texts: Why were the baraitot excluded from the mishnayot?

texts:
The Gemara (or Talmud) is full of Tannaitic teachings known as baraitot (or baraita in the singular). Nevertheless, these teachings were not codified in the Shishah Sidre'i Mishnah (Six Orders of The Mishnah), such that if one was only familiar with The Mishnah (and had not yet studied Gemara), these teachings would be lost on him.

Why were these teachings excluded from The Mishnah?


texts: What is the Halacha regarding Tachanun and Brit in the same shul?

texts:
I don't have the ArtScroll weekday Siddur in front of me, now, but essentially, it said that one does not say Tachanun in a shul where a Brit will occur during that day.

If a Brit occurs anywhere in the shul building at any time during that day, and if the Brit is performed by anyone whatsoever, even an outsider who is renting a room for the Brit later in the day, does no one in the morning minyan say Tachanun? Is this how the halacha works, or is Tachanun omitted only if one of the people involved in the Brit (father, mohel, Sandak, etc.) is actually davening with the minyan?


texts: Can a tree branch be leaning on the roof of a sukkah?

texts: If one has built a kasher sukkah, with its own completed skhakh but there is a tree branch that leans against the skhakh, is it still kasher?


texts: What is the tzror hachaim (bond of life)?

texts:
On tombstones one finds the acronym for t'hay nafsho/ah tzrurah b'tzror hachaim (may the soul be bound to the bond of life).

What is this bond of life? Do we have any sources which explain what this means?


texts: Are Noachides/Non-Jews encouraged/expected to do maaser kesafim?

texts:
A friend of mines has been infatuated by Judaism for as long as I can remember. He came from the Christian world and has since left it. Even as a Christian he would take 10% of his income and give to local charities. He also would use this money to buy seforim for himself and others for learning.

So are Non-Jews/Noahides expected or encouraged to do maaser kesafim (setting aside 10% of take home income)?
And what can/should the monies go to?


texts: Not to learn parts of Torah until they become applicable

texts:
I was told that one should not learn the laws of Nidda (I guess including orach Chaim 240 and even hoezer 25) until engaged, and not the laws of mourning until applicable (lo alainu)

Is this true?
Or is something similar to this true?
Are there other parts of the Torah which are recommened not to learn...?
Sources please.


texts: Can one use a kittel that had previously been on a dead person?

texts:
There is a custom to bury a dead person with a kittel. It is also customary for men to wear a kittel in shul during the High Holidays.

Let's say a dead body is exhumed. In Israel, it is common to bury the body without a casket. When they remove the body, they discover that the kittel is torn to the point where a significant part of the body is uncovered. They remove the old kittel, and cover the body with a new one prior to revurial.

Does this old kittel maintain some type of holiness, or can a family member repair it and reuse it?

Note I am assuming that a torn kittel may or need to be removed out of respect to the dead person. If it cannot be removed, please inform.


texts:
Why is it that everywhere I ever davened, when saying הלל
, after "...אנא ידוד", people speed through "...ברוך הבא" and especially by יהללוך.

Why is this? Is it some Halacha? Segula?

Its not like thats the end of davening. There is still leining and Mussaf afterwards.

And then they finish their speedy הלל and the חזן starts קדיש and I'm still in middle of הלל and can't answer אמן.

(The one time a year they don't speed is on Sukkos, when the Rebbe spends half an hour shaking the Lulav and Esrog by הודו לידוד, then I have plenty of time to finish הלל with Kavanah! [But then, of course, after shaking, everyone starts speeding to the end! But by that time, I'm already done for 15 minutes!])

It seems like a race! Who can finish first?


texts: How beautiful for the bracha on beautiful people?

texts:
In the siddur there is a beracha to say upon seeing an exceptionally beautiful person.

How beautiful must said person be?
May I say it on either gender?
Do I say this in front of the person or do I say it discretely?


texts: In auctions today are you still obligated after being out-bid?

texts:
A mishna on Erchin 27a discusses buying land back after it has been consecrated.  It says that if one offered ten selas, another twenty, etc. up to one who offered fifty, and then that last guy retracted his bid, he owes the difference between his bid and the next-lower one and then the next-lower one is the buyer.  If he retracts too, iterate.  If the original bidder retracts, they sell it on the open market and he owes the difference between the price they got and his bid.  That all sounds straightforward and fair.

I am assuming that these kinds of transactions were uncommon, single events.  My quesion is: does this process also apply to modern auctions where many items might be auctioned and only at the end the money is settled?  Or, for that matter, participating in simultaneous auctions on eBay?  Once I have been out-bid, do I still need to keep that money in reserve in case the people above me retract, or (per Jewish law) is that not my problem because that would be impracticel in auctions structured as they usually are now?

(I don't actually participate in auctions this way and would consult my rabbi if this mattered, but I was curious upon reading this mishna.)


texts:
The beit yosef has a very clear Shita.
There are 3 important poskim:rosh.,rif,and rambam.

He goes after the majority of these Poskim in case of a machloket.

When looking into the rema(darkei moshe) it looks very chaotic.

It looks like he brings every posek known at his time and tries to compromise between them.

Is there a certain order in his Psakim?
What was his Shita?
Are there any scholarly articles regarding this?


texts:
The Rambam in yesode hatorah says that God has no emotions.

He does not change, he does not get angry nor have joy. Everything you see in tanach is just so that we can understand.

The commentary there says: "he does not get angry if you transgress nor get joy from your doing His will".

If so, why does he care about our service? Is it all for us only?


texts: When one is diagnosed with a terminal disease, is refusing treatment a form of suicide or acceptable considering the circumstances?

texts:
People are diagnosed with terminal illnesses on a regular basis. Many times a person refuses to undergo treatment because they don't wish to experience the pain and exhaustion that would entail.
While it may buy them more time, the tradeoff isn't necessarily worth it for all patients who may want to live a shorter time but with less pain and exhaustion from more extreme treatments.
My question is what Halacha has to say on the issue.
My assumption is this would likely break down into different categories of considerations.

The emotional well-being of the patient would need to be considered as further treatment could compromise them emotionally and amplify their suffering beyond the physical.
Suicide being an act of ending a life vs a person accepting a diagnosis for an act of God/nature. In such a case they aren't seeking death but accepting they are reaching their natural end. There may be gray there but the distinction likely matters. This being different from say euthanasia or suicide in the traditional sense.
Whether the person has been chronically sick prior. If the individual has been treated for this or other things prior and they continually get sick or experience new and more extreme issues, the nature of past medical experience may relate to whether a future treatment is even worth attempting.
The overall outcome statistics. If the person has a 90% success rate in treatment vs a person who is say 5% or less. We obviously wouldn't treat these two situations the same way when considering options.

I was curious as to what has been discussed around this sensitive issue?


texts: May a Jew own/operate a blog open to comments?

texts:
In light of recent events I would like to know if a Jew may own and operate a blog or website which is open to comments if it is found that comments can often contain lashon hara, rechilus or motzei shem ra. Is there an obligation to moderate and remove comments that the owner feels violate those issurim?

Would such a site/blog run afowl of injunctions not to perpetuate sin(ners?) such as m'saiyah l'yideh avaira (helping the hand of sin), not placing a stumbling block before a blind person, kol yisroel areivim (all Jews are guarantors one for the other) etc.?


texts:
I would like to use my phone for leisure on chol hamoed. I know tying is permitted-but what about, say, browsing the Internet or watching videos?
Thanks.


texts: What to do if you're still praying but the congregation began reciting psalms for the state of Israel?

texts: If I have not yet finished praying but the congregations has - if the hazzan began reciting psalms for the safety in the state of israel, do you interrupt your prayers and join in with the congregation or do you finish your prayers and then say what you can with the congregation or by yourself?


texts: Is the vicinity of an ark valid for "Nefilat Apayim" (covering the face for Tachanun)?

texts:
One afternoon last week it was too hot in the shul, so we davened Mincha just outside the shul on the patio. The shul has an aron Kodesh, and while we were on the patio, and the Aron was visible through the window, the congregation fell on their faces during Tachanun. The door to the shul was locked.

I had learned that one falls on his face only in a shul that has an Aron Kodesh. We were not in the shul itself, but rather, on the patio next to it. Is that still considered a valid criteria for falling on one's face?


texts: There are two concepts in the Halacha of Bittul (nullification). One says that if there is an item that is Unkosher that falls into another item that is Kosher, and it is a mixture, and the Unkosher is  one-sixtieth, it is nullified and you can eat the mixture even though it has the Unkosher in it. However, there is another Halacha along the same premise that says if Roiv (a majority) of the food is Kosher, then the Unkosher food is nullified. Wouldn't you know that from the fact that it is more than SIXTY?


texts: Have Noachides ever had their own semicha?

texts:
Is there, or has there ever been, a concept of semicha among Noachides/Gentiles? That is, has there ever been a practice of granting semicha or similar ordinations to Noachides so that they can rule on matters concerning non-Jews as they relate to the Seven Laws?

To be clear, I do not know (and am not competent to propose) what an adequate educational or testing system would be for a practical Noachide semicha system today. If a Gentile semicha system ever existed before the present, I would suppose that it would be most likely to have existed only for a few generations after the Flood, while the Gentile nations still had a connection with Noah.


texts: What happens if the Kohen Gadol is replaced while someone is in the Ir Miklat?

texts:
During the late Second Temple period, the Roman governors would often sell the position of Kohen Gadol to the highest bidder, sometimes even disposing one before serving a whole year.

What if, during this tumultuous time, someone accidentally killed someone, and had to go to an Ir Miklat (City of Refuge)? The halacha is that they get out when the Kohen Gadol dies -- but which one?

Is it whichever was in active service when he entered the city? Is it only if one dies in service? Or perhaps when any of the ones who served during his tenure in the city dies?


texts: Why repeat birkas hamazon after omitting "yaale v'yavo" on chol hamoed

texts:
Aruch Hashulchan, OC 188:18, cites a difference of opinion regarding the following case. On Shabas which is rosh chodesh, someone says the Shabas addition in birkas hamazon (grace after the meal) but omits the rosh chodesh addition. (The case is actually more closely circumscribed than that; see e.g. :20.) Some say he must repeat birkas hamazon because he was required to eat and thus say birkas hamazon, which he didn't do properly, and others says he need not and thus must not repeat birkas hamazon because his requirement to eat didn't stem from its being rosh chodesh. Because of the difference of opinion, the Aruch Hashulchan concludes: "a doubt about benedictions — be lenient" and don't repeat birkas hamazon.

Yet, in 490:2 and :5, he says as follows: Someone who omits the chol hamoed addition to birkas hamazon should not repeat birkas hamazon; and, on Shabas which is chol hamoed, someone who omits the chol hamoed addition but says the Shabas addition should repeat birkas hamazon.

Why is that latter case different from the rosh chodesh case? It would seem to be subject to the same difference of opinion and one should therefore not repeat birkas hamazon.


texts:
(This question is based on an older one which Rabbi Levi Cash posted a few years ago.)

Under Charlemagne in the 8th century and the Carolingian emperors, Jews provided wine for Christian mass. But I wonder whether this was actually allowed or not.

May Jews sell wine to Christians for them to use in their religious ceremonies? Why or why not?

Please cite sources.

