texts: Does the Midrash imply that one should give up his life for "smaller" mitzvos?

texts:
The Midrash (Bamidbar Rabbah 14:6) expounds the Pesukim in Koheles (8:2-3):

Based on several incidents, the Midrash interprets "ani" as indicating that one's awe should be over you. Thus, "Ani, the king's command, obey" means "obey the king's command to fear him." I.e. don't rebel against him.

You might think this is true even if he says to disobey the Torah; therefore the passuk continues, "and above, the word of an oath of G-d." Just like one may not obey his parents if they tell him to disobey the Torah (specifically Shabbos is the example brought), so may one not obey a king if he tells him to disobey the Torah. Fine.

The Midrash continues: "Do not become flustered by his countenance and go" - even if he becomes angry with you, do not sin. It brings a proof that "countenance" indicates anger from a passuk in Daniel and that "going" means sinning from a passuk in Tehillim. "Do not stand because of an evil thing" - do not sin because of his threats. In the Midrash's wording, "that you should not be scared by his evil thing he says to you, that he'll burn you, that he'll kill you, that he'll torture you if you don't listen to him."

Yet, the Gemara (Sanhedrin 74a) says that, typically speaking, one does not have to give up his life to fulfill mitzvos. So how can the Midrash say that one should not listen to the king's decree even on pain of death? From the comparison to parents ordering their children to disobey Shabbos, it sounds like that is the case of the king as well - ordering his subjects to disobey the "lighter" mitzvos. How can this be, when we have a rule that one shouldn't give up his life in such circumstances?

Granted, the above Gemara also says that in a time of persecution (read: they want you to denounce Judaism), one should be killed even for a well-rooted minhag such as the order of tying one's shoes (see Rashi there). The discussion of a king being upset with his subject would seem to indicate that he simply wants him to violate the Torah, not that he wants him to give up Yiddishkeit. Must we deduce that a king's order is comparable to a time of persecution, and if so, why?


texts: Could pipes from a boiler to a sink ever be considered a kli sheini?

texts:
A reason why having two sinks, in a kitchen, is justified, is because hot meat and milk cleaned or mixed together in a single sink could constitute bishul; one of the three prohibitions of "לֹא-תְבַשֵּׁל גְּדִי, בַּחֲלֵב אִמּוֹ" (Shemot 23:19, 34:26, Deut. 14:21)

The hot water that arrives at one's sink comes from a boiler, which flows through pipes before it reaches your sink. Are there any opinions that suggest that pipes containing water constitute a kli sheini? The ramification being, that there could be no prohibition of cleaning/mixing hot meaty and milky items in a sink together (for those that hold that there is no bishul in a kli sheini, even when it is above yad soledet boh).


texts: Is there a significance to the number of witnesses at Har Sinai?

texts:
It is said there were 2-3 million present at Matan Torah. (Not sure what the consensus on the exact number is.)

Numbers are important in Judaism. 613 mitzvot. Seven days of creation, gematria, thirteen attributes of mercy, twenty-four kohanic gifts, etc. Just wondering if there was a significance to the total people present. Could there have been just maybe 10,000 present? Ten million? Why the 2-3 million?


texts: Thirsty from before starting a bread meal, now wanting to drink in the middle of the meal

texts:
It says in Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim Siman 174 Sif 7 that one doesn't make a bracha on water in the middle of a seudah (bread-based meal). Even if the person was thirsty from before the seudah (and didn't drink water then since it might hurt him (see there Shulchan Aruch and Mishnah Brurah Sif-Katan 31)) and drinks now in the middle of the seudah, still a bracha is not made. The reason he is drinking now is because of the pas (bread) and that exempts the bracha on the water.

In general if a person would drink before the seudah and wouldn't be concerned for what it says in Shulchan Aruch, and was in fact thirsty but for whatever reason didn't drink, do they make a bracha then in the middle of the seudah (since they are drinking in order to quench their thirst)?

