texts:
What are some best practices for checking a Mezuzah (as the Mezuzah owner, not as a Sofer)?  Some questions that come to mind are:

Should all Mezuzoth in a home be checked at once?
What should one do if one has a Mezuzah case held up on the doorpost by double-sided tape (as opposed to removable screws)?
What should one do if removing the Mezuzah will damage the Mezuzah, case, or doorpost?
Should/can one leave the doorpost Mezuzah-less if it will be some time before they are checked by the Sofer and returned?
If someone lives far from the nearest Sofer, how should one get the Mezuzah/oth to and from the Sofer?

Feel free to add more issues, especially if you have a solution to offer.


texts: Did the Israelites leave Egypt in haste or not?

texts:
(1) The Talmud says: "[It was also taught in the baraita]: On Rosh HaShana our forefathers’ slavery in Egypt ceased. [From where is this known?] It is written : “And I will bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt” (Exodus 6:6); and it is written [with regard to Joseph]: “I removed his shoulder from the burden” (Ps. 81:7). [By verbal analogy of the word “burden”, just as Joseph was released from prison in Tishrei, so the slavery ended in Tishrei.]" [Rosh Hashanah 11b]

So we stayed in Egypt 7-8 months between being released from slavery and leaving for the Promised Land.

(2) Yet the Torah tells us we left Egypt in haste, and the symbol of the Exodus is the matzah -- the bread that did not have time to rise because we left in haste.  In this week's Torah portion, Bo, we read: וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת-הַמַּצּוֹת
And you shall watch over the matzot. [Ex. 12:17] The Maharal says that the lesson of the haste is that God Himself (and not human or natural forces) took us out of Egypt. God makes things happen very fast.  We emphasize this in the Haggadah:

"I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night – I, and not an angel.
And I will slay all the firstborn in the land of Egypt – I and not a seraph.
And I will execute judgment upon all the gods of Egypt– I and not a messenger.
I, God – it is I and no other." [Pessah Haggadah]

By remembering the swiftness of the exodus, we remember that God made it happen, whence the centrality of the matzah -- as opposed to the other symbols.

-So: How do we reconcile these two teachings?  [Note that the first is a derivation, not a tradition passed down as fact.]


texts: We direct prayers at G-d, but can we do the same with questions and thoughts?

texts: Prayer is required, but are questions and thoughts directed towards G-d acceptable? Would they be viewed as too informal? Obviously you wouldn't expect a direct response to them, but can they be viewed as a form of prayer? As if by bringing up a subject through thought or asking a direct question, you are praying for a better understanding of the world concerning whichever question or thought you had.


texts:
Every month we make a bracha on the new moon. In many siddurim where the bracha and nusach is featured it's called "Kiddush Lavana". If one looks in the poskim (See Rema Orach Chaim SIman 426 Sif 1, 2, 4) it's also written "kiddush levana (See also Shaarei Teshuva Siman 692 Sif-Katan 2 and Mishnah Brurah Siman 100 Sif-Katan 2 and other poskim and seforim including the Shelah) that write "kiddush lavana".)

What "kiddush" (or "sancitification") are we making on the moon? The nusach of the bracha (according to the Gemara in Sanhedrin Daf 42) is "m'chadash chadashim" as it appears in the siddur as well. We are making a bracha that which HaShem gives us a new moon each month. "M'chadash" (makes new) "chadashim" (the months or another word that used to refer to the moon.)

What "kiddush" is happening? Why is that loshon used in the poskim, seforim, and siddurim?


texts:
A sibling who passed away without having children but his brother takes the responsibility to say Kaddish for the eleven months.

Is the brother allowed to lead prayers from the amud if he is acting like an avel or does he risk giving other people the impression that

One says kaddish for 11 months for a brother instead of 30 days
An avel can daven for the amud during Chol Hamoed etc.

Any thoughts on this?


texts: Two additional tests of Joseph in Talmud?

texts:
This discussion mentions that besides the test with Zuleica/Zuleicha (Potiphar's wife, according to the reference 166 Book of Yasher cited on p.371 in this Midrash book), there were two even more severe tests mentioned in the Talmud

  Joseph is the only one referred to as HaTzadik/the righteous one. His
  life mirrors the actions of the Supernal Foundation, whose role in the
  "downward" progression of G-d's flow is to bring blessing and bounty
  to the lower world. He was severely tested [the Talmud brings 2
  examples of even greater testing], and passed.

Would someone kindly point me towards a descriptions of those tests (preferably with an English translation)?


texts: Convert issues when visiting family (eating)

texts:
I’m wondering if converts or even just Jews visiting less religious family members or friends have special travel sets of dishes they use when they visit. Is this allowed under the kosher rules?

I would think some type of solution to eat with family would be allowed because even though one converts, many of the duties of maintaining that special bond remain.

Do dish/cooking sets specifically for this exist?


texts: What is the total amount and count of pesukim in the Torah?

texts:
After much research, both on Israeli websites (here) and other locations, I have yet to figure out what the total amount of pesukim there are in the Torah.  I've even physically counted the pesukim in Tikum Simanim and came up with 5,846.  Yet other say 5,845.  I realize that the verse 35:22 in Vayishlach is an issue, but even then it would be 5,847!!!  Also need to consider Ta'am Elyon and Ta'am Tachton, both in Vayishlach and in the Aseret Hadibrot (in Yitro and V'etchanan). Parashat Tzav has 97 pesukim as per main sources as well.

For those who question why this is important; it is the result of something I heard that the G'ra wrote in Sifrei D'tzniusa that pesukim of the Torah correlate to the Jewish years.

As an aside note, I have found in my research that the cute gematria words used to remember the amount of pesukim has it source from a non-Jewish person, although numbering of verses were first utilized in Hebrew by Rabbi Isaac Nathan ben Kalonymus, who begun in 1438 and finished in 1448, his Hebrew Biblical Concordance  called, "Meir Nativ."  The Meir Nativ, with its complete introduction, was first published in Venice on the 26th of Tishrei, 5284 (October 15, 1523) and printed by Daniel Bomberg, a Christian printer, born in Antwerp.


texts: What happened to insects during the flood?

texts:
We know that Noach took onto the ark all kinds of animals including "every creeping thing of the ground" (מִכֹּל רֶמֶשׂ הָאֲדָמָה), which I've always understood to be creeping things that actually locomote on the ground, not all bugs.  Does this last group include insects like flies, mosquitos, cicadas, bees, and so forth, bugs that fly or fritter about or buzz but don't creep?  If not, how did they survive?

(I grant that this question assumes they were created during the six days though they aren't mentioned there either, so one possibility is that they're considered too insignificant to be mentioned.  If so, I'd appreciate a source for that.)


texts: Does Karaite Judaism necessarily reject the Documentary Hypothesis?

texts: If a person believes that the written Torah contains thematic truths as a result of foreknowledge and intent by G-d, but that words of the Torah itself have been influenced by the affairs of mankind (in a manner similar to that put forward in the "documentary hypothesis"), could such a person still be said to have beliefs within Karaite Judaism?


texts: Taanis Bechoros for a first born from a C-section

texts:
Does someone who was a first born, but was born from a C-section have to fast on Ta'anis Bechoros?

The only source I know which addresses this is the Kaf HaChaim on Shulchan Aruch (470:3), who says that it's a safek, and since it's only a chashash there is no need to be strict.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any other sources and/or if there is consensus.


texts:
Why does the book of Ezra/Nechemia no have Aramaic targum? Divrei Hayamim has targum R Yosef. Daniel is singled out as not having targum in Gemora Megillah because "in it is the end of moshiach". Besides Doniel is largely Aramaic.
But why do Ezra/Nechemia's Hebrew section not have targum?


texts: Treating obsessive compulsive scrupulosity without ignoring genuine conscience

texts:
I read a psychological paper that was linked to in a comment here, dealing with how obsessive-compulsive scrupulosity can be treated specifically for Orthodox Jews.

The paper gives a helpful and illuminating perspective about how this treatment would be affected, and yet possible, within the framework of an observant Jew's life and values. It comments that OCD is not caused or increased by religion, but instead that people who already suffer from it tend to have it manifest in the areas of their lives that matter most to them. Certain aspects specific to Judaism, like the care taken with mitzvot and the ability to seek rabbinic reassurance, should be healthy, fulfilling, and joyful overall; yet they can be taken as part of the obsession or compulsion. So the paper goes through numerous issues that psychologists might need to understand regarding normal behaviour in the Jewish community. Another focus is the fact that in many other situations, OCD sufferers can be treated by being exposed to their phobia in controlled settings or in mental imagination, but for Orthodox Jews it isn't appropriate to deliberately transgress a commandment in order to regain balance. Certain ways around this, and ways of framing the treatment in a meaningful way, are considered through the article.

Even though it contains some great content and observations about deeply important issues, I'd like to ask people's thoughts about this paper's discussion regarding deliberate exposure to unwanted thoughts. There are a few other problems in what was written, but this was the one that stood out to me. Even though the authors considered this issue and how such treatment may be inappropriate, I think that their suggestions still push the boundaries. I don't think it's ever okay to deliberately imagine or mentally verbalise doing sins, or to deliberately allow tempting thoughts into your consciousness. These would often intrude out of fear, rather than desire, for someone struggling with obsession, and the sense of guilt and avoidance makes that worse. Still, inviting them or considering them is inherently a real thing to avoid in honouring God, caring about others and the integrity of our relationships with them, and learning to live amidst what is truly valuable.

So this is my question, in practical terms. If a person dealing with internal stimuli of obsession is unwilling to accept or linger on certain thoughts (even purely for treatment), whether it be a mental imagination of going against ritual commandments (as would be the fear for some OCD sufferers) or an allowing of idolatrous, violent, rebellious, or (inappropriate) sexual thoughts to be pondered so as to neutralise obsessive fear of them... then imaginal exposure treatment will not be possible or desirable. It transgresses a person's core values. Some thoughts are destructive, even when they aren't actions. I'm wondering how else these obsessive fears, linked with intrusive thoughts, could get to the healthy stage of being ignored or absent rather than suppressed.

Maybe just gaining the ability to distinguish between obsessive avoidance and moral avoidance would be a helpful starting point. Asking Hashem for help and learning to rest in that help, and that relationship, are also important. A greater awareness of one's thought process and an acceptance that some fears or guilt are misplaced, unhelpful in life, even destructive to faith, might also inherently help. None of these things involve 'exposure' to the feared transgression, but they would help to disentangle obsessiveness from conscience.

I know that most of the people here are more familiar with matters of Judaism than they are in psychology. But from Jewish understanding and personal experience, does anyone have wisdom regarding this issue? Careful obedience and joyful wellbeing should be part of the one experience of life in relationship with God; they don't have to oppose each other in real life, nor should they.


texts: May a Jew drink a fruit drink that has less than 1/60 of grape juice?

texts:
There are a number of manufactured fruit drinks that have trace amounts of grape juice that are less than 1/60 of the volume of ingredients. (A way to tell is when the product label states the percentage of grape juice.)

This Star_K article says:

  Avoda Zara – An idol, or anything used in the service of idolatry
  including wine,31 is not batel.