(Related: a question which asks what the 8th-century rabbis wrote about the matter at the time.)


texts: What is the biography of Rav Yitzchak Meir Morgenstern?

texts: Rav Yitzchak Meir Morgenstern is the Rosh Yeshiva of Toras Chochom in Israel. What is his background and biography? Meaning, where did he grow up, which yeshivot did he learn at and under whom (I know he was in Golders Green for some time)? I'm looking for as much biographic information as possible.


texts: A source for parve lactobacillus plantarum?

texts: Lactobacillus plantarum is a strain of lactic acid producing bacteria used in many food and medicine applications. Many of which are made on equipment that process chalav nachri. Some examples include beer, cheese, and probiotic medicines. What is a list of kosher parve sources for lactobacillus plantarum?


texts: Rav Henoch Teller has a book titled Pichifkes (most of which can be read here) on stories of Divine Providence. What does "Pichifkes" mean?


texts: Is it permissible to create a prenuptial agreement regarding nonmonetary issues?

texts: Is it permissible to create a prenuptial agreement that includes clauses about things other than money? For example, it is common in the United States for a marrying couple to come to an agreement about custody of children should the couple divorce. Is this permissible? Can it be written into the ketuba? Can a contract to this effect be signed and brought to a beit din? If the answer to that is "no," is it permissible to create such a document and bring it to a secular court?


texts: What is the importance of the human body after death?

texts:
On one hand, we are told that the body is a simply container holding our soul. We have to take care of it while alive because we are borrowing it for our time on Earth. It is widely believed that our Neshama moves on to another body until it has really completed its mission. From dust to dust.

On the other hand, we visit the cemetery to see our relatives, we visit burial sites of Tzadikim, we try not to show our Tzitzit to the dead, and we are told that Hashem will make the dead rise at the end of days.

To me, it seems those 2 aspects of Judaism contradict each other somehow. If the body is a temporary container, why do we care so much about burial sites?

If our soul visits several bodies - which of our bodies will rise at the end of days?


texts:
After mulling over this question for a bit, I realized that there's a big problem with that Gemara quoted there. Shelumiel is listed back in Bamidbar 1, before the sin of the Meraglim. By the time the stories recounted in Balak happened, everyone from the previous generation had died. How, then, did Shelumiel Ben Tzurishadai survive that he could commit the sin with Kozbi?

The decree of the generation dying ended on Tu b'Av (Taanis 30b). Aharon had died fifteen days earlier, on Rosh Chodesh Av (Bamidbar 33:38). It was some time after that that Sichon and Og attacked at the end of Chukas (RH 2b makes clear that this happened after Aharon died) and it was as a result of Klal Yisrael's astonishing victory that Balak sent for Bilam (Bamidbar 22:2-4). When that plan failed, Bilam advised him with Plan B at Shittim (Rashi to Bamidbar 25:1) which resulted in the sin of Zimri and Kozbi (Bamidbar 25:6, 25:14-15). Thus, there is no room to say that the parshios are out of order, or that not everyone had died yet at this point.


texts: Auspicious Time for Tefillah After Mitzva?

texts: Is there a source that it is an especially auspicious time to daven after completing a mitzva? There are many Yehi Ratzons after fulfilling various mitzvos (shabbos candles, arba minim, etc.), but I haven't found a source for general mitzvos.


texts:
Yesterday, I was holding one of the sifrei Torah after hagbahah, as the magbiaḥ needed to check on his children and my father was in some pain from holding it. However, when it came time for Yizkor, I requested that someone without parents take the sefer, as I felt that it was inappropriate for a non-yatom to have a place of prominence during the proceedings. (Our custom is for the sifrei Torah to be held on either side of the sha"tz during the recitation of Yizkor.)

Are there any sources which discuss this issue, and if not, is there a common practice in schuls where non-yetomim remain inside for Yizkor?


texts: Colored underwear during seven clean days

texts: I know that during the 7 clean days of the nidda / tahara cycle, a woman has to wear white underwear. However, in extenuating circumstances (such as spotting for many weeks), is it ever permissible to wear colored underwear? If yes, what is the source for that leniency?


texts: What difference does which kind of land you pay with make?

texts:
According to halacha, a damager must pay with the best land, a debtor must pay with middling land, and a person who owes a ketubah may pay with the worst land.

But I don't understand why it matters which kind of land you pay with. If the land is worth the value of the debt it doesn't matter what kind of land it is.

I've heard from others that the reason for the difference is convenience: it's cheaper to hire workers to plow 1 acre of good land than to hire workers to plow 10 acres of bad land. But shouldn't the expected expense of farming the land factor into its value? Presumably, a given parcel of good land costing the same as bad land would produce less crops because of the difference in salaries. So it's not clear to me why this makes any difference.


texts:
Is there an inyan to prevent unnecessary pain to reanimated creatures such as skeletons and zombies, the same way there is for those that are alive for the first time?

This question is Purim Torah and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the Purim Torah policy.


texts: Was Esau commanded in circumcision? For instance, if he did teshuvah, was he still obligated in circumcision for himself and his children?


texts: "Vaishakehu" Extra Points over entire word? or some letters?

texts:
Shalom!
The famous Passuk on which Esav and Jaacov  ran, hug, kiss and cry.
The Word VAISHAKEHU has points-dots over every leter.

Siftei Chakhamim seems to have VAISHAKEHU וישקהו with 5 nekudot, except for the Shin.
Does anyone know the source? is it possible?

I can't found any textual variant on the Masoretic Points, nor any reference to this Siftei Chakhamim peirush!!

Minhat Shai, C.D.Ginsburg, Keniccott, M.M.Casher, other Masorah rabbis and academics... Even Leningrad has 6 dots! (The only mention of 5 dots is M.Breuer, Daat Mikra, from Bomberg 2nd Mikraot Gedolot, I checked it and it's right, but it seems more a print mistake...)

The Siftei Chakhamim peirush is meaningful and original, but it starts on explaining Rashi's words that really I don't see them, it's not reasonable. Also I didn't match any other Rashi's SupraCommentary that says a word. Siftei Chakhamim's Author Rabbi Shabetai Bas doesn't bring any makor-source for his peirush...

Does anyone can enlight this??
Thanks you very much!
Natan Waingortin

Texts Source:
https://www.sefaria.org/Genesis.33.4?lang=bi&aliyot=0&p2=Rashi_on_Genesis.33.4.2&lang2=bi&w2=Siftei%20Chakhamim&lang3=en

TORAH:
וַיָּ֨רָץ עֵשָׂ֤ו לִקְרָאתוֹ֙ וַֽיְחַבְּקֵ֔הוּ וַיִּפֹּ֥ל עַל־צַוָּארָ֖ו וַׄיִּׄשָּׁׄקֵ֑ׄהׄוּׄ וַיִּבְכּֽוּ

RASHI:

וישקהו. נָקוּד עָלָיו; וְיֵשׁ חוֹלְקִין בַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה בַּבָּרַיְתָא דְּסִפְרֵי, יֵשׁ שֶׁדָּרְשׁוּ נְקֻדָּה זוֹ שֶׁלֹּא נְשָׁקוֹ בְּכָל לִבּוֹ, אָמַר רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַאי, הֲלָכָה הִיא בְּיָדוּעַ שֶׁעֵשָׂו שׂוֹנֵא לְיַעֲקֹב, אֶלָּא שֶׁנִּכְמְרוּ רַחֲמָיו בְּאוֹתָהּ שָׁעָה וּנְשָׁקוֹ בְּכָל לִבּוֹ (ספרי במדבר):
וישקהו

AND HE KISSED HIM — Dots are placed above the letters of this word, and a difference of opinion is expressed in the Baraitha of Sifré (בהעלותך) as to what these dots are intended to suggest: ...etc. (Sifrei Bamidbar 69.2)

SIFTEI CHAKHAMIM:

יש שדרשו נקודה זו לומר שלא נשקו בכל לבו. ר"ל מלת וישקהו נקוד לבד השי"ן שבו אינה נקודה והוי כאילו כתיב ויק"הו לשון הקהה את שיניו (הגדה של פסח) שהיה בדעתו לנשכו:

There are those who explained these dots as saying that he did not kiss him wholeheartedly. Meaning: וישקהו has dots on all letters except the ש. Thus it is as if it is written ויקהו, as in הקהה את שיניו (blunt his teeth — Pesach Haggadah). This is because he intended to bite him.

MINJAT SHAI:

וישקהו. נקוד שש נקודות נקודה על כל אות. ב"ר, ושיר השירים רבה, על צוארך כמגדל השן. וספר הזוהר, וספרים אחרים, שכתבתי בפ' לך לך על ביני וביניך, ובפרקי ר' אליעזר, אל תקרי וישקהו אלא וישכהו וכו'. ועיין עוד בזוהר פ' משפטים דף קכ"ד:


texts: What options are there for chanukiah lighting in southern latitudes?

texts:
What options are there for lighting chanukiyot in southern latitudes where younger children will be going to bed well before sunset?

Adults may stay up for lighting chanukiyot but what options are there for involving children in some form of candle lighting even if they're going to bed in daylight.


texts:
The Tanach [Jonah 2:2] says that Jonah was swallowed by a big dog:
וַיְמַ֤ן יְהוָה֙ דָּ֣ג גָּד֔וֹל לִבְלֹ֖עַ אֶת־יוֹנָ֑ה
and Jonah remained in the belly of the dog for three days and three nights.
וַיְהִ֤י יוֹנָה֙ בִּמְעֵ֣י הַדָּ֔ג שְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה יָמִ֖ים וּשְׁלֹשָׁ֥ה לֵילֽוֹת׃
Were dogs much bigger in biblical days, or were people much smaller?
This question is Purim Torah and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the Purim Torah policy.


texts: Drinking cold kosher beverages in a non-Jewish relative's house

texts: Let's say you're staying at a non-Jewish relative's house. He bought you kosher food because he knows you keep kosher. He buys you a drink such as milk. You see him pour the drink for himself into his own non-kosher glass. While pouring, the jug's spout touches his glass. Are you allowed to use that jug to drink out of?


texts: Can we violate Shabbos to inject a vaccine?

texts:
Vaccines save lives. I'm not here to argue about that, take it somewhere else. If you don't agree, for the purposes of this question just imagine I'm talking about some medicine that accomplishes vaccination, but is magically safe from whatever invented danger that bothers you about it.

Vaccines save lives. However, they are not administered to treat a current illness -- they are given to prevent dangerous illnesses from coming.

Since we know that one may only violate Shabbos for a חולה שיש בו סכנה (patient who is in danger for his life) for things that have to do with saving that patient's life (see Rambam, Hilchot Shabbos 2 (English), Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 328), if we would have to be מחלל שבת in order to administer vaccines1, would we be allowed to violate Shabbos to administer vaccines?

1 It's debatable whether any injections are Biblical Shabbos transgressions, see שמירת שבת כהלכתה ch 32:58, and footnote 151 there; it appears that all agree that subcutaneous and intramuscular injections are not biblically prohibited. For the purposes of this discussion, let's assume that there is some universally agreed-upon Biblical transgression involved, such as driving a car in order to get it, or writing a prescription for it.


texts:
Here in Israel, the tradition is for young children to wear flower crowns to celebrate Shavuot. (Along with the obligatory white shirts.) See my twins:

Why is this? Is it related to Shabbat 88A ??