What about in a situation where a person was in fact thirsty but was unable to drink (like Friday night before Kiddush.) In such a case they would have drunk and weren't worried about what it says in Shulchan Aruch. However they weren't able to drink yet since they didn't make kiddush. Does a bracha have to be made now on the water (or whatever drink it might be) that they are drinking in the middle of the seudah in order to quench their thirst (assuming they didn't drink any wine from the kiddush of course)?


texts:
The gemara (Brachoth 13b) records that one is supposed to draw out the ד of "אחד" in the first verse of the Shema:

.תניא: סומכוס אומר: כל המאריך באחד מאריכין לו ימיו ושנותיו
אמר רב אחא בר יעקב: ובדלי"ת. אמר רב אשי: ובלבד שלא יחטוף בחי"ת. ר' ירמיה
הוה יתיב קמיה דר' [חייא בר אבא], חזייה דהוה מאריך טובא, א"ל: כיון
דאמליכתיה למעלה ולמטה ולארבע רוחות השמים תו לא צריכת
There is a teaching: Symmachus says: Whoever prolongs the pronunciation of the word "אחד," his days and years are prolonged for him. Rav Aha b. Jacob said : Especially the letter ד. Rav Ashe said: Only he must not slur over the letter ח. R. Jeremiah was sitting in the presence of R. Hiyya b. Abba, and noticed that he prolonged exceedingly. He said to him : So long as thou hast proclaimed His Kingship above and below and to the four directions of heaven, more than that is not required of thee.

This is not really possible with the way Ashkenazim pronounce the ד.
From a halachik perspective, what are the correct ways to pronounce the ד (dalet)? What are the variant traditions? Is there an academic/linguistic opinion on how it was most likely pronounced from the time of the giving of the Torah to the writing of the Talmud? How old are the 2 variant pronunciations of the ד (with and without a dagesh)? What are the earliest references to this distinction? Is there any halachik significance to pronouncing it one way over the other? Is it just considered a hiddur (beautification of the commandment)?


texts: Has the original text of the Gazeira of Rabbeinu Gershom been lost.  If so when?  Who are the earliest sources stating such?


texts: PTIJ: Are there any Judaic on-line stores that sell Yiddishe cups?

texts:
I've checked Eichler's and even looked on EBay but I haven't found a real Yiddishe drinking cup, preferably one strong enough for piping hot coffee.
Does anyone know any on-line site that sells them?
This question is Purim Torah and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the Purim Torah policy.


texts: Are the works of Maimonides treated as divinely inspired?

texts:
How are the writings of Moses Maimonides typically "seen" by Jews?

Are his works considered to be directly inspired by God (such as the Tanakh) and therefore infallible, or are they considered to be "good writings" (such as an Encyclopedia, or any secular historical work), prone to error, but still an excellent source of information?


texts: If someone has gum disease and his gums frequently (or always) bleed when he eats, is he restricted to a liquid diet on Shabbos and Yom Tov?


texts: Is it permissible to learn out loud while the tzibbur is davening?

texts:
In my local shul during mincha/maariv a daf yomi chabura learns out loud during davening in the same beis medrash as the rest of the tzibbur.

Do they have a right to do so? The problem is that I can't concentrate at all and my davening is ruined.

Are there any halachos regarding people learning and devening in the same room?


texts:
Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (28:9) writes:

לא ישרטט איזה קונטרס על הספר, לפי שאין קדושה בקונטרס, עד שיכתבו בו
You should not draw lines on notebook [while] on [a holy] book, because the notebook is not sacred until [something sacred] is written on it

Seemingly, once one has written in the notebook, it would be permitted to place it on top of other sefarim. Are there any sources that says so (or against doing so) explicitly?


texts: Why no positive feedback from Moses in his reproof for everything Israel did good?

texts:
I'm a big fan of Positive Psychology approach to education, reinforcing positive behaviors instead of discouraging negative ones.

When Moses is scolding the nations for the sins [of the previous generation!] I haven't noticed much of positive feedback for all the good things they did, like agreeing to exit Egypt and fulfilling all the Pesach obligations, crossing the Red sea, singing the Song and believing in Moses and G-d, for their exceptional behavior at Mt. Sinai, donating for the Mishkan, building it and bringing sacrifices, 40 years of studying Torah and fulfilling Mitzvos while being convicted to die at any day. For fighting the wars they were commanded to and they even killing each other when commanded to.

