of jewish history began in 1827, when Czar Nicholas of Russia decreed that Jewish communities supply boys for his army. These boys would be taken at young ages and pressured to convert to Orthodox Christianity. They would have to remain in the army under horrific conditions for decades until they reached their early 40's. The Cantonist Decree (as it was called), not only tore apart families, it tore apart communities as each family looked for ways to save their children at the expense of others. Hear the tragic story of the Cantonists and how it continues to impact Jewish in the United States today.