  Rav Simoi expounded: "When Klal Yisrael said 'Na'aseh' before saying 'Nishma,' 600,000 Malachei HaShareis came to each and every member of Klal Yisrael and crowned him with two crowns - one corresponding to 'Na'aseh' and one corresponding to 'Nishma.'"
  (Shabbos 88a)

But on the other hand, what about the general prohibition (minhag?) against wearing crowns since the destruction of the Temple. Eg Brides and bridegrooms no longer wear crowns...


texts: What is the procedure for generating a chiddush?

texts:
Sometimes I see cool things in the parasha that just are not mentioned by the meforshim, that is, I generate what could be called chidushim.

So far I present them by saying "Is X related to Y because ..." but I want to be able to take it the next step further by saying "I think X is related to Y because..."

What is the responsible and permitted method to generate a chidush that a) does not potentially affect halacha b) might possibly affect halacha?

The following question is related but does not answer the question:

What is the importance of Chiddush?


texts: How do I remove spiritual chametz along with the physical?

texts: I've heard the idea many times that as we approach Pesach we should be worried not only about the physical chametz in our houses but also the spiritual chametz (hubris etc) that we carry in our souls.  I realize that the best approach to addressing this is probably to engage in a deep study of middot, but are there smaller, incremental things one can do to at least start down the path?  Where does one start -- what are the right sources to study or prayers/practices to take on?


texts:
There is a children's craft activity involving melting crayons (based on paraffin wax) onto a shaped-mold in an oven. It has not been possible to get any information about what the crayons are made of, in particular the colour pigments that have been used i.e. whether they could derive from non-kosher sources.

Are there any concerns for the kashrut status of the oven that could be a problem if it indeed turns out that there are some non-kosher ingredients in the crayons, despite crayons not being edible?


texts: Why do we vary the form of the attributes of HaShem in the selicho "Kail Rachum shmecho"?

texts: In the selicho "Kail Rachum shmecho" we ask HaShem to do things because of ("lema'an") - a list of things. Some are in the masculine form eg shemecho and some in the feminine form eg amitoch, brisoch. Why?


texts: Is shenayim mikra (only) a minhag according to the Chofetz Chaim?

texts:
R. Yisrael Meir Kagan writes that every Jewish man needs to know the weekly Torah portion and understand it. He says that the  reason why all of Israel reads the verses twice and the translation once (shenayim mikra v'echad targum) is that doing so leads one to understand the Torah. If that doesn't help you understand then you you have to understand it on your own; otherwise it does not count as learning:

Likutei Amarim Chapter 5

  ומה שנהגו בכל ישראל לקרא שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום היינו משום שעל ידי זה
  יתבונן בהמקרא ויתן לב להבין אבל אם לא השיג ידיעה על ידי זה מחויב
  להתבונן ולדעת ואז יהיה נחשב לו שלמד מקרא דבלאו הכי אם לא הבין מה שאמר
  ומה שלמד לא נחשב ללימוד כלל

The choice of wording here is interesting. He describes shenayim mikra as נהגו בכל ישראל, which implies that it is a strong minhag (custom) but not a formal rabbinic obligation. While the language of the Talmud1 does not necessarily indicate that it is a formal obligation, it is codified as such in Mishneh Torah2 and Shulchan Aruch3.

Should we then assume that R. Kagan was simply being imprecise in his wording, and actually agrees with these codifications that it is an obligation (especially as Likutei Amarim is not a formal halachic work), or does he in fact hold that shenayim mikra is "just" a minhag? (There is not necessarily that much practical ramification whether it is a minhag or a chiyuv.)

1. Berachot 8b אמר רב הונא בר יהודה אמר רבי אמי לעולם ישלים אדם פרשיותיו עם הצבור שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום

2. Hilchot Tefilah 13:25 אע"פ שאדם שומע כל התורה כולה בכל שבת בצבור חייב לקרות לעצמו בכל שבוע ושבוע סדר של אותה שבת שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום

3. O.C. 285:1 אע"פ שאדם שומע כל התורה כולה בכל שבת בצבור חייב לקרות לעצמו בכל שבוע פרשת אותו שבוע שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום


texts:
In most forms of k'tav stam (Sephardi, Ari, Jeckisch, et c.) the righthand yud of the letter צ is reversed (see fig. 1). On the other hand, the Beit Yosef's צ uses a regular י shape in the righthand yud (fig. 2).

Why is there a discrepancy and what are the sources for both forms of yudin?

Fig. 1

Fig. 2


texts:
Desserts that are eaten for taste and not for satiation require their own brachos during a meal: http://berachot.org/halacha/18_devarim.html

When having a bread meal are chips (eaten at the end of a meal, by themselves) covered by Hamotzi? Are potato chips (thin fried slices in a bag - not french fries) covered? What about corn chips? What about popcorn? Cheetos/bambi (these probably go under the corn chips category)?

On the other hand vegetables (as in a salad) are covered by the Hamotzi, would that mean that potato chips (another vegetable) would also be covered?


texts:
I have seen that some sing Shoshanas Yaakov on Pesach to commemorate the death of Haman. Can someone please direct me to an authoritative source for this custom?

See references to it here: http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/how-do-you-commemorate-the-death-of-haman
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/coffeeroom/topic/when-did-haman-die


texts: What is the role of a wife towards her husband according to Jewish thought?

texts: What does the Torah, encompassing all of the Jewish works, say about the duties and responsibilities of a wife towards her husband? I would like some sources on the matter.


texts: Is Nehemiah's description of Abraham's events out of order?

texts:
In Nechemia 9, we read a recap of God's interaction with Avraham:

אֲשֶׁ֤ר בָּחַ֙רְתָּ֙ בְּאַבְרָ֔ם וְהוֹצֵאת֖וֹ מֵא֣וּר כַּשְׂדִּ֑ים וְשַׂ֥מְתָּ שְּׁמ֖וֹ אַבְרָהָֽם׃
וּמָצָ֣אתָ אֶת־לְבָבוֹ֮ נֶאֱמָ֣ן לְפָנֶיךָ֒ וְכָר֨וֹת עִמּ֜וֹ הַבְּרִ֗ית לָתֵ֡ת אֶת־אֶרֶץ֩...לָתֵ֣ת לְזַרְע֑וֹ

Hashem chose Avram
and brought him out of Ur Kasdim
and Changed his name to Avraham
AND found his heart to be loyal
AND established a covenant to give the land...to give it to his descenants
But in Sefer Bereisheet, the last two items seem in different places. The Malbim says that Hashem found Avraham's heart to be loyal after the 10th of the trials ("עד שאחר כל הנסיונות שעמד בהם ונבחן ונמצא לבבו נאמן עם אלהיו") which is in Ber 22.
But the covenant (including using the word "brit") to let Avraham inherit the land and have his descendants inherit the land took place in Ber 12, 13, 15 and 17, before the last 4 tests had been assigned/accomplished. One of those instances is directly after the name change (part of test 6) when Avraham already seems to have been found to be ne'eman/loyal as explained by the Radak on Ber 17:1:

meaning that by fulfillment of this commandment Avram would then be considered as "perfect. Once there would be a visible sign of Avram's faith and loyalty to His Creator on his body this would act at the same time as the symbol of the covenant between G'd and him (and the Jewish people).

What is the Nechemia order adding or trying to teach by placing the events in the order which it does?


texts: Why is Tzom Gedalya known as Tzom Gedalya and Taanis Esther as Taanis Esther. Why not Taanis Gedalya or Tzom Esther?


texts: Etymology of קטלא (necklace, in משניות מעילה)

texts: The mishna, M'ila 5:1, discusses a woman wearing a קטלא, which the commentary Yachin and the one by Rambam say means a necklace made of or with gold. I wonder what the etymology of this word is, since the root קטל means "kill".


texts: Does a child's life take precedence over a parent's life?

texts:
The Talmud in Bava Metzia 62a brings a scenario where if two people were traveling in the desert and one has a flask of water but there's only enough water for one of them to reach civilization alive:

Ben Petura rules that it is better for them to share the water even though neither one will survive
Rebbi Akiva disagrees and rules that one's own life takes priority over the life of his fellow man, and thus the owner of the flask should drink all the water himself and live.

Does the Shulchan Aruch or other commonly accepted Acharon provide halacha pesuka for this case?
Would Rebbi Akiva still hold for the person not to share his water if the second person is the person's own child?


texts: Does calling someone by a nickname remove one's share in the world to come?

texts: The Mishnah states that someone who calls one by a nickname others have given him has no share in the world to come. What exactly does this mean? How is this defined? Can you not call your friend by a nickname? Please cite sources


texts: What do you say when asked Shidduch information

texts: Often when we are asked Shidduch information we are stuck between the Halachos of Lashon Hara. Suppose there is an illness you are aware of, however it really is not something that would affect a marriage what do you say, how do you say, when do you say?


texts:
Are there rules that must be followed in learning Torah with commentaries? I mean, clearly, we can't put words in the mouth of the Torah that go against the basic tenets of the faith, but what rules are there with regards to how to interpret stories in the Torah?

I'm not looking for the 13 principles of Rabbi Yishmael, as those are rules for deriving halacha from the Torah -- I want to know the rules for the interpretation of stories found in the Torah.


texts: Why don't we repeat Aleinu at the next Tefilla if forgotten?

texts: The other day I forgot to say Aleinu by Mincha. After Maariv I asked the Rabbi whether I should say Aleinu two times (one for Mincha & one for Maariv) and he said in my situation one only says Aleinu one time. So that got me thinking - say someone forgot to Daven Mincha, he Davens two Shemona Esreis by Maariv. See SA OC סימן קה in the Mishna Berurah. Why is Aleinu different than repeating Shemona Esrei if forgotten, where we do a makeup Shemona Esrei but not a makeup Aleinu?


texts: What do/can/should you do if you daven Succos Hallel slower than the tzibur, and why?

texts: If you daven Hallel on Succos slower than the shaliach tzibur, what do you do when everyone else gets to the parts that involve oral responses and/or shaking the lulav? Is it better to join in with that or finish Hallel in the order printed, shaking completely out of synch w the other daveners? Why? Is starting Hallel early a reasonable option?


texts: Does anyone know any information about Mifal Hashas?

texts:
Does anyone here have any information about Mifal Hashas or Dirshu?

What is the learning material?
When and where are tests?
How much do they give?
What kinds of tests are they (multiple choice, fill in the blank)?

Are there any other such programs where they give stipends for learning?


texts: Is Abuse of Drugs Asur and if so what is the Isur?

texts: I'm not referring to drugs that harm the body. I am asking about someone who uses opioid pain killers to feel "high" and as a coping mechanism. The route of administration is not dangerous like needles or smoking.


texts: Is "elbows and knees must be covered" Halacha or widespread Minhag?

texts:
Is there any credence to the view that those who do not cover knees and elbows are violating Halacha, as opposed to relying on a more lenient opinion of "shok" and "zeroah"? This thread - quotes knees and elbows as a bare minimum, without relevant sources, and a similar thread seems to suggest that it is widely debated and more "Dat Yehudit" (minhag) vs "Dat Moshe" (halacha).
Is it halachically wrong for women to wear skirts slightly above or at the knee? Or is it a matter of Minhag?


texts:
How do we know that ממחרת השבת means from the first day of Pesach and not the seventh?

Don't they both deserve to be called שבת?


texts: Two supports for a stove: which one "counts"?

texts:
The mishnah in Keilim 6:1 describes a stove made in two ways: a pot resting on three metal* pegs that are either (1) attached at the ground via clay, or (2) stuck into the ground. In the first case, the clay gives the stove the status of a "clay stove", which is susceptible to tumah, whereas in the second case, there is no susceptibility to tumah.