And all Moses chooses to discuss are the moments of their weaknesses.

Why is this gloomy approach?

NB, I know that your first move will be to search feverishly for counterexamples, but I'd like to see the big picture.


texts:
There is a "classic" model of the Beis Hamikdash (I think it's from the  HolyLand model).

Are there any sources for the decisions taken in the model (for example, what components were done based on

Rambam/Mishna [Jewish traditional sources]
Josephus
Archeology
Assumptions of the designer. )

For example, most models that I've seen had those triangles on top of the Ulam (which are meant to chase away the birds) the same size (and the same amount of) as other models. Is this based on anything or just an assumption of the architect behind the Holyland design?


texts: The blessing שהחינו for a new wrist watch?

texts: If you acquire a new wrist watch, do you make the blessing Sheheheyyanu?


texts:
I have noticed that there are a few popular printings of the Mishna B'rura that come with footnote references to the Chazon Ish on each halacha where the two disagree (example).

I have also noticed a couple popular editions of the Aruch Hashulchan in which there are footnote references to the Mishna B'rura (example) where the two of them disagree.

What is the motivation behind these footnotings? Is the implication that the primary author's opinion is overruled by the footnoted one and therefore should not be considered on its own without the help of the other posek?
Why doesn't someone just cut out the middle man and print an Aruch Hashulchan with the Chazon Ish?

NOTE: I would be happy to hear that my cynicism is misplaced. This discussion seems to support it though.


texts: What if someone thinks he is a Jew but his ancestor had not orthodox conversion/was gentile?

texts:
So I thought. These days, most Orthodox Jews would not consider people converted in a Conservative or Reform branch of Judaism jewish, right? But how do you know, as an Orthodox Jew, that you are 100 % jewish? I mean what if his or hers ancestor back back in a time converted in other branches of Judaism and he or she just do not know it? And you cannot prove it? Or there was no proper conversion whatsoever?

Is there some opinion dealing with this?


texts: Canaanite wives of the Bnei Ya'akov (Sefer HaYashar)

texts:
Avraham was extremely careful that Yitzchak not marry a Canaanite and as we know, he married Rivkah bas Besuel ben Nachor. Yitzchak was very careful that Ya'akov not marry a Canaanite and as we know he married Leah and Rachel bnos Lavan ben Besuel ben Nachor. The pasuk in VaYeishev specifically says that Yehudah married the daughter of Shua the Canaanite. VaYigash says that Shimon's youngest son Shaul was a son of a Canaanitess.

Sefer HaYashar to Parshas VaYeishev (Chapter 45) says as follows:

"Then Re'uven ben Ya'akov went towards Timnas and took Elioram bas Evi the Canaanite for a wife for himself and he came to her. She conceived and Elioram wife of Re'uven bore him Chanoch and Pallu and Chetzron and Karmi four sons. And Shimon his brother had taken Dinah his sister for a wife and she bore him Yemuel and Yamin and Ohad and Tzochar five sons. And after that, Shimon had come to Bonah the Canaanite that is Bonah who Shimon had captured from the city of Shechem. Bonah was before Dinah and she attended to her and Shimon came to her and she bore him Shaul. And Yehudah had gone at that time to Adulam and he turned to an Adullamite man and his name was Chirah. Then Yehudah saw there a daughter of a Canaanite man and her name was Eilis bas Shua and he took her and he came to her. Then Eilis bore to Yehudah Er and Onan and Shelah three sons."

The rest of the brothers do not marry Cana'anites, Levi and Yissachar marry two granddaughters of Yoktan ben Ever. Dan marries a Moabite. Gad and Naphtali marry two great-granddaughters of Nachor. Asher marries a Yishmaelite and then a granddaughter of Yoktan. Zevulun marries a Midianite (discussed here The wife of Zevulun (Sefer HaYashar)). Binyamin marries an Aram-Zovah-ite and a daughter of Zimran ben Avraham. Yehudah then Tamar bas Eilam ben Shem and Yoseph marries Osenas.

Why was Ya'akov not so careful that his sons not marry Canaanites?

