texts: This past week I found a rather interesting difference in the Stone/Hertz chumash Hebrew texts.  The reference is Numbers 25:12.  The word shalom is translated with a broken Vav in Hertz.  Stone uses a full vav?  Can we know which is correct and if so, how?  I have wondered which Hebrew text is used (Leningrad, Vulgate, Aleppo)?   I am an amateur when it comes to understanding all the nuances/syntax of the language.


texts: PTIJ: Why are so many people against BDS?

texts:
Numerous (esp. religious English-speaking / yeshivish) people write "BSD" on the top of their correspondences. I've seen this abbreviation on store signs and in ads, and many other places. It means "With Heaven's Providence" - a sign that all that happens in life is because G-d wants it.
Well, we know that the "D" stands for dishmaya and is a reference to G-d. Yet, G-d doesn't just reside in heaven; He is everywhere and moves around. So that should mean that it should be no problem to move the reference to G-d around, either and just say or use "BDS", right?
Yet, I'm hearing many Jews in the U.S. say how terrible the "BDS movement" is. They condemn it, and even some politicians have banned and condemned businesses that support the "BDS movement".
I don't understand this. All you're doing is moving a reference to G-d in a mnemonic and, as I mentioned, G-d moves, so why can't a reference to Him move, too? What's so terrible about the BDS movement?

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


texts: PTIJ: With how many minions must a minion daven?

texts:
When a Minion davens, does he need to Daven with another Minion?
Can a Minon daven with a Mignon Minion Minyan, or must it be with a large Minion Minyan?

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


texts: Do I need to use damage compensation for repairs?

texts:
If I get a scratch on a car door and I am compensated, do I have to repair or can I just keep the money and live with the dent or scratch?

(This may be a similar question but I am unsure so I made this one a separate question.)


texts: PTIJ: Should I stay away from my computer?

texts:
The Torah in Shemot 23:7 advises to distance oneself from a false thing.
Well - here's one false thing about my computer (and, probably your's too). Frequently, when you turn on your computer, it is finishing its updates. It tells you the percentage completed (which may not be accurate, but, that may be a case of lifnei iver (stumbling block before the blind.) However, at the point that it says 100% complete, it stays there for a minute or so.
That seems to be an outright lie. If it's 100% complete with its updating, it should move on to the next step and boot up or let you use your mouse and keyboard. If it stays there for a minute or two, perhaps it's still updating. Regardless, it's not 100% complete!
So, if I'm to follow the Torah's advice, should I distance myself from my computer? If so, does that mean completely, or just until I can move the mouse?

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


texts:
Is my summary on forgiveness correct?

If the perpetrator is sincerely repentant and asks his victim's forgiveness, the victim must give it.
If the perpetrator is sincerely repentant and does not ask his victim's forgiveness, the victim may give it or not.
If the perpetrator is not repentant and asks his victim's forgiveness, the victim may give it or not.
If the perpetrator is not repentant and does not ask his victim's forgiveness, the victim may give it or not.


texts:
The halacha (Rambam Hilchos Tshuvah 2:9) mentions the difference between tshuvah on Yom Kippur regarding sinning between man and man, and man and HaShem.

The middle of the halacha states even if one hurt someone through words he needs to (לפייסו ולפגע) appease him and approach him until he forgives him. Shouldn't the order be approach him and then appease him? If one has to do it himself (as the Bach Orach Chaim 606 says) what does the Rambam's wording imply, unless he holds he can send someone first, before approaching the other party himself?


texts: Damages and two defendants -- how would a beit din resolve?

texts:
A friend recently sat on a jury in a civil case where there were two defendants in the case of an injured party, each claiming the other was responsible, and the jury had to decide.  I'm curious how a beit din would have resolved this.  (I am asking out of curiosity; I'm not a party to any of this.)

The case involved a customer who was severely injured by a shop's automatic door.  The shop claimed that the manufacturer of the door was responsible; the manufacturer of the door claimed the shop had not performed routine maintenance and so was responsible.  The victim, of course, wasn't party to any manufacturer warranty or maintenance obligations; she just wanted groceries.  I think I have a basic understanding (from, e.g. Bava Metzia) of how cases of damages involving two parties might be resolved, but I don't know what happens with three.

I could imagine that a beit din might say that the victim has a claim against the shop and, separately, the shop has a claim against the manufacturer.  Would they treat it as two independent cases like that, or would all parties convene?  If the latter, on what basis would the beit din decide how to award damages, assuming they decided damages were due?

I'm interested in learning about the general case of how disputes are resolved when two parties are arguing about damage to a third.  The specific case is what prompted the question and if there's something that makes that case unusual and not a good example I'm interested in hearing about that, but the core question is about the general case.


texts: What is the process for purifying your home if you believe it may have been previously used for pagan worship?

texts:
Locations of foreign worship are typically of concern. You're not supposed to enter a church for this very reason.

My question relates to the idea that one finds out their home was previously used for foreign worship. Say they discovered that they live in a home that was previously used by a pagan of some sort.

Assuming that moving wasn't an option, what would be the process of purifying the space as a Jewish home? Would simply living a Jewish life and restructuring the location for Jewish worship be enough?

  Clarification:

  In the example I'm giving, the house itself was not built specifically for idol worship or used as a formal location of idol
  worship.  That being said, in the same way a Christian might light
  candles at a shrine in their home, the house would have had foreign
  worship occur within it.  That was the context of the example I was
  giving.


texts: As an atheist, what awaits me after death?

texts: I'm putting together a Pascal's wager piece of sorts, and wanted to see what modern religions think atheists deserve. So if Judaism pans out to be the one true religion, what'll happen to me (an atheist) after death?


texts: Postponing a bris for parents or grandparents

texts: Is one allowed to postpone a bris(bzmano) for the afternoon if ones parents or grandparents cannot make the bris for the morning.  What is more important ,zrizim makdimin ( to peform the mitzvah as soon as one possibly can) or kibud av veim ( honoring ones parents). ?


texts: Can the daughter of two people who could not marry a Cohen marry a cohen?

texts:
Can a woman whose father's father isn't Jewish, but whose father's mother is a regular Jew, and whose mother is the child of two converts marry a Cohen?

On the one hand she isn't purely from converts, on the other hand the side that purifies her from that would also forbid her to a Cohen?

Would the answer be different if the Father and Mother's situation were reversed?


texts: What is the minhag followed in the Bnei Tzion Siddur?

texts: Bnei Tzion is an Israeli siddur published in 1996 by Sinai Publishing in Tel Aviv. It's a Sephardi siddur but has some interesting variants (e.g., very similar Havdalah to Ashkenazi practice). I'm looking to find out the specific Sephardic group(s) that use this siddur.


texts: Did ancient Jewish maps have East at the top?

texts: A long time ago, someone told me that ancient Jewish maps had East at the top instead of North. I can't even remember who it was that said that, but that idea has stuck with me. Is there any historical basis for that claim? Did they even have maps in ancient Israel?


texts: Baby brought from beyond the techum on Shabbos

texts: If a baby was brought from beyond the techum on Shabbos, would that baby be muktzeh God forbid, or would it be permitted to carry it because a living thing carries itself.


texts: How does Judaism reconcile the prohibition against Moabites/Ammonites joining the congreration and their royal lineage?

texts:
Wikipedia says that Naamah, wife of Solomon, was an Ammonite. That is the mom of Rehabeam. King of Judah.

Ruth is a Moabite. That is one ancestor of David.

Okay, so Jews have these prohibition against marrying foreign women. Moreover, certain nations, such as the Ammonites and the Moabites (as opposed to, say, the Chinese?) seem to be super prohibited in that Hashem prohibited them specifically.

Deuteronomy 23:4 says

  An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter into the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation shall none of them enter into the assembly of the LORD for ever

Okay, so we got a Moabite, Ruth. We got Naamah the Ammonite. Not only they join Hashem's congregation. They became king and queen.

Even in US, that's not instituted based on racism, it took quite a while before a black guy can become supreme court justice, and it's still cause quite an uproar. Yet it seems that there is no issue with descendant of Moabites and Ammonites getting a supreme seat in Israel.

So what's the story?


texts: Would one say Kaddish for someone who forfeited his portion in the world to come?

texts:
Inspired by a recent discussion:

Chazal tell us that someone who says "I will sin and I will repent, will not be given the opportunity to repent" (Mishna Yoma 8:9).  Chazal also tell us that there are certain sins for which a person does not have a portion in the World To Come (Mishna Sanhedrin 10:1).

If someone did a sin for which there is no portion in the World To Come, and announced that they were doing it with the intention of repenting later, we can assume that they never repented.  Would there be a point in saying Kaddish for such a person?


texts: What are the "blind and the lame" that David wanted to be rid of when he entered Jerusalem, and what does that mean?

texts: David takes over Jerusalem (finally) in Shmuel II, Perek 5.  It says that David wants to be rid of the סירך ועורים.  This is commonly translated as the blind and the lame.  Metzudat David understands this to actually mean that David needed/wanted to get rid of the handicapped people in Jerusalem in order to take it over.  Ralbag understands this to mean that they are two statues at the front of the city that make it hard to get in as they each lift and drop their sticks (powered by the aqueduct) (much like mini-golf of today).  What does David really mean when he wants to destroy them?  He even offers an award to the one who does it.  Is it possible he really does want to destroy the handicapped, and if so how to we assimilate that idea with our idea of David?


texts: What else could have come out of Yiftach's house?

texts:
Judges chapter 11 tells of the vow that Yiftach makes to God -- if he is successful in battle he will offer up to God the first thing that comes out of the door of his house to greet him.  As we know, this ends badly for his family.

I assume that people in Yiftach's time did not keep livestock in their homes but in barns or pens (as alluded to in Bamidbar 32 when two and a half tribes want to stay on the other side of the Yarden).  I've been told, but don't have a source, that until the last century or so Jews didn't tend to have pets.  So what might Yiftach have had in mind when he talked about something coming out of his house?  (It says beiti, not a more general word for property.)  Or is the point that this was not only a dangerous vow but also one that couldn't end well?


texts: R' Natan Slifkin, in this recent blog post, presents the above-embedded picture of a porcupine from the Rothschild Miscellany (Italy, 15th Century CE), which adorns a yotzer (seasonal additional prayer-poem) that's said when a berit milah is performed on Shabbat. He is wondering what the intention of the illustrator was: What does a porcupine have to do with a berit milah?


texts: Is there a way to minimize soreness or getting a lip blister from blowing the shofar?

texts:
Each year after I blow the shofar on Rosh Hashannah, the area on my lip at the right corner of my mouth where the shofar had rested gets very sore and sometimes I get a small blister which is a bit painful.

