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In G-d we Trust
$75.00Original price was: $75.00.$36.00Current price is: $36.00.Bitachon. It’s a powerful word; the absolute faith that G-d will always provide. From financial deals to health concerns, travel arrangements to hopes for the future – we trust that G-d only acts for the best. But how can we have Bitachon when we’re faced with a violent and dangerous world? When personal tragedy strikes, how can we continue to have faith? Where is the line drawn between Bitachon and folly? When one laughs in the face of nature, is he trusting in G-d or scorning G-d’s providence?
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His Name Was Moshe
$39.00Original price was: $39.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.Moshe’s name is perhaps the most recognized name in all of Judaism, the name of arguably the greatest Jewish leader of all time – and a name that was given to him by an Egyptian Princess. Why did the Torah choose his Egyptian name as the name to be remembered for posterity? Why wasn’t his Jewish name recorded? And what was his Jewish name?
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Tefillin Basics
$39.00Original price was: $39.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.This paper features a compendium of sources for the
instruction of foundational aspects of the mitzvah of Tefillin.In stock
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Judge Duty – Sitting on the Sanhedrin
$39.00Original price was: $39.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.How were judges appointed to the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish court? Did they have life tenure? Was there a way they could be removed or impeached? A fascinating look into how the Jewish judicial vacuum was filled after Moshe’s passing.
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The Congregational Prayer Service – Prayer Section III
$75.00Original price was: $75.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.Familiarize yourself with the background of the various components that comprise the davening. The repetition of the Amida, the appropriate direction for prayer, who is fit to lead the service, the procedures of Krias HaTorah and much more.
Part III in a Series
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To Give or Not to Give?
$39.00Original price was: $39.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.While the tradition of Maaser is well known, many of its details are less well-known. Is there a time limit within which I must give? Am I obligated to give Maaser if I sell an item in order to purchase one of greater value? Is Maaser applicable when my stock shares rise? This paper thoroughly analyzes the fundamental Mitzvah of Maaser.
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Love Thyself (Part II) – The Limits of Physical Self-Abuse
$75.00Original price was: $75.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.Does smoking violate our responsibility to protect our bodies? What about drinking alcohol? Do drugs fall into the same category? This paper examines the parameters of shmiras haguf and extracts the principles that inform halacha’s approach to the various ways of harming oneself.
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It’s Written in the Stars: The Jewish Approach to Astrology, Zodiac and the Horoscopes
$75.00Original price was: $75.00.$39.00Current price is: $39.00.Since the dawn of civilization, man has been fascinated with divining his destiny. Whether it was reading animal entrails or tracing the movements of stars, ancient philosophers claimed to know the answers to your future. Though Torah holds most of these methods in contempt, Astrology remains a hotly debated subject in Torah. What is Torah’s viewpoint on this ancient form of divination? Is it idolatry? Sheer nonsense? Isn’t the Jewish fascination with months and Mazal a form of Astrology? Embark on a thorough analysis of Torah’s perspective on this art.
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The Drugs Debate
$75.00Original price was: $75.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.What does the Torah stand on narcotics and other illegal substances? Would halacha demand that government intervene and regulate its citizens’ drug use? Or perhaps it is better to legalize such things, allowing addicts to escape a life of crime and perhaps start on the path to recovery?
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Mother of Royalty
$39.00Original price was: $39.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.The circumstances surrounding the birth of King David remain obscure. Legend has it that Nitzeves endured great personal sacrifice in mothering the Sweet Singer of Israel. How is this chapter in King David’s life understood through the lenses of Torah scholarship?
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Private Matters
$75.00Original price was: $75.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.Is the NSA permitted to read your emails or wiretap your calls? May one read someone’s private correspondence if they are suspected of being involved in sinful activities?
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Dust and Ashes: The Conflict Between Burial and Cremation
$39.00Original price was: $39.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.Why reducing the sanctuary of the soul to a pound of ashes is an unforgivable sin.
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Studying the Secular: The Soul of the Matter
$75.00Original price was: $75.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.What are the theological underpinnings of the school of thought that advocates for a Jewish child to experience a wholesome Torah education that is unencumbered by the pursuit of secular knowledge?
This is a sequel to an earlier paper that addressed the relevant halachic issues.
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The Laws of the Jew and His .22
$39.00Original price was: $39.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.Recent events have highlighted the role of firearms in the synagogue. Do guns belong in a house of prayer? What about if they are concealed? And what are the clashes between gun-carrying and Shabbat observance?
Additional supplementary source material is available on the general topic of weapons in Jewish law. Contact info@machonshmuel.com for more information
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Study or Sink: Secular Education and the Hunt for a Job
$39.00Original price was: $39.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.Judaism generally eschews secular education at the expense of Torah study. The reality, though, is often that one must gain some education or skill in order to make a livelihood. What does Jewish law say about this? What are the limits? How do we balance dogma with daily life?
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Kiruv with Love: Its Origins and its Propriety
$39.00Original price was: $39.00.$25.00Current price is: $25.00.What are the founding principles of kiruv? What are the
origins of kiruv b’ahavah specifically? What are its advantages and its
pitfalls? A thorough examination of the phenomenon that now defines Jewish
life.In stock