In addition, I heard that Osenas was actually the daughter that Dinah had with Shechem, which would make Osenas a Canaanite as well.


texts: Pronunciation of "Bay Ana racheetz (or rachaytz)

texts:
On Shabbos, just after opening the Ark and singing the paragraph ending in

  ברוך שנתן תורה לעמו ישראל בקדושתו

we read a paragraph from the Zohar that ends in a few sentences that in every congregation other than a chabad that I've been to, the congregation sings, starting with בא אנא רחיץ.

In the art scroll siddur, that last word is vowelized with a Chirik (one dot) under the ח, thus "racheetz".  However, in many congregations it seems to be pronounced as if the vowel were two horizontal dots (tzeirei) thus as "rachaytz".  I have seen in different siddurs this alternative vowelization.

I realize that in any Aramaic passage such as this there could be ambiguity done the centuries on how words are to be vowelized, but this passage is so ubiquitous in use that I would not expect the "right" vowels to have been forgotten in time.

Is there some genuine argument over which is proper, or if not, which is the "right" pronunciation?


texts: What intention should one be having when reciting "baruch shem kevod malchuto le'olam vaed" in the shema?


texts: I’ve a short question about the biblical name Yoash (יאש or יואש or יהואש, see e.g. מלכים ב:י"ב:ב), online I came across the meaning of: ‘HaShem has given’ or ‘Given by HaShem’, many times. But how can the word אש, which means fire, mean ‘given’?


texts: when I was younger one of my rabbi's told be that gelilah is like u get all the aliyah. I am wondering what the source on this if this is true?


texts:
I was listening to song called Ki Ein by Yonatan Shlagbaum.

Here are the words to his song:
He כי אין הקב"ה אוהב אלא למי שאוהב את ישראל וכל מה שאדם מגדיל אהבתו לישראל, גם הקב"ה מגדיל עליו

Where does this song come from and what do the words mean?


texts: Why do we recite Sh'losh Esrei Middos 3 times during the pre-Torah service on the High Holidays?

texts: It seems odd the we would repeat the 13 middos of God three times in a row, it is as if we are saying there are 39 middos. So why do we say the Sh'losh Esrei Middos three times in a row on the yomim naroim when taking out the Sefer Torah from the Ark?


texts: Are Hillel and R. Akiva saying the same thing?

texts:
Shabbat 31a:

  אמר לו דעלך סני לחברך לא תעביד זו היא כל התורה כולה ואידך פירושה הוא זיל גמור

  [Hillel] said to him: "That which is hateful to you do not do to another; that is the entire Torah, and the rest is its interpretation. Go study."

Yerushalmi Nedarim 30b:

  ואהבת לרעך כמוך. רבי עקיבה אומר זהו כלל גדול בתורה.

  "Love your neighbor as yourself". R. Akiva said: "This is a great principle of the Torah."

These two statements sound very similar to each other. However, there are some subtle differences:

Hillel uses a negative formulation, where R. Akiva uses the positive, biblical expression.
Hillel calls his principle "the entire Torah", whereas R. Akiva's is a "great principle of the Torah".

Are Hillel and R. Akiva in fact expressing identical sentiments?

If yes, why is the wording different? In particular, why would Hillel choose to paraphrase a biblical verse?

If they are actually different ideas, what is the difference?


texts: Difference between "face of" and "faces of" in Hebrew

texts:
If you want to say "face of gold" (sing.) in Hebrew, you say פני זהב.

If you want to say "faces of gold" (plural) in Hebrew, you say _______.

Part of the difficulty is that the Hebrew word for "face", פנים, is one of those unique nouns which are plural in their grammatical form, but singular conceptually. That being the case, is there any way to identify between whether a verse means "face of" or "faces of", assuming there weren't other telling signs in the verse?