I don't know if I'm the only one that has this problem. Is there anyone than can suggest any techniques that would minimize the chances of getting this problem?


texts: If a person is tight on time, is it okay to pray the amidah before dawn if you're a girl?


texts: Is praying shacharis after chatzos (midday) permitted, and do you fulfill your obligation? If so, until when? Please give sources, preferably quoting the Mishna Berurah, Alter Rebbe of Lubavitch, or Rama.


texts:
Does anyone know where to find the hexagonal seret vizhnitz yarmulkes? They are impossible to find.
And to get it from Israel especially is impossible and super expensive, is there maybe any place to find them in new York


texts: Is there a resource that shows all uses of a Tanach verse in the Talmud?

texts:
Is there a website or book that can tell me all the places in Shas where a certain pasuk is mentioned or referenced?

(Preferably website, and preferably can show places in Midrash, too.)


texts:
If someone has a number of tallit koton, with tzitzit some of which are no longer kosher, is there anything which states that one is required to replace the strings with kosher ones if the garment no longer has the four corners? I understand that wearing tzitzit on a four cornered garment is a mitzvot; I ask because I wonder whether it is permissible to remove the broken/unkosher tzitzit and to sew the garment together so as to remove the four corners? I wonder about the obvious possible uses of the garment itself if it did not have the four corners in the same way we "reuse" those objects like the lulav and etrog which, after Succoth is over, they can be reused toward another miztvah because they are not longer considered (by some) to be holy.

Let me rephrase my question: I understand that the tallilt katan is a piece of garment specifically made and designed to fulfill the mitzvah of wearing tzitzit. However, if the tzitzit are not longer valid and can be removed, and the tallit katan is still wearable, is there an obligation to replace the tzitzit, or can the sides of tallit katan be sew up to make it into a regular (non-four-cornered) piece of clothing?


texts: Why do we consider Eisav's nachas goyish if Eisav was a Jew?

texts: I recently learned in a class that we consider Eisav Jewish. This is corroborated by most of the answers here. I have also learned that we customarily wish someone "Yiddishe nachas" (rather than just "nachas") to distinguish these from "goyishe nachas"; that is, the nachas of Eisav (hunting, etc.) But why should we see Eisav's nachas as goyish if he were in fact Jewish?


texts: Shiv'a Vachamishim Umatayim - mi yodeya?

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

Vote up all interesting and relevant answers.

Accept what I consider the "best" answer.

Move on to the next number.

Good luck figuring something out for this one.


texts: Shalom Aleichem and Eishet Chayil at the Pesach Seder?

texts: When the (first) Seder falls out on Friday night (as it did this year), the custom at my family's Seder is not to say Shalom Aleichem and Eishet Chayil. I have looked in all of the Machzorim and Haggadot in the house, and none of them has Shalom Aleichem and Eishet Chayil, so I assume the prevalent custom is not to say it. However, I have no idea if my assumption is correct, and I also have not been able to find any sources to indicate any reasons why Shalom Aleichem and/or Eishet Chayil are or are not recited on the night of the Seder. Does anyone know of any sources for saying or not saying them on the night of the Seder? Is it specific to the Seder, or is it a general rule for any Yom Tov that falls out on Shabbat?


texts: If I had a cast on my tefillin arm, how would I wrap tefillin? Would I only do the shel rosh? Or switch hands? (Assuming this is a full-arm cast.)


texts:
Do Jews interpret the destruction of the second temple as an act of judgment (as the destruction of the first temple was explained)?:

What is the explanation for the destruction of the First Temple?

Is the explanation likewise documented?


texts: Who customarily wears a tallis by a bris?

texts:
By the ceremony of a bris milah there are many "kibbudim" or honors that are given to those that are present.

Here is the list (please edit and add if I missed any):

Kvater - a man and woman who bring the baby into the room (usually passing from the woman to the man.)
One or more individuals might be called out to then hold the baby before the next part.
One who places the baby on the chair of Eliyahu
The one who picks up the baby from the chair of Eliyahu and gives the baby to the father
The Sandek who holds the baby during the bris
The one who takes the baby from the Sandek to give to the next person
The one who holds the baby when the brachos are being recited
The one who recites the brachas and says the babies name (usually the same person. I've seen this split up before though.)
There is of course the mohel!
And the father of the baby!

Out of all these people who generally has the custom to put on a tallis gadol?  Sometimes you'll see by a bris that people will make sure most of these people are wearing a tallis while for others there might be less of a  concern that they should wear.


texts: Eating after Zeman Tefila if one didn't pray

texts: If someone wakes up at let's say 11:00 and Sof Zeman Tefila according to all Posekim passed, can that person eat? We know that one can't eat before Tefila (Shulhan Aruch וידוע) but maybe the Din here is different when the Zeman passes.


texts: When saying the Mi SheBerach prayer for a sick amputee, do you say "for his 248 limbs"?

texts:
The standard text of the Mi She-Berach prayer for the sick asks that G-d send healing "to his 248 limbs and 365 sinews."

What if someone, G-d forbid, lost a foot a few years ago; and now prayers are being recited for him (for some other condition)? He doesn't have all 248 limbs. (Unless you tell me it's intended according to R. Hayyim Vital's writings that we have 248 spiritual limbs in our soul too ...)

And for that matter, what about someone with polydactyly (extra fingers and/or toes, assuming they're in good working order)?


texts: Why does Tanac"h specifically describe these males as "beautiul"?

texts:
A "trivia" question I gave my son, yesterday, is - name three males described in Tanac"h as "beautiful" / good-looking:

The 3 I thought of  are:

Joseph
Saul (See Rada"k commentary on I Samuel 9:2)
David (See Rada"k commentary on I Samuel 16:12)

(There may be other males, but I can't think of them, so feel free to edit, if needed.)

What is special about these 3 people that Tana"ch felt the specific need to describe how beautiful they were? Is there something, in particular, perhaps some hidden or important message as to why we need to know this information? What made these 3 people esp. "beautiful" more than other male personalities throughout Tana"ch that are not described this way?


texts: Diaspora of Egypt: has it already happened?

texts:
I have read in Ezechiel 29:12-15 that

  "And I will make the land of Egypt
  desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate, and her cities
  among the cities that are laid waste shall be desolate forty years; and I
  will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and will disperse them
  through the countries. Yet thus saith the Lord GOD: At the end of forty
  years will I gather the Egyptians from the peoples whither they were
  scattered; and I will turn the captivity of Egypt, and will cause
  them to return into the land of
  Pathros, into the land of their origin; and they shall be there a
  lowly kingdom. It shall be the lowliest of the kingdoms; neither shall it
  any more lift itself up above the nations; and I will diminish them,
  that they shall no more rule over the nations."

Has this prophecy already been fulfilled? If yes, when and how?


texts: When did Achashverosh stop rounding up fair maidens?

texts:
So first Achashverosh was married to Vashti. Then no more Vashti. Then he's rounding up all the fair maidens in the land to um, "meet" them, one per night, but they're still stuck in one of his royal properties afterwards.

Then he finally meets Esther and declares her queen. Then the Megillah says "when the maidens were rounded up a second time" ...

So at what point (if ever?) did Achashverosh stop rounding up fair maidens?

So the practice started because "oh he's so lonely and he needs a new queen", but then it never stopped?


texts: What is a summary of basic Jewish metaphysics or theology?

texts:
Whilst wishing no disrespect to any religion, various "basic concepts" are easily found summarised or explained in introductory texts or online. For example:

Buddhist metaphysics would have to do with death and rebirth, karma and Nirvana
Christian concepts of theology could by summarised by talking about sin, Heaven and Hell, life after death;
Islamic concept might focus on "life as a test" and a concept of paradise

What is the Jewish equivalent?

I've looked online, but not found anything which is easy to digest.

I'm looking for something which explains wider philosophical concepts.
Specific sub-questions might be:

What is the Jewish concept of the soul?
In Judaism, is there life after death? What is its nature?
Is there a "judgement day"?
Upon what does your relationship with God depend?


texts:
Sanhedrin 11a says:

אמרו עליו הי חסיד הי עניו תלמידו של עזרא

How could Hillel have been a disciple of Ezra? Didn't Ezra die several generations before Hillel was even born?


texts:
I am confused as to whether buying lottery tickets is prohibited.

I know that gambling is prohibited because it is considered to be a "theft" in that people expect to win but often don't.

However, Chabad has a story about a Rabbi telling someone to buy a lottery ticket, making me wonder if it is allowed.

Don't people who buy lottery tickets still hope to win and 99.9% of the time loose? Or does the small cost and general understanding that one will (statistically) likely loose make it acceptable?


texts: Bracha on Blowing Shofar the whole month

texts: Why is there no Bracha made on the Blowing of Shofar in Elul, like there is a bracha when one reads the Meggilah on Purim and lights candles on Chanukah (which are also Rabbinic)?


texts:
The Shulchan Aruch says that when saying G-d's name אד-ני one should have in mind that G-d is אדון הכל, master of all.
What does this mean?

Does it mean G-d controls everything? I don't think so, because people have free choice, and השגחה doesn't seem to enter into it.
Does it mean that G-d could control everything? Because that sounds like the description of אלקים, תקיף ובעל היכלת ובעל הכחות כולם, that G-d is Almighty.
Does it mean G-d is the Ultimate Cause?
Does it mean that everything should listen to G-d? (Which for people would mean 613 or 7 מצות, and for animals and plants would mean they were created to act in a certain way?)


texts: What keeps the immaterial soul inside the physical body?

texts: By what methods the immaterial soul is contained within the material body during our lifetime?


texts: What was God's original plan regarding Adam?

texts:
I would like to research the common ground for our understanding of G-d's original plan of the creation if Adam didn't sin.

According to Sanhedrin 38, he was fully developed at noon, having 6 hours before Shabbat:

  שעה ראשונה הוצבר עפרו, שניה נעשה גולם, שלישית נמתחו אבריו, רביעית נזרקה בו נשמה, חמישית עמד על רגליו, ששית קרא שמות, שביעית נזדווגה לו חוה, שמינית עלו למטה שנים וירדו ארבעה, תשיעית נצטווה שלא לאכול מן האילן, עשירית סרח, אחת עשרה נידון, שתים עשרה נטרד והלך לו

I heard source needed that if he could stay on that path, the first Shabbat would become the Days of the Messiah and he would be "happily ever after". That leaves him only 6 hours to act.

What were Adam's objectives in the original plan for the rest of the day and maybe for the Shabbat to reach the goal of the Creation? And what was on his to-do list to meet those objectives?

This question ("what-mitzvos-did-adam-have-in-gan-eden") focuses on the list of the Mitzvos Adam was/wasn't commanded, but I focus more on the general objective as the Mitzvos are only the tool to reach that objective/s.


texts: Kaddish - d'chol yisrael vs d'chol beit yisrael

texts:
I have recently become aware of a Nusach difference in Kaddish.  In the pasuk starting Titkabel I have noticed that people davening Nusach Ashkenaz are very particular to say d'chol yisrael and not d'chol beit yisrael as they say the latter is Sephardic/Hassidic and not genuine Nusach Ashkenaz.

