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Below I will provide multiple Pesukim from throughout Tanach which in my mind contradict each other. If you would be able to provide me with a reason behind these flaws I would greatly appreciate that. Mentions of Other Gods: Numbers 25:1-3 “While Israel was staying at Shittim, the menfolk profaned themselves by whoring with the Moabite women, who invited the menfolk to the sacrifices for their god. The menfolk partook of them and worshipped that god. Thus Israel attached itself to Baal-peor and Adonai was incensed with Israel.” Psalms 16:2 “I say to the Lord, “You are my benefactor; there is none above You.” (yet there is no mention of the fact that there should also be none below him) Psalms 16:4 “Those who espoused another [god] may have many sorrows! I will have no part of their bloody libations; their names will not pass my lips.” Mentions of Not Worshipping other Gods: Psalms, 135:5 “For I know that the Lord is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.” Exodus 20:1-3 “God spoke all these words, saying: I Adonai am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: you shall have no other gods besides Me.” Exodus 23:13 “Be on guard concerning all that I have told you. Make no mention of the names of other gods; they shall not be heard on your lips.” Jeremiah 25:6 “Do not follow other gods, to serve them and worship them. Do not vex Me with what your own hands have made, and I will not bring disaster upon you.” Kings I 11:10 “and had commanded him about this matter, not to follow other gods; he did not obey what God had commanded.” Exodus 34:14 “for you must not worship any other god, because Adonai, whose name is Impassioned, is an impassioned God.” Mention against their being any other Gods: Deuteronomy 4:35 “It has been clearly demonstrated to you that Adonai is God; there is none else.” Deuteronomy 4:39 “Know therefore this day and keep in mind that Adonai alone is God in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other.” Deuteronomy 32:39 “See, then, that I, I am the One; There is no god beside Me. I deal death and give life; I wounded and I will heal: None can deliver from My hand.” Samuel II 7:22 You are great indeed, O Lord God! There is none like You and there is no other God but You, as we have always heard.” Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear O Israel! Adonai is our God, Adonai alone.” My concern comes from the fact that the above statements (all taken verbatim from Sefaria.org) contradict each other. In some areas of the Torah, it says not to worship other gods. But it mentions nothing of whether the other gods are legitimate. And then in other areas, it mentions the fact that there is no other god but our god. And further, there are places where it says that you shouldn’t serve the other gods because they aren’t legitimate. So which is it? As children, we are taught that there are no other gods and that Shema is so holy because it reminds us not to treat anything else like a god and that there are no other gods. But then in other areas of the Torah, it says that there are other gods even if they are under the power of Adonai. I do not approach this to profane your religion or to try to convince you that it’s illegitimate but I approach you to settle the doubts in my mind that this religion is flawed. Sincerely, Anon

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Hello, I am a high school student in Australia studying Judaism and their different beliefs about certain beginning and end of life technologies. For my essay, i have chosen the ethical debates surrounding the use of IVF. I was wondering what perspectives the different branches (reform, conservative, and/or orthodox Jews) believe regarding the following dilemmas: the status of the embryo, especially regarding the surplus embryos that don't get used for the pregnancy the emotional pressures of the mother, especially for multiple rounds of IVF and the financial cost and access, regarding who has access, and the pressures of the finances on the mother. any help will be greatly appreciated! I look forward to hearing back from you, Ruby

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I had embraced the ideology which is very similar to the philosophy of Amalek for 2 years in early 20's. There is no God, everything happens coincidently, morality is relative, and so on. I only recently knew that those ideas are very disgusting in the eye of HaShem. I really didn't know that that's so harmful. Now I firmly believe that HaShem runs the world, and there is the Divine purpose behind everything. What shall I do to be forgiven for my sin of believing philosophy of Amalek? What shall I do?

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Is a synagogue whose seats do not face the direction of Jerusalem when facing the ark a kosher place to pray? Many people in the community I am in don’t think so.

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Hi Rabbi, Are gentiles considered the children of Hashem? Will they be in the future? If not, how should they deal with the fact that they matter less to Almighty G-d as mere creatures (dogs and cats are also creatures) because they happen to have had the wrong kind of mother? Respectfully yours,    

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How do we know God loves us? We say that since God loves us, we should understand that the Torah and mitzvahs we received are for our good. But how do we know that God loves us?

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Particularly, is there varied beliefs of this question between Orthodox and Reformed Jews?

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Dear Rabbi, I am currently in a bit of a conundrum that I’ve been in for some time now. i consider myself a religious Jew. I pray 3 times a day, learn Gemara and tanach frequently, wear tefillin, etc. I was brought up less religious than I am now, and I grew in my Judaism because I believe it teaches the best morals, but above all, seems to understand human nature absolutely perfectly. I am also, however, a very scientific thinker, and I generally tend to believe where the evidence most strongly points towards. this lead me to question the flood story of Noah. Reading the Hebrew, it seems central to the story that the flood was global, and that everything died besides what was on the boat.   as a biochemistry major, I know scientifically cannot be the case for numerous reasons. Firstly, there is too much genetic evidence to the contrary, ie the last common ancestors of every living thing aren’t only 4000 years old. Additionally, if all species come from one location on mount ararat, we’d expect to find a much higher biodiversity proximal to this site, and then as you move further away, the diversity shrinks. This is not the case. There is also plenty of geological evidence that this global flood never occurred. I love Judaism, but I need a much more solid basis for belief if I am to commit to a life guided by its principles. I have read a few books addressing doubt (eg ani maamin by rabbi Joshua Berman) that say that there are opinions that the flood was local. Indeed, Rav Gedalia Nadel, a student of the Chazan Ish, interprets it in the same way. I also know that the ram am says that if science contradicts the Torah in any way, it’s because we’ve been interpreting the Torah the wrong way, not that we need to shut out the evidence and pretend like it doesn’t exist.   I am skeptical, however. This is because it seems like the only reason the “local flood” theory (which most probably did happen) is being more widely accepted is because the global flood has been disproven. I believe it would be beneficial for me to find out if there are any sources suggesting the local flood opinion is valid before the discovery that the global flood couldn’t have happened. I know that Josephus mentions somewhere (and I can’t quote where off the top of my head) that after the flood, people came down from the mountaintops when it was safe, suggesting the flood account is hyperbolic and didn’t really mean that everything died.   I also know that in the torah, giants, descendants of the nephilim were in the land of Canaan when the Jews went to spy out the land. This would have been impossible if all nephilim died out in the flood and there was nobody there to produce giants.   there is so much to be said about this topic, I could go on forever. I’ve done a lot of research because it’s very important to me to search for the truth. I guess what I’m asking, is if, reading the torah honestly, is there a legitimate way to interpret the flood account as local and not global? And are there any sources, pre-18th century that hold a similar view?   thank you for taking the time to read this long question!   best wishes,   jacob

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How do we know God loves us? We say that "since God loves us" we need to have faith in him, the mitzvot are for our good, etc. But how do we know that God loves us-as the premise upon which our actions should then follow?