העושה שלושה פטפוטין בארץ, וחיברן בטיט להיות שופת עליהן את הקדירה: טמאה. קבע שלושה מסמרין בארץ להיות שופת עליהן את הקדירה: אף על פי שעשה בראשן מקום שתהא הקדירה יושבת, טהורה.
If he put three props into the ground and joined them [to the ground] with clay so that a pot could be set on them, [the structure] is susceptible to impurity. If he set three nails in the ground so that a pot could be set on them, even though a place was made on the top for the pot to rest, [the structure] is not susceptible to impurity. (translation from Sefaria)

What is the rule when the pegs are both stuck in the ground and also connected to the ground via clay? Does the order make a difference?
If it's relevant: imagine the case such that if the ground where the pegs are stuck were removed/looser, the clay would hold up the pegs, and if the clay were removed, the pegs would stand due to being stuck in the ground.

See also this question.
* I know that some commentaries read the initial sentence as referring to clay props, but I'm asking according to those who don't (or according to everyone, if the material doesn't matter). See also the tosefta Keilim BK 5:1 which seems to support a read of metal props.


texts: Rambam's Letter to Samuel Ibn Tibbon on Translation

texts: anyone know where I could find Rambam's letter to Ibn Tibbon on translation?  He talked about how not to translate too literally, etc.


texts: Is Juneau, Alaska -- surrounded by natural barriers -- a natural eruv

texts: I recently visited Juneau, Alaska.  It is a small city of 35,000.  The city limits are quite large, however – 3,225 square miles – but much of this area is separated from downtown Juneau on Douglas Island.  According to Wikipedia, Downtown Juneau sits at sea level, with tides averaging 16 feet (5 m), below steep mountains about 3,500 feet (1,100 m) to 4,000 feet (1,200 m) high. Atop these mountains is the Juneau Icefield, a large ice mass from which about 30 glaciers flow.  Because the city is surrounded by ice or water, there are no roads in or out of town, and the only way to come or go is by air or sea.  Given this, could the glacier ice and the ocean be considered like mechitzas (walls) and enclose the city like an eruv?


texts: Why there was no railing on the 5m high Mizbeach?

texts:
While looking at drawings of the Temple's Altar, I was impressed by its dimensions: up to 5m (16ft) high and 15m (100ft) wide. Here's a pretty truthful depiction (courtesy of WIKI) that gives an idea of its size:

Here's another picture from Mesivtah©needs permission? that shows the full altar from a different angle:

As we can see the whole area has no railings. I thought I was a safety freak, but the Mishnah describes that some careless Cohanim actually fell and were hurt (Yomah 2,2):

מעשה שהיו שניים שווים רצים ועולים בכבש, ודחף אחד מהן את חברו, ונפל ונשברה רגלו.
It once happened that two were even as they ran up the ramp, and one of them pushed his fellow who fell and broke his leg.

Interestingly, even after the incident they didn't think of adding the railings, they (the court) simply canceled the lot altogether.
Please look at the two Cohanim I marked with red arrows - they endanger their lives (or at least their service as Cohanim, because a broken limb can lead to disqualification). THere's also a 50cm Hasovev around the Mizbeah about 2.5m high (notice marks ב and י"ז)!
The top of the altar is called "גג" - "roof" and the Torah has a specific and explicit double commandment/prohibition of "making a railing for your roof" and "prevent personal injuries in one's house" (Deut. 22,8):

כִּי תִבְנֶה בַּיִת חָדָשׁ וְעָשִׂיתָ מַעֲקֶה לְגַגֶּךָ וְלֹא־תָשִׂים דָּמִים בְּבֵיתֶךָ כִּי־יִפֹּל הַנֹּפֵל מִמֶּנּוּ׃
When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you do not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone should fall from it.

(My Rabbi offered a simple Tiruzt, as many Mitzvos don't hold in the Mikdash (Mezuza?), we can learn it from the Posuk says "בביתך" you're obligated but not in G-d's house :)
So why didn't the Mizbeach have railings or safety guards?


texts:
Following kedusha during mussaf on a day when there is birchas kohanim (duchening), the Leviyim and Kohanim assemble at the sink and a Levi washes each Kohen's hands.

What procedure of hand-washing do they use here? I.e., alternating three times, one time, two on each etc.


texts: What is the GR"a ? Where on the internet can I find a resource for this and what does it have to do with the Sefirot and Kabbalah ?


texts:
Can a Cohen marry a single mother (who has had relations once in her life, for example, and the child’s father is Jewish)?

The single mother fits all other requirements as well as being a bat cohen.


texts: Does a child get reward for Mitzvos performed

texts:
It seems non-Jews and women get reward for Mitzvot they do (even the ones they are not obligated to do)*

does this apply also to a "deaf-mute, imbecile or child"?

sources, please

*Sifra Vayikra 18,5

related
https://www.sefaria.org/Kiddushin.31a.11
https://www.sefaria.org/Bava_Kamma.38a.12
https://www.sefaria.org/Bava_Kamma.87a.4
https://www.sefaria.org/Avodah_Zarah.3a.3


texts: When was the bending of the knees in bowing introduced?

texts: The Gemara in Berachos 12a says that we bow at Baruch and we straighten at Hashem.  Nowadays the familiar practice is to bend the knee at Baruch, to bow at Atah, and to straighten at Hashem, as stated in Magen Avraham 113:4.  Why did the practice change, and when?


texts: Maps that can aid the locations of the cities referenced in Masechet Gittin?

texts: I’m currently learning Masechet Gittin and would like to know where I can find maps of the cities referenced in the first daf or so that can assist me. Cities like heger, rekem, kfar lud, etc is what I’m trying to find.


texts:
If Rashi on Tanach is a purely pshat oriented commentary, as professed several times, why do many of his comments originate from midrashim that most other "pshat" meforshim dismiss as "derech drash"? [For examples, see Ramban (Gen. 21:17), Ibn Ezra (Gen. 32:9), Radak (Gen. 21:7), Ralbag (Josh. 24:32), and Abarbanel (Gen. 23; first question).]

Did Rashi have a different definition of pshat and drash?


texts: Is it acceptable to make someone feel uncomfortable because they have inadvertently done something that you consider undesirable?

texts:
Background

This question was inspired by the comments (now deleted) under another question.

My sister in Williamsburg Brooklyn noticed that Orthodox male strangers were glaring at her for unknown reasons while she was on the subway or the bus. It is now clear that they had a problem with her singing to her small children on the subway. Her son has special needs, he is largely nonverbal, and he sometimes has seizures. When she sings to her children, her only intention is to soothe them (especially in the event of a seizure) and keep them calm and quiet.  As a mother traveling on NYC public transportation alone with her children sometimes at night, she was intimidated and felt  a bit threatened by these men glaring at her.

Obviously, everyone is entitled to feel however they want to feel, and these men are free to believe whatever they wish.  But it is possible to feel something without causing distress to another person. It is possible to keep your feelings to yourself, or to share your feelings with likeminded individuals.  I am wondering if Jewis custom, practice, law, etc, has anything to say on this issue:

Question

Someone who may or may not be Jewish is doing something that would generally (in the broader society) be considered inoffensive in a public place, but is or may be a violation of Jewish law.  Most people in the broader society, including the person doing the activity, don't know of the law in question and
think the activity is normal.  An Orthodox person in the same area believes that this activity is problematic.

Is there justification for the Jewish person to cause discomfort or distress to strangers in response to an unintentional and inadvertent offense?  What sources are applicable to this issue?

Note: This question is not about kol isha; it is about the response.


texts: Does one have to wait six hour after eating a sharp object cut with a meat knife?

texts:
The Shulchan Aruch says that when one cuts a sharp food with a knife, it makes the flavor in the knife "BeEin" - as if it were visible (and not just a "taste").

Is that only for the laws of "Nat Bar Nat" or also for the laws of waiting six hours?


texts: Hints and thoroughness in Talmudic referencing of Tanach

texts:
There are times when the Talmud uses references to Tanach that do not seem to be proofs per se. They may not follow the middot and are more like hints. This has been discussed in answers to another question I asked.

For example, I was reading theories in the Talmud about the relationship between Ktav Ivri and Ktav Ashuri in the historical writing of sacred texts, eg. the Torah scroll. One of the places where it's mentioned is in Sanhedrin 21b (the end) and 22a. You can see how "the mishnah of this Torah" was read so as to imply a changed script. And the other references to Ezra ascending from Babylon, the writing Daniel saw on the wall, "that which was foretold would change," and "I have set God before me always"... They aren't plain readings and so seem more like hints for already-formed historical speculations and/or traditions rather than proofs.

One answer mentioned how in the Chumash העמק דבר , introduction to the Sefer Vayikro, the Netziv says:

“there are many droshos and halochos which Chazal did not learn in the Sifro through some difficulty in the biblical text but because of the traditions that they had from the Oral law” and this occurs frequently in Vayikro. He further says, “there is no tradition that is not hinted at in the biblical text” and “if these laws were not authorised from the Oral Law, they would not have been derived from the biblical text.” Even though this is about law, I guess it would also apply to history.

So I'd like to know...

1) How could he know that “there is no tradition that is not hinted at in the biblical text”? And would you agree that a high level of significance was placed in the hints? Even though they are only being used as anchors rather than proofs, the fact that they exist does seem to have a lot of resonance to the rabbis here. That gives me a foreign feeling and I want to understand how they really thought.

2) Maybe on top of just an interest in hints, they used seemingly random verses due to a desire to be thorough or find intricate connectedness. To take every theory and talk about whether it indeed could harmonise with all of the verses that had come to be seen as somehow relevant to the topic. For example, certain verses may have been part of the discussion for one reason or another, and then each opinion would talk about their interpretation of such verses... not as necessarily relevant to their own, not always as proof of anything (when they knew they weren't bringing the plain meaning), but just in the desire to show that their possible answer was engaging with every little place of the discussion in a unified way. Would this be considered a fair idea about their intentions, or not?


texts:
I've heard that if you've finished Sim Shalom (or Shalom Rav) when the Chazzan reaches Kedushah, you should say Kedushah with the Minyan.

If you do say Kedushah, should you bow at Zeh Elzeh Vi'amar or rise on your toes at Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh, Baruch, and Yimloch?


texts: Should one use the holiday/shabbat greetings that are common in his neighborhood or can he/she stick with his custom?

texts:
Sefardim say Shabbat Shallom and Chag Samayach; Ashkenazim say Gut Shabbos and Gut Yontif.

May one keep his own greetings when living in a community that is predominately of a different descent (for example, a Sefardi living in an Ashkenazi community or vice versa)? Or should one use the common greeting used in that neighborhood?

The issue that I see is that you should not stand out from the crowd, and doing this might cause you to stand out.


texts: Is it permissible to receive interest on a loan made to a convert if the loan agreement was made before the conversion and repaid after?


texts: Why doesn't the Talmud provide a list of the 613 commandments?

texts:
The Talmud says that there are 613 commandments in the Torah:

  Rabbi Simlai, when preaching, said: 613 precepts were communicated to Moses: 365 negative precepts, corresponding to the number of solar days [in the year], and 248 positive precepts, corresponding to the number of members in a man's body [joints, or bones, covered with flesh and sinews, excluding teeth]. [Makkot 23b]

You would think that the Talmud would tell us next what they are, considering how critically important that is.  But it doesn't. Strangely, the Talmud provides no list.  Later, commentators have offered many candidate lists, which don't always agree among themselves.

