The nature of the human soul is one of the deepest mysteries addressed by Jewish tradition. Torah teaches that human life is more than the functioning of a physical body, yet it does not present us with a single technical definition of the soul or a detailed map of the…

Words matter. They can reconcile people who have been divided for years, comfort someone who is grieving, teach wisdom, defend the innocent, and restore hope. The same human faculty, however, can humiliate, divide families, destroy reputations, turn friends against one another, and make a community unbearable. For this reason, the…

In recent years, increasing numbers of Christians have become interested in the Torah, the Hebrew language, the biblical festivals, Shabbat, kosher practices, and the Jewish roots of their faith. Some have begun describing themselves as “Torah-observant Christians,” believing that they can retain Christian theology while adopting the commandments and practices…

What must a person know before converting to Judaism? In much of modern institutional Orthodox Judaism, the answer has become unnecessarily complicated. Prospective converts may be expected to complete years of formal study, pay substantial fees, relocate to expensive Orthodox neighborhoods, reorganize their employment, separate themselves from non-Jewish relatives, and…

Kabbalah is one of the most fascinating, beautiful, and frequently misunderstood dimensions of Jewish thought. The Hebrew word kabbalah means “that which is received” or “tradition,” and in its specifically mystical sense it refers to a body of teachings concerned with the hidden dimensions of God, creation, the human soul,…

One of the most important distinctions in traditional Judaism is the difference between the covenant that God established with humanity as a whole and the particular covenant established with the people of Israel. Judaism does not teach that every human being is commanded to become Jewish, nor does it teach…

In every generation, the Jewish people are called to remember a fundamental truth of our history: “You were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:20–21). The Torah returns again and again to the experience of the stranger, urging Israel never to allow security, prosperity, or power to erase the…

Judaism begins its understanding of sin with a fundamentally hopeful view of the human being. A person is not born condemned, permanently corrupted, or burdened with the personal guilt of an ancestor. Human beings are created by God with moral freedom, responsibility, and the ability to choose between right and…

In a world where entire religions are structured around what happens after we die, Judaism stands apart. Christianity and Islam promise eternal reward or punishment, and frame human purpose around preparing for the next world. Their adherents often focus more on salvation than on justice, more on paradise than on…

Few moral questions are as difficult, personal, and emotionally charged as abortion. Modern political debate often reduces the issue to competing slogans: either abortion must always be prohibited because human life begins at conception, or abortion must be regarded entirely as a matter of individual choice. Traditional Judaism approaches the…