But Note 31, there says:

  This is known as yayin nesech.  For conditions and details, see Y.D.
  134.  Note that the halachos of wine that is prepared or touched by an akum (stam yaynam) are different.

So, my question - Considering that the grapes are most likely pressed by machinery in the processing plant, it's doubtful that a Gentile has touched the grape juice at all. Would this, then be considered stam yaynam, or what? In short, can a Jew drink this juice product?

Assuming that the grapes were pressed by non-Jews, can Jews use the product if the juice is less than 1/60 of the volume?


texts:
Why did Yaakov bless Naphtali with speed? And why him? Moreover, in two cases that I know of - with Eisav (how the funeral of Jacob described in midrash, that Naphtali was sent to bring sales document) and in Egypt (it's in midrash too, start of Vaigash, that Judah sent Naphtali to see how many markets are in Egypt to destroy all the country if Yosef didn't free Binyomin) - in fact, his speed did not help.

UPD: now I understand, that Naphtali already had the speed before the blessings. But the question is still there: why exactly Naphtali and for what G-d gave him that power?


texts: Correspondence between 365 negative commandments and days of the year?

texts: There are 365 negative commandments which correspond to the days of the (solar) year (see Makos 23b; Tanchuma Ki Seitzeh 2). Apparently the prohibition of Gid HaNasheh (sciatic nerve) corresponds to Tisha bAv (Zohar I:170b). Is there a list of the other 364 commandments and their corresponding days?


texts:
Riddle: Another name for Noach
What was Noach's other name?


texts:
Related.
When B"H the Aron Habrit will be found, will we be allowed to open it to examine its contents (provided we figure out a way to open it without touching it impurely, or if it may be when we're already holy)? Knowing what the luchot, manna and Moshe's Torah scroll actually look like and what they're made of could solve a number of fascinating questions.


texts: Tichel wearer moves to Sheitel covered community

texts: If a woman who is custom to covering by means of Tichel/Mitpachat moves to a community in which it is custom for women to wear Sheitels, should she switch to Sheitels? If she attends a synagogue in which she is the only one covered with Tichel, is she obligated to follow the minhag of the synagogue?


texts: Order of importance for the chapters of Pesukei Dizimra for someone that arrives late to Synagogue.

texts:
What is the exact order of importance of the different parts of Pizukei Dizimra when someone arrives late for Shacharit?

I am looking for something like the following:

Priority #1: Baruch Sheamar & Yistahach

Priority #2: Ahrey
...

It would help if you could also provide the reason why each part is in that priority level.


texts: Is Aryeh Kaplan's definition of the self in Jewish Meditation accurate ("nothingness" chapter)?

texts:
Let me preface this question by stating that I'm Jewish with a background in Zen Buddhism. Eastern philosophy was my first introduction to spirituality coming from an atheistic/materialistic worldview. However, I've been studying Judaism, and I'm currently reading Jewish Meditation by Aryeh Kaplan, but I'm confused about his description of the self in the chapter titled "nothingness." I've read Letters To a Buddhist Jew by Akiva Tatz as well, and unless I'm mistaken, they seem to disagree with each other, which is what brings me here.

Kaplan's definition of the self follows an argument similar to one I've encountered in Buddhism. He states that because one can think of the body, then the body alone cannot represent the self. The same goes for the mind and even the soul. I can conceive of the mind and the soul, so that which is observing those categories (the self) must be even more fundamental. Therefore, he states that the soul "cannot be the real me." He then argues that volition, or the capacity to bring forth action or thought, is still more fundamental than thought. He writes: "because I must will myself to think, the source of my will is beyond thought." In other words, "the source of my will" is the closest thing to this definition of "self" he's seeking, and since no mental category exists for the "source of my will," it's in the same category as contemplating nothingness. He then provides the Hebrew word for אני which spells אין or nothing after being rearranged as an example illustrating this.

The chapter continues by introducing Kabbalistic teachings that speak of God as that which is beyond all categories. So in the same way that "the source of my will" is beyond mental categories and akin to nothingness, so is G-d. However, the self is not G-d, and Kaplan is clearly not arguing that. I'm not sure what he's trying to illustrate here, which takes me back to a major problem I encountered while studying Buddhism.

One of the most important teachings in Buddhism is that the self is an illusion. As such, enlightenment, or the cessation of all suffering, is attained when one fully realizes this "truth." The final conclusion of this line of reasoning is that one attains a state of consciousness where there is no longer any distinction between oneself and creation. There is no longer an inside or an outside or a "me" or "you." However, this is absolute insanity and implies that since G-d is everything, and enlightenment is a state where there is no longer any distinction between one and the universe, one is or can become G-d. In fact, if you study abnormal psychology, you'll find that many people believe they're G-d while in a psychotic state.

After reading Letters to a Buddhist Jew and studying Kaballah, my current understanding is that although G-d is everything, and as part of that creation I, too, am part and parcel of everything, a fundamental separation still exists between the Creator and the vessel of creation. Therefore, attaining absolute oneness with G-d is never possible and claiming to do so is perhaps the worst form of blasphemy.

So if the vessel is the fundamental unit of creation then individual souls can be considered the fundamental units of man. The highest spiritual state I can strive for, then, is the full expression of my soul as opposed to my bodily inclinations. Therefore, I'm not sure what Kaplan is trying to illustrate in that chapter. As far as I can tell, the soul is, in fact, that fundamental unit of "self" he was trying to define despite stating that the "soul cannot be the real me."

Is Kaplan's definition of the self accurate? Perhaps my understanding of this chapter is off, but I feel like his description of the soul is misguided (or at least not Jewish).


texts: Does promising salvation in return to a donation border on fraud?

texts:
I have mixed feelings about very common (in Israel) advertisements like this one:

(the ad says: "32 orphans are getting married and YOU ARE GRANTED SALVATION"... each one who donates 320 NIS WILL, with G-d's help, be granted with true happiness in his home through Nachas, health and wealth")

I understand that Tzedakkah is a Mitzvah on its own, but it seems that there's a [dust of] "Mekach Taut", when a person gives the money on that condition and if unfulfilled, invalidates the donation למפרע turning it into a Gezel.

I was wondering, what Halachic sources those promises are based on, and if not, how far are they from being a fraud (Onaah) or a theft (Gezel)?


texts:
I heard a Rabbi at the Central Synagogue in New York say that honoring your parents was not just to agree with them but to understand them.

How does the halacha deal with parents who are very angry people who often say upsetting things or who are hard to understand. When and how are you allowed to answer them?


texts: What are the Incomplete Shabbats that Vayikra 23:15 talking about?

texts:
Vayikra 23:15 talks about complete/perfect (תמימת) Shabbats.

  וּסְפַרְתֶּ֤ם לָכֶם֙ מִמָּֽחֳרַ֣ת הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת מִיּוֹם֙ הֲבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם אֶת־עֹ֖מֶר הַתְּנוּפָ֑ה שֶׁ֥בַע שַׁבָּת֖וֹת תְּמִימֹ֥ת תִּֽהְיֶֽינָה׃

This seem to imply that there are also incomplete/imperfect Shabbats because of the word duality principle. What does this incomplete/imperfect Shabbat mean?


texts:
"The Zohar states that a kiss is the merging of one breath with another. Love begins with physical attraction. Then, as lovers begin communication, they begin to speak. As they get closer, they stop speaking and are merely aware of each other's breath. Finally, they come still closer, and their communication becomes a kiss, at which point they are actually in physical contact. At this moment, in the kiss, they are aware of each other's life force. Kissing is thus a natural consequence of increased intimacy in speech. The two mouths come closer and closer and progress from speech, to breath, to the kiss. Thus, there are four levels in the intimacy of love: physical attraction, speech, breath, and the kiss. These same levels exist in the relationship of a person with the Divine."

Quotation from Jewish Medidation: A Practical Guide by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan (p. 139).

Does anyone know the source for this idea in the Zohar?


texts: Source for taking an oath on beard and payos

texts:
I remember seeing in a sefer that when Jews would take an oath they would take one on their beard and payos, this showed how much they valued the mitzvah of beard and payos.

Does anyone know where this can be found?


texts:
Who knows seventy-two?
Please cite/link your sources, if possible. At some point in the next few days, I will:

Upvote all interesting answers.

Accept the best answer.

Go on to the next number.


texts: Rabbi Nachman on connecting to Tzaddikim and Tefillah

texts:
Rabbi Nachman M'Breslov in Likutei Moharan (2:6) writes:
(Source from Sefaria.org)
(Partial Quote)

וְצָרִיךְ כָּל אֶחָד לְכַוֵּן בִּתְפִלָּתוֹ, שֶׁיְּקַשֵּׁר עַצְמוֹ לַצַּדִּיקִים שֶׁבַּדּוֹר, כִּי כָּל צַדִּיק שֶׁבַּדּוֹר הוּא בְּחִינַת מֹשֶׁה מָשִׁיחַ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁמָּצִינוּ שֶׁהַצַּדִּיקִים קוֹרִין זֶה לָזֶה מֹשֶׁה, כְּמוֹ: מֹשֶׁה שַׁפִּיר קָאֲמַרְתְּ
And everyone must aim in his prayer, that he should tie himself to the Tzaddikei Hador/righteous saints of the Age, because every Tzaddik Hador is an aspect of Moshe Mashiach (Moses-Messiah), as we have found, that the tzaddikim call each other "Moshe," as in [the saying of the sages]: "Moshe, you have said well."

What does it mean that one should aim his prayer so that he should attach himself to the Tzaddikim of the Generation? Shouldn't one try to attach himself to G-d?


texts: Are the passages following the blessings over the Torah always mandatory before prayer?

texts:
The Ashkenazi Artscroll Siddur, from which I learned most of my liturgical Judaism, has a page in the very early sections of שַחֲרִית for blessings over the Torah.  These are blessings which it claims must be recited before reciting any portion of the written or oral Torah.  Here are the two blessings (abbreviated):

... בּרוּךְ אַתׇּה יי ... וְצִוׇּנוּ לַעֲסוֹק בְּדִבְרֵי תוֹרׇה
Blessed art thou Hashem ... and who has commanded us to engulf ourselves in words of Torah
בּרוּךְ אַתׇּה יי ... אֲשֶׁר בׇּחַר בׇּנוּ מִכׇּל הׇעַמִּים וְנׇתַז לׇנוּ אֶת תּוׄרׇתוׄ
Blessed art thou Hashem ... who chose us from all the nations and gave us his Torah

Immediately following these two blessings are three passages, one from the Torah (Numbers 6:24-26), one from the Mishnah (Peah 1:1), and one from the Gemara (Shabbat 127a).  In the explanatory notes at the bottom, it says that once a blessing over a mitzvah is recited, the mitzvah must be performed immediately.  Therefore, the three passages, which include all forms of Torah written and oral, should be recited.
The question I have is what procedure should/can be followed when praying in shul.  Clearly, the morning prayers contains passages from the Torah, so the blessing is required.  However, is it required that I recite the three passages?  Consider the following scenario.  If I arrive at shul, recite the two blessings over the Torah, and immediately jump into either the offerings or פְסוּקֵי דְּזִמְרָא then would I not be reading excerpts from the Torah thereby fulfilling the blessing?  In this case, would I not be required to read the three excerpts of Torah?  Or, would it be the case that I should still recite them to make sure I have covered all my bases (Torah, Mishnah, and Gemara)?


texts: Relations among King David, the Sanhedrin, and the high priest

texts: Do we have any historical source that discusses the relations among King David, the Sanhedrin during his reign, and the high priest during his reign? Were they on friendly terms? Was there a power struggle?


texts: Contradictory extremely far-fetched conclusions

texts:
I've seen in halacha concerns for people making extremely far-fetched negative conclusions. The following are but two examples:
In Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 3:13 it says:

לא ישתין מעומד מפני ניצוצות הניתזין על רגליו
One should not urinate from a standing position lest it sprinkle down upon his legs

The Mishnah Berurah explains from the gemarra in Niddah 13a that if it sprinkles on his legs, people will think he has an injury, making him infertile. They will then conclude that his children aren't his, but rather his wife committed adultery, making the children mamzerim.
A second example is Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 128:5, which says:

לא יעלו הכהנים לדוכן במנעלים אבל בבתי שוקים שרי:
Kohanim may not ascend to the platform in shoes, but in socks it is permitted.

