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Dear Rabbi, Who is a Rabbi? Does it require a degree like becoming a doctor? A bit of historical background would be appreciated. Thanks!

Question
In some places (like Mishlei 3:3 and 7:3) our hearts are compared to luchot, tablets, on which one should enscribe the words of HaShem. In another places our hearts should be circumcised (Devarim 10:16) which seems to be about cutting of our evil affections (Yirmiyahu 4:4) (see also Devarim 30:6), to remove wickedness. Yet again in other verses (like Ezekiel 11:19, 36:27) it says the heart of stone will be replaced by the heart of flesh: Rabbi Levi in the name of Rabbi Hama bar Hanina said: "G-d’s laws are called hukkim because they are engraved (hakukim) as a safeguard against the Yetzer Hara (the evil inclination)." Rabbi Levi elaborated: "This can be compared to an outpost threatened by brigands. What did the king do? He sent a guard to protect it. So, too, the Holy One Blessed be He said: The Torah is a rock and the Evil Inclination is a rock. The Torah (a harder rock) will defend against the Evil Inclination (a less hard rock) – ‘’I will remove the heart of stone from your body.” All of these seem to talk about our hearts, the words of Torah which should be on them, and the evil inclination which should be removed from them. So what I would like to know is: What's the difference, and what is the common denomitor, between a heart that needs to be engraved/written on, a heart that needs to be circumcised and a heart that needs to be transformed into a heart of flesh. And what should one learn from this?

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I have always wondered: How did all the different races and colors of the world come from Adam and Eve?

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What is the Jewish community's opinion about vaccination? Does the religion allow it? Thank you very much!

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What is the origin of the word “Amen”? Does it first appear in the Torah? Why do we say it after hearing a blessing? Thank you.

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It seems that there might be some connection between the 40 days and 40 nights of the Flood followed by the rainbow and the 40 days and 40 nights that Moses spent on Sinai followed by the golden calf. Do you know of any such connection made by any of the Rabbis of earlier times? Thank you for a most absorbing and interesting series of Q & A's!

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1. The Israelites ate manna during ALL 40 years that they wandered in the desert. Is that correct? 2. Did they also eat quail during ALL 40 years? 3. I found conflicting passages about quail. Exodus 16:1 On the fifteenth day of the second month after their departure from the land of Egypt, the Israelites started complaining. So G-d provided manna. Manna fell for them on the sixteenth of Iyar. Exodus 16:13 is the first time that quail is mentioned. Quail were provided at night. Was this provision of quail a one-time occurrence or every night? Numbers 11:18–20 seems to indicate that G-d provided quail for 30 days only until the Israelites were sick of eating it. At what point during the 40 years did this occur? Thanks.