I looked at various siddurim.  The Roedelheim, Singer and modern Koren siddurim all have d'chol yisrael.  The Artscroll and (I think) Birnbaum have d'chol beit yisrael which these people say is a mistake.

I am looking to understand where this differentiation comes from, and why it is considered a Sephardic/Hassidic minhag that mistakenly crept into Nusach Ashkenaz.


texts: What precautions (if any) are taken to avoid slaughtering a mother and child animal on the same day nowadays?

texts:
There is a Torah prohibition against slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day. This prohibition applies even when separate people are doing the slaughtering.

Nowadays when animals are raised for slaughter in large commercial farms and (presumably) bought and sold somewhat regularly, are any precautions taken to avoid slaughtering a parent and offspring on the same day? If so, what are these precautions?


texts: Is it necessary to cover the mayim acharonim remains?

texts:
I have observed in many locations that after everyone is done washing mayim achronim from the source cup into the garbage cup, the garbage cup is covered with a plate or what have you.

Is this step required and if so what is the source for it?


texts: Why don't we say Hagomel after driving through a desert?

texts:
The Gemara says that four have to say Hagomel:

One who went overseas
One who went into a desert.
One who was [deathly] ill.
One who was in prison [on a capital crime].

Everyone (to the best of my knowledge) says the first one of the four whenever they go overseas, even if it's safe.

Yet, I have never seen people who drove through the desert (let's say Eilat to Yerushalaim) say Hagomel. Why not? Even if it's [nowadays] safe to drive there (we're not scared that one will lose his way), why don't we still continue saying it like we do when going overseas?


texts: Why did Moshe ask why the bush wouldn't burn when it did?

texts:
Sh'mos 3:2–3:

  …וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה הַסְּנֶה בֹּעֵר בָּאֵשׁ וְהַסְּנֶה אֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל.
  וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אָסֻרָה נָּא וְאֶרְאֶה אֶת הַמַּרְאֶה הַגָּדֹל הַזֶּה מַדּוּעַ לֹא יִבְעַר הַסְּנֶה.

  …He [=Moshe] looked, and, lo, the bush was burning/בֹּעֵר in fire, but the bush was not consumed/מְאֻכָּל.
  And Moshe said, "Let me turn now and see this great sight: Why won't the bush burn/בֹּעֵר?"

Huh? The bush was burning/בֹּעֵר! Moshe should, if anything, have asked why the bush wouldn't be consumed/מְאֻכָּל.


texts: Who compared "the ox that gores the cow" to "I am Hashem Your G-d"?

texts:
I once read a machshava--possibly from chasidus--to the effect that: "'The ox that gores the cow' is as much charged with G-dliness as 'I am H' your G-d.'"

I was quite moved by this. What is its source?


texts: Is "Yehud" a proper term for the Hebrews (ancient or otherwise)?

texts:
Reading an article about trauma in Jewish history I found the term "Yehud" (in addition to other terms) indicating the society, culture or community, for instance [1]:

Jeremiah W. Cataldo  "Memory , Trauma and Identity in Ezra–Nehemiah"
[...] The exile is redefined as a collective
trauma - Ezra-Nehemiah's cause of conviction - for the golah community
and not the Am Ha'arets or even directly  those Judeans remaining in
Babylon. It provides the basis for legitimation  of golah collective
identity as that of a group predisposed to social-political  authority
within Yehud [...].

Is this a proper term for the historic Jewish community (in interfaith discussions or writings)? This question references the term; but, does not dig into its meaning or connotation.

*[update, on request] Disclaimer: I've not yet an opinion on it, the cite doesn't mean that I share or oppose the view/approach of the author
Here is the opening of the article:

Ruth Leys’s theory on trauma and memory, when used as a heuristic
device,  reveals  qualities  of  Ezra–Nehemiah  that  frame  the  text
as  an  autotelic  response to a constructed, or fabricated, on the
part of Ezra–Nehemiah, form  of  ‘survivor’s  guilt’.  While  the
experiences  of  the  exiles  helped  shape  the  community’s
collective identity, the events themselves, while important, were  not
the primary bases for golah identity. It was, as Leys’s theory on
responses  to trauma as identity narratives helps clarify, the golah
community’s experience in Yehud that resulted in its internally
legitimated response of identity.  This response, the intent of which
served to mobilize collective identity, supported a central belief
that a restored ‘Israel’ was the end-goal of the experiences of the
Judean exiles. Read this way, Ezra–Nehemiah exposes itself as [...]"

Also I remembered the link now. It was (a  preprint?) at "academia.edu", see here: https://www.academia.edu/5787739/Memory_Trauma_in_Ezra-Nehemiah
Sources:

Article in "Methods , Theories , Imagination - Social Scientific Approaches in  Biblical Studies (2014)"   , see book table of contents and commercial info


texts:
Central in the chassidic philosophy is the concept of the raising of the sparks of holiness to the realm of Atzilut. For Source, see for example this:

"It is part of the spiritual structure of the universe that fragments or "sparks" of G‑dliness (so to speak) are embodied within the substance of the physical world, and it is our task to elevate these sparks back to their heavenly source by utilizing material things for holy purposes. When we do this, the sparks of holiness are raised up to the spiritual level known as malchut of Atzilut, which is the limit of human capability. However, once we have done all we can on our part, the sparks are drawn from there even higher by a still loftier spiritual level."

(Source: http://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/379962/jewish/Count-and-Wave.htm)

When I read this I also compare this to the idea of "dira ba tachtonim", that the Whole purpose of the creation of the world was to create a home for g-d, a dwelling Place between the emanations.

Question:

If the mission of raising the sparks is to raise the sparks of holiness OUT of this physical world (The world of assiyah), how does this then relate to the Central idea of that the Whole purpose of life is to create a home for G-d in this physical world?


texts:
Do any Jewish sources mention Satan talking to a Jew?

If so, how did the things that were said affect ancient Jewish life?


texts: Why didn't Jacob confront his father's decision openly?

texts:
Many commentators explain why Itzhak was wrong in his decision to bless Eisav. Then, when Rivka heard it, she asked Yaakov to stage a hoax and "steal" the Brochos. This is completely understandable.
Everybody agrees (see why-doesnt-yaakov-object-to-his-mothers-plan) that the proper way of dealing with a cheater is to cheat, but why to cheat his own father? It seems very plausible that Yaakov could deal with Itzhak reasonably and talk him out of blessing Eisov. Such a way would have numerous benefits - everybody would be happy, he wouldn't have to disrespect his father, he wouldn't need to run away from his brother and hide for two decades putting his parents in misery.
So why didn't Yaakov choose to explain the truth to his father and let his father deal with Eisov's lies instead of staging a hoax that everybody suffered from for decades?


texts: Sources about nocturnal emission on Yom Kippur

texts:
I have heard that having  a nocturnal emission on Yom Kippur night is a bad siman for the whole year but I cannot find much on the topic...

Does anyone have sources on what this can mean?


texts:
Who is פלוני in reference to, in the following quote from Tosafot:

הוה שכיח גביה מלאך המות. דמספר מה שאירע לו כבר דהאי עובדא דמרים מגדלא נשייא בבית שני היה דהיתה אמו של פלוני כדאיתא בשבת (דף קד: ושם):


texts: וינוחו בה\בו\בם ישראל in Shabbat shemoneh esrei -- why the change?

texts:
I've noticed that the Friday night shemoneh esrei (nusach Ashkenaz) uses the line "בה", shacharit and musaf use "בו", and mincha uses "בם" in the phrase "וינוחו _ ישראל מקדשי שמך..."

What is the reason for this variation?


texts: My mother is Jewish but my father is Christian and I was raised in the Christian church, but I still have a lot of respect for my Jewish heritage. Would it be wrong to wear a Star of David necklace, or would that offend people?


texts: On Succos we celebrate starting the second night Simchas Bais HaShoaiva. According to the Chachamim we can not start on the first night as we use musical instruments and it is not Doche Shabbos or Yom Tov. However in the Gemara Succa 50b Reb Yossi holds it is Doche Shabbos and Yom Tov. Then why according to Reb Yossi do we not start Simchas Bais HaShoaiva on the first night?


texts:
Our Rabbi is on vacation and I have been volunteered to read Eicha for Tisha b'Av.

I would like to use a correct melody.  (I can follow trop pretty well and lain Torah with some preparation, so if the melody consists of defining each trop phrase's tune, I can handle that.)

Can anybody point me to any traditional melody, on the web since I have run out of time?  Thanks


texts: Looking for the best period tracker and mikvah (לוח מקווה) calendar to simplify my mikvah calculations. It should be available on Android phone and able to send reminders and notifications about important days and times.


texts: Are the three wraps around the middle finger (tefillin shel yad) halacha?

texts:
There is a custom by many to wrap the strap of the tefillin shel yad around the middle finger three times. Is this halacha or is this a common minhag that is rarely broken and nearly universal?

Note: I seem to remember a question like this already floating around. I tried looking for it but I couldn't turn anything up. If it does already exist, could someone please point it out to me?


texts: What parts of the Septuagint are and are not reliable?

texts:
As noted in this Mi Yodeya discussion, the Greek translation of the Torah was done by 70 rabbis who each separately took identical precautions to avoid giving idolators and minim a chance to misuse the Torah for their own purposes.  Christians seem to believe that the rest of the Tanach was translated into Greek by the same scholars. Is that true?

If not, who did the translations of the Kesuvim and N'viim?

Is the Septuagint used today by the Greek Orthodox Church considered a reliable translation?

If parts are not reliable (an accurate translation from a Jewish perspective), what parts and why?

For example:  As I understand it, at Isaiah 7:14 the Septuagint uses the Greek word parthenos for the Hebrew word עלמה and Christian readers assume that both words mean "virgin" (when neither is that specific).  But, I also understand that the Septuagint used the same word to describe Dinah after she was raped, accordingly, it cannot mean "virgin."  Is this a correct understanding, or were the translators who created the Septuagint versions of N'viim and Kesuvim actually Christians with their own agenda?


texts: Why don't we follow the Shulchan Aruch's nusach of the blessing on a rainbow?

texts:
Background:

The Talmud (Berachot 59A) and the Rambam (Berachot 10:17), and Tur 229 tell us the blessing of the Rainbow is as follows:

  בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֶלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם זוֹכֵר הַבְּרִית וְנֶאֱמָן בִּבְרִיתוֹ וְקַיָם בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ

The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 229:1) says the correct blessing is without the "וְ" (The Rif and the Rosh both have it this way - which explains why the Shulchan Aruch has it this way):

  בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֶלוֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם זוֹכֵר הַבְּרִית נֶאֱמָן בִּבְרִיתוֹ וְקַיָם בְּמַאֲמָרוֹ

And the GR"A says that the Gemara is a typo, it should be like it is in the Shulchan Aruch (referenced in the Mesorat Hashas). (However, he also says this is what the Rambam says, and the Rambam I linked above says it with a "וְ" -- I think the GR"A is referring to the order of the blessing, and not the "וְ" itself.)