The Mishnah Berurah explains from the gemarra in Sotah 40a that if we allow them to wear shoes, maybe one of their shoes' laces will come undone, and it will be embarrassing for them to go up. They'll subsequently spend time tying them, missing the opportunity to bless the people. People will notice that he didn't go up, and suspect him of not being a kosher Kohen.
These are but two examples of concerns that people will make extremely far-fetched negative conclusions. On the other hand, I've encountered the opposite. The gemarra assumes people will make extremely far-fetched positive conclusions.
For example, Yevamos 15a is discussing the prohibition of lo sisgodedu, where you can't have splintered groups of Jews together following different rulings. The gemarra brings an example from Shammai, who followed his own opinion, when it would seemingly be an issue of lo sisgodedu.

מתיב מר זוטרא מעשה וילדה כלתו של שמאי הזקן ופיחת את המעזיבה וסיכך על גבי מטה בשביל קטן ש"מ עשו התם הרואה אומר לאפושי אויר קעביד
§ Mar Zutra raised an objection to this issue from a different source: There was an incident in which the daughter-in-law of Shammai the Elder gave birth to a son. In Shammai’s opinion this newborn baby is immediately obligated in the mitzva to sit in a sukka, and he therefore removed the mortar [ma’aziva] covering the ceiling and he placed sukka covering over the bed for the minor. Conclude from here that Beit Shammai did act in accordance with their opinions. The Gemara answers: There is no proof from there, as anyone watching would say that he did it merely to increase the air. Since people would not necessarily think that he removed the mortar as a ruling of halakha, this behavior is not considered the formation of a faction.

It is very far-fetched to assume that in the middle of Sukkos, Shammai removed the mortar and put up schach over a child, when we know his opinion is children that young need to be in the Sukkah, that he did so only to make the room "more breezy". We see that we go very far to avoid suspecting people of wrongdoing (lo sisgodedu), yet in the earlier examples people aren't assumed to judge so favorably.
Does anyone address this seeming contradiction? It doesn't have to be these specific examples. Just a source which addresses far-fetched positive and negative conclusions.


texts: Are all conversions to Orthodox Judaism (Haredi, Hasidic and Modern) recognized in Israel?

texts: I am ready to convert to Judaism, but I am curious about how conversions performed under Orthodox auspices are perceived in Israel. For example, I understand that the current Israeli government is run by the Haredi, or "Ultra-Orthodox," and that they will only grant privileges such as the right to marriage or burial within the Jewish nation to those who have undergone conversions through recognized/approved batei din, such as the RCA. However, what exactly constitutes an "Orthodox Conversion?" Aside from being done in accordance with halacha, are all conversions accepted, whether they are Modern Orthodox, Haredi or Hasidic?


texts:
Is deer antler velvet kosher? I'm referring to this:
http://www.esupplements.com/products/dvx-pro-liquid/?mobile=1

Or this:
http://www.esupplements.com/products/deer-antler-velvet-pro/?mobile=1

I remember learning somewhere that bones of non kosher animals are permitted because no one eats a bone. Also does using the spray product and spraying it under the tongue constitute eating, the spray under the tongue is meant for the substance to be absorbed under the tongue rather than it being swallowed.
Please let me know on both products and in general deer antler velvet extract.

Thanks


texts:
Who knows two hundred seventy?
Please cite/link your sources, if possible.
At some point between twenty-four hours and a few days from now, I will:

Vote up all interesting, relevant answers.

Accept what I consider the "best" answer.

Move on to the next number.

To those who like this series, sorry about the hiatus.
Lazy gematria for today is either awake or bad.


texts: Any Jewish holidays especially associated with gift giving?

texts: Many Jewish holidays seem to provide opportunities to give small tokens, especially to children. Are there any holidays, traditionally, which could especially provide reasonable justification for someone to give a gift, excluding major life events such as marriage, bar mitzvah, etc.


texts:
When Jews first started establishing communities south of the equator, they must have noticed that the holidays fell completely at the wrong times of the year. (For example, Pesach, referred to as hag ha-aviv, would be in the fall in the southern hemisphere). While they obviously kept the holidays where they are now, I feel that there must have been some discussion of this fact. Anyone know of anything?

Update/Clarification: I know there are many possible answers to the puzzle of what Jews should so in the southern hemisphere. I'm interested in the reasoning of rabbinic authorities at the times when these communities were first established. Especially if you have sources I can read.


texts: V'Sain Tal U'Matar for someone from Eretz Yisrael in Chutz L'Aretz (and vice versa)

texts:
In Eretz Yisrael we start saying V'Sain Tal U'Matar on the 7th of Cheshvan. If someone from Eretz Yisrael will be in America on the 7th of Cheshvan and will be flying back to Eretz Yisrael a few days after that what is the halacha in regards to when they should start saying V'Sain Tal U'Matar?

So too in the opposite case: when someone from America is in Eretz Yisrael on the 7th of Cheshvan but will be returning to America afterwards (before they begin to say there.) What is the halacha by this person?


texts:
We are supposed to give between 10 and 20% of your income to צדקה.

Does this mean that you are not allowed to give over 20% if you have enough money to do so? If so, why not? (this is more of a theoretical question for me)


texts: Invalidating women from the priesthood and from terumah

texts:
In Yevamot 6:2, we are told that one who has sexual intercourse with various types of women will "invalidate" them. The language is as follows:

  וכן הבא על אחת מכל העריות שבתורה או פסולות כגון אלמנה לכהן גדול, גרושה
  וחלוצה לכהן הדיוט, ... בת ישראל לממזר ולנתין - פסל

  So too, one who has sexual intercourse with any of the 'arayot or with invalid women - such as a high priest
  with a widow, a regular priest with a divorcee or a chalutzah, a
  mamzer or a netin with an Israelite girl - he invalidates [her].

Rav Ovadiah of Bertinoro interprets the reference to invalidation as relating to her subsequent inability to marry a kohen, but recognises that this only goes for the first part of the mishna and for the final example given in the second part, since a divorcee and a chalutzah are already invalidated from marrying kohanim. His solution is that, in the event that they were the daughters of kohanim, they are now invalidated from consuming terumah:

  וגרושה נמי, אי בת כהן היא מפסלה בהך ביאה מתרומה דבי נשא

  And a divorcee [and chalutzah] likewise, if she is the daughter of a
  kohen she is invalidated by this sexual intercourse from the terumah
  of her father's house.

The Mishna in Yevamot 7:5, however, is clear that a woman who was raped or seduced by a kohen will be unable to eat terumah (such as would have been permissible had she married him), but that if she was the daughter of a kohen and she was either raped or seduced by an Israelite, she will be able to continue eating it. The precise language is האונס והמפתה... לא פוסלים ולא מאכילים.

Unless we posit a contradiction between these two mishnayot (ie: Yevamot 6:2 is according to one tana and Yevamot 7:5 is according to another), we seem to have a problem. The mishna in 6:2 cannot be speaking about rape and it cannot be speaking about seduction, since the mishna in 7:5 presents a contrary halakha. We are forced to suggest that it is speaking of marriage. But the first part of the mishna (in which a man has sexual intercourse with 'arayot) cannot concern marriage, since there is no kiddushin when it comes to 'arayot, and the final example in the mishna also cannot be speaking about marriage, since there is no kiddushin by mamzerim and netinim.

Do these mishnayot contradict one another, or is there a solution?


texts: How did accidental killers sustain themselves while living in the cities of refuge?

texts:
An accidental killer flees to one of the cities of refuge for an indeterminate time (until the death of the kohein gadol, or even longer if the timing is unfortunate).  The cities of refuge are cities given to the Levites in place of the land that other tribes get.  There's a dispute in Makkot 2:8 about whether the accidental killer pays rent or lives there rent-free (the g'mara clarifies that this might be about the 6 vs the 42 cities), but even if he doesn't pay rent, he still needs food and clothing.  And if he has family "back home", they need to be provided for somehow.

How did this work?  Many accidental killers would presumably have been farmers, a trade they can't as easily ply in their new homes.  Did they take up some other trade?  Did somebody sustain them (and if so, who)?  Did they beg in the streets?  Did someone bring them money periodically (perhaps funds raised from their property back home)?  Something else?

The mishna in 2:6 says that mothers of high priests would provide food and clothing so the exiled wouldn't pray for their sons' deaths, but that seems impractical at scale.  Did the mother of the current high priest really supply all the needed food and clothing for every accidental killer in every one of the 48 cities?  I understood that to be more of an occasional supplement, but that's just my own reading of it.


texts:
One may generally not transport muktzeh on Shabbos, even within an eiruv. However, if the carrying is indirect, and not for the purpose of bringing the muktzeh, must one be makpid to ensure before Shabbos that it does not happen? For example, would one need to remove a flashlight or multi-tool from a keychain before carrying it in a purse?

Highly related, but not quite identical: Muktza not being directly handled (i.e. in a backpack)?


texts: הקדוש ברוך הוא אנחנו אוהבים אותך — or אותו?

texts: There is a popular song some of whose lyrics are "הקדוש ברוך הוא אנחנו אוהבים אותך". Does anyone have a source — besides some recent lyricist — for these words precisely, or a source for any instance of "הקדוש ברוך הוא" (preferably, or its Aramaic counterpart "קודשא בריך הוא") being used with a second- (or first-) person pronoun (or verb)? All the examples of "הקדוש ברוך הוא" (or "קודשא בריך הוא") that I can think of use third-person pronouns and verbs.


texts: Relationship between Gold and Awe of G-d

texts:
Rav Gedalya Schorr in Ohr Gedalyahu (2nd maamar on parshas Terumah) writes that kesef (silver) hints to a desire of love of G-d in man, while zahav (gold) hints at the awe of the L-rd.

He brings some hints why silver and desire are related, but no support for the relationship between gold and awe. Would you know of such hints, or places where it is clear that gold can be used as an allegorical (midrashic) symbol for the awe of the L-rd?


texts: Is the consequence for rape a small sum?

texts:
I read somewhere that the consequence for rape, presuming the man does not marry the woman, is just 50 silver sheckels.

