Rabbi Chaim Ingram

ACUTE ANGLES Real Questions on Jewish Thought Answered An Occasional Series – 50 By Rabbi Chaim Ingram OAM Cremation – The Ultimate Abuse Dear Rabbi. My elderly mother is lying in hospital, unconscious. The doctors say it is only a matter of days before she succumbs. In her last lucid moments, she declared to my two brothers and me that she wishes to be cremated. This had never been discussed before. We are secular Jews, but I know enough about Judaism to know that cremation is not the Jewish way. My brothers feel we must honour our mother’s request – after all isn’t “honour thy mother” one of the Ten…

ACUTE ANGLES Real Questions on Jewish Thought Answered An Occasional Series – 28 By Rabbi Chaim Ingram OAM IS TAI CHI KOSHER? Dear Rabbi. My friend who, like me, is newly-retired and Orthodox, told me she had recently enrolled in a weekly tai chi class. I asked her if she had consulted her rabbi about it and she said no, why should she have? I told her that its origins were steeped in Eastern religions, and that she would do well to check. She asked me to inquire on her behalf. So, rabbi, is tai chi kosher? Yours, Stella K. Dear Stella, It is very good that you thought to…

ACUTE ANGLES Real Questions on Jewish Thought Answered An Occasional Series – 56 By Rabbi Chaim Ingram OAM IS JUDAISM THE SOLE MONOTHEISTIC FAITH? Dear Rabbi Ingram. Last week you wrote that Christianity and Islam “share our adherence sort of to monotheism”. While I understand your ambivalence about Christianity with its trinity and “god-incarnate” theology, I had always thought that Islam was purely monotheistic like Judaism, despite our deep ideological differences. So why “sort of”? And what about Sikhism which you don’t mention? I would appreciate your comments. Thanks so much. Naomi G. Dear Naomi, I received your question prior to the furore surrounding the remarks of Indian senior political…

ACUTE ANGLES Real Questions on Jewish Thought Answered An Occasional Series – 25 By Rabbi Chaim Ingram OAM IS JUDAISM RACIST? Dear Rabbi. The Torah tells us to wipe out the progeny of Amalek. Elsewhere we are commanded not to welcome Ammonites or Moabites into “the community of G-D” and to destroy or expel the Canaanite nations from Israel. In today’s parlance, would this not be termed ‘racist’? How do you, as a defender of the Torah, respond to this charge? Yours, K. B. Dear K. B. Firstly let’s define ‘racism’ according to the primary definition proffered by Professor Google who, we assume, belongs to all races equally! ☺ It…