[The opinion we saw last time that no one dies without sin] is in line with the following Tannaic opinion: Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: Even Moshe and Aharon died due to their sin, as the pasuk says: “Since you did not believe in Me …” (Bamidbar 20:12) – we infer: “had you believed in Me, your time would not have come to take leave of the world.”
Is there timtum halev [approximately, spiritual pollution of the heart] when one ingests non-kosher food in a halachically valid manner, e.g., based on bitul (nullification)?
The attitude of Jews towards the Land of Israel has always been a litmus-paper type of test of Jewish commitment and even faith throughout the ages.
Living in the Land of Israel or at least visiting it regularly is currently the centerpiece of Jewish life, its faith and its future.
Did Jews fast over the destruction of the First Temple when the Second Temple stood? Must pregnant and nursing women abstain from eating and drinking on minor fasts? Rabbi Eliezer Melamed addresses these and other important questions.
After the destruction of the First Temple, the Prophets and the Sages of Israel legislated fasting on the Tenth of Tevet, for it was on that day that Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, and his legions placed Jerusalem under siege.