by Rabbi Joshua Maroof | Jul 16, 2009 | Uncategorized
The Talmud (Yoma 9B) tells us that the first Bet Hamiqdash was destroyed because of three grave sins that had become widespread in Israel – idolatry, sexual immorality and murder. What is remarkable about this description of the failings that lead to the...
by Rabbi Joshua Maroof | Jul 14, 2009 | Uncategorized
On July 10th, Yated Ne’eman, a well-known Orthodox newspaper, published a scathing critique of Open Orthodoxy and YCT with a special focus on the issue of women’s ordination. A significant portion of the article was devoted to attacking me personally. In...
by Rabbi Joshua Maroof | May 11, 2009 | Uncategorized
From the Jerusalem Post:Regarding the ordination of female rabbis, Lamm said his opposition was “social, not religious.””Change has to come to religion when feasible, but it should not be rushed. Women have just come into their own from an...
by Rabbi Joshua Maroof | Apr 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
Another approach to the question of why the Torah established the seventh day of Pesah as a full-fledged holiday is expressed in many traditional sources and is widely known; namely, the seventh day is, according to the Midrashim, the day on which Hashem split the Sea...
by Rabbi Joshua Maroof | Apr 17, 2009 | Uncategorized
Why does the Torah require us to celebrate the Seventh Day of Pesah as a distinct holiday with a prohibition of work, festival prayers, etc.? This seems like a reasonable question (albeit in retrospect) since the Torah provides no explicit account of its purpose.Over...
by Rabbi Joshua Maroof | Apr 14, 2009 | Uncategorized
As I have discussed in several earlier posts, the two seven-day festivals instituted by the Torah, Pesah and Sukkot, both address elements of our physical existence. Pesah changes our staple food from conventional bread to matsah. Sukkot alters our dwelling from a...
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