Ask the Rabbi

GJC’s “Ask the Rabbi” video series, featuring Rabbi Adam Zeff and Teena Robinson, answers some basic and not-so-basic questions about Jewish life. Check them out, and send your questions to Rabbi Zeff at rabbi@germantownjewishcentre.org

What are tefillin and why do we wear them?

What does Jesus have to do with the Hebrew Bible?

How could God allow murder in a house of worship?

Why are pomegranates Jewish?

What is Simchat Torah?

Why do we blow the shofar at the High Holidays?

Why do we bury books that contain the name of God?

Why do people kiss the Torah?

What does the Torah say about LGBTQ people?

Why did Rabbi Zeff become a rabbi?

What is Yizkor?

What is hametz, and why don’t we eat it on Passover?

What is “kosher” and how do you do it?

Thanks to Delores Williams for this question!

What does this week’s Torah reading have to do with a cow?

Purim edition! Lots and lots of questions…

Is Judaism a religion or a culture?

Special edition with Rabbi Emeritus Leonard Gordon!
Why is it important for rabbis to be involved in interfaith dialogue?

Why do Jews celebrate a baby after the baby is born rather than at a baby shower?

Why do we celebrate the Torah?

What is the significance of this strange fruit for Sukkot?

Why do Jews fast on Yom Kippur?

Why are apples and honey symbolic for the Jewish New Year?