I Challenged The Preacher’s Hateful Speech

I Challenged The Preacher’s Hateful Speech

I Challenged The Preacher’s Hateful Speech The preacher on the UCLA campus made himself out to be a prophet. He predicted doom for any minority group whose religious beliefs did not match his narrow Christian faith in Jesus. I was standing with members of the Jewish Student Union when we heard him say, “the Jews killed Jesus and are ‘damned’ to hell.” One female student started crying when she heard these hateful words. She begged me to stand up to the preacher and defend Judaism. I challen
Torah portion Re’eh Deuteronomy 13
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz
Crying, She Asked If God Hears The Prayer Of Jews

Crying, She Asked If God Hears The Prayer Of Jews

Crying, She Asked If God Hears The Prayer Of Jews When Baptist minister Bailey Smith said, “God does not hear the prayer of a Jew,” the Jewish community was outraged. While speaking on a college campus, a Jewish student approached me crying. A fellow student told her this anti-Semitic trope and said she would go to hell unless she accepts Jesus. I told her that ignorance comes in many forms and reassured her that our bible teaches that God hears our prayers, and we don’t need an intermediary.
Torah portion Eikev prayers
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz
How to Turn Sadness to Joy

How to Turn Sadness to Joy

How to Turn Sadness to Joy The saddest day of the Jewish year, the ninth day of the month of Av, was observed Thursday July 30, 2020. The ninth of Av commemorates the destruction of the ancient Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. This devastating event marked the beginning of the Jewish people’s ongoing exile and centuries of massacres‎ and countless deaths. Our sages teach that the ninth of Av is also the birthday of the Moshiach - the Jewish messiah (Jerusalem Talmud, Berachos 2:4). This teaching
Torah portion Va’etchanan ninth of Av
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz
Kosher Guardians Of The Universe

Kosher Guardians Of The Universe

Kosher Guardians Of The Universe I grew up in a Kosher home, and on Passover, my mother sent me to school with buttered matzah instead of bread. My non-Jewish friends were jealous. For me, keeping Kosher was never a burden; it was a way of life. I accepted this without realizing the profound spiritual message contained in Kosher. I have come to appreciate this commandment in ways I never anticipated. Keeping kosher provides lessons about self-control, responsibility, and the recognition that
Torah portion of Matot-Massei Judaism in a warm
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz
The Secret Message Lost in Translation

The Secret Message Lost in Translation

The Secret Message Lost in Translation While attending the University of Texas in Austin in 1974, I met Rabbi Sholom Ber Alperowitz. This very kind and wise rabbi changed my life. The first Torah lesson I heard from Rabbi Alperowitz was from this week’s Torah portion, Miketz (Genesis 41:1- 44:17). We examined Joseph’s interpretation of Pharoah’s dreams and Joseph’s appointment to a position of leadership in the Egyptian government. As we explored this incident, I witnessed the importance of
Torah portion Miketz joseph
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz
Dreams, False Prophets, and Red Flags

Dreams, False Prophets, and Red Flags

Dreams, False Prophets, and Red Flags In Sigmund Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams (1899), he speaks about the significance of dreams and develops a psychological technique for their analysis and interpretation. I never gave dreams much thought until my grandmother told me her dream about an attic fire and how it came to pass. At the time, I was skeptical. However, I changed my mind when my father suffered a massive and unexpected heart attack one month after I dreamt about it. As unusual as t
Torah portion Vayeshev False Prophets
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz
Wise Women Who Spoke Out Against Injustice

Wise Women Who Spoke Out Against Injustice

Wise Women Who Spoke Out Against Injustice In this week’s Torah portion of Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1), God instructs Moses to divide the Land of Israel among the paternal families of the tribes of Israel. Sensing an injustice that inheritance favors sons, the five daughters of Tzelafchad petition Moses to receive the portion of land belonging to their father, who died without sons. God acknowledges their claim and incorporates it into the Torah’s laws of inheritance. Missionaries jump on th
Torah portion of Pinchas Tzelafcha
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz
The Missionary was Shocked When I Walked on Water

The Missionary was Shocked When I Walked on Water

The Missionary was Shocked When I Walked on Water The missionary challenged me to explain the miracles attributed to Jesus in the New Testament. First, I questioned the validity of the New Testament stories. Then I explained that although Judaism believes in miracles, we do not rely on them as proof that someone is a prophet or the messiah. A proof needs to be exclusive, and this is not the case with miracles since they can be attributed to magicians, charlatans, or false prophets who give a
Torah portion of Korach miracles
Zalman Kravitz

Zalman Kravitz