| Answer the Rabbi |
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| Wednesday, 10 December 2008 15:35 |
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This month I would like to share with you some questions that Rabbis all over the world have been asked. The following have been taken from a popular website of questions to the Rabbi. Q1 An elderly woman, living near a Jewish Community for sixty years, never walked to the Shule and didn’t participate in any Jewish function. In her good years she did well in business but recently she lost a lot of money and became ill. Her neighbour phoned Jewish Care of the Aged to ask them to take care of her. What should they do? Q2 A non-Jewish young man approached the Rabbi. He introduced himself and said “My father has just died and his last request was to be buried as a Jew. I knew that he was a Jew but he never participated in any Jewish activity and I can’t afford to pay the Chevra Kadisha”. What should the Chevra Kadisha do? Q3 A young couple with a new baby had just arrived in the Community and couldn’t afford to pay to bring a mohel for the brit milah, which would cost approximately $2,000.What should the Rabbi answer them? Q4 A Jewish couple, living for twenty years near the Community, never came to Shule. Their shop was open on Shabbat and they never donated anything to the Synagogue. They asked the Rabbi to come with them to the cemetery in order to recite kaddish for their parents before Yom Kippur and to organise a minyan for them. What should the Rabbi’s have replied? Q5 An ex-Israeli who had been imprisoned in Japan approached the Community for help. He had no work permit and either needed money to buy a ticket costing $1,500 to go back to Israel or help to find a job. He asked to borrow $500 meantime. What should they do? Q6 A married couple, non-members and not practicing Judaism, ‘phoned the Rebbetzen to assist them with a family crisis. Their student son wanted to marry a non-Jewish girl and they needed assistance. What should she say? Q7 Three young Jewish tourists (keeping kosher) were looking for a family to stay with for Friday night but we knew that they were taking the ferry the next day. Should we help them? Q8 A non-Jewish man used to come to Shule every Shabbat and recently started to wear a tallit. On Simchat Torah, when people were called up for an aliyah, he stood up with the others. Should the Rabbi have allowed this? Any resemblance between the above questions and Wellington Hebrew Congregation are purely coincidental. Who said a Rabbi’s job is boring? I look forward to hearing your comments when I return to Wellington for Chanukah. Wishing you “All the best” Rabbi Haim Dovrat |