The Aruch Hashulchan (229:1), also has it without the "וְ".

Question:

In the Siddur Tehillat Hashem's list of blessings, the blessing is printed with a "וְ".

Why does the Siddur have the blessing different than the Shulchan Aruch? It appears that the Baal HaTanya does not discuss this at all, since his Shulcan Aruch is missing Chapter 229, and his Seder Birchat Hanehenin does not have the blessing on the rainbow. (My understanding is that the list of Berachot in the Siddur Tehilat Hashem is not from the Baal HaTanya, but compiled later)

The Complete Artscroll Siddur - Ashkenaz (Siddur Ahavas Shalom pg. 228) also has it with a "וְ". (as does the Chayeh Adam (63:4) and the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (60:4). The Derech Chaim (vol II, 36:7) avoids the issue)

Why is the Nusach of the blessing not as written in the Shulchan Aruch?

To broaden the question, why does it seem that most contemporary halachic works rule against the Shulchan Aruch in this case?


texts: A Mikveh used alternatively by men and women

texts: In a situation where a mikva is used at different times by both men and women, is there a need to change the mikva water between uses?


texts: Did anyone write a peirush on aruch hashulchan?(on the choshen mishpat part) I am looking for a english or hebrew commentary.


texts: Who says the wicked are full of remorse? Help tracking down a supposed statement of Chazal

texts:
One section of the Tanya is called Likutei Amarim. Chapter 11 of this section contains the statement “Concerning such a person, the Rabbis of blessed memory have said, “The wicked are full of remorse.”

In the Bilingual edition of the Tanya, this sentence appears on p. 45. In the paper edition (but not in the online edition) it is marked with superscript 10. The related footnote 10 says “Nedarim 9b.”

In Lessons in Tanya, this sentence appears in volume 1 on p. 166, and is marked with superscript 8. The related footnote 8 says “Nedarim 9b. (So cited in early sources, though not to be found in current editions of the Talmud).”

This latter footnote is correct, at least as to the parenthetical part. Nedarim 9b does not contain the statement that the wicked are full of remorse.

I searched at Hebrew Books for the statement that the wicked are full of remorse, and the only match I could find was the book Sadeh Tsoifim, which appears to be a commentary on the Talmud, and which contains the magic words:

I’m not totally clear on the meaning of that remark, it being abbreviated right out of my ken.

At my shul we have a green dictionary of statements of Chazal, a dictionary which, unfortunately, I cannot describe more precisely right now. But I looked up the statement about the wicked, and the entry was almost exactly the footnote in Lessons in Tanya. It said that the statement was said to appear on Nedarim 9b in the book Shevet Mussar, but that it does not actually appear in the Talmud. Apparently, the book Shevet Mussar was written by the year 1729, the year when the author died, so (to paraphrase Dean Vernon Wormer) we know that he didn't copy from the Tanya.

Can you explain this? Are there, or were there, editions of the Talmud containing the statement? Did it appear on p. 9 of Nedarim? The Tanya was published in 1796, so (to judge from this Wikipedia article) the author might have had a printed Talmud such as the Bomberg Talmud of 1523 or the Benveniste Talmud of 1645, but probably not the Slavuta Talmud of 1795 and certainly not the Vilna Talmud of 1835. (But of course he doesn’t actually say that the statement is in the Talmud, exactly.)

Obviously we must all rely on books to tell us what the Rabbis said. But doesn't it seem strange that an author would attribute this expression to the Rabbis with no pre-18th-Century source for that attribution?


texts: Is there any significance in Judaism attached to the day someone was born (aside for the 13th year)? Is there anything wrong with celebrating one's birthday? And is it more correct to celebrate the "hebrew" date or the gregorian date?


texts: Are there any examples of actual jokes in Tanach? Please provide sources.


texts:
What are the earliest sources (i.e. Chazal or Rishonim) for washing one's hands after visiting a cemetery?

Is this mentioned by the Rambam?


texts: What are the rules regarding which verses in the Tocacha (Vayikra 26:14-46) should be read in a loud voice?

texts:
I am a Ba'al Kri'ah (Torah reader). I have heard various versions regarding protocol for reading these verses. My custom has been to read all the verses in this section in a low voice except for the last one (v 46). In some other shuls, I have heard this scenario:

Verses 14:33 soft voice
Verses 34-35 loud
Verses 36-41 soft voice
Verse 42 loud
Verse 43 soft voice
Verses 44-46 loud

Is there a standard format? To me, multiple switching back and forth in the middle confuses the congregation and me, as well :-)


texts: Orach Chaim 503 says that one may not prepare from the first day of Yom Tov for the second day of Yom Tov. However, if one is going to eat even one piece of meat on the first day, they may fill up a complete pot and leave the remaining  meat for the second day. What I know some people do is warm up food for the children and then leave the remaining food for themselves for the nighttime. My question is: If one warms up food in a oven and then takes a piece out before Shekiya may they return the rest of the food to the oven for the evening meal? If not what can be done in order to warm up food  that should be ready by the time one comes home from Shul?


texts: What types of hair - and whose hair - are included in mourning-related hair-cutting prohibitions?

texts:
When there are hair-cutting prohibitions (or restrictions) for mourning-related practices, what types of hair are included?  Is it just hair on the top of one's head and/or facial hair?  Do the restrictions apply equally to men and women?*  Do any leniencies that might apply in certain situations apply equally to men and women?  Do those same leniencies apply to all hair types that are included in the restrictions?

*The reason I ask about both men and women in this question, is that men and women may have different types of hair and/or different types of hair that one cares about grooming (e.g., facial hair on men, "נימא" on women, etc.).


texts: What is the significance behind God splitting the seas?

texts: I heard from one of my rebbeim that the inifinite God has an infinite amount of ways of performing any given task. With that in mind, it is interesting to note that twice in the Tanach, God splits the sea: once when the Children of Israel leave Egypt and once when they enter the Land of Israel. (The second instance wasn't a sea, but the Jordan River, but I'm sure you understand what I'm saying.) Why did God choose to perform this particular miracle twice?


texts: How can i prevent schach from flying off in the wind?

texts: In the case of a heavy wind, is there any way to prevent the schach from simply flying away? It can be quite a pain if it falls down, in addition to the danger that it might get ruined.


texts:
I was privileged to find a Karaite prayer book on the web, and it is the one edited by Nehemia Gordon in consultation with R’ Moshe Dabah based on the Avraham Firkovich Edition, originally published in Vilna in 1870.

It contains some of the most beautiful prayers I have ever seen, but my question is: What is the order in which the prayers are recited?
There appears to be 2 lots of week day evening and morning prayers.

Which is recited when?


texts: Why was there a huge concern to assure that Hoshanna Rabbah is not on Shabbat?

texts:
This page lists 4 rules that may cause the first day of Rosh Hashannah to be postponed from being on the date of the molad Tishrei. One of the rules is:

  If molad Tishri occurs on Sunday, Wednesday, or Friday, Tishri 1 must
  be delayed by one day for the following reasons:

  Wednesday or Friday would cause Yom Kippor (Tishri 10) to fall on
  Friday or Sunday making it impossible to prepare food (because of
  Sabbath restrictions) on either the day before or the day after the
  Yom Kippor fast.  Sunday would cause the seventh day of Succoth
  (Hoshana Rabba) to fall on the Sabbath.

OK, I understand that on Hoshannah Rabbah, there is a custom to beat the aravot twigs on the ground, and we cannot do this on Shabbat.

I'm curious as to why the calendar rules would be that concerned about performing what is a minhag rather than giving priority to performing a Torah commandment such as assuring that Rosh Hashannah never falls on Shabbat so that we can always be sure to blow the shofar on Rosh Hashannah?

I know that there are 2 days of Rosh Hashannah, so if we miss blowing on Shabbat, at least we know that we will hear SHofar blowing on Sunday. OTOH, Hoshanna rabbah is 1 day so if we don't beat the twigs that day, there's no other day to do it.

Nonetheless, shofar is still a Torah commandment, and the Torah says that there is just 1 day of Rosh Hashanna. The fact that we have 2 days is b/c we are following the sfeika deyoma rules. But it is still a Torah law vs. a minhag. I would think that performing the Torah law would be more important and should have precedence in deciding these postponement rules.

My Jewish history timeline is bad. Which came first? The establishment of the calendar via Hillel IV, which we now use, or the minhag of beating the aravot on Hoshannah Rabbah. I don't think this is mentioned in the Mishnah or Gemarrah, but I may be wrong.


texts: Mom and Dad begin Shabbat at different times. Whom should the son follow?

texts:
The son is 8 years old. (I add this fact, b/c there may be some leniencies to the halacha as he is below Bar Mitzvah.)

Dad wants to begin Shabbat "early" before the "regular" candle lighting time (18 m before sundown). Dad wants the son to come to shul with him. (There is no "community time application" as there are numerous shuls each having different times.)

Mom needs a bit more time to cook the chicken and she wants the son to help her. Without his help, no chicken and mom says, "Shabbat will be ruined!" (OK, she's a nervous mom, but I think she means it, this time!) She needs to start Shabbat later.

For purposes of honoring parents (Kibud Av Va'em), whom does the son have to listen to? If there is a problem of desecrating Shabbat if he listens to mom (as he wants to start later), please indicate why. (In this case, it becomes obvious he has to follow dad who is observing halacha.)

Note: Please don't answer, "Go with dad to shul to ask the Rav what to do." The Rav is in the Catskills for the summer telling others what to do :-)


texts:
The Yerushalmi (Bikkurim 3:3/11b) says that a chassan has his sins atoned for. This is derived from Esav, who married a woman, the daughter of Yishmael and sister of Navos, named Machalas (Bereishis 28:9). Now, another wife of Esav's who is the daughter of Yishmael and sister of Navos is named Basmas (Bereishis 36:3) and is presumably the same person. Why, then, is she called Machalas in our passuk? Because on her account, Esav's sins were atoned for (nimchalu).

This drashah is kind of crazy if you think about it. Esav was a murderer (Rashi to Bereishis 25:29) and an idolater (Rashi to Bereishis 27:1, first explanation). And yet you say that getting married just wipes that all away? Also, this wasn't even his first wife; he had previously married Adah and Oholibamah (Bereishis 26:34). Yet it's still an atonement for him?

How can it be that one is able to spend his days doing horrendous sins and his nights getting married and he'll get a free pass into Olam Haba?

I suppose an easy answer is that it's just an asmachta, but I'd really like it if someone could find a source that actually makes the drasha work.


texts: Moshiach came, did his Work, and left. Now what?

texts:
A question about the future....

Moshiach arrived.  Israel is now at peace with herself, her neighbors, and the world. The Third Temple is built, and everything is humming along nicely according to Moshiach's halachic rulings, straight from The Source.  All the Jews meant to be be in Israel are now there and enjoying their inherited provinces with their tribemates.  King Moshiach has died, leaving his oldest and wisest son Ben Moshiach on the throne, and he's now ruling wisely.

