"As a hopeful convert, I cannot wait to convert and be part of this people, and thus perfect myself and do His will. How can anyone read the Torah, even just read it on the surface, and think He has forgotten His covenant with the Jewish people and given it over to the followers of some mortal man? (Jesus)
 
Thank You so much Mesora.org for helping me in the past 8-9 months to find the truth about this idolatrous religion.  And may this site continue to help me along my journey to Judaism."

"Shalom,

 Hope all is B"H well. I was wondering if it would be possible to receive today the issue for this coming shabbos as I will be out of the office tomorrow with no access to a printer.

 Thanks very much.

 Matt "

"Hi Rabbi,
 
I just wanted to say that you brought up a point on the part of divorce that was about taking time away from each other and how this builds back the relationship if one tries.
 
My wife and I are actually an example of that. We went through a hard time, but the time away and our continual connection brought back the love and passion twice fold. I can't go without saying that it wasn't long after that that I completely stepped away from Christianity and found Judaism and the Seven Laws. I couldn't be happier today because of this.
 
I just wanted to share my experience on a point of your lesson; one that I personally experienced.
 
Shalom"

"Thank you so much for the class last Sunday.  It's exactly what we were looking for. The feedback I have received from other participants was also very positive.  (An email from my friend in Maine is included below.)  We are all looking forward to more.  I have us scheduled again for this coming Sunday at 11:15 a.m. your time. We will plan to call you as we did last Sunday. What a treat!"

"I enjoyed listening to the Rabbi today.  I suppose I should have contributed but I was so caught up in the listening.  I especially made note of his comment of the Jews being teachers and example setters.  I have read in some sources about the  "special Jewish soul" and that always mystified me; now with the Rabbi's clarification that all souls are equal, I feel that some of my questions are answered.
Thank-you again. Donna"

"Thank you for all your hard work and the vast amount of Torah you make accessible on Mesora. I, for one, benefit enormously from your website, and it is readily apparent that many others do as well."

Michael

Dear Jewish Times,
 
Please send me an address so that I can donate by check to the Jewish Times.  I am thrilled with joy to see the Jewish Times again.  In the past I was lax about making donations and now I see what it can cause if we as readers do not support you.  For this I truly apologize and I hope others feel the same way because I have missed and longed for the “Torah” study that we were receiving for Sabbath."

Shalom, Marg

"I have enjoyed this publication immensly and have passed it on to my parents to share in the news and updates. It will sorely be missed by them ,since they don't have access to a computer. If we need to pay for this publication, you have my subscription order."

"Dear Rabbi  Ben-Chaim,

I wanted to tell  you how much I always enjoy your classes. Each class has taught me something.  Each class has  made me able to articulate with clarity  some aspect that I already knew.  And you know, that is a good feeling. I truly and deeply appreciate the time it takes to have the classes and the time it takes for preparation. 
 
I hope you have another class soon.  I am always disappointed  when  I discovered there was a class and I missed it.
 
I am moving to Missouri, so the next time I sign in you will see "Jeanne MO".
 
 
Best regards,
 
Jeanne Couey"

"Dear Sir,

I want to thank you for the chance of reading JewishTimes as a non-registered member without paying for. The brilliance of argumentation and interpretation of what is in the Bible is very impressing. I have learned a lot up to now. And the more I read the more I believe in G-d's existence.

Shalom

Dieter Gestalter
Germany"

"Rabbi Moshe Ben-Chaim,

Your article "In the Dark" was amazing. Nothing is so puzzling to a novice as how much time Shemos spends on describing the Temple and the various vessels. All of this "boring" detail ... Why?

The insight you provided in your writing was a refreshing answer.

Well done. -Dan"

"While I am technically labeled a Christian, I do not believe in the Christian way of thinking. I've been reading alot about Judaism here lately and I feel as if I've been walking through life with a blindfold over my eyes. When I read this article, it finally sunk in just how unsubstantiated and baseless Christianity really is."

"Shalom,
I am just checking to see if the JewishTimes for Nasso has come out? I pray that all is well. I learn so much from your magazine, thank you.

Yvonne"

"I have just found your site and I am loving it." -Mark A.

"My friend in shul prints out all your Shabbos sheets and a group in shul always reads them. They are wonderful.

