In Revelation 3:14 it is written:

To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this:

In Revelation 19:11 it is written:

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.

Wow!  The fall moedim were really a blessing this year.  The timing was very challenging with two children in public schools, though.  The moedim coupled with some recent trips out of town and other school and work related activities have left the family desperately in need of a day of rest.  G-d is good and He has provided a wonderful day of rest in His Shabbat and we most DEFINITELY rested today! :)

All this recent activity has left little time for study and writing articles.  I wanted to provide an update on what's going on behind the scenes to let everyone know that work is still ongoing but has slowed a great deal.

The Sabbath day began at the end of the first week of creation (Genesis 2:2).  The Word of G-d tells us that He blessed the seventh day and separated it as a holy day (Genesis 2:3).  If the Sabbath was given before Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's time and was created for them for them to observe was it also not created for us?  If we are to be doers and hearers of the Word, shouldn’t we observe the Sabbath just as our Lord and Savior did?

The Merriam-Webster word of the day for October 14th was "facetious":

1 : joking or jesting often inappropriately : waggish 2 : meant to be humorous or funny : not serious

The Merriam-Webster word of the day for October 15th was palmary which means "outstanding, best".  M-W provided this etymological information:

English speakers have been using "palmary" since the 1600s, and its history  stretches back even further than that.

The Merriam-Webster Word of the Day for October 9th was indagate which means "to search into; investigate".

Although slightly different in meaning it brought to mind this passage in 1Thes 5:21-

But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;

The Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for Friday 9/26/2008 was "prodigy":

1. something extraordinary : wonder 2 : a highly talented child

The Merriam-Webster word of the day for Monday, September 29th was exonerate:

1 : to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship 2 : to clear from accusation or blame

Merriam- Webster's word of the day for Sunday, September 14th, 2008 was "eponymous":

of, relating to, or being one for whom or which something is or is believed to  be named

That is the question.  But what is the answer?

Yes, that was a riff on Shakespeare's famous "to be or not to be... " line from Hamlet. Let me be fair and clarify the question:

The question I am trying to answer is whether or not the Talmud should serve as a guide regarding Torah observance.  One group in my congregation says "yes!"... another group in my congregation says "no!".  I wanted to jot down my thoughts about both sides of the issue.  I don't know if I will come to an answer any time soon (likely not!) but it's cathartic nonetheless.