Why did the Talmud not provide a list of the 613?  Could they have been in a lost book?  Any speculation on that in the Sources?


texts: Difference between eiver min hachai for Jews and Noahides

texts:
Both Jews and Noahides are forbidden to eat aiver min hachai (a limb torn from a live animal).
Is there any difference between the prohibitions for Jews and non-Jews?


texts: Why do we say an after-bracha only for the last of the four cups at the passover seders?

texts: The hagadda has us say the Mein Shalosh after-bracha for wine for the 4th cup.  Why do we say the after-bracha for that cup and not for each of the other 3 cups?  Why are we not concerned about losing the opportunity to say the after-bracha over the first cup, for example, since the meal does not begin until the bread and it is not one long bout of drinking but rather two cups separated by considerable time.


texts: resource for learning proper sefardi pronunciations

texts:
I learned Hebrew at an Ashkenazi school, but my heritage is Sefardi. Over the years I have tried to learn the mainstream Sefardi pronunciations (probably the way Rav Ovadia Yosef would pronounce them), but I just can't seem to get it right. Everyone I ask has different opinions. There doesn't seem to be any sort of standard.

For example:
Is the tzerei pronounced as eh or ay?
Is the komatz an ah or an oh?
What happens when a the tzerei follows a yud?
Is the reish gutteral like the het and the ayin?

I'm seeking not exact answers to the above subquestions but rather a resource for answering them and other similar questions: Is there a reliable resource I can consult to brush up on my Sefardi pronunciations?


texts: Blowing Shofar at end of neilah before nightfall of Rabbeinu Tam

texts: How do Chassidim and litvaks who hold Rabbeinu Tam's view of when nightfall is (later than most people's) blow shofar before that time after neilah?


texts: what is "מְזִיגַת הַכּוֹס" ("pouring a drink")

texts:
what is "mezigas hakos" ("pouring a drink/cup")

does it mean?:

any drink or
only wine or
only pouring water in the wine

sources please

(specifically in these cases:

Issurei-Biah-21-5

  It is forbidden for a man to have any woman - whether a minor or an adult, whether a servant or a freed woman - perform personal tasks for him, lest he come to lewd thoughts.
  Which tasks are referred to? Washing his face, his hands, or his feet, spreading his bed in his presence, and pouring him a cup. For these tasks are performed for a man only by his wife...

Issurei-Biah-11-19

  A niddah may perform any task which a wife would perform for her husband except washing his face, hands, and feet, pouring him a drink, and spreading out his bed in his presence...

)


texts: Why do we bless only the 10th Rabbi in the community after reading the Megillah?

texts:
The bracha after finishing the Megillah starts:
Harav Esri Veinu - The tenth rabbi among us
Why bless just the 10th rabbi. Aren't the other 9 as worthy?
This question is Purim Torah and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the Purim Torah policy.


texts: Speaking between two Sidrahs when reading a double Sidrah

texts:
While saying Shnayim Mikrah V'echad Targum, it is best not to talk. Magen Avraham (285:11) writes:

וְטוֹב שֶׁלֹּא יַפְסִיק כְּלַל בְּשִׂיחָה
It is good to not interrupt at all by speaking.

Ba'er Heiteiv (285:1) goes even further:

ואיסור גדול להפסיק בקריאת שמו״ת בדיבור
And it is a great prohibition to interrupt while reading Shnayim Mikrah V'echad Targum with speech.

What about a week when we read a double Sidrah? May one speak between the two Sidrahs?


texts: Does Baruch HaShem Le'Olam (Ma'ariv; Ashkenazi) count as Birchoth Keriath Shema'?

texts:
Does Baruch HaShem Le'Olam have the same Din as Birchoth Keriath Shema' in terms of interruption?

If you are in the middle of the Berachah, do you respond to the same things as you would if you were saying Shema' UVirchothehah, or can you respond to things more liberally like other types of Berachoth?

The reason I ask is that I was advised long ago to skip it if I'm falling behind, since so many communities don't say it at all because they view the Berachah itself as an interruption, whereas one may not skip the other Berachoth (like Hashkivenu) because that would break up the order of Birchoth Keriath Shema'.


texts: Why isn't a tallit gadol worn by everyone and at all tefillot?

texts:
Follow up to Why do we don the tallit gadol?:

Two reasons are given in the answers. One is that when praying, we want to appear presentable before the king. Another reason suggests that it better fits the requirement of wearing a garment that covers the body.

If we follow the 1st reason that it is important for prayer, then why doesn't everybody wear it at all prayers? It seems to be worn only during Shacharit. (I'm not talking about the Shat"z as there are different customs for that.)

If it's for the 2nd reason, then why not wear the tallit gadol all day long?

And for both reasons, young kids don't wear these. Many customs don't have people wearing the tallit gadol until one is married. If it's important for prayer, why not have everyone wear it?


texts: Whose spirit and whose lips are referred to in Psalms 106:33?

texts:
32וַיַּקְצִיפוּ עַל־מֵי מְרִיבָה וַיֵּרַע לְמֹשֶׁה בַּעֲבוּרָם ׃
  33: כִּי־הִמְרוּ אֶת־רוּחוֹ וַיְבַטֵּא בִּשְׂפָתָיו׃

  32: They provoked wrath at the waters of Meribah and Moses suffered on their account,
  33: because they rebelled against Him and he spoke rashly.

Whose spirit and whose lips are referred to in Psalms 106:33: Mechon Mamre's translation says "... and he (Moses) spoke rashly with his lips" and Chabad's translation says "For they rebelled against His (G-d's) spirit, and He (G-d) uttered with His lips?

My question is, what do our rabbis of blessed memory say?


texts: What are the general rules regarding doing activities (such as eating or checking email) before mitzvot (such as tefillin or prayer)?

texts:
Imagine that there's an mitzvah which I can do. It might be obligatory, or it might not be. For example, tefillin, prayer, kiddush, havdalah, shofar, feeding my pet, visiting the sick, Torah study, or something else.

May I do other activities beforehand? For example, shaving, showering, working, reading the newspaper, checking my email, drinking some water, or something else.

Also, what if it's too early for me to do the mitzvah, but the time when I can start the mitzvah is coming soon?

Is it affected by whether I have the right intentions in mind before I start the other activity?

Note: I am defining the term "mitzvah" broadly, to include other actions like paid computer consulting. That might also be a mitzvah (chesed / kindness). See Reward Miles to Heaven by Rabbi Shlomo Schwartz. Or see page 27 of An Offer You Can't Refuse by Rabbi Yissocher Frand, which includes material based on a parable from the mashgiach of the Grodno yeshiva.


texts: Who is "thrusted through" in Zechariah 12:10?

texts:
How do Jews generally view/regard this verse?

  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto Me because they have thrust him through; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born.
  Zechariah 12:10

Who is the one who "the house of David" and/or "the inhabitants of Jerusalem" thrust through? Christians understand this as a reference to Jesus, but obviously Jews do not.


texts: Doubled up names of God - pronounce יהו-ה as Elokim

texts:
Many times in Tanach, God is referred to as יהו-ה or אדנ-י. Individually, each of these is read as Adonai. However, when those two different names are mentioned consecutively, the custom is to pronounce the יהו-ה name as Elohim.

Why is יהו-ה pronounced differently when these names appear consecutively?


texts: What dishware material is microwave safe and also kasherable?

texts: I'm confused by some of the rabbinical advisory websites regarding what dishware can be kashered.  Evidently glass and ceramic, the most convenient microwave safe materials, according to Askkenasi cannot be kashered and therefore can't be used for kosher service.  Are there ANY microwave-safe materials for dishes which CAN be kashered?


texts: Is there a difference between a Rabbi and a Temple Priest?

texts:
I was reading about Perushim and Tzedukim on Wikipedia and the articles seems to suggest that there is a difference between them.

Is there a difference between a rabbi and a (Temple) priest?


texts:
In Maseches Pesachim 57b, the last page of of the fourth chapter ends abruptly halfway through the page, followed by "הדרן עלך מקום שנהגו וסליקא לה פסח ראשון." The rest of the page is filled by a large paragraph titled פיסקי הלכות פסח ראשון בקצרה.
The same thing appears later on Maseches Pesachim 99a at the end of the ninth chapter, this time saying "הדרן אליך פסח שני" and the following paragraph titled פיסקי הלכות פסח שני בקצרה.
Why does the hadran at the end of these chapters make it seem as though a masechta was completed? Why is it then followed by this summary paragraph, unlike anywhere else in shas (that I am aware of)?  Do we know who wrote this paragraph?
(This sounds like multiple questions but I feel like they probably have the same or related answers)


texts: Is there any single verse in Chumash that contains all 22 letters of the aleph-beis?


texts:
Who knows two hundred three?
Please cite/link your sources, if possible. At some point at least twenty-four hours from now, I will:

Upvote all interesting answers.

Accept the best answer.

Go on to the next number.


texts: Source for split between דיני ממונות and דיני נפשות

texts:
There's a fairly commonly quoted idea in נזיקין masechtos, that a difference exists between דיני ממונות (monetary cases) and דיני נפשות (capital cases); that by דיני ממונות the חייב [whoever is חייב] is חייב from the outset, and the purpose of the דין is just to be מבאר (to clarify) who is חייב, but they don't actually do anything; in contradistinction to דיני נפשות, where the decision of בית דין actually creates the דין.
Proofs to this are, traditionally, the rule that a person could be obligated to pay money, even without a בית דין; but one who kills someone who is clearly חייב מיתה before the פסק בית דין is himself חייב מיתה, while one who does so after the פסק is not killed ("גברא קטילא קטל").
קנסות are generally put together with דיני נפשות, based on a ירושלמי (source?) that rules that without a פסק בית דין one would not be obligated to pay קנסות, even on the level of לצאת ידי שמים.

My problem is that I have all this wonderful תורה, and no source. So my question is, who among the ראשונים and / or אחרונים discussed this idea?
Names and marei mekomos, please.


texts: Better for a kohen to daven in a minyan with one other kohen or no kohanim at all?

texts:
Say a kohen has an option of davening in one minyan where there is no kohanim at all in order that they should have bircas kohanim. Or he could daven in a minyan where there is at least one other kohen so then he could make the bircas kohanim then a "d'oraisa". Which minyan should he daven in. The minyan where there will be 2 kohanim and the mitzvah will then be m'doraisa. Or in the minyan where there is no kohanim so at least then this minyan should have the minyan m'drabbanan (so to for the other minyan)

The same could be asked when one minyan has no kohanim but the other minyan has 2 kohanim. That minyan will have bircas kohanim m'd'oraisa, however the kohan if he goes to the minyan with no kohanim will only perform the mitzvah on a d'rabbanan level, perhaps better then to go to the other minyan and perform it on a d'oraisa level. This is different than the first case because even if he doesn't go to the minyan with 2 kohanim, they will still have bircas kohanim on the level of a d'oraisa, however he won't. Which is better?


texts: Why can't the Amida be repeated without a minyan?

texts:
If one purpose of the repetition of the Amida is to allow those who are not expert in prayer to be exempted of their obligation to pray (as per the Shulchan Aruch, O"C 124:1) why isn't this same device allowable in the absence of a minyan?

Certainly in this non-minyan repetition, anything considered one of the devarim shebikedusha like the Kedusha or the Birchat Kohanim might not be included, but those would be similarly absent from an individual's silent prayer, which the repetition is standing in for. The Amida seems to exist on its own as an obligation and if this repetition is a method by which an unlearned person can fulfill that obligation, why would it need a quorum to be performed?