"Shalom,
Thank you for bringing the Jewish Times into my home. I am a Jew living in XXXX. You are helping me on my journey home to Orthodxy. It is not easy for me having spent too many years assimilated. But I believe that it was my 5 years of study in Chedda when I was a young boy living on the Lower East Side of Manhattan that has stood me in good stead, as well as XXXX, and his wife XXXX both converts from being Baptist to being a frum Jewish family. Now he studies at Collel in XXXX. Surely the path that Hasem has chosen for me is a difficult one. Although I slip on the stones, it is the spark of yiddishkite that drives me on.

Thank you."

"I am currently a second year student at the University of Maryland. I am not yet kosher, nor wear a yamakha, or talus.  However, I am trying to become fully kosher, but its been a bit hard for me.  Nevertheless, I am very interested in learning Torah and all its virtues.  I dont want to become hassidic or ultra orthodox, but rather see Judasim at face value without any ideas being chucked down my throat.  You have provided this need, and I want to take it further. I have been reading great articles from your site for a few months now and my belief in G-d and Judaism has become much more solid and powerfull.  I no longer have an emotional, "feel-good" connection to my religion, but a real one."

"I have read your "fictional" essay "Why Be Observant" with great interest, which has given me a clearer focus.  Thanks.
 
To be observant is a daily challenge.  In this "modern" world, by eating specific foods and acting in a specific way, one is always challenged with questions which are difficult to answer.  Often the questions may seem very simple, nonetheless I've often found these the most difficult to answer.  These questions are usually asked by Jews who simply want to know and often by very close family members. 
 
You have answered many of the questions of "proof" vs "maybes", "millions of witnesses" vs "millions of followers" etc.  for which I thank you. 
 
With G_d's help, I may now be able to answer some of the future questions with more clarity, with the intent that more Jews become more observant."

"There's no doubt . . . The Jewish Times and NYDesign will be instrumental in generating greater understanding, the performance or more mitzvot and acts of kindness.

From my mother and me . . ."

"I discovered your Mesora website not long ago, and I want to congratulate you on your clear and honest vision. You reflect and clarify many of my own attitudes towards "Magical Judaism" that I have been discussing for quite a while. Living in Seattle, and having become a hozer beteshuvah 11 years ago, I have found it sometimes difficult to refute the mythology and superstition so evident in the less educated (Jewishly) community. I include myself in this description, but after having learned Rambam's Hilchot Yesodei Hatorah and finding that his writings clearly describe my own thoughts on the matter, the differentiation of the all-too-human tendency to resort to magic for understanding or manipulating reality was difficult to deal with.

With your permission, I will distribute a number of your articles in my synagogue. We really need to stop setting up our own talismen and magical symbolism, and return to the experience of Hashem Yit'."

"It's because of your pro-active support for Israel and the difference that you're making that the "check is in the mail."

"I love your website. I did not realize that Orthodox Judaism had such a beautiful system of logic."

"Hi Mesora,

I am a Jewish woman living in South Africa, I run the Young Leadership division of the Israel United Appeal and receive your e-mails. I wish I could be at your upcoming rally, but as I can not, I would like to wish you all the best and hope you will have a huge turnout. Keep up the fight!!"

"I am a born again Christian who found your site after reading a news article at the WorldNetDaily web site. I have spent nearly an hour looking through the various articles and sections of this web and I plan to return and even use this site as a resource in my biblical studies.

Thanks for a great new information resource, which will help me better understand my Jewish neighbors and friends from both a religious and cultural perspective."

"I just wanted you to know my two favourite sites are www.jeruslalem.com and your site. It is wonderful, and I just love it. Please keep up all the hard work and may Hashem bless you for it.
Shalom, Joseph"

"I like your web-site. It gives us the chance to voice our opinions on matters that otherwise we would probably overlook. You have made it very easy to protest. You made it very easy to stand up for Israel. Thank you."

"Todah Rabbah for the e-mail opportunity to reach so many government folks at one fell swoop. For an intelligent people we do not seem to have the initiative and the creativity to use technology to our advantage. Your e-mailing opportunity is the first I have seen that exemplifies "da'at" which I translate as "out of the box thinking. Inspired by Rashi on Shemot 35:31 ("B'Chochma, B'Tvunah u'vDaat") I translate this pasuk as: Chochma, what we learn through our studies, Bina, how we apply that which we have learned, and Daat as the skill to extend that knowledge beyond what we have learned or "out of the box thinking.".

Hag Sameach, Moish"

"I want to tell you that what you are doing with your Mesora Website is truly remarkable and commendable.With the torah you offer and what you are accomplishing for Isael either raising money for them or writing letters to politicians."

"I just found your Website and love it--thank you!! I appreciate the Ed Koch article on boycotting France and your efforts to do so. Keep it up!!"