What now?

Are we still going to be commuting to our daily jobs, only with a nice, spiritually-satisfied smile on our faces?  Will we really then be a "Kingdom of Priests" with some Jews remaining worldwide to teach the rest of the world?

I realize this is a pretty broad question, and an awful lot of speculation about all the wonderful things that will eventually happen in Messianic times is in our literature, lions lying with lambs, resurrection of the dead, etc.  I am looking for things from our writings that say what will be experienced by the average Yoseph in the days immediately following the Moshiach's completion of his mission and passing on, but way before the miraculous End prophecies are fulfilled.


texts: The I, the Self which makes us do things independent of G-d

texts:
I watched a video of R' Mendel Kessin (20:58-37:52) in which he talks about 4 levels of arrogance, and the concept of "yesh od milvado" presented by the Yetzer HaRah inside us. What he explains is that there is this concept of "I" and the feeling that "I AM" which makes us feel or do things independent of G-d.

First of all I would like to know what his sources are and where I could read more about it in English. Secondly I would like to know if there are similar teachings about us being tempted to believe oneself, to believe the "I"; as we people often decide what to do based on what we feel, think and reason what is right, good and true to do, instead of really making His Will ours.


texts: Taking home leftovers from a caterered affair - mitzvah or stealing?

texts:
At the end of several affairs, we notice that there are some cakes and pastries which are completely untouched. The caterer says that, by law of the health department, once a cake is out of its box, even if it is untouched, it must be disposed.

Is it considered, then, a mitzvah to take these cakes as we know they will be disposed (avoid Bal Tashchis)? Can we assume that once the cake is displayed, the owner assumes that it will be eaten, so he has relinquished "ownership" of the cake? The fact that it is untouched or even partially touched is incidental. Or do we need to assume that the owner may want all the leftover cakes himself, in which case taking anything would be considered stealing?


texts: According to the Rema/Tosfot, is it permissible to see a secular concert in a venue that serves alcoholic beverages?

texts:
Halachipedia:  Tosfot (Gittin 7a s.v. Zimra) understand that the prohibition includes only music at feasts of wine, as in the Mishna Sotah 48a.

Would a concert that serves alcoholic beverages (including wine) fall under this prohibition (according to the Rema/Tosfot)?


texts: What exactly do you do and say when you fall Korim?

texts: Some people have a custom of bowing during Musaf on Yom Kippur ("Korim"). What exactly do you do and say when you fall Korim on Yom Kipur?


texts: Is there a special way of discarding leftover bread/challah?


texts: What is the source of the prohibition of not preparing on Shabbat for after Shabbat?

texts:
Preparing on Shabbat for after Shabbat is not one of the 39 melachot (Biblical categories of "work").

I gather that many prohibitions are gleaned from Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 58:13. However, the only thing I could see in this verse is the concept of how to honor Shabbat with one of the ways being the phrase Asot Cheftzecha. There does not appear to be a specific direct prohibition implied, here. Was this prohibition placed as a syag - a "fence" to prevent some other melacha from happening?


texts: Why is it a custom to wear white on the holiday of Tu B'Av? Where did this custom begin and does it only apply to women? Are there other restrictions or qualifications for wearing white on Tu B'Av?


texts: What can the proceeds from the sale of a pasul Sefer Torah be used for?

texts:
What are the restrictions, if any, on what the proceeds on the sale of a pasul Sefer Torah can be used for?

Can the proceeds be used for capital improvements to the Shul?


texts: Replacing sukkah walls one at a time after schach is already on the succah

texts:
Remah Shulchan Aruch OC at end of 635:1 - רמ"א בשולחן ערוך אורח חיים בסוף סימן תרלה:

ואין לעשות הסכך קודם שיעשה הדפנות:

The schach should not be made (put up on the Sukkah) before making (constructing) the walls.

Question: A sukkah needs a minimum of 3 walls. If 4 walls were constructed, and schach was put on top of them, and then one removed each one of the 4 walls, one wall at a time and immediately replaced it with another wall, without removing any schach, until all 4 walls had been replaced, after the schach was already  on the sukkah, would the Succah remain kosher?

Would we say that since all the present walls of the succah were constructed after the schach, the sukkah is not kosher, or do we say that since only one wall was removed and a time, and immediately replaced by another, so the sukkah always had the minimal 3 walls and remained kosher at all times, and thus is still kosher?


texts:
There is a certain Yiddish lullaby called "Oyfn Pripetshik," which was written by Mark Warshawsky in the late 1800s. Here you can see the lyrics in the original Yiddish with no translation, and here you can view the transliterated lyrics and the translation.
What I am wanting to know here is that I feel this song has a hidden meaning, and maybe there is someone out there who might be able to apply a meaning to it other than the meaning it already has, concerning Yisroel being in galus.
Perhaps someone could apply this song to mean something relating to Chanukah or a menorah?
Back Story:
My mother gave me a menorah today and she told me it was very special. When I asked her where she got it, she said she would not tell me because we should only thank Hashem, but she did tell me the menorah had a lot to do with the old Yiddish lullaby "Oyfn Pripetshik."


texts: Does it matter through whom you sell your chometz?

texts:
I have seen online forms and received emails from many far-flung places offering to sell my chometz for me. I also have a competent Rabbi in my local shul who is willing to do it. No two of these chometz-sale forms seem to be alike and I am not competent enough to know if one is better than another.

My question is is there any reason to prefer selling chometz through a local reseller as opposed to anyone else?


texts: If G-d does not lack anything what is meant when it says that he desires prayers of the righteous?

texts:
I believe that rashi says that the reason God made the avos/imos barren is so that they would pray since God desires the prayers of the righteous.

There's also the idea in Judaism that God is a perfect being that doesn't lack anything (a common theme in books on Jewish ethics). From my understanding a being that doesn't lack does not desire anything - you only desire something that you lack.

If so what does it mean that God desires the prayers of the righteous?


texts: Shemot (Exodus) 17:4 - Why does Moses think that the people will stone him?

texts:
Exodus 17:4:

  וַיִּצְעַ֤ק מֹשֶׁה֙ אֶל־יְהוָ֣ה לֵאמֹ֔ר מָ֥ה אֶעֱשֶׂ֖ה לָעָ֣ם הַזֶּ֑ה
  ע֥וֹד מְעַ֖ט וּסְקָלֻֽנִי׃

  My translation:

  And Moses cried to G-d, saying: ‘What shall I do to this
  people? It will be a short while and they will stone me.’

Questions (besides the one Moses asked G-d, here :)

Why does Moses think that the people will stone him? There were other places were the people were upset at him about the lack of food and water, and we don't see any such claim anywhere else? What was unique about this situation?
There are numerous ways the people could have killed Moses. Why specifically stoning? (In this question, I'm asking if somehow, Moses "sin" in the people's minds, was punishable via stoning vs. choking, burning, etc.)
"In a short while..." - How long did Moses think this would happen?


texts: Although there are sources (Be'er Heitev OC 224:8) which discuss placing stones on a grave, that seems to be more of an honor for the deceased. Apparently Rebbi Akiva Eiger asked his family to stone his grave as an atonement - where do we find such a concept? (And is his will available to view?)


texts:
When you make Hamotzi on Shabbos you use the top Challah. However, on Friday night you use the bottom. Therefore, so as not to pass over the Mitzvah you hold the bottom one closer.

My question is why on Friday night do we use the bottom and not the top like the rest of Shabbos?


texts:
When reading the megilloth in shul from a klaf, many say the blessing of shehechiyyanu1.  I have noticed that many people sing this blessing in its own tune (ie. not in trope), but I have also heard it read using the trope about to be used for that megillah.

In order to use trope, we need to first grammatically parse the sentence.

For the parsing of the first half, see this question2.  For the second half, do we understand:

(a) (שהחינו וקימנו והיגענו) (לזמן הזה)

where לזמן הזה applies to all the verbs3, or

(b) (שהחינו וקימנו) (והגיענו לזמן הזה)

where לזמן הזה only applies to the last verb4?

1 See S"A O"H 692:1 for Esther, Ma'aseh Rav 175 for Shir HaShirim.  See also sources here and here.
2 Perhaps one would do: pashta munach zakef-qaton tipcha munach etnachta.
3 Hence, perhaps: darga tvir tipcha mercha siluq (cf. Deut 33:27).
4 Hence, perhaps: pashta zakef-qaton tipcha mercha siluq (cf. Num 4:31).  I would think something similar also applies to the blessing על מקרא מגילה: mapakh pashta zakef-qaton tipcha mercha siluq (cf. Ex 33:10) (or arguably pashta munach zakef-qaton).


texts: Why is hebrew, the holy language, so messy?

texts:
Something that has always bothered me and I've never really understood is why Hebrew is so messy. If it is the language of G-d, the language in which the world was created and the language in which the Torah was written, then why is it so complicated and weird in some aspects. Let me explain with some examples:

There are multiple letters for the same sound (sin and samech, vav and bet, tet and taf).
There are multiple sounds for the same letter (vav can be an u, an o or a v).
Some letters have subdivisions (shin and sin, bet and vet, etc).
Just five letters have a sofit version.
Two nikkudot can have totally different sounds but be written exactly identical (such as kamatz, that can be an a or an o).
Many sounds aren't in the Hebrew alphabet (like g in george, ch in change, etc).

I know every language has its rules, but how can Hebrew seem so "un imperfect"?


texts: Do the 3 Mitzvos of entering Israel apply to the Second Temple?

texts:
וכן היה רבי יהודה אומר ג' מצות נצטוו ישראל בכניסתן לארץ:
  להעמיד להם מלך ולהכרית זרעו של עמלק ולבנות להם בית הבחירה (Sanhedrin 20b)

  Rabbi Yehuda says: Three mitzvot were commanded to the Jewish people upon their entrance into Eretz Yisrael: to establish a king for themselves, and to cut off the seed of Amalek in war, and to build the Chosen House.

Rambam also brings it at the beginning of Melachim (1.1).

Does this rule apply to return to the Promised Land and re-building of the Second Temple?

If yes, who would be the king and would the killing of Haman constitute cutting off the seed of Amolek?


texts: Is there a punishment for disgracing our prophets/sages?

texts: In light of the recent Charlie Hebdo incident with depictions of Mohammed (and others like), are there any punishments for derogatory depictions of our Jewish prophets and sages (be it in our times or times of yore)?


texts: How to prevent tangling of tefilin and talit

texts:
I have been putting on talit along with tefilin for over a decade, and I still frequently get the strap of my shel yad tangled in the one of the fore-tzitzit of my talit when I'm winding it around my arm. Once it contacts a tzitzit during its circular motion, they wind together until I notice, and then I have to either unwind them or pull the remaining length of the strap through the talit strings to extricate it.

