Question
Dear Rabbi, My parents tell me it’s a big mitzvah to listen to them. Please explain to me the basis of this mitzvah and how big a mitzvah it really is. Thanks

Question
According to the 10th commandment, you are forbidden to covet the property of another. Does that mean that if you are monetarily struggling, you are forbidden to want to have the most basic necessities of life that all your acquaintances have, such as the ability to pay your rent and bills on time, to be debt free, to have a reliable car that doesn’t leave you stranded, or to have a sufficient amount of food to eat? Is that considered coveting what your neighbors have?

Question
Hello, I am a film student in college and I was wondering if it is okay for characters to put on Tefilin for a movie. This will probably entail the people to wrap multiple times for multiple takes until it is right. Is it okay to put on Tefilin and take it off in that manner? Thank you & Shanah Tova

Question
Is there ever an exception to the prohibition against hugging a member of the opposite sex when doing so is an act of chesed? Last week, I visited a not-orthodox woman who was sitting shiva for her husband who died suddenly and unexpectedly. She received few visitors and was feeling extremely broken and was desperately in need of a hug. There was no time to ask a rabbi. She needed it literally that very second. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I hugged her more than once over the course of my two-hour visit, once for several minutes, and these hugs brought her the comfort she so desperately needed at that moment. It maybe even saved her life, as one can die from a broken heart. Regardless, I couldn’t see myself saying no. Now I am feeling conflicted about what I did. Did I do the right thing?

Question
I was brought up in a conservative Jewish family, both parents were Jewish. I attended a Jewish parochial school for three years and had my bar-mitzvah. But at age 14 I stopped attending shul. I am now 66. Despite all this, I consider myself a Jew, although not a religious and observant one. My question is this. Am I correct in stating that I am a Jew?

Question
Are there any sins for which one can never achieve forgiveness, no matter how sorry they feel after the fact? Are there any sins that if one commits, one cannot earn a share in Olam Haba, no matter how much they atone and no matter how many other good deeds they have?