18
votes
Accepted
Going from an nonreligious reform Jew to a religious one?
Welcome and congratulations on your search and efforts!
Beyond the suggestions above (first and foremost to approach the rabbi in a local synagogue or Chabad house), there are a number of websites ...
- 48k
13
votes
Becoming a Baal Teshuva
Congratulations on your efforts. You will benefit a lot from
developing a relation with one or more religious Jews
finding a Rabbi who understands you and can help in your search
learning Torah - see ...
- 48k
12
votes
Accepted
How to have an easier time with Yom Tov?
Yeah, especially when a diaspora yom tov is adjacent to Shabbat, it sometimes feels like a long slog. I sometimes feel like I'm fighting an uphill battle because I didn't do this from birth -- it isn'...
- 56.4k
11
votes
Help identifying yeshivot for baalei teshuva (men)
So there are a number of options in Israel - I will try and provide a bit of background for each one. Just an aside, please note there is no such a thing as a bad yeshiva, it is always about finding ...
- 30.3k
9
votes
How to have an easier time with Yom Tov?
I will start with the disclaimer that when I became religious, Yom Tov was a highlight for me, so I don't know how you will relate to what makes Yom Tov exciting for me.
I am generally more of an ...
- 58.3k
9
votes
Back to orthodoxy, can't stop violating a commandment for the sake of someone's life
A similar question was asked to the Melamed LeHoil (R' Dovid Tzvi Hoffmann):
A child was being forced to write in school on Shabbos by his father, the child didn't want to (break Shabbos). The ...
- 40.3k
8
votes
What are the arrows in my siddur?
The explanation is shown in the Guide to the Reader section at the beginning of the siddur.
A small arrow indicates the suggested starting point for the Shaliach Tzibbur. However, where the local ...
- 42.9k
7
votes
Asher Yatzar on numerous occasions
The Mamar Mordechai (s.k. 3) understands the Shulchan Aruch's position is that the second recitation covers all the times he forgot, so one would never say more than two. However, the Pri Megadim (M.Z....
- 6,487
7
votes
Prerequisites for attending Yeshiva as a middle aged Baal Teshuva
There are many yeshivot geared specifically to both Israeli and foreign balei teshuva in Jerusalem. Admissions criteria vary, but in general their mission is to educate Jews and they are not selective....
- 5,020
6
votes
About coming back to Jewish practice
A Bar Mitzvah ceremony or celebration is a just a custom - a nice way of signifying the occasion of one's becoming obligated in the commandments, but it is not a prerequisite and does not actually ...
- 6,487
6
votes
Rebbi Akiva knew Torah before he turned 40?
You can see below this opinion and its two arguments.
See Avot Derabbi Nathan chapter 6, you can read that Rabbi Akiva, before taking his decision to learn Torah, was at the edge of the spring, and ...
- 22.7k
6
votes
How to have an easier time with Yom Tov?
My parents were observant from before I was born, and I have been Shabbat- and Yom-Tov-observant my whole life. I can honestly say that I don't believe I have ever intentionally violated either. So no,...
- 47.8k
6
votes
How to have an easier time with Yom Tov?
B"H, I have solved my problem. I will post my experience here in case it could help anyone else.
It turns out that what was making Yom Tov impossible for me was the fact that I lived alone and spent ...
- 19.6k
6
votes
Going from an nonreligious reform Jew to a religious one?
In addition to the fine answer by mbloch, I'd like to touch on a few points not mentioned there.
Be sure not to grow too fast. You're in a tough situation, living in a family which I assume is not ...
- 18.5k
5
votes
How to have an easier time with Yom Tov?
I sympathize with your story, but let's focus on the questions you stated:
Does everyone actually cheat? Absolutely not. Most people who keep Yom Tov follow the normative Halacha.
Why don't you hear ...
- 5,310
5
votes
Resources for those beginning to keep Shabbos
Here are some resources I would consider useful/practical for those new to Shabbos and seeking to cultivate an Orthodox observance, based on my own experiences as a baalas teshuvah.
