Yahrzeit
What is the basis for honoring a person’s life on the anniversary of their death? Acknowledging the birthday seems like a nicer way to go.
Divorce or Get: Which Comes First?
I am getting divorced, and I’m discussing getting a Jewish divorce (get) with my husband. My question is, does it matter whether the civil divorce comes first?
Jewish Divorce
I am divorced and interested in remarrying one day in the hopefully not-too-distant future. My ex-husband is not religious and not too interested in doing a Jewish divorce, since in his eyes the secular divorce we had is sufficient. If I told him it’s very important to me, he would probably do it. I’d rather not go there at all if I don’t have to. In this kind of situation is it enough to go to a rabbi to get his blessing to get married or is it necessary to do what it takes to get a Jewish divorce?
Diversity and Other Religions
Is it fair and right for God to let millions of innocent children get indoctrinated into false religions like Islam? Some of those children then believe they should become suicide bombers in the name of Allah. Why doesn’t God help prevent such tragedies by revealing himself more clearly to such people? I’m not asking the Jewish God to force people to believe in Him as their Father, just to give them clear evidence of it, similar to a DNA paternity test. One way he could do this, for example, is to line up all the stars to display the Shield of David, along with the 10 commandments for all to see.
Also, He could communicate with people directly through regular mail, voicemail or even email, if he cared to. But it looks like this only happens in the movies like “Bruce Almighty”. Since most people are of different religions, it seems as if God does not care to develop a personal relationship with most of the planet! Is that right?
Here’s another way of framing the same question: In monotheistic religions, God is regarded as the ultimate father figure. But what kind of father lets some of his children go their whole lives without ever learning His true name? Whether it’s Yah-weh, Christ, Allah or something else, God seems conspicuously silent.
Disasters: Jewish Response, Pt. 2
Last week you wrote that events like the tsunami should be a cause for introspection and self-improvement. But I’m having a lot of trouble philosophically with all the devastation caused, which just seems so random. How could a compassionate God allow this to happen?