This seems like a paltry sum compared to the crime that was committed. Is that all, or is there more?


texts:
The end of the fourteenth chapter of mishnayos Y’vamos go through cases of two brothers’ marriages. The first cases are where both brothers, or both their wives, are deaf-mutes. Then come the following cases, in this order:

one brother is a deaf-mute and neither wife is, and the wives are sisters
one wife is a deaf-mute and neither husband is, and the wives are sisters
one brother and his wife are deaf-mutes, and the other wife is her sister and not a deaf-mute
one brother is a deaf-mute and neither wife is, and the wives are not sisters
one wife is a deaf-mute and neither husband is, and the wives are not sisters
one brother and his wife are deaf-mutes, and the other wife is not her sister and not a deaf-mute

Why doesn’t it also have the cases that one brother and the other’s wife are deaf-mutes (and the wives are sisters, or are not sisters)? That seems to be the one missing case.


texts: Does the chuppah need to be completely open on all 4 sides?

texts:
Most weddings I have seen have the chuppah open on all 4 sides. Last night, when I attended a wedding, I noticed that the "far" side was covered with a curtain.

(i.e. the ark is at the front of the shul, and the chuppah was placed in front of the ark. The chattan and kalla walk from the back of the shul down the aisle and enter the chuppah on the side furthest from the ark. The "far" side was facing them and is the side closest to the ark.)

Is this arrangement allowed, or do all sides of the chuppah have to be uncovered?


texts: Can one have a favorite pasuk/parsha/masechta?

texts:
This closed question asks for a 'favorite pasuk', presupposing that such a thing is allowed.

When it comes to sugyos or sections/topics of Torah, Chazal say on the one hand, (Eiruvin 64a) that a person may not say that 'one section of the Torah is nice, and another is not nice', but on the other hand it seems permissible to enjoy one section more than the other, as we are advised that a person learns best from a topic that he enjoys the most (Avodah Zara 19a). Does this mean that a person can privately be drawn to a particular section, but not express it, or only express it in the form of a subjective opinion?

By saying, 'sugya X is great', one is implying that sugya Y is less great, and that would seem to be prohibited. However, Chazal appear to have done that themselves, as they would refer to certain topics as 'great sugyos' (ex: Bava Kama 20a). Is that allowed?

Furthermore, whatever the law is by sugyos, does it apply equally to pesukim? Perhaps one cannot say that he likes a particular pasuk more, as it implies that one pasuk is more important than another (against what the Rambam writes in Foundation 8 of his famous 13)?

I've seen this issue discussed, so I feel justified in asking for only sourced answers, please.


texts: Why was Mordechai wearing a royal garmet with a hole in it?

texts:
Esther 8:15:

ומרדכי יצא מלפני המלך בלבוש מלכות תכלת וחור

And Mordecai went out from the presence of the king with a royal blue and holey royal garment
I understand that while he was mourning Haman's decree, he wore torn, holey garments. But, now that Haman was killed and he was viceroy to the king, when he wore royal garments, why did he have a hole in them? Shouldhn't he have presented himself more respectfully in public?

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


texts:
Why do we count years from the date of Creation? I intend two sub-questions here, of which the second is far more interesting, so please answer it:

Whence did this tradition originate?
Why do we continue doing it when it is so problematic, that is, nonstraightforward? The answers linked discuss how a "day" in Biblical Creation is most often understood as a figurative interval that actually corresponds to a much longer period. Obviously, as Biblical history progresses, the time-scale quickly shifts to be in line with a modern one. Still, isn't it misleading to imply that we are literally 5772 years from the date of Creation?


texts: Rishon who holds killing in an upward motion is more negligent

texts:
The Mishnah (Makkos 2:1) teaches that someone who kills inadvertently is sent to exile, if and only if they killed in a downward motion. If it was in an upward motion, there is no exile. Is this because they were more negligent, so exile isn't enough? Or because they were less at fault, so exile isn't necessary?

Tosafos (Makkos 9a ד"ה אמר ליה in the answer and Kesubos 38a ד"ה הני מילי) and the Rambam (Hilchos Rotzeach 6:12) are both of the opinion it's the latter: upward is less at fault. The Ritvah (ad. loc. ד"ה א"ל רבא) is of the opinion it's a dispute amongst the Amoraim, between Rava and Rav Chisdah (if so, Tosafos and the Rambam hold like Rava) (Cf. Ramban ad. loc. who explains their dispute differently).

I saw the Korbon HaEidah (Yerushalmi Makkos 2:1), an Acharon, says unequivocally that it's the former: upward is more negligent.

Is there a Rishon who agrees with him? Or is he simply disagreeing with the above Rishonim?


texts: I saw something intresting brought from the midrash tadsha. I want to know where can I find this midrash. Online sources or/and where to buy online would be appreciated.


texts:
For Gerer Chassidim (Polish Chassidishe Dynasty), what minhagim do they follow concerning these things:

Tefillin

Do they use Ashkenazi, Sephardic, or nusach Ari? Do they wind the retzuos inward or outward from their body?

Tallis and Tzitzis

Two holes or one on a tallis katan? One hole on a tallis? Black stripes or white stripes? Ashkenazi or Ari tzitzis?

Nusach

Nusach Ashkenazi or Ari?


texts: If I am replacing the tzizit on a begged and I use different thincknesses of strings for different corners, is it okay to wear such a begged? Specifically, if 2 corners have thin, dak strings and 2 have thick, aveh strings, is there any problem wearing it because of the inconsistency in the appearance?


texts:
The term "Histakel Be'Oraisa Uvara Alma" is often invoked when discussing chassidus or metaphysics. Literally translated, it means "[Hashem] gazed in[to] the Torah and created the world."

While the exact interpretation of this phrase has been debated, I'm currently interested in his etymology - when and where does this phrase first appear in Jewish literature? Is it unique to Judaism, a cognate from another culture or are there cognates that sprang from it?


texts: How to position your hands during Netilas Yadayim

texts:
I heard that the Mishna Brurah says that when you wash Netilas Yadayim, you should hold you hands palm up, but when I do this, the other side of my hand doesn't get wet.

So how do you position your hands when you wash Netilas Yadayim?


texts:
I recently found a Wikipedia page about a supposed sect of Jews in first century Alexandria called the Therapeutae. According to various pages, they lived as monks, isolating themselves and studying Torah and their own special writings. Some sources say the Nazirites were a subset of Therapeutae (although this in particular seems like a stretch).

There's one problem: I have not been able to find a single Jewish source that mentions the Therapeutae. I don't know what, if anything, they were called in Hebrew. Is this just a myth?

If not...

Who were the Therapeutae? What, if anything, were they called in Hebrew? What was their relationship to the Nazirites? What do we know about them from our own sources?(Are they mentioned anywhere in Talmud or other traditional texts?)

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapeutae


texts: Why did the title "Rav" appear after Hillel and Shammai?

texts:
IIRC, the word Rav appears in the Tanakh as an adjective ("עצום ורב" or "רב לכם בני לוי". Probably in Jonah 1:6 "רב החובל" it is a name?).
Earlier leaders (Moses, Yehoshua, judges, prophets) and earlier Rabbis (Zugot) weren't called "Rav". All of sudden "Rabbis" appeared in different forms: Rabban, Rabbi, Rav, Rebbi, etc.
Why after Hillel and Shammai, did the tradition break, and the title "Rav" appear?


texts: Tzitzis put on a borrowed garment that is later acquired. Take them off and reattach them?

texts:
From Torah Law, I need only put tzitzis on my own four-cornered garment. From Rabbinic Law, I need  to attach tzitzis to a borrowed garment only after 30 consecutive days, see Oruch HaShulchan, O Ch 14 (8) .

What are the sources that deal with the  law in the following (theoretical) case:

I borrowed a garment and attached tzitzis before 30 days.

Later (a) within the 30 days or (b) after the 30 days, I acquired the garment from the
owner.

Am I obliged to remove the tzitzis because they were only attached to fulfill a rabbinic
    law  or did the Rabbis give their mitzva the force of a Biblical law and the tzitzis
    can be left in place.

Related: Do you attach tzitzit on a borrowed garment? If so, do you later remove them?


texts: How does the gemara know where to start?

texts:
In any tractate, why isn't the background or explanatory information presented first?

For example, why do the laws of Shechita not begin with the laws of Shechita?

Masechet Chullin (and the Yoreh De'ah) begin the discussion of Shechita by listing those who are approved as shochets. In the gemara, a discussion of the actual details of the slaughter isn't until (unless I missed an earlier reference) daf 27 or so.

In an organized set of laws, wouldn't the foundational aspect -- the definition and the explanation of the topic, be more pressing than a list of who is eligible to perform the action?

In Megillah, the dates of the reading come first. In Brachos, the timing of saying Shma (and not establishing the obligation to say Shma) is first. Both Shabbat and Sukkah assume that one knows that there is an obligation to observe the holiday and the text jumps right in to detailed application of specific rules. [side note -- Kiddushin at least begins with the method but Ketubot, with the timing].

If the goal is to record a set of laws (and as they were oral, they could have been codified and written down in any order) why not set them up in a more logical sequence?


texts:
After hagbahah and gelila (in Ashkenazi schuls), the Torah must remain out until the proper point of return. In some schuls, I have seen special furniture to hold the Sefarim. In others, I have seen chairs set aside for the people who had lifted the Torah to sit in and hold the Sifrei Torah.

While I assume that both practices are halachically acceptable, is there a preferred variant, in terms of kibbud Sefer Torah and halacha?


texts: Source for translating סופר as scribe in Kiddushin

texts:
The Sefaria's translation of the Mishnah in Kiddushin 4, 13 says:

לֹא יִלְמַד אָדָם רַוָּק סוֹפְרִים, וְלֹא תִלְמַד אִשָּׁה סוֹפְרִים.
An unmarried man must not learn to be a scribe, nor may a woman learn to be a scribe.

Every other translation and explanation I saw everywhere incl Schottenstein is "school teacher, primary teacher" because it fits the idea of the prohibition.
What is the source of translating it as "scribe", as women are not Kosher for writing scrolls and there's no problem of Yihud?


texts: How did Israel's slavery in Mitzrayim begin?

texts:
When Yosef is about to die he tells his brothers that God will surely remember them and bring them up out of Mitzrayim (Bereishit 50:24-25).  This suggests that they were already not free to leave (they would have to be brought out).  I've read somewhere that if you do the math, Israel's slavery had to have begun in Yosef's lifetime, though I haven't checked that math myself.  This answer on another question says it began immediately after Yaakov's death, citing a source I don't know (באר יוסף).

What happened?  If the opinion about the timing in באר יוסף is common, we might reason that Yisrael was protected only by Yaakov's presence there -- but that still doesn't answer "how".  Did Paro decide that, just as all the other people were now slaves in exchange for having gotten food during the famine, this should retroactively apply to Israel too, or what?  And if there are other opinions about the timing, what are they?


texts: Is there a "Jew" P.S. app for Android or iPhone?

texts:
I know that there are various minyan-finding sites like godaven.com They tell you the location and times of the closest shul to where you are located.

Is there an app that can locate Jews who are already on the road? For example, you're driving on a U.S. interstate and you know there is a rest-stop ahead. You'd like to either form a minyan or find someone who is about to form a minyan. Is there an app where people could subscribe to receiving notifications that a minyan is about to form near your location?