A few examples:

In Bamidbar 20:10, when it speaks of פני הסלע, is there any way to know whether it means "face of" or "faces of" the rock?
In the words (from the Ramban) of הסתר פני הגאולה, is there any way to know whether he means "face" or "faces" of redemption?


texts: Let's say I'm on my computer in the United States on a Friday afternoon, well before the sun has set in the US, but after it has set in Israel. If I access an Israeli website during this time, am I violating the Shabbat? Or could I potentially be causing an Israeli Jew to violate the Shabbat?


texts: Which mourning laws does an Ashkenazi son follow after his Sefardi mother's death?

texts: An Ashkenazi son (his father was a Yekke) who mourns after his Sefardi mother - does he follow Ashkenazi Minhagim of Avelut (Kaddish for 11 months exactly for example) of Sefardi?


texts:
In the Koren Tehillim on Psalm 110 there is a footnote stating that: Radak goes as far as to present a 'Christian' interpretation of our psalm, which he persuasively refutes on both linguistic and theological grounds. This refutation was censored in most editions for centuries, and was inaccessible to the avarage student until recently.

I would really love to know the source for this interpretation and the refitation of RaDak and am hoping someone could provide a English translation.


texts: 603,550 Jews at Sinai and 603,550 Jews Entering Promised Land?

texts:
Why in Exodus 38:26 does it say there were 603,550 men over age 20, and then in Numbers 1:46 the exact same number (603,550) is again listed?

Didn’t all the Jews of the generation in Exodus all die out because of the golden calf? How could there be the same exact number a whole generation later?


texts: Can one have on ones contact lenses while in the mikvah? Or does one have to take them off?


texts: the measurements of Noah's arc and the arc of the covenent

texts: The volume of Noah's Ark is 450,000 cubic cubits. The volume of the Ark of the Covenant is 5.625. Noah's Ark was thus exactly 80,000 times larger than the Ark of the Covenant. Is it significant that the volume of one is exactly a clean integer larger than the other?


texts:
I am looking for a standard for transliteration of Hebrew for Sefardim, for the various nekudot and letters.

For example, how does one transliterate a כ with no dagesh? Is it kh of ch? How about ח? How are segol, sheva, and tzeirei distinguished from one another?

Ideally, I would like some published standard which is in use, and which I can point to.


texts: What is the object of the verbs in Ya'aleh V'yavo?

texts:
(This might have to be closed/migrated as about language. I'm not sure.)

In the Ya'aleh V'yavo prayer, there is an opening string of verbs. Based on what I recall of Hebrew grammar, each is written in the (gender neutral masculine) third person ("He" or "it"), singular, future tense: "It should rise, it should come, it should arrive" etc. These verbs should have an object -- a singular noun which would be what the pronoun "he" or "it" replaces.

After this list there is the phrase "zichroneinu ufikdoneinu" (rendered as "the remembrance and recollection of us," here). There are then 4 other "remembrances." The object of "it should rise" is then plural (either the "remembrance AND recollection" or that grouping plus the other 4 groupings) . Shouldn't the text then read "ya'alu, v'yavo'u" etc?

The Artscroll siddur avoids this by translating presuming that "ya'aleh" means "may there rise" which creates the numberless concept of a "rising" which would then include multiple elements. Wouldn't that be better written as "yihiyeh aliyat, uvo'at...zichroneinu ufikdoneinu"?

Is there some explanation that has all 5 of the "remembrances" as one collective "remembrance" or is there a way of understanding the prayer that has the verbs, though written in the singular, allowing plural nouns?


texts: Halachot of standing in a supermarket line

texts:
Looking for a Shu"T that covers the following issues of standing in a supermarket line (assuming there are no Dina DM laws covering that):

Is standing in a line a sort of Kinyan? Is it a monetary issue and Can it be sold or inherited (like a 4 days line for a new Ipone) or given out as a gift?
Can one refill his cart while keeping his place in a line? Does it depend if the majority of the cart is already filled or not? Can one put his empty cart in a line at the beginning and keep filling it later?
Can one use his relatives/friends to keep his place in the line while he shops around?
If a new cashier opens, who has the precedence - those who are the closest to him or those who stood the longest?
Can one hold two places in two or more lines simultaneously?
Can one decide to let another customer pass before him (like one that has a few items only)?