Shabbos primers:
...
- 19.6k
5
votes
Resources for those beginning to keep Shabbos
Two online resources from Morasha:
The Shabbat Experience - Insight into Friday night seudah & mitzvos
Shabbat I: Plugging into the Goals of Life (basic concepts of Shabbos)
And a book to ...
- 58.3k
5
votes
Birkat Kohanim for a Kohen who was very far from Judaism and decided to be a good Jew
Can a Kohen converted to Christianity or married with a non-Jewish woman recite the Birkat Kohanim after Teshuva?
This answer is referenced, but an explicative part is based on personal reflection, ...
- 22.7k
5
votes
Accepted
Is there a Rabbinical argument that Hashem holds Baal Teshuva to a different standard from those born in observant households?
Rabbi Dessler in Michtav Me'Eliyahu explains that a person has a nekudat habechira at which he is tested. Anything lower than this is resisted without even thinking about it. Anything higher than this ...
- 42.9k
4
votes
Beginner's Steps to Keeping Shabbos
I don't have sources, but I can answer from personal experience. All of the mitzvot of Shabbat are important, but the ones they should start with are the ones that will make the biggest impact. ...
- 56.4k
4
votes
What is the proper approach to a novel idea in Torah?
My teachers who worked extensively with Baalei Teshuva warned me that Sefer HaMiddot by Reb Nachman is a work that is difficult to understand properly and many ideas in fact seem to run contrary to ...
- 5,310
4
votes
Resources for those beginning to keep Shabbos
For a guide to the Shabbat Table Experience, try my book, Treasure of Shabbat: An Illuminated Guide to the Shabbat Table Experience: Finding Meaning and Inspiration through Shabbat Observance at Home
...
4
votes
Accepted
Practicing Binding Tefillin at Night
This is an interesting but difficult question. It is not addressed explicitly anywhere I looked and I assume it is because it is quite theoretical. Someone learning can wait to practice by day. But ...
- 48k
4
votes
Would a baalat teshuva need a get from each previous sexual relationship?
This seems to be a minority opinion, but:
According to Mordekhai (Kiddushin 533, to Kiddushin 65b (page 4a in
the Vilna Mordekhai; he cites Rabbenu Barukh), a couple who lives
together and ...
- 19.6k
4
votes
Accepted
Does someone who does teshuvah get answered only after he prays or even before?
Ibn Ezra on Yeshaya 65:24 writes:
לפי דעתי כי טרם כמו עוד, ואם בא בתוספת בי״ת כמו קודם
I understand that טרם means 'while', but if it is preceded by a ב, then it means 'before'.
So, if Rambam ...
- 41.8k
4
votes
Books for beginners
Here are a few books I really like in this context
Torah: the brand new Koren Steinsaltz Humash has a simple commentary inserted in the English translation as well as additional explanations which ...
- 48k
3
votes
Resources for learning about the foundations of Judaism
Although there are vast stores of great Jewish literature that provide this sort of "basic," yet vital knowledge (the Kuzari and even The Guide for the Perplexed come to mind), the book I would like ...
- 19.6k
3
votes
Rebbi Akiva knew Torah before he turned 40?
Rabbi Yisrael Salanter writes about this story in Or Yisrael, letter #10. He notes the word "chazar - returned", but also that it was said that Rabbi Aqiva hadn't studied Torah until he was ...
- 9,418
3
votes
How to have an easier time with Yom Tov?
Okay, I will share the one thing that has sorta-kinda worked for me...to plan reading marathons with massive goals for the 2-3 days of Yom Tov.
That way I don't feel like Yom Tov is חס לי a total ...
- 19.6k
3
votes
Beginner's Steps to Keeping Shabbos
Since the number of laws and minhagim that pertain to Shabbat are so large and so varied, it is easy for a beginner to feel overwhelmed and to focus on all of the mistakes that they are making. While ...
- 18.8k
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