4 week series of classes at 20 Forshay Road, Monsey. Thursdays at 8:30pm, followed by Q A. March 16, March 23, March 30 and April 6. For Men, Women and Teenagers (separate seating). You can send questions in advance by email to&nbsp;emunah@theyeshiva.net&nbsp;or submit written questions before or during the presentation. Anonymity of the questioners will be respected. Hot food will be served. No registration of fee required.

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faith and reason

faith

emunah

Three Paths in Jewish History: Reason, Tradition & Emunah

The Emunah Series

Basics of Emunah #1: Is Judaism Afraid of Questions?

What is faith? Can faith and reason co-exist? What is the distinction between blind faith and visionary faith?&nbsp;

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basics of emunah #3

basics of emunah #5

basics of emunah #4

What is the Meaning of Faith?

Basics of Emunah #2: Can Faith and Reason Co-Exist?

Basics of Emunah #3: Five Features of a Faith-Based Life: Confidence, Integrity, Divine Intimacy, Joy and Love&nbsp;

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soul

basics of emunah #2

Confidence, Integrity, Divine Intimacy, Joy and Love 

Basics of Emunah #3: Five Features of a Faith-Based Life

This class explores the reason for so many mitzvos and laws in Judaism and the meaning of reward and punishment, paradise and hell, in Torah.

You can send your questions in advance to yyjacobson@theyeshiva.net, or submit&nbsp;written questions before or during the presentation. Anonymity of the questioners will be&nbsp;respected.

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basics of emunah

basics of emunah #6

reward and punishment

basics of emunah #7

basics of emunah #8

Understanding Reward and Punishment in Judaism

Basics of Emunah #4: Why So Many Restrictions? What Is Hell?

<span style="font-size: 9pt; line-height: 120%; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; color: #333333; background-image: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-size: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial;">Can an Intelligent Person Believe in G-d? The lecture explores the question if science has really made G-d irrelevant, or is it the other way around. The lecture goes on to explain &ldquo;Jewish cosmology,&rdquo; known as &ldquo;something from nothing,&rdquo; and its profound ramifications on our understanding of the Divine and its relationship with the universe.

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The Spiritual DNA of the Universe

Basics of Emunah #5: Can an Intelligent Person Believe in G-d?

Is there a rational basis to accept that some 3300 years ago G-d revealed Himself to our ancestors at Sinai? Why was Maimonides, a rationalist par excellence, so convinced of the historicity of this event? And in what way is the Jewish claim of divine revelation any different from the many thousands of claims made by various other religious groups.

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How Do We Know That We Heard G‑d at Sinai?

Basics of Emunah #6: Can An Intelligent Person Believe That Torah Is Divine?

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torah shebal peh

jewish law

halacha

rabbis

torah sheba'al peh

oral tradition

How Judaism Developed Over the Ages

Basics of Emunah #7: Can an Intelligent Person Believe the Oral Tradition is Divine?

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The Story of the Oral Tradition 

Basics of Emunah #8: How Judaism Developed Over the Ages -- Part Two

Basics of Emunah #9: Where is G-d when it hurts?

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pain

suffering

iyov

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?

Basics of Emunah #9: Where Is G-d When It Hurts?

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Addressing Diverse Questions on Jewish Faith and Practice

Basics of Emunah #10: Q& A 

This class was presented Sunday morning, 24 Av 5776, August 28, 2016, at the Ohr Chaim Shul in Monsey, NY.

Prophecy is a fundamental part of Jewish belief. As a matter of fact two of Maimonides thirteen principles of Jewish Faith are:the belief that G-d communicates with man through prophecy (#6), and the belief in the primacy of the prophecy of&nbsp;Moses&nbsp;our teacher (#7). But how does one go about authenticating prophets? How can we know if G-d has really spoken to the self-proclaimed prophet or if he is a fraud, as has happened all too many times in history?

The criteria usually given is this: if he has successfully proven that he can accurately foretell the future, or he performs miracles, we are commanded to believe him and follow his directives.

But then there is a fascinating section in the portion of Reah (Deuteronomy 13:2-4) :

&ldquo;If there will arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder of which he spoke to you happens, [and then he] says, &lsquo;Let us go after other gods which you have not known, and let us worship them&rsquo;, you shall not heed the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of a dream; for the Lord, your God, is testing you, to know whether you really love the Lord, your God, with all your heart and with all your soul.&rdquo;

The Torah is in essence saying: The prophet may perform true miracles. He may not be a fraud or an illusionist. Yet at this point we cannot listen to him. 

Why? If he has proven himself to be a Spiritual Master, a miracle worker, should we not trust him more than we trust ourselves?

An enigmatic comment by Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher (1269-1343), the author of the &ldquo;Tur,&rdquo; has been analyzed for generations. Some claimed that his insight granted us tremendous historical insight into these verses, and answers one of the most sensitive theological questions of all time: Why did the Jews reject Christianity and other religions?

And yet, there may be a far simpler interpretation, defining the role of women as prophets.

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sinai

reah

christianity

yashke

baal haturim

yeshu

truth of judaism

The Historical “Evolution” of a Mysterious Baal HaTurim

Basics of Emunah #11:  Why Did Jews Reject Christianity & Islam?

4 week series of classes on The Basics of Emunah at 20 Forshay Road, Monsey. Thursdays at 8:30pm, followed by Q A. March 16, March 23, March 30 and April 6. For Men, Women and Teenagers (separate seating). You can send questions in advance by email to&nbsp;<span data-mce-style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: inherit; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #333333;" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-variant-numeric: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 12px; line-height: inherit; font-family: 'Open Sans', Helvetica, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; color: #333333;">yyjacobson@theyeshiva.net&nbsp;or submit written questions before or during the presentation. Anonymity of the questioners will be respected. Hot food will be served. No registration of fee required.

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chosen people

racism

bigotry

Can You Believe in Chosenness without Being Racist?

Basics of Emunah #12: Are We the Chosen People?

Basics of Emunah #14: What&#39;s the Difference Between Emunah and a Cult? Were Our Grandmothers Blind? Why Did They Believe? &nbsp;

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Did Our Grandmothers Have "Blind Faith"? Why Did They Believe?

Basics of Emunah #14:  What's the Difference Between Emunah and a Cult?

Basics of Emunah #14: What's the Difference Between Emunah and a Cult?

Did Our Grandmothers Have "Blind Faith"? Why Did They Believe?

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