One might even wonder if the repetition is necessary, or whether an individual can say his "silent" Amida out loud in the presence of one who does not know how and whether this transcends modeling/chinuch and can be motzi the listener though I sense that this might be broached in Tosafot, I just don't fully understand it.

I understand that this question is predicated on isolating this one role/function of the repetition and not thinking of it as a vehicle for the kedusha, or as a separate Tefillat HaTzibbur b'Tzibbur, but as, it seems, this service on behalf of the unlearned was the original purpose, would it have been allowable then to repeat without a minyan for the sake of any (even) one present who needed the help?


texts: Are there extant any second temple period circular letters from the rulers in Jerusalem?

texts:
This article in the Jewish Encyclopedia indicates that the rulers of Jerusalem in the first and second centuries had delegates called "Apostoloi" that would be charged with carrying about circular letters:

...Apostle (Greek ἀπόστολοσ, from ἀποστήλλειν, "to send"), a person delegated for a certain purpose; the same as sheliaḦ or sheluaḦ in Hebrew, one invested with representative power. "Apostoloi" was the official name given to the men sent by the rulers of Jerusalem to collect the half-shekel tax for the Temple, the tax itself being called "apostolé." See Theod. Reinach, "Textes Grecs et Romains, etc.," 1895, p. 208, and also Grätz, "Gesch. der Juden," iv. 476, note 21, where Eusebius is quoted as saying: "It is even yet a custom among the Jews to call those who carry about circular letters from their rulers by the name of apostles"; Epiphanius, "Hæreses," i. 128: "The so-called apostoloi are next in rank to the patriarchs, with whom they sit in the Sanhedrin, deciding questions of the Law with them." The emperor Honorius, in his edict of 399, mentions "the archisynagogues, the elders and those whom the Jews call apostoloi, who are sent forth by the patriarch at a certain season of the year to collect silver and gold from the various synagogues" ("Cod. Theodos." xvi. 8, 14, 29. Compare Mommsen, "Corpus Inscr. Lat." ix. 648. See Apostolé).

Might there be any examples extant of such circular letters?


texts:
I have seen some variation in terms of the placement of certain items in the synagogue, but typically, I notice that the Aron (ark) is in the front. Some variations as follows:

Most Ashkenazic shuls have an Amud (lectern from which chazzan davens most of the time) in the front below the bimah (front platform where the ark is). In shuls lacking a bimah, it is just in front of the Aron.
Seats for the rabbi and perhaps some extras (for shul president, etc.) on the sides of the ark.
Shulchan (Torah readers platform) either in the middle or the back of the shul. In a number of Conservative shuls, I have seen this in front on the bimah, and when the chazzan prays, he faces the congregation instead of the ark. (Your answer can discuss if this is halachically allowable or not. I don't think it is, as I think the chazzan must always face the ark.)
In Sefardic shuls, I have not seen an amud (front chazzan lectern) and there is only a shulchan in the back of the shul which both the cantor and Torah readers use.

My questions:

Are there any halachic standards for where certain items MUST be placed in a shul? Which ones? Why must they be placed in that position?
Which items may be moved to different positions? Why or hwo did these various positions become established (e.g. Ashkenazim often daven from front; Sefardim from the back?)


texts: Searching for a halachic diagram of female anatomy

texts:
I am interested in finding a diagram that depicts female anatomy as it relates to the halachos of Niddah.

Preferably, I would like to find two different models - one that displays anatomy as the Talmud seems to have understood it (which is probably not the same as the way we understand it), and one that displays the anatomy as we understand it, with labels matching up to the halachic classifications.

I am aware that both of these diagrams would involve matters that are subject to dispute, both among Rishonim and Acharonim.  My ideal diagram would account for those disputes.

I am looking for an actual diagram, not a chart which does not convey the layout of the actual anatomy (such as Rabbi Forst has in his Laws of Niddah).

(If you post a diagram here as an image please use 'spoiler format' to post the image, like so: >! ![alt text][1])


texts: Do we have a responsibility to find out whether a person is Jewish?

texts:
The Talmud says:

כל ישראל ערבים זה בזה – All Jews are responsible for one another. [Shevuot 39a, Sanh. 27b]

In order to help other Jews, we must first find out where they are.  It is likely that the vast majority of halachic Jews today have no idea they are Jewish. A single Jewish woman who was forced to convert out a thousand years ago could have thousands of matrilineal descendents today, all halachically Jewish, all ignorant of that fact.
Do we have an obligation to conduct genealogical research to find out who is Jewish, inform them of the fact and instruct them?  If not, why not?  Isn't it a logical implication of the Talmudic phrase?


texts: Is sarcasm a violation of the 9th commandment?

texts: Is talking sarcastically with a friend as an innocent joke (not intending to offend him or bother him) a transgression of the ninth commandment, Don't lie (לא תענה)?


texts: Can a person free himself from suffering?

texts:
Berachos 5b teaches:

  רַבִּי חִיָּיא בַּר אַבָּא חֲלַשׁ. עָל לְגַבֵּיהּ רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אֲמַר לֵיהּ: חֲבִיבִין עָלֶיךָ יִסּוּרִין? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: לֹא הֵן וְלֹא שְׂכָרָן. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: הַב לִי יְדָךְ. יְהַב לֵיהּ יְדֵיהּ, וְאוֹקְמֵיהּ. רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן חֲלַשׁ. עָל לְגַבֵּיהּ רַבִּי חֲנִינָא. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: חֲבִיבִין עָלֶיךָ יִסּוּרִין? אֲמַר לֵיהּ: לֹא הֵן וְלֹא שְׂכָרָן. אֲמַר לֵיהּ: הַב לִי יְדָךְ. יְהַב לֵיהּ יְדֵיהּ, וְאוֹקְמֵיהּ. אַמַּאי, לוֹקִים רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן לְנַפְשֵׁיהּ? אָמְרִי: אֵין חָבוּשׁ מַתִּיר עַצְמוֹ מִבֵּית הָאֲסוּרִים.

  R' Chiya bar Abba fell ill. R' Yochanan went up to visit him. He said to him, "Is suffering precious to you?" [R' Chiya] said to him, "Not they nor their reward." [R' Yochanan] said to him, "Give me your hand." He gave him his hand, and he restored him. R' Yochanan fell ill. R' Chanina went up to visit him. He said to him, "Is suffering precious to you?" [R' Yochanan] said to him, "Not they nor their reward." [R' Chanina] said to him, "Give me your hand." He gave him his hand, and he restored him. Why? Let R' Yochanan restore himself? They said, "A prisoner cannot free himself from prison."

It seems from this Gemara that if suffering comes onto a person, it requires someone else to help free him from his suffering. Yet we find just the opposite in Bava Metzia 84b:

  באורתא אמר להו אחיי ורעיי בואו בצפרא אמר להו זילו מפני ביטול תורה

  In the evening, [R' Elazar] would say to [his pains - Rashi], "My brothers and friends! Come!" In the morning, he would say to them, "Go away, because of loss of Torah study."

How do we reconcile these two Gemaras?


texts: Why does Onkelos translate "לֹֽא יוּכַל" as "לָא יִכּוֹל" rather than "לֵית לֵיהּ רְשׁוּ"

texts:
The verse in Shemos 19:23 says "וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל־יי לֹֽא־יוּכַל הָעָם לַֽעֲלֹת אֶל־הַר סִינָי." Rashi says that although it uses the words "לֹֽא־יוּכַל" it means they're not allowed. Onkelos translates this as "לָא יִכּוֹל."

However, in Devarim 16:5, it says "לֹא תוּכַל לִזְבֹּחַ אֶת־הַפָּסַח בְּאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ." Rashi again here explains that it means it's not allowed. However, in this case, Onkelos translates it as "לֵית לָךְ רְשׁוּ" (you do not have permission), more in accordance with its meaning that the literal translation.

Why in one place where the language of יכולת is used does Onkelos translate it as "לָא יִכּוֹל" while in another place where it means the same thing he translates it as "לֵית לָךְ רְשׁוּ"?

No one in the Mikra'os Gedolos on that verse seems to say anything that can solve it. I also checked this book which includes a commentary on Onkelos (by Rabbi Nathan Adler) and he says nothing either.


texts: Suppose I find lost property, and can return it to the owner. Am I required to return the object that was actually lost, or can I give the owner a duplicate? (And why?).


texts: How could anybody confuse moonlight and sunlight?

texts:
The mishna in Yoma 3:1 talks about watching for dawn to know if it's time for the morning offering, and then Yoma 3:2 asks:

וְלָמָה הֻצְרְכוּ לְכָךְ, שֶׁפַּעַם אַחַת עָלָה מְאוֹר הַלְּבָנָה וְדִמּוּ שֶׁהֵאִיר מִזְרָח, וְשָׁחֲטוּ אֶת הַתָּמִיד,
And why was all that necessary? Because once the light of the moon rose and they thought that the east was lit up and slaughtered the continual offering, [and afterwards] they had to take it out to the place of burning.

How could anybody confuse moonlight for sunlight?  I've been out in the countryside far from city lights under a bright full moon, and it's nothing like sunlight.  (And the moon in this case wouldn't even be full yet.)
The g'mara reports that the school of R' Yishmael taught that it was a cloudy day and light scattered in all directions.  I don't buy it; moonlight diffused through heavy clouds looks different from sunlight so diffused.
There's an additional problem: on a full moon, moonrise is the same time as sunset.  Moonrise advances about an hour, give or take, per day, so if you count a few days back from the full moon for 10 Tishrei, the moon is rising in the east in mid-afternoon, which is nowhen near the time of the morning offering.  By the time it's dark enough to see moonlight, the moon isn't in the eastern sky.  Perhaps the mishna meant that they saw the setting moon, except it says "east" and the moon sets in the west.
What confusing lighting conditions is the mishna referring to?  According to R' Yishmael, how would a cloudy day contribute to this error?


texts: How do modern Jews observe commands that talk about putting people to death?

texts:
Leviticus 20:10 talks about putting adulterous peoples to death.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 talks about putting a rebellious son to death:

  ... his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death.

I'm guessing there has to have been at some point a rebellious son somewhere in the Jewish community within my city, but I've never heard anything about a stoning. I am not Jewish, and forgive me for being so ignorant; I'm just genuinely curious.


texts: If a flame can be held in the hand to relight the m'nora, who needs a spill?

texts: The Bavli, Shabas 22 amud 2, notes that כיון דקביעי נרות לא סגיא דלא משקיל ואדלוקי, since the lamps (receptacles for oil) were affixed to the m'nora in the bes hamikdash, there was no way to transfer a flame from one lamp to another except by means of an intermediary such as a spill. Nonetheless, Rashi on that very page, describing how the kohen prepared the m'nora, says that one lamp would remain lit (miraculously) until it was time to re-light the m'nora, so ואוחז הישנה בידו או מניחה בכלי עד שנותן שמן ופתילה ומדליקה, the kohen held that light in his hand or in a receptacle until he had put new oil and a wick in the lamp, then lit the lamp from that light. Riva, quoted in Tosafos there, asks the obvious question: שאם אפשר להדליק מן הישנה א״כ גם השאר ידליק ממנה ומאי פריך לרב, if it's possible to do as Rashi describes then why does the g'mara say there was no way to transfer a flame from one lamp to another without a spill? Tosafos have no answer to this question on Rashi. Does anyone?


texts:
Is anyone familiar with any exposition on the connection between gerah גֵּרָה as cud (ma'aleh gerah) and as a measure of 1/20th of a shekel? Is there any connection drawn to the root for the word תִּתְגָּר as in Dev 2:19, provoke (which the Even Shoshan connects to the same 3 letter root)?

