Question
A commentary in Friday's Wall Street Journal notes "every synagogue requires two to fulfill its religious duties." I did some research and see references to the "written" and "oral" Torah, but not sure about the requirement for two scrolls. Can you tell me if this is true, and if so, what are the requirements?   Thanks very much   Aaron  

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Dear Rabbi, Why does the Shema say "Hear O Israel" that there is one God, instead of saying "See O Israel"? Why the choice of the sense of hearing and not the sense of seeing? Thanks!  

Question
Gut Voch Rabbis. I had some disagreements with my Rabbi. For the last 2 Shabbatot, my Rabbi Boruch Hashem has given me aliyos, but they have been the shortest aliyos in each Parashah, including the very short aliya in Parashah Naso, the longest Parashah and a Parashah which has several lengthy aliyos. Why would my Rabbi give me the 2 shortest aliyos in 2 consecutive Parashas over 2 consecutive Shabbatot?

Question
Hello! To preface this, I must say that I myself am not Jewish. Rather, I am emailing you on behalf of my younger cousin, who is. I apologize if this isn't the kind of questions that you usually handle. My cousin, Hannah, is 10. Her mother was Jewish, while Hannah's father (my uncle) is not (he's agnostic, most of our family is agnostic or some denomination of Christian). However, Hannah's mother unfortunately died when she was quite young, leaving my uncle to raise her alone. Hannah has expressed that she feels estranged from her Jewish heritage, and very much wants to connect. Our family is fully supportive of this, but also at a bit of a loss on how to help her in this. She has no immediate Jewish relatives, and dropping her off at the nearest synagogue once a week alone makes her father uncomfortable. Would it be appropriate for him to accompany her? Another concern is her bat mitzvah. It is our understanding that a proper bat mitzvah involves a lot of planning on the parent's part, and a lot of studying for Hannah to prepare. Could you offer some insight into how we can best support her and help her reconnect with her culture (and possibly religion)? For reference, we live in Colorado in the U.S..

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Hi Rabbi, What do I do about this? When I recite the prayers, I am often distracted or daydreaming about all that is going on in my life. This really detracts from the quality of my prayers but I really can’t prevent myself from daydreaming, no matter how hard I try. Help!

Question
Hello, I apologize for your time, I am a gentile trying to figure out the proper instruction for one being afflicted based on the verse "Let him sit alone and wait". Although I read from (English) Rashi that this is an expression of waiting, I thought "Yidom" also means silence, supporting the Pirkei Avot that nothing is better for the body than silence (I think). I'm asking because I'm wondering whether a person experiencing afflictions that would be a literal version of pains that the prophet talks about, and I am wondering whether it would be better to pray continuously or be silent. Moshe said a very short prayer that was effective to heal Miriam, so I have been simply asking for forgiveness for my sins since we learn from Tehillim (90+?) that our sins are the only thing that we can complain about and I believe that these are the sources of our dismay. I've stopped prayers of praise based on H' saying about Miriam that if her father spat in her face, would she not dwell outside the camp (I think)? Also, I read from The Divine Code that gentiles are discouraged from offerings although they are allowed since it is difficult to obtain the proper intention, and I have applied it here since people are able to control my heart/mind somewhat severely with technology and I'm not commanded to praise, so it may end up a Chilul H', Heaven forbid. If you could please offer some advice on the proper way to repent and regain life peace and happiness the most effectively, I would appreciate it. I also wanted to ask about the word "Naval". I have seen it translated as vile and withered, maybe with other vowels. In the verse, something like, "vile and unwise people", could this be directly translated as withered with these vowels?

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Hi Rabbi, is there a Biblical source and context for the motto: "In God we trust"? Thanks!