NB: Do Jews and Non-Jews have similar HALACHIC (not-civil) rights of standing in the line or should they be more stringent/lenient (we have this problem with the Arabs in Jerusalem's biggest supermarkets - גזל, דרכי שלום)? In other words, should a Jew behave in a more stringent/lenient way with them?


texts: Is the presence of a rabbi required for an orthodox wedding?

texts: Is it possible for two Orthodox Jews to be married by anyone other than a rabbi?


texts: Additional examples of Appealing to Bat Kol?

texts: Besides Tanuro Shel Akhnai story (B"M 59b) where R' Eliezer appealed to the Heavenly voice to prove him right, what are additional examples of Chachamim appealing to the Bat Kol to prove their truthfulness?


texts: Covering eyes when saying Shema for children

texts:
When a child is too young to say the bed-time Shema for himself, the custom is that parents say it for them as they go to bed.

Should the parent cover their own eyes, the child's eyes, or perhaps neither (or both, but I assume not)?


texts: Why didn't Avraham tell Eliezer to go get Rivka?

texts:
In Parshas Chayei Sara, Avraham tells Eliezer to go find a wife for Yitzchok from his family, כִּי אֶל אַרְצִי וְאֶל מוֹלַדְתִּי תֵּלֵךְ וְלָקַחְתָּ אִשָּׁה לִבְנִי לְיִצְחָק: and not from the Bnos Cnaan.

Towards the end of Parshas Vayeira 22:20 as Avraham is on the way back from the Akeida, Rashi mentions that Avraham was told about the birth of Rivka, Yitzchok' Zivug. אחרי הדברים האלה ויגד וגו': בשובו מהר המוריה היה אברהם מהרהר ואומר אילו היה בני שחוט כבר היה הולך בלא בנים, היה לי להשיאו אשה מבנות ענר אשכול וממרא, בשרו הקב"ה שנולדה רבקה בת זוגו, וזהו אחרי הדברים האלה הרהורי דברים שהיו על ידי עקידה:

Then why did he not just tell Eliezer go and get Rivka?


texts: Is the phrase הקדוש ברוך הוא gramatically incorrect?

texts:
Based on the answer to this M.Y. question, stating that קדוש is an adjective, wouldn't the expression  הקדוש ברוך הוא be grammatically incorrect? Shouldn't it be הקודש ברוך הוא , since קודש is a noun?

Have we been saying it incorrectly all along? The Siddur uses הקדוש ברוך הוא in many places (See end of יקום פורקן paragraphs as a sample.) Have we been doing this wrong for so many years? If the term is grammatically incorrect, how / why did this error begin, esp. in the Siddur?


texts:
In Sotah 34a, the weight of the stones at the Jordan from Joshua 4:3 is given as “about forty se’a.” Some (for instance Steinsaltz) use this in the discussion of the cluster of grapes brought back by Joshua and Caleb (Numbers 13:23) to state the cluster weighed “480 se’a.”
First, isn’t se’a a volume? Also, if you calculate the weight of the stones by using the density of, say, water, barley, or grapes, you obtain... quite high weights for the stones (to say nothing of the grapes). What is one to make of this passage? What does se’a mean in this context?


texts: Repeating elements in the story of Eliezer

texts:
As I was reading the weekly portion Chayei Sarah, it caught my attention that Eliezer's promise is repeated many times.

When Eliezer leaves to get a wife for Isaac, he promises (Bereishit 24:14):

  So let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say: Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say: Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; let the same be she that Thou hast appointed for Thy servant, even for Isaac; and thereby shall I know that Thou hast shown kindness unto my master.'

He seems to be fortunate, because Rebecca gives him water (Bereishit 24:18–19):

  And she said: 'Drink, my lord'; and she hastened, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And when she had done giving him drink, she said: 'I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.'

Then Eliezer tells Betueil the story of his promise (Bereishit 24:43–44):

  Behold, I stand by the fountain of water; and let it come to pass, that the maiden that cometh forth to draw, to whom I shall say: Give me, I pray thee, a little water from thy pitcher to drink; and she shall say to me: Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels; let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed for my master's son.

And he says that indeed, everything happened as he hoped (Bereishit 24:45–46):

  And before I had done speaking to my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the fountain, and drew. And I said unto her: Let me drink, I pray thee. And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said: Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also. So I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

In general, the Torah does not contain superfluous words, but here the story is repeated four times. Why? Are there any commentaries discussing this issue?


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

Upvote all interesting answers.

Accept the best answer.