I am not looking specifically for an etymological link, though that would be interesting, but a homiletic one also.


texts: Is there a connection between the two times 7 cows, ears and years that Yaakov worked for his wives?

texts: Is there any connection or relationship between the seven fat & seven lean cows, the seven beautiful and seven parched ears of grain that Pharaoh dreamt and Yosef interpreted, and the seven years that Yaacov worked for each of his wives, Rachel and Leah?


texts: on yom kipur how many times do we say al cheit

texts: In a traditional machzor, during yom kippur, how many time does the congregation say the "al cheit" set of players?


texts: Is changing which conjunctive/disjunctive trop is used correctable?

texts:
If a baal kriah accidentally raises or lowers the level of the disjunctive trop used, is that a correctable mistake?

Let's say that it's supposed to be mercha tipcha etnachta (c 2 1) and he reads mahpach pashto zakef-katon (c 3 2) or vice versa.

What if he actually switches the use of con/dis-junctive? Say, munach katon tipcha etnachta (c 2 2 1) to mahpach pashto munach katon (c 3 c 2)?

For reference, Wikipedia on trop has a list of levels of disjunctives.


texts:
Last year someone sent me this video. It shows an IDF "misdar", a kind of military formation/inspection/ceremony (not really sure how to translate it) on the Temple Mount after it was freed from the Jordanians.
It's incredible, but my second thought was: What did the religious soldiers do? I believe there's a heter to free the Mount, which is holy, from enemy hands, but was there some sort of heter for them to remain there? I have no evidence that any of those hundreds of soldiers were religious, though, but knowing what the then-Chief Rabbi of the IDF, Rabbi Goren, was like, I'm sure that if it constituted any problem, he wouldn't have stayed silent.
Does anyone know whether there was a heter, and if so, what was it?


texts: Food cooked on Shabbas for Pikuach Nefesh

texts:
What is the status of the leftover food cooked for a person who was critically ill on Shabbas? Halachicly one is allowed to cook food on Shabbas and eat it if their life is in jeopardy.  However, let's say after Shabbas the person is not critical anymore. May he eat the leftover food from that cooking? Do we say it's assur to him since he cooked it on Shabbas, or do we say that he cooked it beheter (with permission) so the food is considered mutar?

I was thinking of the gemara in Chullin 17a, about Rav Yirmiya's question about whether pieces of meat that had nechirah (piercing of the pipes-non shechita) done to it in the midbar (which was considered kosher) was kosher once they crossed over to Eretz Yisrael where the Torah then prohibited nechirah altogether. The gemara ends off by saying teiku, but I was wondering if my case is similar, or it's more of a hutrah-dechuya case.


texts: Why is it called Berachah Me'Ein Shalosh, and not Arba'?

texts:
Why is the blessing recited after eating the 7 Species of Israel called Berachah Me'Ein Shalosh, (one that is equivalent to three) and not Berachah Me'Ein Arba' (one that is equivalent to four)?

The idea, as I understand it, is that these species kind of deserve a proper Birkath HaMazon, but this is not a proper meal, so we say a Berachah that incorporates the themes of all the Berachoth in Birkath HaMazon.

If this Berachah only incorporated the themes of the first three Berachoth, which might make sense because those fulfill a biblical requirement, whereas the fourth Berachah is rabbinic, then I'd see it as a reflection of that parallelism.

But that's not the case. It has the elements of all four Berachoth. So why do we pretend it doesn't?


texts: How can something be kosher if it "may contain" milk, crustaceans, shellfish, etc.?

texts:
I noticed that this nutrition label:

says that it is both Kosher and Pareve, but it also says "may contain … milk,… crustaceans, shellfish".

How is that possible?


texts: I was told by one of my Roshei Yeshiva that there are books that are designated for sofrim (scribes). Does anyone know what are the main books they use to review the Halachot and as reference for difference questions that come up?


texts: Is there any source for throwing bread during tashlich?

texts: Is there a reliable Jewish source that encourages throwing bread when performing tashlich?


texts: How do you know when to make Chacham Harazim if you can't count Jews?

texts:
As I understand it, "Chacham harazim" is the bracha we make upon seeing an assembly of more than 600,000 Jews.

I'm not clear on the exact detail of this law/tradition, but I also know we are not supposed to count Jews.

Bracketing, for a second, the fact that one probably couldn't count a crowd of 600,000...How could one be expected to assess the conditions for this bracha without counting Jews?


texts:
The Rashbatz (Rabbi Shimon Ben Tzemach, 15th century) authored a commentary on Rashbag's (Rabbi Shlomo ibn Gabirol, 11th century) Azharos (poem on the 613 mitzvos) called Zohar HaRakiah.

There's an old version on HebrewBooks from 1879. I'm wondering if anyone ever republished a newer version and where to get it. I saw in the Encyclopedia of the Taryag Mitzvos that they used the "Feldheim edition", which sounds new, but I couldn't find it on their site or on Google.


texts: When I return a book I put it in a bin, and a (non-Jewish) worker later takes it from the bin, and scans it into the computer as "returned."  As such, can I return a library book on Shabbat?


texts: How does a daughter inherit as one of the children

texts: If there are children in a family, and one of them is a daughter that is 25  years old, according to Halacha how does the daughter inherit when her parents are dying/ dead? Does she inherit before death?After death? How does it work??


texts: Mipne'i Sevah Taqum for potential Jew killer

texts:
There is a Biblical commandment to stand before the wise or elderly. Nevertheless, one full of sins is considered to have forfeited his honor and one is therefore absolved of the requirement to stand before such a person (Sefer HaHinukh, Mizwah 257).

Let's assume a large percentage of a given population either conspires to, aides to or gives support to killing Jews (e.g. publicly honors those who kill Jews).

If a Jew sees an elderly person from said population - but, is not certain that that individual conspires to, aids to or gives support to killing Jews - is he (the Jew) required to stand in front of such an elderly person?


texts: Status and reason for decisions of the Chofetz Chayim in the Shaar HaTziyun?

texts:
This question beautifully summarises the structure of the sefer we call Mishna Berura. It says that the Chofetz Chaim,

“wrote the sections to his commentary to the Code of Jewish Law:
Mishna Berura - concise and easy to learn additional laws and customs
to the Shulhan Aruch as well as explanations usually bringing earlier
sages such as: Elya Raba, Magen Avraham, and Baer Hetev.
Biur Halacha - a little more in depth than the Mishna Berura where he
usually sources his opinions and says why he holds like does.
Shaar HaTziyun - the sources for his words.”

(That question asked, “do the Ashkenazim that follow the M"B follow the words of the Biur Halacha as well?”).
My question is similar but different and in two parts.
It comes about from seeing the Shaar HaTziyun 47 in Simon 253 (see picture below).

Why does the Author place his decision (לפענ״ד פשוט דיש לסמוך על המקילין בבעיא זו:)  in the  Shaar HaTziyun and not in the Mishna Berura?
Is the decision equally accepted for its appearance in the  Shaar HaTziyun as in the Mishna Berura?


texts: Is there a single syntactic class "פעיל" in Biblical Hebrew?

texts:
Is there a unique class of Biblical Hebrew words of the form "פעיל"?Is the putative class of Biblical Hebrew words strictly a class of nouns or adjectives?If not, is it strictly divisible into two classes - one of nouns and one of adjectives?

Examples:
Nouns:
אסיף
בדיל
ברית
גדיל
זמיר
חניך
חריש
ידיד
משיח
נביא
נזיד
נזיר
נציב
נשיא
סביב
עריץ
פתיל
צעיף
קציר
רדיד
רקיק
Both:
אביר
אדיר
צדיק
תמים
Adjectives:
כתית
קדים

Could it be, based on the Ibn Ezra on B'reshis 14:14,

  חניכיו - שחנכם פעמים רבות במלחמה

could it be that this noun form denotes "one who continually does or is continually done to"?


texts: Davening a long shemoneh esrei and missing ameins

texts: Is there anything wrong/are there any problems with a person davening a long shemoneh esrei, so much so that they miss chazaras hashatz, including kedusha, and all the ameins...?


texts:
We say in Kiddush Levanah,

  יהי רצון מלפניך...למלאת פגימת הלבנה ולא יהיה בה שום מיעוט

  May it be Your will...to fill the reduction of the moon, and that there should be no diminishment in it.

Since the waxing and waning of the moon is a result of its orbiting the Earth, does this mean that it will remain on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun in the future?


texts: What bracha should be made on hydroponics/aeroponics?

texts:
Hydroponics is a method of growing food (mainly vegetables) with their roots in water, not soil. Aeroponics is when it is grown in air, with the roots being sprayed.

What bracha should be made on food grown in these ways?

Normally, vegetables get the bracha of borei pri ha'adamah -- "Who creates the fruit of the ground". But here, it's not grown from the ground -- it's in water/air. In that case, perhaps it should be shehakol, a "catch-all".


texts: buying on behalf of someone, and adding to the cost

texts:
If I offered as a favor to source an object for Yisroel, an object that is generally expensive, and I'll buy it for him at a cheaper price.
However I found that I could buy it for a lot less , may I ask Yisroel for more than I paid, asking instead for the price we expected to buy it for, though still substantially cheaper, than the general cost, without telling Yisroel that I am making a profit on this favor,
Apart from 'gneivas daas'? is it also geneiva, as he didn't say that I could make a profit?


texts: Language before and after the Tower of Bavel

texts:
Genesis 11:1: (Sefaria English translation)

  וַֽיְהִ֥י כָל־הָאָ֖רֶץ שָׂפָ֣ה אֶחָ֑ת וּדְבָרִ֖ים אֲחָדִֽים׃

  And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.

After they built the Tower of Bavel,

Genesis 11:7:

  הָ֚בָה נֵֽרְדָ֔ה וְנָבְלָ֥ה שָׁ֖ם שְׂפָתָ֑ם אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁמְע֔וּ
  אִ֖ישׁ שְׂפַ֥ת רֵעֵֽהוּ׃

  Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may
  not understand one another’s speech.’

Two questions:

1 - What was the common language that they spoke? Can we assume that it was Hebrew, in some form? (I'm basing that assumption based on a Midrash that I heard in yeshiva that the world was founded on the Torah and the Hebrew letters and language existed prior to the founding of the Torah. I may not be paraphrasing the Midrash fully correctly, but that was its gist.)