If you know of any, please indicate which O.S. it works on.


texts: Giur receives Smicha Paricipation in Bet Din

texts:
I have recently been told that it is possible for a man who does GIUR to eventually receive SMICHA.

My question is the following;
If he can receive SMICHA , why is not possible for himever to be a Diyan on a Bet Din (provided that he becomes learned enough)

I have been told that it is impossible for that ever to happen because of his being a GIUR.


texts:
When Purim (i.e., the 14th of Adar) occurs on Sunday, the fast of Esther is moved back to Thursday, Adar 11. Why isn't it moved to Friday Adar 12?

It's not as if we don't already have fast days that occur on Friday. 10 of Tevet sometimes occurs on Friday. And the fast of the 1st born on Erev Pesach is also on Friday (according to most opinions. IIRC, there are some that do make it Thursday) when Pesach occurs on Shabbat.

Why don't we do the same for Ta'anit Esther?


texts: My mother's Hebrew (Yiddish?) name was Alta Simis. I know Alta means old but I can't find the name Simis. What does it mean?

texts: My mother's Hebrew (Yiddish?) name was Alta Simis. I know Alta means old. What does Simis mean and why Jewish practicant people did give this name to girls?


texts: Measurements for the Bais HaMikdash -- can we do it with a computer?

texts: Since everything is computerized now, when the Bais HaMikdash is rebuilt, will we use the computer to rebuild?  I.E., the measurements for the offerings, the entire rebuilding, etc.?


texts:
If I have a stuffed nose and cannot smell besamim, can I make havdallah? Do I still say borei minei besamim even though I can't consciously smell them, with the assumption that I'm still benefiting from them?  Or do I omit the bracha entirely?  Can others still be yotzei my bracha?

Would this be different if I were born anosmic?  Why?


texts: מנ"ע - Talking to a person but intent towards Hashem

texts:
I've seen in a few places the concept that we sometimes find a person talking to another, but their intent is really to Hashem. Some examples are the Vilna Gaon (Esther 7:6), Noam Elimelech (Vayishlach), and the Be'er Yosef (Vayishlach).
I found the Chasam Sofer suggests this with regards to Rochel when she apologized to her father for not standing up for him (Genesis 31:35). He says that elsewhere he cited the מנ"ע, who says a person can talk to another and have intent towards Hashem.
Who is he referring to? Where do they say it? Where else does the Chasam Sofer discuss it?
Otzar Roshei Teivos only lists מנחת ערב as a sefer that מנ"ע could refer to. Not sure if that's what he means.


texts: What did Rivka tell her mother - Breishit 24:28?

texts:
Some context:

Eliezer probes Rivka's family identity and asks for a place to lodge. Rivka answers. Verse 27 begins with the word ויאמר (He said) as opposed to more specifically  ויאמר אליה (He said to her). It's unclear whether he was talking aloud to himself, or Rivka heard Eliezer say the blessing to G-d.

So, in verse 28, it says that she told her mother's house (family?) כדברים האלה - "Like these things". I assume that's what the extra כ implies, that she didn't repeat the exact words.

Even with this, what did Rivka relay? It seems clear that she relayed that there was a man standing outside who requested food and lodging. But, did she relay anything from Eliezer's blessing? Did she hear that? Or is it possible that the verse containing the blessing is out of chronological order?

None of the Mikra'ot Gedolot commentaries focus on this.


texts: If I am looking for something in a drawer on Shabbat and then find something muktzeh in that drawer, can I close the drawer?


texts: What would be an alternative to the Reuben Alcalay Hebrew-English Dictionary?

texts:
I've been looking for a decent copy of the well-known Reuben Alcalay dictionary, at a price that I can live with and in good condition.  Unfortunately, I haven't found much.  So now I'm looking for an alternative.
I'm looking for something to have alongside me whilst learning (primarily written by Acharonim).
I've heard that the Alcalay dictionary is the gold standard for Hebrew reference but what would be a near equivalent?  Thank you in advance.


texts: English-speaking kollels in Yerushalayim

texts: I am looking for an English-speaking kollel for either morning or afternoon anywhere in Yerushalayim for a bright, young married American with a YU yeshiva background. He is not particular about the subject matter being studied or the orthodox affiliation of the kollel, but he wants a serious learning environment where he can advance in his Torah learning and growth. Due to other commitments, he is only available to learn one seder daily at this time. Any recommendations would be helpful. Thank you.


texts: The Golden calf - why wasn't Aharon asked to lead instead of Moses?

texts:
As I understand, the Israelites thought Moses was dead. It seems very logical that the vice-president takes the lead.

Aharon was Moses' brother, a prominent prophet, chosen by G-d, and Moses' vice.

Why didn't they ask him to lead and why he didn't offer his leadership, replacing Moses instead of the Golden Calf?


texts: Which officiants wear a kittel on Rosh HaShanah?

texts:
In many Ashkenazi congregations, most of the congregants do not wear a kittel on Rosh HaShanah; however, a number of the officiants do wear a kittel.
It seems to me to be fairly common that at least the chazzanim for shacharit and musaf wear a kittel, as well as the ba’al tekiah.
What about other officiants? The makri, the ba’al keriah, the gabbaim, the rabbi, the chazzanim for pesukei dezimra, arvit or mincha?
Are there any sources noting who wears a kittel on Rosh HaShanah, or is this a hyper-local and/or very recent custom and thus unlikely to be noted in writing?


texts: Why was Abraham cheap with Hagar and his son Yishmael?

texts:
Following "why-would-Hagar-go-to-the-desert-t-die", IIRC Abraham was freakishly wealthy and he should be full of Chessed (toward his former wife and his own son), Sarah didn't deny any monetary support to Hagar and God didn't intervene either.
Yet, all Abraham hands to Hagar and his grown-up son (15yo?) after 15 years of marriage is the bread and a bottle of water? What am I missing here?
EDIT: Rashi's answer is unsatisfying in several ways: it has no references, it does not address Hagar, Abraham's knowledge about his son's wickedness is mentioned nowhere, and more.
PS: @Dov provoked me to pose this question


texts: What is the oldest extant source which attributes Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to Yonasan Ben Uziel?

texts:
There’s an impressive list of proofs that what’s commonly called Targum Yonasan on the Chumash was not, in fact, written by Yonasan Ben Uziel.

Where did the rumor start that it was actually written by him? What’s the earliest source we have which attributes this particular translation to Yonasan Ben Uziel?


texts: Selling chametz if two people share a house?

texts:
I was just wondering a general law about the sale of chametz (specifically through chabad.org but also in general), that if two people jointly own a house, then should they each individually fill out the sale online form (or in person however they do it), OR since one of them did it already, then the entire place is sold?

Is it sold by place or by each persons individual chametz?


texts: What families constituted 1/2 tribe of Menashe?

texts:
Following my similar question "is-half-the-tribe-an-administrative-unit",

IIRC Menashe had only two sons - Mechir and Asriel and 4 grandsons - Gilad, Shechem, Shemida, and Hepher.

Why the Torah always refers to it as half Menashe tribe and not to specific families, and what families were they?


texts:
In the Mishnah of Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Rabbi Yosi HaG'lili, the Sages said, "What is the biblical source to include prayer among the mitzvos? From the verse, 'You shall fear G‑d, your L‑rd, and you shall serve Him.' " Why is it from the verse to fear or have awe for HaShem?

I would like to know how he came to this conclusion, why is prayer included in the mitzvot because it's said that one should fear (have awe for) HaShem?

(I know that Ahavah and Yirah are two big pilars in faith, and that it's also said that prayer is Avodat Shebalev - Ta'anis 2a).


texts: Why do we say we don't dip food on other days?

texts:
In the four questions, we ask "on all other nights, we don't dip, even once, but on this night, we dip twice"

How can we ask this if we dip challah in salt on Shabbat (and other days)?


texts: Why does the Kohen Gadol need to divorce his wife in such a complicated manner?

texts:
On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol must be married to exactly one wife. We are also concerned about her passing away.

So the Gemara suggests that he gives a get to one wife on condition that the other doesn't die, and to the other on condition that he goes to Shul.

Why not just make a conditional marriage. Give a woman a ring "on condition" that the other wife will pass away on Yom Kippur, and then bring her into the house.

If the wife dies, the Kiddushin will work retroactively, and so will the Nissuin. If she stays alive, then there was no Kiddushin or Nissuin.

Seems much easier and fool proof.

Why didn't they do this instead?


texts: Davening along with the chazan for tefillah bi'tzibbur

texts: There is a concept discussed in halacha that says something about a person who davens along with the chazan or at the same time as the chazan has a status equal to (or almost equal to ) davening with the minyan. Does that mean that the individual has to daven word for word with the chazan or to be in the same bracha at least? Or is it enough to just be davening Shemonah Esrei at the same time as the chazan?


texts: Chamisha Veshiv'im Umatayim - mi yodeya?

texts:
Who knows two hundred seventy-five?
?חמישה ושבעים ומאתים - מי יודע
In the spirit of the song "Echad - mi yodeya", please post interesting and significant Jewish facts about the number 275.
Check out mi-yodeya-series for the previous two hundred seventy-four entries in this ongoing series.


texts: Where did Shem's, Ham's and Japeth's wives come from?

texts: I can't find any information regarding the ancestry line of Noah's sons' respective wives. From whom did they descend?


texts: Are the musical instruments in the Beis HaMikdash exhaustive?

texts:
Rambam (Hil. Klei HaMikdash 3:4) lists the instruments accompanying the Leviim:

  וּבַמֶּה הֵם מְנַגְּנִין. בִּנְבָלִים וַחֲלִילִים וְכִנּוֹרוֹת וַחֲצוֹצְרוֹת וְהַצִּלְצָל. וְאֵין פּוֹחֲתִין מִשְּׁנֵי נְבָלִים וְלֹא מוֹסִיפִין עַל שִׁשָּׁה. וְאֵין פּוֹחֲתִין מִשְּׁנֵי חֲלִילִים וְלֹא מוֹסִיפִין עַל שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר. וְאֵין פּוֹחֲתִין מִשְּׁתֵי חֲצוֹצְרוֹת וְלֹא מוֹסִיפִין עַל עֶשְׂרִים וּמֵאָה. וְאֵין פּוֹחֲתִין מִתִּשְׁעָה כִּנּוֹרוֹת וּמוֹסִיפִין עַד לְעוֹלָם. וְהַצִּלְצָל אֶחָד בִּלְבַד:

  With what did they sing? With lyres, flutes, harps, trumpets, and a cymbal. [The rest of the piece lists how many of each.]

Erchin 11a cites a dispute regarding whether the main part was the instruments or the singing. On the side that the singing is the main part,

  וכלי לבסומי קלא הוא דעבידא

  The instruments are to enhance the voices.

The Gemara ibid. concludes, based on eleven different sources, that the main part is, indeed, the singing.

Based on this logic, that the instruments are just to enhance the singing, can one add additional instruments to this list?

Perhaps these instruments were the ones selected merely because they were the ones they could make at the time, but if one wanted to add, say, a piano, he would be allowed. Maybe, by the same premise, one could even replace an instrument with another one (though I’m tempted to say otherwise, since there are specifics on how many of each instrument are required).

