miracles

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

Pouring Ice Water on a False Prophet While visiting a park with my children, a middle-aged man approached me and asked if I was a rabbi. He assumed that only rabbis cover their heads with a kippah or yarmulke. I answered yes, and explained that although I am a rabbi, many Jews cover their heads in reverence to God. This reverence is alluded to in the word yarmulke, which, according to some scholars, is a compound word derived from the Aramaic expression [ירא מלכא–yerei malka], which means “aw