2 - I must be missing something in the translation of the 2nd verse that says that a person did not understand what his neighbor was saying. Isn't the purpose of language to be able to communicate with your neighbor? If your neighbor doesn't underdstand what you're saying, then why are you talking to him? And, besides, in this case, since ALL humans spoke the same language previously, if a person saw that his neighbor didn't understand his current language, why couldn't he just communicate to him in the old language, or was it that G-d made all humanity forget the original language?


texts: I know that (at least when lighting at a window), one lights the Chanuka m'nora from left to right: the new lamp first and rightward from there. I've seen people careful to fill them with oil (or candles) in the same order; I've also seen that one should fill them in the opposite order. Is either of these a 'real' custom (with a basis) or halacha, and, if so, what is its basis or reason?


texts: Married women rape by a stranger payments division

texts: What sources which talk specifically about a married woman being raped and how the payments of embarrassment, damage (pegam), and pain (see Kesubos 3:4) is apportioned between her and her husband?


texts: Why is it that, out of the 16 days of non-High Holiday biblical festivals (7 days of Pesach + 1 day of Shavuos + 7 days of Sukkos + 1 day of Shemini Atzeres), only the single day of Shavuos is without neighbors? All the other days are in adjacent calendrical groups. Why is that?


texts: Can challah be given as a gift to a non-Jew? For instance, if one were to make too much challah Friday morning, would it be acceptable to give a loaf away to a Christian family?


texts:
I was looking for sources demonstrating Christianity as a test for Jews. My search began when I was reading Rambam in Mishneh Torah (Laws of Kings 11:4; English):

  [...] Can there be a greater stumbling block than Christianity? [...] the intent of the Creator of the world is not within the power of
  man to comprehend, for His ways are not our ways, nor are His
  thoughts, our thoughts. Ultimately, all the deeds of Jesus of Nazareth
  and that Ishmaelite who arose after him will only serve to prepare the
  way for Mashiach's coming and the improvement of the entire world,
  motivating the nations to serve God together [...]

Are there sources with the view that Christianity is something like a test for Jews?


texts: Is entertainment for its own sake permissible?

texts: Are there sources that deal with the legitimacy of fictional writing (or other arts) as to whether it has a legitimate function such as tikkun olam or would it fall under some other category? Or is it wasteful pursuit? What makes it permissible or not permissible?


texts: The En Mishpat Ner Mitzva on the Bavli (in the standard edition, anyway) refers to the Mishne Tora (Yad Hachazaka) as "מיי׳". What is this an abbreviation of? (I have an educated guess ("מיימוני"), but seek a strong argument or good evidence.)


texts: Who protected the women and children of Reuven, Gad, and 1/2 Manashe during the conquest?

texts:
The conquest of the land described in the book of Yehoshua took seven years (Erchin 13a, h/t DoubleAA).1  It is only at the end of the conquest that Yehoshua dismisses the "shock troops".

We know from 1:14 that "all the mighty men of valor" from the tribes of Reuven, Gad, and 1/2 of Manashe led the conquest, and the declaration in 1:18 (calling for anybody who rebels from this command to be put to death) sounds like they took it seriously.

So if all the men capable of fighting were with Yehoshua conquering the land, who was protecting their families on the other side of the Yarden from the surrounding peoples?  Or was there a miracle and the surrounding peoples did not attack this easy target during all those years?

1 Caleb was 40 when he spied the land and is 85 now (14:10), and they were in the wilderness 38 years after the spies' mission.


texts: 3 steps forward after Shmona Esrei of Maariv

texts: Is one required to take 3 steps forward after finishing Shmona Esrei/Ammida of Arvit after he has taken the 3 steps backwards?


texts: Smichut or Noun and adjective in Lashon remiya (Tehilim 120)

texts:
In Tehilim 120:2 and 3 we find lashon remiya (לשון רמייה) where lamed has qamets:

יְֽהוָ֗ה הַצִּ֣ילָה נַ֭פְשִׁי מִשְּׂפַת־שֶׁ֑קֶר מִלָּשׁ֥וֹן רְמִיָּֽה׃ מַה־יִּתֵּ֣ן לְ֭ךָ וּמַה־יֹּסִ֥יף לָ֗ךְ לָשׁ֥וֹן רְמִיָּֽה׃

O Hashem, deliver my soul from lying lips, from a deceitful tongue. What shall be given unto thee, and what shall be done more unto thee, thou deceitful tongue?

Logically we would expect sheva, because it is understood as smichut (remiya is a noun and not an adjective). Why does lashon act as in status absolutus? Is there a possibility, that remiya could be an adjective (none of vocabularies or concordances bring this option). Biblia Hebraica (Kittel ed.) has a remark that Aquila (Onkelos?) has leshon with sheva. Any suggestions how is this grammatically possible?


texts: If a person has a halachic שאלה and is in a situation where he cannot ask or find out the halacha (for example, he must decide what to do immediately, traveling with a dead phone), what should he do ?


texts: Do we get to be with our wife after we die?

texts: After we die, do we get to be one with our wife that we married here and love her still? Or does that go away?


texts: Is a Gentile that keeps Yom Tov Chayav Misa like on Shabbos?

texts: We say a gentile that keeps Shabbos is chayav misa (death penalty).  Is this also true if a gentile keeps yom tov?


texts: Why is Parshas Beshalach called Shabbos Shira?

texts:
Most people know that we read Az Yashir on Shabbos Shira and we put out bread for the birds. However this is the only Shabbos that has a special name simply because of what we read in the Parsha. (Sefer Hatodaah)

Shabbos HaGodol, Shabbos Shuva, and others are not named after what we read in the Parsha.

An explanation would be appreciated.


texts: Is there a list of tractates of Talmud organized by commentary and annotation?

texts:
I currently use Artscroll to study Gemara and I wanted to know if a list of commentaries and annotations existed for each Talmudic tractate? I ruled out Sefaria as that isn't detailed enough?
Any advice would be helpful.
Thank you.


texts: Answering Baruch Hu UVaruch Shemo and Amen while learning

texts: If someone is giving Shiur in the same room as people Davening, do the people learning answer Baruch Hu Uvaruch Shemo and Amen to the Hazarat HaShatz?


texts: What is the difference between a kofer and apicorsis

texts: I always hear the terms "apicorsis" and "kofer״, along with "kefirah" and amaratzit. What is the definition of each?


texts: Davening schedule for someone with a night shift

texts:
The only way I can really convey what I'm asking here is to tell a [fictitious] story:

Chaim Yankel is a late-hour delivery driver for a company. Since he works before daybreak, his schedule is much different than your average person. Here's how his day goes:

Chaim Yankel wakes up at 5:30 pm, the time in which most are getting off of work. He shows up to work at 9:00 pm, and works from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am. Then he gets home at 7:30, and sleeps until 5:30 pm, where he starts his routine over again.

My question is, how would this Chaim Yankel daven? Would he daven Minchah/Maariv when he first got up, since it would be around that time for normal people, or does he daven Shacharis when he wakes up, even though it's evening time?


texts: What is the hallachic definition of randomness?

texts:
A new Shabbat-friendly technology, KosherSwitch, uses randomly timed light pulses to create various safeks, so that flipping the switch does not hallachically count as switching the light on, even in terms of gerama. The process is explained on their website.

Different people mean different things when they say "random numbers" in mathematics and in the sciences. Asking a person to choose a random number, for example, will give rise to a distribution of numbers with certain definite biases- for instance, humans are more likely to repeat numbers. A short analysis of random number generation appears here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_number_generation

My question is whether anyone has written a definition of what the word "random" means in a hallachic context. I assume that a hallachic standard of randomness would be more lax than a standard of randomness in crytography, but I'm not sure just how lax. In particular, if somebody could write a computer programme to guess the pulse times with 99% accuracy, would that render KosherSwitch's patent non-Shabbat-safe?


texts: Kri / K'tiv - Why were they created to start?

texts:
There are numerous places in the Torah (as well as the rest of Tanac"h) that have ktiv / kri conflicts. The word is written one way but pronounced differently.

For example, Numbers 1:16:

  אֵ֚לֶּה קריאי [קְרוּאֵ֣י] הָעֵדָ֔ה נְשִׂיאֵ֖י מַטּ֣וֹת אֲבוֹתָ֑ם
  רָאשֵׁ֛י אַלְפֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל הֵֽם׃

These were the elect of the congregation, the princes of the tribes of their fathers; they were the heads of the thousands of Israel.

(I've left the English translation for M.Y. reader's info)

In the above sample, the bold word is how it is written in the Torah, and the bracketed word is how it is read.

I assume that when Moses wrote the Torah, G-d communicated each word that Moshe was supposed to write them down. I think it's safe to assume that Moshe knew how to spell Hebrew words (and while he did have speech problems, his hearing was fine ;-) So, when it came to kri / ktiv situations such as the one above, did G-d say, "No, Moshe. I want you to write the word THIS way, but you'll tell everyone that it really is supposed to be said THAT way?" How did these conflicts originate, and what was the purpose of having them? Why not make it consistent to start?

(I'm uncertain of how to tag this question.)


texts: Question of a formulaic irregularity in the korbanos reading of the morning service

texts:
In the korbanos reading of the morning service, they all begin with vayomer h' el moshe l'emor... except the ketores which skips l'emor, saying only vayomer h' el moshe kach lcha...

why?


texts: Baruch Hu Uvaruch Shemo for Aneinu on a fast day

texts: The shaliach tzibbur on a fast day adds a bracha in to his repetition of the amida, the Aneinu. Unlike other brachot, this is not a repetition because the individual davening has not said this. Therefore, is it proper for someone listening to the repetition NOT to say Baruch Hu Uvaruch Shemo to this bracha in order to be made Yotzei by its recitation, as per the rules enumerated in this answer? [this applies to someone who would otherwise say BHUVSh to the brachot in the repetition]


texts: Is there a special significance of 4 directions as opposed to 6?

texts:
According to halacha, when a person says the word "echad" (אחד) in Shema:

בדלי"ת צריך להאריך יותר כדי שיעור שיחשוב שהקב"ה יחיד בעולמו ומושל בד' רוחות העולם
[One should] draw out the dale more [than the Cheis] in order to think that Hashem is one in His world and he rules over the four corners of the world (Shulchan Aruch HaRav 1:61-7).

In Torah Or (נה,ב) the Alter Rebbe of Lubavitch explains that:

ובד' רוחות העולם שהם בחי' ו"ק העולם
...the 4 corners of the world which are on the level of the six directions of the world.

My question is, is there something unique about the number 4 in comparison to 6?  In other words, can we learn anything from the number 4 that we would not have learned from 6?


texts: Not to give a divorce (Get) in the month of Iyar

texts: I heard today in Shul that there is a Minhag not to give a divorce in the month of Iyar. What is the source and reason for this Minhag?


texts:
If I'm not mistaken, to be a Noahide you must accept that the Torah is unchanged and from G-d. (I am not arguing that this is one of the 7 Noahide Laws by the way, I'm merely saying that this could be a prerequisite to be considered a Noahide).
However, according to my understanding, Muslims are not Noahides, since they reject the infallibility of the Torah. In other words, they say that the contemporary Torah has been altered from the one that Moshe Rebbeinu received at Sinai. Therefore, according to their beliefs, they would not feel compelled to abide by the 7 Noahide Laws because they don't believe it to be from G-d in the first place.
I say the above in light of what Maimonides says in Mishneh Torah, Melachim uMilchamot, Chapter 8:

Anyone who accepts upon himself the fulfillment of these seven mitzvot and is precise in their observance is considered one of 'the pious among the gentiles' and will merit a share in the world to come.
This applies only when he accepts them and fulfills them because the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded them in the Torah and informed us through Moses, our teacher, that Noah's descendants had been commanded to fulfill them previously.
However, if he fulfils them out of intellectual conviction, he is not a resident alien, nor of 'the pious among the gentiles,' nor of their wise men.

So my question is: What categories do Muslims fit into in light of what Rambam says above? Are they Noahides? If not, what are they?


texts: I had a very bizarre dream where at the end I was in a room singing then having a heated discussion with someone who claimed to be the malach of 'Am Yisrael'. Is there such a thing as a Malach for Am Yisrael?