"I'd like to commend you for creating such an informative site that truly strives to spread the wealth of Torah. More importantly, your determination to preserve the beauty and authenticity of Torah, even nowadays when religous 'trends' are bombarding us, is remarkable."

"I find your site very attractive, and your attitudes appealingly wise. I agree that we must live by reason, not by awe of miracles or "luck." I see how arrogant it is for people to think the stars tell us in detail about ourselves. We have been given the scripture to teach us, and minds to use. The stars are to show us the greatness of our Creator, not to decide for us whom to marry, what color to wear on Monday, or such matters that are petty in comparison to the needs of mankind as a whole. I also like that you view the whole message of the Holy One as inspired and unchanging. It would be frightening to be adrift in a sea of choices and surprises with no unchangable star by which to steer. If the Creator chose to instruct the people at all, would he give a guide that says swear on Tuesday but be polite on Wednesday? I think not! Why give a guide at all, if it is not meant to be reliable? The maker's guide would have, as you say, Divine precision, or there would be no guide."

"Thanks a lot for the audio archives. Due to my schedule I can no longer attend the online shiurim Monday nights, so this was a long-awaited boon for me."

I am a father of 3 daughters, a husband to a beautiful wife, and raise my family as a Conservative Jew. My daughters go to Solomon Schechter Day School, and we keep a kosher home and they do the Shema. After reading your site, I will do it also. For some reason, perhaps preoccupation with work, I don't do it as much as I should. But I will now.

Yasher Koach, and G-d bless you."

"Please include me on your e-mailings of the JewishTimes. P.S This new feature is great! Thanks a lot."

"Thanks for letting me know about the pdf newsletter, it looks great. My compliments to your staff. Bravo!"

"This is an outstanding site and I am glad that I happened upon it, but it was destined to be. Do you send out email as well? I would be interested in signing up."

"Hello Mesora, I'm interested in reading your site - I'm glad I found you."

"I was just introduced to your website. I am very impressed with its content. Do you publish a monthly newsletter? My e-mail address is ---@msn.com

Thank you for your good work."

"You are the only Jewish site I have found (and I have look up many others also in different language like Spanish) that give gentiles a real opportunity to learn without making us feeling aliens.  I will keep reading an learning from your site, I have very little time and I want to dedicate this time to learn from you. For now I will not go to other Jewish sites because this disturbs me, there is much material on your site and I you give me the opportunity to ask you questions.
 
Aurora

PS: I am understanding more that it seems and I am so glad of this opportunity to learn from someone so ethically correct as you are, I could not learn from anyone different."

"I have been receiving your emails for a while now but just within the last month (January), I've just started listening to the TalkLive classes. THEY ARE AMAZING! I wish I had started listening earlier.

Can I send people direct links to the classes; I would like to get more people to listen to this.
 
Keep up the great work!
 
Jennifer
 
PS I'm also a creator of XXXX Jewish Yahoogroup.

Rose, Italy

Rabbi:
 
I saw the Jewish Times Intermarriage Special Issue!  Thank you so much for addressing my question on intermarriage.  I haven't finished reading it all yet, but I have already forwarded it to my son, and printed it out for my husband and me to read.  I also intend to send it to some of my friends with children.  I'll let you know if it helps. 
 
I'm praying that it helps us.
 
"College Mom"

“Wow!  I do feel honored that I made it to your JewishTimes newsletter.  Truly a good feeling.  To be honest, I'm a regular Yeshiva Bucher returning to Eretz Yisroel next year and this question as to how learning is the greatest mitzvah and the greatest activity has been bothering me.  People generally ignored this question.  Your answer definitely helped me in my overall learning, that G-d willing when I get back to Eretz Yisroel, it'll be stronger then ever.
 
Thank you and Kol Tuv,
 
Ronen Dvash”

"Dear Rabbi Ben Chaim,

Thank you for your talk on Thursday--it was, as last time, not only informative but also thought-provoking and interesting! (After listening to the other 20 speakers, I can assure you that these three components are rarely found together....)

The students likewise had a very positive response--one of the jewish members of the class actually said that he had been lax about religion but because of you is going to "go back to Judaism." !!

I will definitely take you up on your offer of questions. I want to do a little more searching on your website before they are formulated.
Thank you again!!!"

"Today I got linked to your website. Then I started reading about different topics. I did not notice the time. I was deeply involved in the reading and the teaching of Torah when I saw the time in the computer clock - it was 00:10 Japan time.