Or perhaps the list is exhaustive, and there’s something inherent in these instruments that’s pleasing which is lacking in other instruments.

May Mashiach come speedily in our days that this become a practical question.


texts: Recitation of Psalm 27 between Elul and Shmini Atzeret

texts:
Psalm 27 (leDavid Hashem ori) is said between Elul and Shmini Atzeret at shacharit and mincha in nusach sfard and at shacharit and arvit in nusach ashkenaz.

What is the origin of this practice and what is its intent?


texts: Which parts of the Chazon Haftorah get sad tune (Eicha trop)?

texts:
The Shabbos before Tisha B'Av gets a very sad Haftorah, known as Chazon.  It's Isaiah 1:1--27.  (I recommend you open the text in a new window, or else the answers to this question will make no sense.)

Tradition has it that most of it is chanted with the extra-sad tune used for Lamentations (Eicha), instead of the usual Haftorah tune.  But which parts?  Is there an official source on this?  Is it still a matter of local custom?  Or even individual preference?


texts: Why is eating meat from living animals wrong?

texts: Why is it wrong to eat meat from a living animal? Is it because it is cruel? Is it because it is impure? Why is it?


texts:
This question regarding legal complexity versus simplicity in modern law got me talking about the relatively simple structure of Jewish tort law. It also had me wondering:

What sort of categorization would Jewish law apply to computer/internet crimes?

Doxxing might be rechilut (tale-bearing) or hezek re'iyah (~ invasion of privacy), for instance, but what about hacking/hijacking a computer? No obvious act of kinyan (transfer of ownership) is performed even when the hacker takes control of ("p0wns") the system. Do we treat it as misappropriating someone else's property to do damage via botnet? Is there a penalty of double compensation for stolen information?

Yes, this is a serious question. I would love some sources...


texts: Number of sages in the Sanhedrin of Yavneh

texts:
According to Sanhedrin 1:6, the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem had either seventy or seventy-one sages. But according to Zevachim 1:3, Yadayim 3:5 and 4:2, there were seventy-two sages in Yavneh on the day they replaced Rabban Gamliel with Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah. Why was there an extra sage?

Note: I am open to the possibility that the extra sage was R' Elazar ben Azariah, who based on the Talmud's drosh in Berakhot was actually too young to have been a sage prior to that point, but I would like to see a source that says so. Also, note that Rabbi Eliezer, who had been on the council previously, was in Lod that day, so can't be included in the total (Yadayim 4:3).


texts: Is there dancing at a divorcee's wedding

texts: When a divorcee gets remarried, is there dancing at the wedding or is this prohibited?


texts: What's the youngest that a shochet could be?

texts:
Is there a lower age limit to be able to shecht (slaughter animals in a kosher manner)? If so, what is it?

  Related question: Is age a disqualification for Shechita? (upper age limit)


texts: Meaning of "Shabbatot" when it's translated as "weeks"

texts:
Vayikra 23:15 translates the word Shabbatot as 'weeks', weeks that are to be Temimot (compleet/perfect);

Normally this would be from Yom Rishon till Shabbat like in the phrase:
'Yom rishon l'shabbat (first day towards the Shabbat)' is referring to the first day of the week, which is the first day towards the Shabbat, all days count up towards the Shabbat, which is the seventh day (The week culminates in the seventh day, the Holy Shabbat - Shabbat Kodesh).

But because the complete verse in context tells that one should count from 'the morrow of the shabbat'; Usfartem lachem mimochorat hashabbat, and this Shabat is rendered as the first Yom Tov of Pesach, the week can't always mean a week from yom rishon till shabbat.

How can the shabbatot be temimot?
And what is the difference between Shabbatot and Shavua (Shavuot)?
What does the term 'week' mean here?


texts: Understanding the difference between shevus and gezeirah

texts: I know that, in general, there is a difference in strictness between the two categories of protective measures, but am having difficulty in explaining the difference between the two.


texts: Sucking Candy and Chewing Gum in Bathroom

texts: One is not allowed to eat in a restroom. Does this apply to actually putting food into one's mouth or merely having food in one's mouth? If I am chewing gum and want to go to the bathroom, is it necessary to spit out the gum first?


texts: Can a convert choose the Teimani (Yemenite) minhagim?

texts: From what I know, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (Teshuva Shu"T Yachaveh Das Chelek 5 Siman 33) writes that someone who converts in Eretz Yisrael must take on the Minhagim of the Sephardim. However, according to this option, could someone who converts outside of eretz Yisrael be choose the Teimani minhag?


texts:
Based on well-known results, 12-step programs based on Alcoholics Anonymous and branching out to narcotics and such, appear to be extremely effective.   However, since Jews are roughly a 1:100 minority in most of the United States (densely populated cities being an exception, of course), it's unlikely a Jewish alcoholic will be able to find a fully Jewish AA group.

Since AA requires surrender of control of our lives to "G-d as we understand Him", as one of the steps, religiously there should be no problem with a Jew's joining a non-fully-Jewish AA group.

Moreover, because one of the main rules in AA is to never encounter fellow members socially, there should be no danger of intermarriage from this.  Am I right?

Is there anything else I should be concerned with when deciding to join such a group?


texts:
I was told that a while back a Sefer came out that went through a couple of the teshuvot in Igros Moshe and refuted some of the answers given.
Due to some harsh remarks the author made in the introduction the Sefer was put into chayrem (nobody sold it). Im curious as to what the name of the Sefer was. Although the author was out of line for his comments in the introduction, from what I hear the Sefer itself was incredibly thought out.
Anyone know the sefers name?


texts:
If a person does a sin, is it possible to completely clean it in the spiritual and physical worlds as it never happened and fix all the damages it caused?

What are the sources that prove that? Are there sources in Tanach?

Are all sins reparable?


texts: Why did Egyptian and Babylonian officials change Jewish names?

texts: For example, in Divrei Hayamim Beth 36:4, the king of Egypt crowned Eliakim over Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed his name to Jehoiakim. In Melachim Beth 24:17 the king of Babylonia crowned Mattaniah, and changed his name to Zedekiah. In the Book of Daniel, the chief officer of Nebuchadnezzar changed the name of Daniel to Belteshazzar, Hananiah to Shadrach, Mishael to Meshach, and Azariah to Abed-nego. Why did they change their names? Did they try to change their Jewish identity? Was there anything in these names that was incompatible with their religions? Or they just wanted to impose their power?


texts:
If I placed my kosher food on a non-kashered surface that I knew had never been used for food, is my food still kosher?

I would be interested in whether there could be concerns of bugs--but that is not my main question. My main question is whether particles or transfer of non-food can ever make something treyf.

If not, what is the property of food makes it able to treyf something up? (Or, put another way, "What makes something 'food'?") Is it the property of taste? Good/appealing taste? "Taste or nutrition"? Something else?


texts: Explain the "mechanics" of Bilam's blessings

texts:
I am trying to understand the actual "mechanics" of Bilam's blessing B'nai Israel, in view of these verses:

Devarim (Deut.) 23:6 says that G-d "converted" Bilam's curses to a blessing. My understanding - Bilam actually delivered a curse (verbally), but prior to B'nai Israe'l listening to it, G-d made them sound like blessings. Thus, by the time the people heard it, they actually heard blessings. I.e., they did not hear the actual words that Bilam said, himself.
In actuality, when viewing the story in parshat Balak, Bilam appears to act like a robot. There are 2 occasions -

B'midbar (Num.) 23:4-5 and B'midbar (Num.) 23:16 where it says that G-d put the words in Bilam's mouth. It seems that G-d directly forces him to make a blessing to begin with, and Bilam has no control whatsoever on what he physically says. This seems to contradict my claim in #1, and there was no "conversion".

B'midbar 24:1-3 seems to indicate a change of thinking. Bilam sees that G-d wants him to bless B'nai Isra'el and "the spirit of G-d" rests upon him". It doesn't indicate that G-d places words in his mouth, as in the previous two times. Rather, it appears that he was, somehow, inspired on his own to bless B'nai Isra'el.

In summary, what actually occurred? Did different things happen each time? Which of the above 3 scenarios, or is there another one that I haven't mentioned, the correct one?


texts: How can we reconcile Devarim 24:16 with BaMidbar 16:27?

texts: It is written at BaMidbar 16:27 וַיֵּעָלוּ, מֵעַל מִשְׁכַּן-קֹרַח דָּתָן וַאֲבִירָם--מִסָּבִיב; וְדָתָן וַאֲבִירָם יָצְאוּ נִצָּבִים, פֶּתַח אָהֳלֵיהֶם, וּנְשֵׁיהֶם וּבְנֵיהֶם, וְטַפָּם (here it appears the טַפָּם died also because of the sins of their fathers); how can we reconcile this with Devarim 24:16 לֹא-יוּמְתוּ אָבוֹת עַל-בָּנִים, וּבָנִים לֹא-יוּמְתוּ עַל-אָבוֹת:  אִישׁ בְּחֶטְאוֹ, יוּמָתו?


texts:
Both Yovel and Shavuos are the fiftieth after a cycle of 7 sets of 7 (7 Shmittas, each 7 years/ 7 weeks each 7 days) and both are after “Shabbos” - we start counting the Omer “after Shabbos”, so Shavuos is also “after Shabbos”/ Shmittah is called Shabbos, and Yovel is the year after the seventh Shmittah, so it is also “after Shabbos".

Do any of our sources discuss this connection?


texts: Do we apply עושה מעשה עמך consistently anywhere it says עמך?

texts:
The Gemara in several places (BM 48b and 62a, Yevamos 22b, Sanhedrin 85a, BB 4a, BK 94b, Makkos 8b) quotes the exposition

  ונשיא בעמך לא תאור - בעושה מעשה עמך

  “A prince in your people you shall not curse” - when he does the actions of your people

The term עמך is used regarding many mitzvos, not just the one in question - Tzedakah (Shemos 22:24), Shemitah (Shemos 23:11), Rechilus (Vayikra 19:16), and revenge and bearing a grudge (Vayikra 19:18) are just a few off the top of my head.

We even see in the Pesukim that the term is used this way, even not in conjunction with ונשיא בעמך לא תאור. Throughout the story of Yetzias Mitzraim, Hashem tells Moshe, and Moshe tells Paroh, to send “My nation” out of Mitzraim (Shemos 3:7, 3:10, 5:1, 7:4, 7:16, 7:26, 8:16, 8:17, 9:1, 9:13, 10:3, 10:4). Guess who leaves? Not all the Jews - just the 20% of them who wanted to leave and join Hashem’s nation (Rashi to Shemos 13:18). Perhaps we see from here that when the word עמי or עמך is used, it only refers to those who are עושה מעשה עמך, just as by Yetzias Mitzraim, only those who were בעושה מעשה עמך actually left.

In terms of practical Halacha, do we apply the exposition of עושה מעשה עמך to these mitzvos as well? For instance, is there still an obligation to give a poor person tzedakah if he is a Rasha? Does the exposition apply anywhere that the term עמך appears, or can we only apply it where we have a tradition that it can be applied?

