Question
I understand what it means to be Jewish if you believe in Judaism, but can you have Jewish blood even if you don't believe in Judaism or the Jewish holy books? Is it possible to separate the race from the religion, or do they go hand in hand?

Question
Next week is a rally for Israel in Washington, DC. My parents are too old and debilitated to go themselves, but they are ordering me to go to it. I don’t want to go because it is at the same time as a monthly book club meeting I don’t want to miss. My parents think the meeting is stupid, but it means a lot to me. I feel there will be plenty of people at the rally, even without me. I am an adult, old enough to have grandchildren if I had ever married, and I feel I shouldn’t have to do this just because my parents say so. What do you as a rabbi think?

Question
I had a very close relationship with my maternal grandparents. My grandfather died ten and my grandmother six years ago. When my grandmother was dying, she had me make a promise to her that when I got married someday, if I had a son, I would name him after my grandfather, to which I agreed. Now, I have a dilemma. I just got engaged to someone with a different English name, but with the same Hebrew name as my grandfather. My fiancé doesn’t even call himself by his Hebrew name most of the time, but obviously I can’t give that name to a child. What should I do when the time comes?

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Dear Rabbi, With the current war that Israel is fighting, I hear a lot of talk about teshuva. What does it mean and who is it for? Thanks

Question
I became aware that I indirectly caused a major accident today without actually being involved. I was on the freeway when I realized I was missing my exit and I rapidly served into the exit lane. The car behind me served to avoid hitting me. In a chain reaction, several other cars collided, and it tied up traffic for over an hour. I later saw it on the news. There were no fatalities. Legally, I am not responsible because my vehicle did not collide with anyone else’s. And there is no way for the authorities to track me down. But this crash caused monetary to several others and thousands of other people to sit through traffic, having possibly harmful effects on their lives I wouldn’t even know. This is all because of my decision to voice-text behind the wheel, which is legal to do, which caused me to lose focus of the road and nearly overshoot my exit and make this erratic move. I do it all the time and never realized this danger. Do I have any obligation to come forward to anyone?

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My mother is non-jewish, and my father is jewish. I know this means religiously I'm not jewish, but I always felt connected to judiasm. We as a family celebrate hannukah, pesach, rosh hassanah, and do Kom yippur. However, I feel the need to be more observant. I am not able to official convert until later, so should I become more observant? Should I even try to keep kosher, because I know non-jews are not to do religious things? Am I a jew? Am I a goy? I'm not sure what to do. Thank you Rabbi  

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I have a question about doctors. My friend went to one, saying he had pain from a sprain and was told to take Tylenol. He really wanted a prescription for something much stronger and feels the doctor is not fair and doesn’t care enough. He said that Judaism teaches, “The best of doctors deserve severe punishment in the Afterlife.” Huh???

Question
I have a stairway in my home, which has entrances on each side. One ascends a smaller, 3-stair set, passes into an entranceway (essentially a lintel perpendicular to the stair entrance.) then turns to ascend the stairs. Picture an arch with a stairway initiating from inside of it. Do both sides get a mezuzah? Thanks in advance!

Question
Dear Rabbi, I was raised Shomer Negiah. I learned and practiced growing up that one is only permitted to touch their spouse and immediate family members of the opposite sex. I got married over the summer, and for the first time ever, I spent a holiday out of town with my in-laws. I had a really good time with them. But they made that impossible to follow. My mother-in-law, who dresses very modestly (albeit with short sleeves) and wears a sheitl, demands frequent hugs from me and she touches me in many different ways as if I’m her son. She is a very touchy hands-on person who constantly puts her hands on people, male and female alike, as she talks to them. It’s just the warmth she shows in her personality. I could sense she might get offended had I resisted, and to avoid an argument that would ruin our holiday visit or my relationship with her for years to come, I had to cave to her wishes. All the female members of my wife’s family, as well as some of their friends, all hugged me or shook my hand, and my wife did the same with male relatives and friends in my in-laws community. To them, it is all a normal behavior, just the thing they do. I was too afraid to offend anyone when they don’t know me well and I am trying to make a good impression. I did talk privately to my father-in-law about my concerns. He says their rabbi permits all this touching. I met that rabbi when I went to shul and I noticed he shakes a lot of women’s hands and even hugs some women who are close friends of his. He is very warm and friendly and beloved in the community. There is a side of me that is feeling guilty, that I should have stood up and made it clear to everyone that I strictly observe negiah laws. But I don’t know how to be very assertive and I felt too timid and I didn’t want them to think I’m crazy. I talked to my wife about it after we got home and she feels I should touch those who want it and not worry.