How many hours I spent, I don't know, but what I felt was a few hours, was time better spent than my whole life."

"Your Judaism101 site,...what a wonderful idea. I applaud you and your staff for this innovative program. I just retired from public school teaching, but I am working within Roosevelt University as a teacher in the Chicago area.
Once again, This is terrific."

"Keep up the good work!!! I'm relaying your site to all my students!"

"I can hear the second class. The classes are, by the way, very good. I recently decided to begin mishley from the beginning myself so it was great to see that you had recordings up that could, at the very least, aid in my study, if not teach me. I love the methodological points; they help me to be able to proceed on my own. Thanks alot and, in general, your site is great and is also very aesthetically pleasing."

"Baruch Hashem for your site. If people really listened and "heard" what you are saying about the torah life, we would merit Moshiach. In Parshah Yisro, Yisro "heard" what had happened and came to follow the Jews. He "heard" the same type of "heard" when we say Shema "Hear O Israel" and "na'aseh V'nishma". He got the message. May we all get the message."

"I want to thank you for sparking up my interest in learning more about my Judaic roots and Torah because of your web site.  I am an active Zionist at the University of Maryland, and I have realized, thanks in large part to you, that being a Zionist requires understading why there was a Zionist cause in the first place - Preservation of Torah and Judaism, which is rooted from the holy land of Israel."

"I've gotten a tremendous amount from your site. Thanks for all your hard work."

"I really don't get a chance to visit this site enough - but I just wanted you to know that I think it is truly a great thing having a site like this on the web.  How awesome this is to be able to expose so many people to truth and real Torah that they wouldn't otherwise get.  It is nice to see the wonders of modern technology actually being used for good.  It is so important - thank you for putting in your time."

"Dear Mesora,

I very appreciate your information and your offer and I am very grateful to be on your email list. I guess that my email is already in your list but to be shure it is so I send you this message. Thank you for your care very much and wish you success in the area of services you offer to us.

Shalom u´vracha!"

"I would like to thank you and express my appreciation for the work you do on your websites. Everytime I read your articles or the answers on the people's questions I am fullfilled with the special kind of consciousness of the greatness of our G-d."

Toda raba, rabbi!"

"Deat Rabbi, Thank you very much for your answer. Not being well versed in Torah and Talmud, and not having a Jewish upbringing, it is sometimes difficult for me to understand how to react properly in some circumstances. The person in question recently married into our family, we have helped considerably already but it appeared that the help we were giving was becoming something that was expected. I did not want to react to this in a way that would alienate a part of my family. Your insights have helped me to determine a course of action I think may prove fruitful but still keep peace in our family."

"I just discovered your web site this evening and was fascinated. My religious education and observance seemed to stop after my Bar Mitzvah (which was more than a couple of years ago). While reading a number of your articles, I was reminded of my college days when I would get into discussions about religion with my non-Jewish friends. Particularly one friend, who went on to become a Baptist minister. Our discussions went like my friend saying, "The Bible say this!" And I would respond, "Fine, Bruce. Now what does it mean?" End of discussion. (Which probably explains why any involvement of a religious nature ended with my Bar Mitzvah.)

Your articles go well into "what does it mean" and why is it relevant to me. I'm not sure that I agree with everything I've read - I've got to think about it. But it leads me to the question: What's the next step for me?"

"Your sight is incredibly useful to me. In fact, I think that its the best sight I have ever found on the Internet. Here are a few questions that you probably can help me with, just as you have done a few times previously......."

"Thank you for taking the time to reply to my questions. Your web site is greatly appreciated."

"I just want to tell you that I absolutely loved the Mesora website and thanks to it in part, I am now living an observant lifestyle and have realized the truth of Torah."

"Your site is truly excellent. It is inspiring to read rational essays which attempt to arrive at Truth rather than the more common type these days which don't seem to go anywhere in particular."

"Thank you for your reply. I can't tell you how much I am constantly confronting truth that I never knew existed but only imagined to some extent. I constantly find that truth in Judaism. I have never found that in Christianity. Maybe that is why I never considered myself a real Christian. I always had trouble with their doctrines, from believing that there were 3 Gds in one to believing that Gd died for our sins. Now I believe I can understand to some extent why. In order for me to accept those things then I would need to deny my own mind and accept these things by faith alone. I never could and thought I was an oddball. Thank you again for your reply. I sincerely appreciate it. Gd's blessing upon you."

"I commend such an excellently presentable website. It is praiseworthy both for its aesthetic quality and also for the ease with which one can explore. The highly impressive design is complemented by a broad scope, and one can only speculate the amount of sincere effort that was devoted to this achievement."