What technique works well to prevent this tangling from happening? Please indicate in the answer post whether you have used the technique and how well it works for you.


texts: What is the relevance of "the infant dropped the breast from his mouth" and from where is it derived?

texts:
סוטה ל עמוד ב -----------------Sotah 30b

תנו רבנן דרש רבי יוסי הגלילי בשעה שעלו ישראל מן הים נתנו עיניהם לומר שירה וכיצד אמרו שירה עולל מוטל על ברכי אמו ותינוק יונק משדי אמו כיון שראו את השכינה עולל הגביה צוארו ותינוק שמט דד מפיו ואמרו זה אלי ואנוהו שנאמר (תהלים ח, ג) מפי עוללים ויונקים יסדת עוז**

§ The Sages taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei HaGelili taught: At the time that the Jewish people ascended from the sea they resolved to sing a song of gratitude to God. And how did they recite this song? If a baby was lying on his mother’s lap or an infant was nursing from his mother’s breasts, once they saw the Divine Presence, the baby straightened his neck and the infant dropped the breast from his mouth, and they recited: “This is my God and I will glorify Him” (Exodus 15:2). As it is stated: “Out of the mouths of babies and sucklings You have founded strength” (Psalms 8:3).

היה רבי מאיר אומר מנין שאפי' עוברים שבמעי אמן אמרו שירה שנאמר...

Rabbi Meir would say: From where is it derived that even fetuses in their mother’s womb recited the song at the sea? As it is stated...

RASHI: עולל - גדול מיונק

"BABY"- Is bigger than "suckling"...

It would seem that this Gemara is coming to tell us that all the Jews on all levels of maturity, even the babys the sucklings and the fetuses recited the Shirah at the sea.
If this is so, why is it necessary to tell us that the infant dropped the breast from his mouth? The whole point is that "sucklings", which refers to the age/ maturity level, as we see from Rashi, also recited shirah. The act of their suckling at the time doesn't seem relevant here.

The Gemara for some reason is translating the word יונקים- "sucklings" in the passuk as those who are actually doing the act of suckling, rather than those who are of suckling age.

Where is meaning this derived from the passuk, and what is it's relevance?


texts:
Looking for ALL of the Rambam's Books in English on Medicine

Preferably in Eretz Yisrael, without breaking the bank.

How many books are there? What are the most prominent in which he discusses formulas and exact remedies?

Trusted translations only. Thank you very much.


texts: How to get a self-published sefer into all of the Seforim stores?

texts:
Nowadays, there are a variety of very quick, reliable, and cost-effective ways to self-publish a book online. Sites like Lulu made it very easy to create a sefer for under $20. However, they don't provide an easy stream in the Judaica and Seforim stores around the world (and the USA in particular).
Are there any effective ways to get a self-published sefer into all of the Seforim stores, or at least carried by a few distributors? Looking for any direction or experience.


texts: Why are Bikkurim and burial different from each other?

texts:
In this week's parsha we read about the mitzvah of Bikkurim. The Torah tells us to bring our first fruits of the season to the Beit Hamikdash, and offer it to the Kohanim. We are also told that the people would bring the fruits in baskets. The Sifri explains that there was a practice for the wealthy to bring their fruits in baskets overlaid with gold or silver, while the poor would use woven baskets. This would ostensibly show their love for the mitzvah.

However one could ask a question on this practice: We often find that the Rabbis would regulate standards in regards to mitzvah practices that could differentiate between the poor and wealthy. For example, the Gemara in Moed Katan (27a-b) tells us that the original custom was for the wealthy to bury their dead in fancy and expensive caskets, however this caused the poor to be embarrassed, thus the Chazal enacted that everyone be buried in simple caskets. Seemingly, the minhag for the wealthy to use gold and silver laden baskets would also embarrass the poor. If so, why didn't the Chazal regulate this practice as well?


texts: What is the lashon in Rabbeinu Yona, Iggeres Hateshuva?

texts: What is the exact lashon of Rabbeinu Yona in Iggeres Hateshuva (Hadrash Hashlishi) that says, "they send the children to school and look after them when they return home. they influence their children with pleasant words and develop in them a desire to study torah. they protect them so that they will not waste time from their studies, and they teach them fear of heaven when they are young. ...the Jewish woman, the primary contribution to the child's early education, establishes the foundation of torah study and fear of God."


texts: Why does אבות cite Gen. 9, not Gen. 1, for נברא בצלם?

texts:
Avos, chapter 3, reads in part:

  הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר חָבִיב אָדָם שֶׁנִּבְרָא בְצֶלֶם חִבָּה יְתֵרָה נוֹדַעַת לוֹ שֶׁנִּבְרָא בְצֶלֶם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר כִּי בְּצֶלֶם א׳ עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם

Sefaria's translation (which I'm not certain is correct, but let's go with it because I can't do better):

  He would say: Beloved is man, since he is created in the image [of God]. A deeper love - it is revealed to him that he is created in the image, as it says: "for in God's image He made man."

He cites Noach 9:6, "שֹׁפֵךְ דַּם הָאָדָם בָּאָדָם דָּמוֹ יִשָּׁפֵךְ כִּי בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם", as evidence that man was נברא בצלם. Why not cite instead the earlier verse where man was in fact נברא בצלם, viz B'reshis 1:26–27, "וַיֹּאמֶר א׳ נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ… וַיִּבְרָא א׳ אֶת הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם א׳ בָּרָא אֹתוֹ"?

Credits: Thanks to Sefaria for the vowels for Avos, and to Rabbi Avi Kannai from whom I heard this question.


texts:
Inspired by this question.
The Martian day is 24 hours, 37 minutes long. After approximately 39 Martian days, 40 days have passed on Earth. As a Martian colonist, should I rest every seventh Martian day, and have my Shabbat differ from that of my brothers in Jerusalem?
Additionally, how would one synchronize the remaining Jewish holidays with my kin on Earth? Does the Halacha prescribe any method to determine the times to observe holidays and fasts when the local year differs from the Earth year?


texts: Who is authorized to buy back the chametz if the rabbi can't?

texts:
Usually, the shul rabbi sells the chametz before Pesach.

What happens if the rabbi cannot buy it back after Pesach (e.g. dies, is incapacitated, had to leave town on emergency, etc.) Who is authorized to buy it back? Is it one of the signed witnesses? What occurs if none of them can do it? Who's next?


texts: No issue of techum during kriyas yam suf

texts:
The Torah says that the sea formed a wall to the left and right of the Jews. The Midrash clarifies that it became a solid wall.

The Chasam Sofer (to be precise, his grandson), to resolve a different issue, says that since the Jews were surrounded by walls, there was no prohibition of techumin.

I could understand this if they were literally surrounded by walls, but according to my understanding having a wall to the left and right isn't called enclosed. Why would this suffice to avoid the prohibition of techumin? There was a breach in front of them and behind them. I recall there's an opinion somewhere that the sea split to form a semi circle, but I don't think that would help.

(Yes I'm aware this is drush not halacha)


texts: Shemona Esrei - why do we not Daven anywhere for our children?

texts: In Shemona Esrei we Daven for Da'as - understanding, Teshuva, Geula - redemption, Refua - health, Parnassa - livelihood, etc. Yet nowhere to my knowledge do we Daven for our children. Is there perhaps somewhere we do? If not why not?


texts:
I was listening to this  lecture by Rav Herschel Schachter and near the end he parenthetically mentioned that there's an opinion of the Maharam MiRotenburg and Tosafos HaRosh in Yevamos that there's no kares if someone has adultery with an arusa (betrothed woman), only with a nesuah (fully married woman). He says besides being a surprising opinion, it's in conflict with the underlying premise of a gemarra somewhere.

This would make adultery with an arusa more strict than with a nesuah, as there is no atonement if done unwittingly (see Kesubos 37b).

Where is this Maharam MiRotenburg and Tosafos HaRosh in Yevamos? He didn't specify. As well, what gemarra is he referring to which has a premise against this novelty?


texts:
I have seen a number of different customs of when people bow or sway or bob or whatnot during Kaddish. Some of the people I have witnessed have been very knowledgeable, and I assume they weren't just falsely copying what they saw someone else do.

What are the various minhagim and where do they come from?  Does it differ for different kaddishes (e.g. mourners vs. chazzan's or half vs. full)?


texts: Source for the concept of learning 1 hour on Shabbat is like 1000 during the week?

texts: There is a Benayahu on Taanit 11a I think that may hint to this, but not clear enough. Is there an actual source for "1 hour learning on shabbat is like 1000 hours during the week"?


texts:
Judaism is one of the oldest religions, but there aren't many Jews compared to Muslims and Christians.

What are main reasons behind that?


texts: Why Say "Ad Meah v'Esrim" ("Until 120") if Moshiach is Coming?

texts: Why do we bless people with "ad meah v'esrim"? Aren't we supposed to believe moshiach will come by then, and there will be eternal life (according to some opinions)? Thus by giving a blessing for a finite amount of years doesn't it show the lack of belief in the coming of Moshiach?


texts:
What is the right way to say ברכו את ה׳ המברך?
Is it ברכו את (pause) ה׳ המברך as I have heard or ברכו (pause) את ה׳ המברך?
We do find the את having a relationship with ה׳ as in Rabbi Akiva's drosho:

.. את ה' אלהיך תירא לרבות תלמידי חכמים . .
“Et Hashem Elokecha tira", (the et comes) to include talmidei chachamim" (Pesachim 22b)


texts:
Is there an appropriate bracha that one makes before digesting food for thought?
Would one have to think about the text, and keep it in mind or would one say the bracha and speak his mind?

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


texts: How can something contain the Presence of the Almighty?

texts: How could a building like the Mishkan or the Beit HaMikdash, or a natural phenomenom like a cloud (at Har Sinai) contain the Presence of the Almighty (Ubiquitious, the infinite volume; omnipotent; omnipresent; omniscient etc. G-d)?


texts: PTIJ: Does a Jewish web site need to have challah taken?

texts:
If a Jewish web site plans on putting a lot of cookies on your computer, does it need to have challah taken from it, before placing the cookies? Is there a minimum number of cookies before challah is required, and if so, what would that be?
If the web site didn't have challah taken, do you need to do this? If so, what would be the best procedure to do it?

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


texts: After the destruction of the 2nd temple and Jerusalem, when, where and how did a new centralized leadership arise?

texts: In other words, without a locus, polity or centralized worship, when and how did cohesion and order get reestablished from the chaos after the Great Revolt Circa 70 CE?


texts:
The chapters in Shulchan Aruch generally follows those in Tur, with a couple of exceptions here and there. One of those exceptions is that SA adds a final chapter, 427, to Choshen Mishpat discuss the rules of maake (a required railing around a high walking surface). Indeed, Tur doesn't discuss maake at all, so far as I can tell. This, despite its general coverage of all laws practically applicable nowadays in chutz laaretz. Why not?