I should clarify: Even if the Halacha is that there is no obligation to give tzedakah to wicked poor people, I’m only looking for answers that derive this Halacha specifically from the term עמך.


texts: Have there ever been inter-faith debates between Jews and Muslims?

texts: There are records of many inter-faith debates (disputations) between Jews and Christians even up to modern times. However I have never heard of similar such debates between Jews and Muslims. Are there records of such debates ever having taken place? Are there transcripts?


texts:
There is a well known dictum that a lot of rabbinic enactments were created to 'create a fence' around the major sin; the idea being that if someone does something that would be Biblically permitted but might lead them to wind up doing something Biblically prohibited, better to make the secondary act prohibited, so that they won't wind up doing a Biblically prohibited act (I'm trying to come up with examples, but the only one I can think of offhand is that you're not allowed to tear off leaves from a tree because you might wind up tearing off branches from the tree - feel free to edit this if I got this wrong).

However, there is also an indication (if memory serves) that when we prohibit a tertiary act, we can be lenient in such a case. I.E. If we are worried that someone doing action Z will wind up doing action Y, and as a result will wind up doing action X which is biblically prohibited, we make actions Y & Z rabinically prohibited as well; if someone were to have a doubt about action Z, we have room to be lenient, because this is a 'fence within a fence'.

I then have two questions:
1) How far down are we obligated to go? In theory, you could add multiple layers of 'fences' (which ultra-orthodox people tend to do, for fear of coming anywhere near a prohibited act), but I can't imagine that these rulings are/should be binding on everyone who wants to follow G-d's law.
2) If someone were to break a tertiary (or a quaternary - yes, that is how you describe something at a fourth level - etc.) prohibition, are they liable for similar punishment as the primary or secondary prohibition?


texts: Is there a minhag or halacha to avoid kashering vessels for Passover and to only use new vessels

texts:
I was told by my father that we follow the minhag not to kasher vessels for paisach but to buy new ones

I asked a Rav, the Rav said there is no such minhag, no reason to avoid kashering even when easy

But now I found this video

who is correct?

Sources on subject greatly appreciated


texts: Fasting when Navi on Klaf falls on the floor

texts: As is known, if a Sefer Torah falls on the floor (even if it's covered) there is a halacha that one must fast. (See this question and answer for many sources on this topic.) What about in a case when Navi or Kesuvim that was written on klaf fell on the floor (either when it was covered or not covered it -- if there is any difference in regards to Navi/Kesuvim)?


texts: My name is Paul Avila (yea, I know, doesn't sound Jewish at all)  I was born in the Azores Portugal and moved to the United States when I was 2.  People always ask me if I am Persian.  Never understood why.  Especially with a Spanish, or what I thought was a Spanish last name.  As I did a Google search for my last name, it came up as being Sephardic Jewish.  I have no idea what Sephardic means and can't find to much about it on the net just tidbits here and there. My question is, has anyone here ever heard of a Sephardic Jew.  If so, do you know where I can get more information about it?  Very confused, never even knew there were Jews in Portugal.  Please forgive me if this is not the right forum to ask this question.


texts: Why did God not prevent all 3 patriarchs from going to Egypt during a famine?

texts:
The Ramban strongly criticized Abraham for leaving the Holy Land during a famine, and cited that episode as the reason for the Jews' enslavement in Egypt:

And you should know that our father Abraham committed a great sin unintentionally, when he brought his righteous wife to stumble into sin because of his fear of getting killed.  He should have trusted God to have saved him, his wife and all that was his... God would [also] have saved him from dying in the famine. And because of this deed it was decreed that his seed would be in exile in Egypt under the hand of Pharaoh. [Ramban on Genesis 12:10]

But Abraham's son Isaac almost did the same, but God told him not to:

There was a famine in the land -- aside from the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham -- and Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar.
The Lord had appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt.  Stay in the land which I point out to you. Reside in this land, and I will be with you and bless you.  I will assign all these lands to you and to your heirs, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham." [Gen. 26:1-2]

Then Isaac's son Jacob did the same.  [Gen. 46:6]
So why did God explicitly prevent Isaac from going to Egypt, but not his father Abraham or his son Jacob?


texts: How would one locate a specific book in a Bet Midrash?

texts:
I am modifying this "latent" question that I asked about 2 years ago. For those who have access, you can view the original version. I'm leaving the basic topic, the same, though.

I'm comfortable learning in a Bet Midrash. I can locate most of the "basic" books that I need such as a Chumash, Gemarah and Ramba"m. But the Bet Midrash is filled with loads of other books, many of them commentaries - Shitah Mekubetzet, Rabbeinu Bechayeh, etc. I'm not sure what many of these books are for.

Occasionaly, I find a somewhat "obscure" book mentioned, such as in this M.Y. answer. This is a sample. But, in general, if I saw the title of a book mentioned, and wasn't sure what "category" the book was in, how would I be able to locate this in a Bet Midrash?

View this question from a novice's standpoint. Let's say someone comes into the Bet Midrash late at night and he's pretty much there, alone. He reads the Shulchan Aruch, let's say, and it talks about some other reference that he hasn't heard of. How would he know where to look if there's no directory or catalog?

Is there any book, video or online guide or even a yeshiva that does a basic "Guide to the Bet Midrash" or something like that? What about a Yeshiva or Bet Midrash that has a computer "info database" or an information desk, like most libraries have? If not, I wonder why there isn't. Something like this would be a huge benefit to both novices and experienced people as well. How else would someone become more efficient in his own learning?


texts: Can a Jew enter into personally made covenants with Hashem and are these held to the same standard as the true Jewish covenant?

texts:
I'm curious if there exists the ability for a Jew to challenge themselves and their faith to Hashem by creating new obstacles which don't actually exist in Jewish law.

I was reading about the Nazarite's vow and how these individuals entered into a separate observance with their own set of additional rules to follow.

That made me wonder if a Jew could theoretically do the same thing but simply make up the challenge or rules each time. Say a Jew commits to Hashem that they will no long eat the flesh of an animal. Would that become a standard of their existence from that point forward (an extension of Kashrut) or would it really not be considered binding in the way other commitments are binding (Torah)

The only thought I had was it might possibly be a problem since you hear Catholics routinely "give up something" for lent. So it's possible that the practice could be seen as mirroring an idolatry.

I was curious what is known on the subject.


texts: The patriarchs and Hannah, after whom we model our davening, all davened alone. From where do we learn the strong preference for davening with a minyan? Also, there always was a minyan in the Temple. From where do we learn the reason for a minyan in the Temple? Did any or all of the korbanot require a minyan?  Is our davening with a minyan today related to the minyan in the Temple?


texts: is water made by electrolysis considered 'rain' for purposes of mikveh?

texts: I understand that water fit for mikveh is usually produced by rainfall. However, there are increasing numbers of municipalities where the collection of rain water is illegal.  If hydrogen and oxygen gas are ignited together by electricity, this produces water.  If said water falls naturally into a mikveh without being channeled or redirected, is this equivalent to rainfall falling into the mikveh?


texts: What to do with idol worship relics or impure objects

texts: Once knowing the truth of the Torah, and the seven noahide laws,I disposed of many things. I want to know how exactly are you to dispose of these things.( Parashat Re'eh) gives a set of instructions on what to do once the Nation of isreal enter eretz Israel Im wandering if the same procedure is expected for a non Jew


texts:
On the pasuk "Tamim tihye im Hashem Elokecha" (Devarim 18:13), Rashi says :

  Conduct yourself with Him with simplicity and depend on Him, and do not inquire of the future; rather, accept whatever happens to you with [unadulterated] simplicity and then, you will be with Him and to His portion

What is the sentiment that Rashi is trying to convey here? Is it that tamim tihye means we should act with simplicity - i.e. we should have simple faith in Hashem and not try to guess the future, but rather simply accept whatever happens as part of His plan?

But if so, then we also shouldn't be looking into the future at all - including using science (which is all about calculating future events) or natural law. But that's just hishtadlus and we do it all the time, and in fact, are obligated to perform.

I understand that maybe this is talking only inquiring of the future from astrologers/diviners. But, again, if the thrust of tamim tihye is the generic notion of simple acceptance of whatever comes, and of not trying to be clever and calculating, then it should have a much broader scope than just astrology.


texts: Significance of the various Shabbos dishes

texts:
Many people (especialy chassidim) are very particular to have certain foods on Shabbos. Fish, soup, cholent, liver, eggs and onions, kugel, and I'm sure I'm missing a few others.

What is/are the significance of these foods? (asides from tasting good!)

What other special Shabbos foods am I missing?


texts: Why is there room to allow for riding a bike on Shabbat, but not playing a musical instrument?

texts:
As I understand prohibition of both is under the basis that it could lead to them being repaired. However there are poskim that consider riding a bike permissible.
Why would it be okay to ride a bike but not play an instrument with this in mind?


texts:
Based on my understanding of Tzaraas, it seems like what ultimately makes or breaks whether a person is considered impure is whether or not the Kohen declares the person impure.

What would happen nowadays if a Kohen would declare that a person is afflicted with Tzaraas?


texts:
Rabbi Finkel from Mir would give Smicha as follows. He would randomnly take out one of the volumes of Shulchan Aruch (any section)and randomly open the page - and show it to the testee. He would then close the book and make the testee discuss the complete page - with all the commentaries on that page.

Are there any official accountings of this? Maybe some additional details on how this can be accomplished in Judaism? or how such a feat was achieved, practically?


texts: In Shabbos Shacharis which is right “sheboro bemidas rachamim” or “sheboro bemidas HOrachamim”?

texts: In the brocho of “hakol yoducho” Shabbos Shacharis, some siddurim have “sheboro bemidas rachamim” while some have “sheboro bemidas HOrachamim”. Why?


texts: Why do we honor Gedalia, who was condemned for murder, with a fast day?

texts:
Gedaliah was informed that Yishmael ben Nesania was going to try to kill him. He ignored this, thinking it a lie (Yirmiyahu 40:16). Because of this mistake, the Torah (Yirmiyahu 41:9) attributes Yishmael's murders to Gedalia (Nidah 61a).

Yet we fast on the day of his death, and not just because of the massacre that took place, or the loss of what little self-governance was left. We call the fast day "The Fast of Gedaliah," not "The Third of Tishrei." Furthermore, Gedaliah's death is equated to the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash (Rosh Hashanah 18b).

Why is Gedaliah given such great honor and recognition? Seemingly, G-d (and the Rabbis) didn't think too highly of him at all. We honor him with a fast day named for him; the only person in fact, besides Esther, to have this honor, which not even the greatest of the Neviim and Nesiim have.

Any insight?


texts: Why does Achashveirosh ask who is responsible for the decree against the Jews?

texts:
In Esther 7:5 it says

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ הַמֶּ֣לֶךְ אֲחַשְׁוֵר֔וֹשׁ וַיֹּ֖אמֶר לְאֶסְתֵּ֣ר הַמַּלְכָּ֑ה מִ֣י ה֥וּא זֶה֙ וְאֵֽי־זֶ֣ה ה֔וּא אֲשֶׁר־מְלָא֥וֹ לִבּ֖וֹ לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת כֵּֽן׃
Thereupon King Ahasuerus demanded of Queen Esther, “Who is he and where is he who dared to do this?”

