Question
I am reading Jonathan Rabb's book "Among the Living". In the story, a rabbi looks at a Havdalah spice box, specifically at the Hebrew lettering on the inscription. The rabbi says that the letter gimmel is in the wrong place, because non-Jews did the craftsmanship and they did not read Hebrew. I know that the spice box is the besamim box. What letters are on a typical spice box? What words do they represent? Is the letter gimmel one of those letters?

Question
"If you make an altar of stones for me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it." (Shemot 20:25) So, how was the altar made?

Question
If Shabbat is supposed to be “a day of rest,” why is it forbidden to do certain things that don’t seem to be “real work,” such as turning a light on or off? Thank you!

Question
Rabbi, when I prayer in front of the Shabbos lights on Friday evening, I pray for the welfare of all my children and parents, etc. Do I mention their names using their mother's name or do I mention their father's name? Thank you.
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