I see that dinonline.org discusses this question and mentions two answers but rejects them both as unsatisfactory:

A Rabbi Mazuz (I don't know which one, R. Matzliach or R. Meir, or perhaps another) suggests that the Tur's author wanted specifically 426 chapters. (The Web page cites this from Or Chadash 5755, chapter 145, which may explain why the author may have wanted 426 chapters. I didn't check.) But the Web page rejects that as insufficient reason to omit an important set of rules.
Another possibility is along the lines of the Tora T'mima's statement (which the Web page cites to D'varim 28, though I haven't checked it) that maake applies only in Israel because only there are roofs flat. The Web page rejects this also as incorrect: flat roofs exist elsewhere.

So I seek alternative explanations (or good defenses of the above explanations).


texts: I remember reading a statement that the third paragraph of the Shema was changed to a different paragraph from the Torah that we now use. The reasoning I read was that it was a measure against the Christians who no longer wore tzitzit nor followed most of God's commandments. I'm looking to find if this is based in fact or not.


texts: Mishloach Manot - why the word Manot is used specifically

texts:
What is so special about this word "Manot / Manah" that it is used for the Mitzvah of sending food to one's fellow?

What are the Halachic applications that "Manot" is used and not, say, food (besides plural - two) - does it have to be a "part" (mana) of something, not a whole piece, for example?

PS. I'm a native Hebrew speaker and I know exactly what it means and the word's derivations. The question is about Halachic/Hashkafic Nafka Minos.


texts: Is is permissible according to Jewish law, tradition or custom for a woman to study the Kabbalah (given that she meets all other qualifications and requirements or those also imposed on men)?


texts: Does the human nefesh (nefesh haAdam) have 613 spiritual organs? Tanya CH.4 says that a soul has 613 organs like the "organs of the King". I'm assuming that since man is made in the image of G-d, then it's describing the organs of a nefesh haAdam. Is this describing the nefesh haAdam as having 613 organs?


texts: The Torah when removed from ark is brought to bimah in anti-clock direction and when it is shown to congregation, it is in the clock direction. Why? Is this a custom or halacha?


texts: Adding stones or bricks to the Bais Hamikdash

texts: As a child I was told, and now my children are being told, that when they do a Mitzva a brick gets added to the Bais Hamikdash. As pointed out by DoubleAA, the Rambam says that it is preferable to build the Bais Hamikdash with stones. As pointed out by Isaac Moses, here's an example of this concept presented by a teacher of children: "Rabbi Yitzchok Wolf, the dean of Cheder Lubavitch". Is there an earlier source that for each Mitzva either a stone or brick gets added to the building of the third temple?


texts: Killing all of 'Amalek - Mitzvah or Reshuth?

texts:
This may be two questions that are closely related.

Would engaging in war with 'Amalek without a specific command (a la Shaul) be a Milhemeth Mitzvah or Milhemeth Reshuth?

Is killing all of 'Amalek (as opposed to assimilating them, perhaps) a Mitzvah, or a Reshuth? If you had a choice, is total physical annihilation preferred over peacefully (or even forcefully) converting them all?


texts: Why do different halachic authorities arrive at conflicting rulings?

texts:
Rabbi A says strawberries are ha'adama; Rabbi B says that strawberries are Ha'etz.

The halachic texts are replete with such differences in "opinion". What's the underlying reason that different rabbis can arrive at a different conclusion for what to do in scenario X?

Is it because each Rabbi uses his own understanding mixed with the rules of deriving halachah which allows for error? If so how can we follow anything they say?


texts:
There is an injunction that you may not give a halakhic opinion in the presence of "your teacher".  The Talmud says:

The sons of Aaron died only because they issued a halakhic ruling before Moses, their teacher ... Anyone who does so deserves death, ... deserves to be bitten by a snake, ... is called a sinner. [Eruvin 63a]

Who, exactly, is "your teacher"?  Someone you chose as a teacher of your own free will and is seen as such by others?  Someone who is higher than you in the unofficial hierarchy (a rabbi if you are not one, an older rabbi if you are one, someone widely recognized as a greater halachic authority than you, etc.)?


texts: Why Is What God Thinks Different from What God Says to Noah?

texts:
In Genesis 8:21 God thinks to himself:

וַיָּ֣רַח יְהוָה֮ אֶת־רֵ֣יחַ הַנִּיחֹחַ֒ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהוָ֜ה אֶל־לִבּ֗וֹ לֹֽא־אֹ֠סִף לְקַלֵּ֨ל ע֤וֹד אֶת־הָֽאֲדָמָה֙ בַּעֲב֣וּר הָֽאָדָ֔ם כִּ֠י יֵ֣צֶר לֵ֧ב הָאָדָ֛ם רַ֖ע מִנְּעֻרָ֑יו וְלֹֽא־אֹסִ֥ף ע֛וֹד לְהַכּ֥וֹת אֶת־כָּל־חַ֖י כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִֽׂיתִי׃
The LORD smelled the pleasing odor, and the LORD said to Himself: “Never again will I doom the earth because of man, since the devisings of man’s mind are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living being, as I have done.

Then a few lines later in Genesis 9:11 (same link as above), God says to Noah:

וַהֲקִמֹתִ֤י אֶת־בְּרִיתִי֙ אִתְּכֶ֔ם וְלֹֽא־יִכָּרֵ֧ת כָּל־בָּשָׂ֛ר ע֖וֹד מִמֵּ֣י הַמַּבּ֑וּל וְלֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֥ה ע֛וֹד מַבּ֖וּל לְשַׁחֵ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
I will maintain My covenant with you: never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

Paraphrasing, God thinks, I will never destroy all humankind; God says, I will never destroy all humankind with a flood.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe (an exceptional Torah scholar) maintains (see "concise" in the index of "Torah Studies a parsha anthology" for multiple references) that extra or superfluous words are avoided in the Torah.  Hence, adding the words "with a flood" to what God says to Noah must be significant.  What God says to Noah is much more qualified or limited than what He thought earlier.
Why the difference?  What does this difference teach us?


texts: Looking for an english translation of targum onkeles

texts: I am looking for an english orthodox translation of targum onkeles or, if a translation doesn't exist, maybe a shiur which goes through targum in english on a weekly basis.


texts: What is the source that Yitzhak knew that he was being sacrificed?

texts:
Are there sources that יצחק knew what was going on, during the `Akeda and that he was okay with it?

How would these sources come to this conclusion?


texts: Are we allowed to assume that a Rabbi may have not thought of something?

texts:
Sometimes in reading a difficult Rishon or Acharon, you come across a statement which seems limited and difficult to understand. Sometimes it's what seems to be an answer to a question which skims over the main point; other times, it seems as though they didn't logically work out the implications of their statement.

Are we allowed to excuse a statement of a Rabbi, in the face of opposing logic or even scientific proof? Are all Rabbis infallible? Issues that need to be addressed in an answer include: what type of Rabbi (Rishon, Acharon, or another category), and what type of statements (Halachic, scientific, philosophic, etc)


texts:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed
  be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy
  will be done on earth as it is in
  heaven. Give us this day our daily
  bread, and forgive us our trespasses,
  as we forgive those who trespass
  against us, and lead us not into
  temptation, but deliver us from evil.

This is the Catholic English version of the "Lord's Prayer." Its direct antecedent can be found in the New Testament and according to their tradition, was basically said by Jesus as a prayer to God.

Would a Jew be permitted to say this as a prayer?


texts: What are the opinions regarding eating small-bits-at-a-time ("leshiurin") on Tisha B'Av when necessary?

texts:
I know on Yom Kippur, if someone is medically required to eat, s/he should do so with only a bit of food every few minutes, to avoid the full severity of eating "a full serving in one sitting."

On Tisha B'Av, does the same apply?  Or is it simply "if someone has to eat they have to eat, but it's a sad day, so don't gorge yourself on delicacies."

I think I've heard both opinions, can anyone confirm this, or identify who holds what?


texts: Why did Judaism stop using the Septuagint?

texts: I heard somewhere (I don't remember the details) that the Septuagint ceased to be read in the Jewish community. Why?


texts: Which rabbi said "if a horse had the mind of Kant ..."?

texts:
I recall hearing in yeshiva that one great rabbi -- I think one of the baalei mussar? once said:

If a horse had the mind of Kant, it would author volume after volume of great philosphical works -- all about that a horse should eat oats.

(The point is that halacha is focused on an external source of ultimate truth, whereas Kant was all about innate moral sense.)
Can anyone identify who said this, please?


texts: How do they perform the giving of a Half shekel in England?

texts:
If the half shekel one gives before Purim needs to be Male what do they use in England if all the coins have a picture of the Queen? Are there any with Kings or Princes on them?

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


texts: Would a woman have to cover an artificial limb for tznius purposes?

texts: If a woman has an artificial limb like a leg or arm, would they need to cover that the same way they cover the rest of their body for tznius purposes?


texts: is there an authoritative list of the ways to expound the torah?

texts: We are all familiar with Rebbi Yishmael's 13 principles for expounding the torah, however there are other systems not included in his list. I remember once hearing a shiur that there are over 40 ways to expound the torah. Is there an authoritative list of every way that is used by chazal to expound the torah?


texts: Can a woman convert to Judaism to marry Kohen due to the concept of sfeik sfeika?

texts:
A Rabbi involved in conversions recently told me a story about a conversion he took part in. He came to the Mikvah to take part in the Beis Din (Modern Orthodox Beis Din) and lo and behold he finds out that the Woman converting was converting with the intention to get married to her boyfriend. But not only that, but that the man she was planning on marrying was a Kohen!

This rabbi, who hadn't known beforehand what their backgrounds were (as he was trusting the Av Beis Din, a extremely prominent Modern Orthodox Chief Rabbi in Israel), asked the Av Beis Din why was this permitted.

The Av Beis Din responded along these lines: First off there is a doubt if this woman is really a Gentile, for Sancheriv mixed all the nations around, so she might be anyway Jewish. Secondly, regarding the Kohen (her boyfriend), we're not even sure that he is a Kohen, for nowadays all Kohanim are only presumptive Kohanim. So this Av Beis Din allowed them to get married based off a Sfeik Sfeika.

My question is, is this sevara or these confluence of sevaras found anywhere at all?


texts:
related Avraham's knife was called Ma'achelet. Why?
Why doesn't Yitzchak mention the knife?
When Avraham takes Yitzchak to the Akeida, the pasuk reads  וַיִּקַּ֣ח בְּיָד֔וֹ אֶת־הָאֵ֖שׁ וְאֶת־הַֽמַּאֲכֶ֑לֶת even though, earlier the only thing that Avraham seems to have taken with him was wood (pasuk 3). The text does not read "vayikah eish uma'achelet (or v...I don't know)". The definite article "ha" (not to mention the apparently superfluous "et") is presented introducing each noun (knife and fire) seeming to point to a specific (known?) item though none was already specified. Is there any explanation for what specific knife and fire he took?


texts: If someone created a work of art (e.g., drawing, painting or sculpture) by mistake on Yom Tov, what can be done with it? Does it have to be destroyed or can it be kept?


texts:
I’m reading a book by Rabbi Shlomo Arush and he says the following: "According to our master, the Arizal, whoever wants to receive the light of Ein Sof in its entirety has to change its own nature from one of "receiving" to one of "giving"."