Esther had just explained that she and her people had been sold to be wiped out. This was exactly what Haman proposed (3:9) to the king only a few days earlier. Why is the king asking who is responsible for the decree, surely he knows!?


texts: The Aramaic word דמסתפינא  came up in a sefer of mine,would anyone know what it means ?


texts: Can you walk and chew gum at the same time?

texts:
Rambam (Hil. Edus 11:4) writes (translation from here):

  ...base people are disqualified as witnesses by Rabbinic decree. This refers to people who walk through the marketplace eating in the presence of everyone... and the like. The rationale is that they are not concerned with their own shame.

This is cited as the halachah, in practically identical wording, in Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 34:18.

Does this also apply to chewing gum or the like?


texts: The book, Meam Loez, written by Yaakov Culi in Ladino, has been translated into many languages. Has it been translated into Russian? If so, where can it be found? I know many Russians that would be helped by this book.


texts: Is it permissible to make money from writing Torah books?

texts:
I  know that Torah needs to be taught for free (Hilchos Talmud Torah 1.2):

  ...אסור ללמד תורה בשכר שנאמר ואותי צוה ה' בעת ההיא ללמד אתכם חוקים ומשפטים מה אני בחנם אף אתם בחנם...

And, if not required, it is preferable not to make money from one's Torah learning even if, when learning, one did not have the money in mind (ibid 4.14):

  ...כל הנהנה מדברי תורה נוטל חייו מן העולם...

And ibid 4.16:

  אך מי שחננו ה' שיוכל להתפרנס ממעשה ידיו שיעשה עראי לבד ותורתו קבע אסור לו להתפרנס מהתורה אף על פי שמניח מלאכתו ומעשה ידיו בשביל זה שהוא שכר בטלה דמוכח.
  ואפילו מתמנה להורות הוראות שיש לו פנאי הרבה ללמוד ויוכל לבא לידי ידיעת התורה כולה מאחר שאם היה מתפרנס ממעשה ידיו והיה עושה תורתו קבע היה מקיים מצות ודברת בם ואף שלא היה יכול לבא לידי ידיעת התורה כולה במשך זמן כזה שיוכל לבא עכשיו הרי אמרו לא עליך המלאכה לגמור ולכך אין עליו להשתמש בכתר תורה בשביל כך.
  אלא אם כן רבים צריכים לו שאין במדינה גדול בחכמה כמוהו והוא בורח מן הגדולה והגדולה מחזרת אחריו שאז עון בידו להמנע וחייב הוא להתמנות.

Is making money from a book an exception (i.e. that one is allowed to make the money for the work he did in writing it), even when it is not necessary (e.g. he has enough money for sustenance already) or is it like teaching?

What if you are not the writer but the publisher, can you pay the writer (if he needs it) and then make profit from selling the writer's books?


texts: Why introduce the same pasuk differently in Shacharit for Shabbat?

texts:
The pasuk (Tehillim 146:10)

  יִמְלֹ֤ךְ יְהוָ֨ה ׀ לְעוֹלָ֗ם אֱלֹהַ֣יִךְ צִ֭יּוֹן לְדֹ֥ר וָדֹ֗ר הַֽלְלוּ־יָֽהּ

Is used at the conclusion of the Kedusha. However, in most iterations, it is introduced with the statement:

  וּבְדִבְרֵי קָדְשְׁךָ כָּתוּב לֵאמר

referring to Tehillim as "divrei kodshecha" in a manner parallel to the references to the p'sukei k'tuvim cited in the Rosh Hashana musaf.

However, in Shacharit for Shabbat, the same pasuk, in the same place in Kedusha is introduced with

  כַּדָּבָר הָאָמוּר בְּשִׁירֵי עֻזֶּֽךָ עַל יְדֵי דָוִד מְשִֽׁיחַ צִדְקֶֽךָ

[I recall reading the Artscroll notes which said that the pasuk was added in the construction of the prayer to ensure that there is a mention of the future redemption/temple in each prayer, so the use seems to be the same -- added to the song of the angels]

Why in one particular form of Kedusha is David mentioned by name as the author of this pasuk while everywhere else, it is simply introduced as a quote from "divrei kodshecha"?


texts:
What is the Process if you are Laining Meggilah for women only:
Who makes the Bracha? Before and  after? Can a person who has already heard be yotzeh the Women? Does it make a difference if it is Multiple women or one?


texts:
It says in Shabbos (12a) that one should always check his pockets on Friday so he won't accidentally carry on Shabbos.

I don't understand the purpose of this checking. Even if one did carry unintentionally, he would have been a Misasek which is Pattur (and possibly Muttar). According to Rava, who says that we don't make a Gezeira LeGezeira (11b), why check one's pockets?


texts: The custom among all Jews (as far as I know) is to spill a drip of wine for each of the plagues as they are mentioned in a list in the haggadah. This custom is not mentioned anywhere in the Talmud (as far as I know). What is the earliest source to mention this custom? Does it encourage or discourage the practice? What reason does it give?


texts: Why is the Lubavitch custom to have short Peoth?

texts:
If R' Schneur Zalman of Liadi had long Peoth, as in this famous sketch, why is it not the custom in Lubavitch circles these days for adult men to maintain long, emphasized Peoth as it is in many other Hasidic groups?

(Of course this is not strictly a Hasidic custom; there are many others who grow out their Peoth. I'm just comparing the practice of one Hasidic group against, it seems, nearly all the others.)


texts: Splitting Sefira Mourning Practices According to Rav Moshe Feinstein

texts: People hold of the restrictions of the seven-week omer period (shaving and listening to music, for example) at various times: some hold approximately the first five weeks; others, approximately the last five weeks.  I heard in a shiur that Rav Moshe Feinstein holds that one can hold by both periods of the omer for different prohibitions.  One half for shaving and the other for music.  Where can it be found in his teshuvos?


texts:
Related to my Kaddish on a plane question, as well as this Praying on an airplane question, assuming one is aware, and respectful, of the ruling not to form a Minyan on an airplane, what should one do if an airplane Minyan is forming (or has formed)?

Should one join the Minyan:
a. if his participation gives the Minyan its 10th man?
b. if it is happening without his participation anyway?
Should one discourage the Minyan, which could potentially create a larger disturbance?


texts: Who was the first ordained rabbi to live in the USA? What was his position?


texts: Why did Hashem tell Moshe to look behind him when looking into Eretz Yisroel?

texts:
The Posuk says:
וְשָׂא עֵינֶיךָ יָמָּה וְצָפֹנָה וְתֵימָנָה וּמִזְרָחָה וּרְאֵה בְעֵינֶיךָ
The question is Moshe is standing in Chutz Laretz why look back thats not Eretz Yisroel that is also Chutz Lareatz why did Hashem tell him to look Back?


texts: Does the name Rami (רמי) have a meaning based in Judaism? If so, what is it?

texts:
Does the name Rami (רמי), as used by figures in the Talmud such as Rami bar Papa and Rami bar Chama, have a meaning based in Judaism? If so, what is it?

If רמ means high or exalted, does רמי mean my exalted?

I am assuming that the name רמי is a full proper Jewish name and not a nickname for Rahamim or Yermiyahu.


texts: Jewish married man having relations with Jewish divorced woman

texts: What is the Halacha of a Jewish married man engaging in physical relations with a Jewish divorced woman.


texts: Saying Yaale v'Yavo out loud to remind others during Amida

texts: Some people recite Yaale v'Yavo out loud while saying the Amida prayer, to remind others to say it. This would help others who would have forgotten from having to repeat the entire Shmonei Esrei. Is this practice against halacha, considering that it is supposed to be a silent prayer?


texts:
The Torah says that the cities of Levi'im must have surrounding areas of either 2000 or 3000 Amahs. However, I didn't see how those cities' sizes were determined in the first place.

How Levi tribe (incl. Cohanim) was divided between those 48 cities, and how much footage did everyone get inside the city walls?


texts: I'm in the middle of Tachanun when they take out the Torah; what do I do?

texts: This happens to me a lot on Mondays and Thursdays:  I'm just putting down my head to finish Tachanun when the baal tefilah says kaddish, the aron is opened and the Torah is taken out.  Do I stop what I'm doing? Stand up? Answer "amen" and "y'he shmei rabba" to the kaddish?  Say "vay'he binsora"?  Or should I continue with Tachanun until I'm done?


texts: Visualizing the story of Bnot Moav (Parashat Balak)

texts:
Jews are the people of [the] book, but I'm more a person of movies. I'm trying to visualize the stories in the Torah, like directing a movie and I find it difficult with some.

In our story there are some facts that all interpreters I read seemingly ignore :

The Jewish camp was situated at least a couple of miles from other nations borders. So if the men wanted to go out that would be a time-consuming adventure, not mentioning the danger (they could be killed one by one).
The camp was pretty packed (a couple of millions on a couple of square miles area). So it's improbable that the Moabite women came straight to the camp either.
All men (at least the tens of thousands that were killed) were grown-ups, most married with children. They should have been sexually satisfied (פת בסלו) and morally restrained by their families.

I can't imagine a real (non-metaphorical) situation where tens of thousands of Jewish men can simultaneously have long-lasting affairs with gentile women.

Did anyone explain how that was possible?


texts: Receiving dishes from a Jew - toivel (immerse)?

texts:
I inherited a set of dishes from a Jew.

I don't know how observant this Jew was.

Do I need to toivel them?


texts: It appears to me that many Jews are careful to cover the face of a dead person as soon as the person dies. What is the reason for this? Is there a halacha that requires this? Or is it just a minhag? What is the source for this idea?


texts: Why do we read the story of Korach by the Levi portion?

texts:
In parshas Ki Sisa, the portion of Levi is long in order not to read the story of the eigel (golden calf) by the regular Yisroelim in order not to embarrass them by repeating their transgressions. The Leviim didn't participate in the Eigel so therefore we read it by their portion. (Magen Avraham Orach Chayim siman 449 and Machatzis Hashekel there)
However, in Parshas Korach we read the story of Korach who was a Levi, during the portion of Kohen and Levi. Why don't we afford the same courtesy to the Leviim as we give to the rest of Klal Yisroel?


texts: Attaching something by way of a hook on Shabbos -- problem of binyan (building)?

texts:
I will pose the question with the following example. Someone on their porch has a wooden beam structure that has on it metal rings that one can attach a swing to by the way of a hook. The swing can be easily attached and detached. Is it muter to "hang" up the swing on Shabbos by attaching the hook to the ring? Is this a problem of "binyan" (building)? Does it depend how long it'll be there fore? Nothing is screwed in or attached with a similar more "permanent" method, rather you press down on the hook and latch it onto the ring.

Update: The following is an image of an eye bolt that is used to hang the swing from.

There is a chain that has on the end of it a sort of "hook" that will be attached to the eye bolt. The following I'll use as an example however not necessarily this exact thing:

So again we have a swing with a chain on with sides. At the end of the chain there is the clamp/hook/whatever it's called that will be attached to the eye bolt. I realize the one pictured here sometimes has an option to "screw" it into place, let's say this will be done without screwing (or that it doesn't have that option. From the picture here there doesn't appear to be any "screwing" option. Is this swing muter to hang up on Shabbos? Would it make a difference on how much time it'll be there for?