"I have done as you suggested in that I have returned to the Mesora site and I have begun to study it. Doing this has already answered a great many of my questions. If nothing else, I am a genuine seeker of truth; rather than spend more time seeking arguments for or against the miraculous in Man I have chosen instead to "use my mind". To this end I have simply started from the beginning of the site. I thank you for your remarks and your excellent website, in which I sense both the way to truth and to proof - and more questions. For now I will continue to study and will return with my questions as they come to me."

"I commend your considerable effort to e-mail the world leaders in support of Israel's military response; I have done as you asked. However, I think you would have greater success by including one more item in the letter, and that is this: Israel belongs to the Jewish people because G-d gave us, and not for any other reason. Until we stand up in front of the world, and acknowledge this fact, I am afraid the resolution to the age old conflict will remain elusive."

"Hi, I have asked you a couple questions before and had submitted a topic before I left to learn in Israel almost a year ago. I just got back and I am glad to see the site growing and I would like to say this site is just unbelievable! I hope many people visit the site and write to you and that your successful in bringing back people to yiddishkeit."

"Moshe, this is the first time I have visited your website. It is fabulous! The range of articles is incredible and the aesthetics (design, layout & artwork) are gorgeous! I have Done alot of work on the Rambam's "Introduction to Perek Chelek" in the Pirush Hamishnayos. Would you be interested in adding that to the site? I think that a piece about "Olam Haboh" would be very attractive (and useful) to your readers. E-mail me."

"I have been a regular reader of your website for some time and am continually impressed by the quality of the articles found thereon. The articles are regularly thought-provoking and encourage much debate and discussion with my friends and colleages.

I desire to come to the Land of Israel and devote my time there to Torah study some time in the near future. I am interested in knowing, therefore, if the Rabbis whose writings are presented on the web site run a Yeshiva or some other centre for Jewish learning which a person can come to attend for a few weeks or a couple of months, which would be the duration of my time in the Land?

If no such Yeshiva exists, would the Rabbis be willing to recommend some institututions in line with the Mesorah and would be suitable for a 24 year old ba'al teshuva?

I thank you for your time and for your consideration."

"Yashar cochacha - This is a beautiful site and database"

"I do not have a topic to submit; however, I do have a question. I have been very impressed with the articles, and would like to know a little more about who Moshe Ben Chaim is. The philosophy expressed in his articles rings with a refreshing truth. If you could let me know about his background, etc., I would be grateful. Thank you very much. Much continued hatzlachah!"

"Dear Rabbi, I wish to congratulate you on your reply regrading dating of converts and clothing. If all the world would see that what matters is the heart and a righteous life, the so called "boundaries" in love would be abolished. I e-mailed you about one year ago regarding an experience I had with a young woman who was Christian. She decided to stop seeing me because I would not "convert" and would not go to church with her. On the other hand, she would refuse to convert or go to Temple with Me (I never asked that of her by the way). In my opinion your statement on the former two issues corroborate once again why I should feel proud of being Jewish. we are not here to convert or to impose our thinking. We are here to let the world see how to be more humane, kind and giving. Too bad others fail to see this and use this sort of "discrimination" to try to justify their actions and their inability to truly love another person.
Once again, thank you for writing such beautiful words."

"Shalom, A co-congregant of mine referred me to your site today. I wanted to casually peruse your pages, but found myself engaged in reading several of your articles. I havent even begun to scratch the surface of your material. However, the content appears to be well written, -- (and edited)"

"Thank you sir for responding to my concerns. You have given me a lifting of the light. I shall read Ezekiel 18. May HaShem bestow blessings and love upon your crown."

"Hi. I found your site a few days ago and have asked you some questions and recently saw in one of the articles you have that a person was criticizing your site. I would just like to tell you that I'm very pleased to see that you made this site and how you handled that situation as well as every other one as best as you can. I always looked for a site like this and for someone who would finally speak about the Jewish community, whether positive issues or negative. These days though everyone wants to hide the negative aspects of our community and I think it is great how you explain these problems of the Jewish community and to try your best to solve them. I would just like to thank you for making this site and allowing people to share their questions on an orthodox site. I think its great the way you bring proofs to all your answers to people's questions and how you really lay an answer down to someone who has a misconception about something. I just felt it was necessary to give you the compliments you deserve and give you credit for undertaking such a difficult task of proving to all the Jews the way to be a Jew. Thank you for your time."