I have also seen many other quote this idea of changing one’s nature from "receiving" to "giving" and attributing it to the Arizal.

However, I have never found any source in the Arizal (or in classical Kabbalah texts altogether) that says so. So this is my question: can you please give me the exact source (book, chapter, page) where the Arizal talks about stop being a "receiver" and becoming a "giver"?

BEST REGARDS


texts: If one does the Minhag of Kapparos on money, how much money should be used for each person? (Sources.)


texts: Halachic issues with double ring wedding ceremony

texts:
I was at a wedding in Israel where the rabbi was religious (orthodox) and the couple wasn't. Towards the end of the ceremony, the Rav said that the bride also wanted to give a ring to the groom. The bride said a few nice words then handed a ring to her new husband. I was quite surprised since I thought giving such a ring might invalidate the wedding but didn't get a chance to ask the rabbi himself.

I see that this practice is known as a "double ring ceremony" and is frown upon, e.g., R Yosef Resnick of Chabad writes

  The legal transaction implied by the groom giving the bride a ring has
  now been matched one for one, and thereby cancelled. Her status
  remains unchanged. It is as if the bride has not received anything at
  all, or as if she has given back the gift.

I also read here on MY that R Elyashiv said it could possibly invalidate the kiddushin.

What are halachic issues with such a double ring ceremony? Do poskim believe it does invalidate the kiddushin? Does it make a difference if the rabbi says something like "Now that the kiddushin is over the kalla wants to give a ring to the hatan"?


texts: 40 consecutive days of prayer at the Western Wall

texts:
I heard that a Jewish tradition says that praying for 40 consecutive days at the Western Wall ensures the prayer will be answered.

Does anyone where the source for this is?


texts: Why did the 40th-year Jews think they'd erred about Av? Sanhedrin had declared it

texts:
Rashi says that

  ובשנת ארבעים שנה עשו ולמחר עמדו כולן חיים וכיון שראו כך תמהו ואמרו שמא טעינו בחשבון החדש חזרו ושכבו בקבריהן בלילות עד ליל חמשה עשר וכיון שראו שנתמלאה הלבנה בט"ו ולא מת אחד מהם ידעו שחשבון חדש מכוון וכבר מ' שנה של גזרה נשלמו קבעו אותו הדור לאותו היום יו"ט

  ... On the fortieth year they did so [- dug graves for themselves -] and the next morning they came out alive. They were wondered "Maybe we made a mistake in us calculating the month?"  They went back and laid in the grave until the 15th. Once they saw that the moon is full (on the 15th) and no one died, they knew that the calculation was right and the decree [that all Jews who were 20-60 at the time of the spies must die in the desert] was finished...

In other words, they thought that the 9th of Av was a miscalculation (and it should have been on another day). However, it says in Rosh Hashana that

  הרי הוא אומר אתם אתם אתם ג' פעמים אתם אפילו שוגגין אתם אפילו מזידין אתם אפילו
  מוטעין

  It says "You" three times: once even if one makes a mistake, once even if one did it on purpose and once even if they were tricked.

So if Kiddush Hachodesh makes the month fall out when the Sanhedrin said it did, what were the Jews worried about that they went back into the graves for another 6 nights.


texts:
"He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD." - Deuteronomy 23:1 KJV

"For thus saith the LORD unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths, and choose the things that please me, and take hold of my covenant; Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off." - Isaiah 56:4-5 KJV

How and why are eunuchs forbidden to enter the congregation per Devarim 23:1 but are accepted in Isaiah 56:4-5?

Am I misreading, in that they still won't be a part of the congregation, but just have  special place?


texts: Assistance with on-line articles on "Bein Hashmashot"

texts:
I'm compiling a shiur that I plan to give on Rosh Hashanna that focuses on Ben Hashmashot (twilight). I know that there is much confusion and many opinions on how this is defined. The shiur will take about 15 minutes, so, obviously, I can't cite too many opinions on this.

I'd like to focus on these basic items in the shiur:

The foundation of the debate on how to interpret how long it actually is. I know that this is mentioned in the Gemarah but I'm uncertain where
A concise definition of the timing according to the most commonly current accepted opinions. When it starts; when it ends.
A concise list of some of the halachic items that Ben Hashamashot affects. Some I can think of are Tosefet Shabbat, Time to start Ma'ariv, birth dates, yahrtzeits, date of death. There are others.

I've been hunting on-line and sifting through various articles and I can't quite find something that's concise enough to focus on these ideas. Perhaps a reader, here, has some suggestions to assist me on this? I'm not seeking you to answer things, here. A reference to some good on-line articles will suffice for me.


texts: How to fulfill the Mitzvah of bikkur hollim for someone that's contagious?

texts:
A close friend recently got infected with shingles, a contagious disease. I would like to fulfill the Mitzvah of bikkur hollim (visiting the sick) but do not want to jeapordize my health in the process.

What sort of options do I have of doing the Mitzvah without causing self-harm?


texts: Standing for Kaddish at a shul with a different nusach

texts:
It has already been established that Ashkenazim generally stand for Kaddish, while Sephardim sit unless they were already standing. (That said, I have observed Sephardim who davka sit for Kaddish.)

What should an Ashkenazi do in a Sephardi shul? Should one davka stand? On the other extreme, is it even permissible to go against the minhag hamakom of sitting? Conversely, should a Sephardi stand or sit for Kaddish when praying at an Ashkenazi shul?


texts:
In most situations a boy becomes a Bar Mitzvah and there are certain practices to mark that occasion which take place on the upcoming Shabbos. Those may include some or all of the following: getting an aliya, reading the Torah and the Haftorah, having a kiddush.

Are there any sources mentioning how to proceed when:

He becomes a Bar Mitzvah and the next holy day of rest is a Yom Tov?
His 'bo bayom', the day he actually becomes a Bar Mitzvah, falls out on a Yom Tov?
The day of his Bo Bayom is a Yom Tov that falls on Shabbos?

Obviously we are dealing with minhagim at best, but is the minhag to specifically engage in these practices on the Shabbos following the day he turns thirteen, or perhaps on any day similar to Shabbos, like Yom Tov.


texts: What rule governs the nekuda under the words אֶת and אֵת?

texts:
What rule governs the nekuda under the words אֶת and אֵת in Megillas Ester?
In Ashkenazi pronunciation this makes a difference because the first is read as "Es" and the second is read as "Eys."


texts: Is there a tefilah/segulah requesting that bowel and intestine should work?

texts:
My brother-in-law is critically ill in ICU and some of his organs have stopped working.

My sister whatsapped me this morning:

"Intestines not working. Abdomen so Swollen. Cannot take in any feeds. Prayer in particular for bowel and intestinal system available?"

Have been searching but cannot find an exact tefilah. The "Asher Yatzar" tefilah is for after the fact, to thank Hashem that it worked, but how do we make a request for the healing and healthy workings of these organs in particular? I am looking for tefilot, segulot and/or kabbalistic secrets, midrashim...anything! We need help, please?

Todah.


texts:
One of the Kinnos that is said the night of Tisha B'Av discusses the different mazalos/constellations. In the Artscroll version it's listed as Kinnah #5. Artscroll has a nice chart at the bottom explaining the correlation between mazalos and the months of the year. I'm not sure their source, other than it seems to line up with commonly known horoscopes.

טלה / Ram or Lamb / Aries - Nissan
שור / Bull / Taurus - Iyar
תאומים / Twins / Gemini - Sivan
סרטן / Crab / Cancer - Tammuz
אריה / Lion / Leo - Av
בתולה / Maiden / Virgo - Elul
מאזנים / Scales / Libra - Tishrei
עקרב / Scorpion / Scorpio - Marchehvan
קשת / Rainbow / Sagittarius - Kislev
גדי / Goat or Kid / Capricorn - Teves
דלי / Bucket / Aquarius - Shevat
דגים / Fish / Pisces - Adar

In reading the Kinnah, I noticed that all the mazalos are in chrological order, except #10 and #11.

טלה
שור
תאומים
סרטן
אריה
בתולה
מאזנים
עקרב
קשת
דלי
גדי
דגים

Are there any explanations provided for why the switch?


texts:
We frequently see statements in halacha like "the minor's obligation to do the mitzva is only rabbinically imposed (mid'rabanan), because it's only because of chinuch (=the obligation to educate one's kids)". This is attributed on this site to Mishna B'rura and to Minchas Chinuch, though I'm sure it predates them.

This is even sometimes used to allow, e.g., a minor who ate his fill of bread (and would thus be divinely-imposed-obligation obligated in bircas hamazon were he an adult) to say bircas hamazon for an adult who did not eat his fill (and is thus obligated mid'rabanan). Thus we see (seemingly) that the minor's obligation is considered to be in the mitzva at hand and not in some third-party mitzva like chinuch or something (even if it's imposed because of chinuch).

Am I right in my understanding that there's an obligation on the minor?

If so, how can the rabbis possibly impose an obligation on a minor? He's not considered to have intelligence! How can someone without intelligence be obligated in anything?

And if not, how can the minor exempt an adult in any mitzva?


texts: Stepping back to answer kedusha while person behind hasn't finished praying

texts:
According to Halachipdeia (source) you're not supposed to walk  4 amot in front of a person praying the amidah.

I think you also have certain restrictions regarding which parts of kedusha could be answered prior fully completing your Amidah (taking three steps back and then three steps forward), unless perhaps there's an earlier period where this restriction is removed (perhaps the second yihyu leratzon).

What should you do if the chazzan began the repetition but the person behind you is still reciting the amidah? Do you stay where you are and say the kedushah with whatever restrictions are imposed on you (such as, I've heard, not saying the first sentence of kedusha - nekadesh/nakdishach)? Or does saying the full kedusha take precedence over walking within the 4 amot of a person praying behind you?


texts: When and how were trop melodies first written down?

texts:
We know that the trop (cantillation) marks were added to our written Tanakh text by the ba'alei hamesorim (Masorites) around the 8-10th century CE.  They were recording an oral tradition that, I assume, was passed from generation to generation from Sinai.

My question is about the musical rendering -- when, and how, did the particular melody for each trop symbol/family start getting recorded in a durable form?  I've studied folk music; I know that minor variations in oral musical transmission are hard to avoid despite people's best efforts.  (A memorized text has some more opportunities for reinforcement.)  "When" will vary by community, of course -- there are at least a couple dozen different localized sets of trop melodies.  I'm interested in a general answer and information on the musical history of any specific trop systems.

Musical notation (at least in Europe) goes back to at least the 6th century CE, though its form and versatility have varied over time.  There might have also been some other system of writing it down that wasn't formal music notation; I remember, when I was learning my haftarah portion, writing dots above some of the phrases to show melodic shape (up/down, long/short) even though it wasn't a full musical notation.  (It was a study aid.)