Aleph Beta

Jews Don’t Pray

The AlephBeta Academy presents “If God Knows All, Why Do We Pray?” an entertaining video course with Rabbi David Aaron.

Rabbi Aaron suggests that Jews don’t pray because PRAYER involves begging with the goal of changing God’s mind.

Videos

Moving from the Oy to the Joy of Being Jewish

Rabbi Aaron shares more of his life story with Yehezkel Lang on Meir TV. A ticket to Israel boosted his spiritual journey and landed him across the desk from a Rosh Yeshiva who refused to speak with him until he cut his huge red afro!  After complying he was still pushed away, fought back and went from one yeshiva to another trying to find the right fit while challenging authority.

He describes a fascinating encounter with Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, as well as being exposed to a variety of spiritual tastes ranging from intellectual, to emotional, spiritual or Zionistic and from knitted to black velvet kippah, black hats and striemels. Continue reading“Moving from the Oy to the Joy of Being Jewish”

Articles

Is God a Man?

One day my son and two daughters burst into my study. They had obviously been fighting over something and were very upset. I could see that I was chosen to be the lucky arbitrator to resolve another case of sibling rivalry. They shouted at each other, “You go, you ask …

Articles

Chanukah: What’s Love Got To Do With It?

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In 2nd century B.C.E, the Greek Seleucid Emperor Antiochus Epiphanes began a systematic campaign against Judaism, which he saw as an obstacle to the spread of Hellenist philosophy in Israel. He forbid certain forms of religious observance (such as circumcision, for example)—disobedience was punishable by death. He desecrated the Temple by sacrificing pigs there, and he put up a statue of the Greek G-d Jupiter in the Holy of Holies. Enraged, Mattathias the Maccabee and his five sons recruited a small army of Jews and launched a guerrilla war that is commonly known as the Maccabean revolt. After three years of aggressive fighting, this small Jewish army miraculously beat the huge and mighty Greek army. They took back control of Jerusalem and, on the 25th of the Hebrew month Kislev, re-dedicated the Temple and rekindled the light of Torah life.

Articles

Chanukah: The Light of Love

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Imagine you walk into a magic store where they sell special flashlights equipped with magic lights of different kinds. For example, you can buy the light of science, and when you point that flashlight at your hand, you see not a hand, but cells and blood vessels and tendons and ligaments. Or you can buy the light of art, and you point that flashlight at your hand, you see your hand as if it were a painting by Leonardo Da Vinci – you see form, and color, and texture. And you’re having a lot of fun trying out the different flashlights with the different lights. And then you see one labeled “the light of Chanukah.” What will you see in that light? What is special about the light of Chanukah?