Go on to the next number.


texts: In terms of kippot, has there ever been a debate regarding what part of the head needed to be covered?

texts:
You typically see Kippot worn two different ways.

Either on the very top of one's head. (child on right)
Or on the back of one's head (on what you might consider the "point" of the skull) - (This being most common, at least from what I've seen)

I was curious about any debates which may have occurred historically on the proper way of wearing kippot. Has there been historical disagreement or has this not been a huge topic of debate in judaism?


texts: Different miracle-publicization strategies on Chanuka and Purim

texts:
There are two commandments during the year that are explicitly associated with "publicizing the miracle" ("פירסומי ניסא"): lighting Chanuka candles and reading Megilat Esther on Purim. These are the two commandments that are associated with the blessing "... Who performed miracles for our ancestors on those days, in this season." Given that these two commandments share a goal (though they might each have other goals), I am wondering why they seem to take very different approaches to that goal, each with its own apparent strengths and weaknesses with respect to accomplishing it.

Lighting candles is a purely symbolic act that seems to mean nothing to someone who doesn't know the story, while reading the Megila explicitly tells the story. It would seem that the latter more directly publicizes the miracle.
We light candles, preferably, facing the public thoroughfare, while we read the Megila, typically, inside a synagogue, out of the public's eyes. It would seem that the former gets the message out to more people.

So, why do these two practices use such different modes to accomplish the same goal? Why don't they both combine the apparent strengths of both, so that we'd do something like shouting both stories from megaphones in the public square or putting both stories on big, lit billboards?


texts: How does saying "pasim" help us safely enunciate the name of Hashem?

texts:
I'm reading an article about the kesones pasim and birchas kohanim here, and one paragraph had me confused. The article is discussing the portion of the yehi ratzon in which we ask Hashem to act like Yaakov did when giving the kesones pasim. The Hebrew text reads

  ויהיו דברי נשמעים לעבודתך כשם שנתת את יוסף צדיק בשעה שהלבישו אביו כתונת פסים לחן ולחסד ולרחמים...

The confusing paragraph is in the article:

  Of course, the main reason we refer to the story of the kesones pasim is because saying 'pasim' enables us to safely enunciate the letters of the Sheim Hashem that is in Birchas Kohanim. But it does also have to make sense, and certainly we would not ask for something that resulted in such suffering.

How does referring to the story of the pasim "enable us to safely enunciate the letters of the Sheim Hashem" ?


texts: Why did Abraham give his sons impure gifts?

texts:
The Torah says that Abraham gave gifts to his sons (other than Isaac) and sent them away:

And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac. But to the sons of [his] concubines [he] gave gifts while he was still living, and sent them away from his son Isaac eastward, to the land of the East. [Gen 25:5-6]

The Talmud tells us what these gifts were:

ר' ירמיה בר אבא מלמד שמסר להם שם טומאה -- Rabbi Yirmiyah bar Abba says: This teaches that Abraham provided them with the name of [the supernatural spirit of] impurity [tumah], [enabling them to perform witchcraft]. [Sanhedrin 91a]

Why would Abraham give a thing like that to his sons, something the Torah would later forbid (and Abraham knew that)?  Why not give them something good?


texts: Why should we care what happened 3000 years ago in Egypt?

texts:
Why do we go to such lengths to commemorate the exodus from Egypt (and that our ancestors were slaves, etc), an event in the distant past.

What is the significance of this event for us today?


texts: If a person finds a tick on their body or the body of a small child on shabbos may the tick be removed? Is there any problem with trapping, the tick being muktzah, or creating a wound by removing it or does the possibility of contracting a dangerous disease (Lyme poisoning) outweigh other factors?


texts:
I'm going to make my first siyum soon! (Actually not, i just needed a good opener. :P) What do i need to prepare, and what exactly do i do?

Specifically: I know i should give a speech. What should it be about?

And, what do i do when making the actual siyum?

This is a how-to question, so please focus on real-world advice, preferably experience-based.

Advice should be applicable to siyums on both mishna and gemara.


texts: Are there any Counter-Samaritan proofs or essays that anyone out there knows of, i.e. Torah based proof as to the fallacy of their practices/beliefs? Thank you


texts: How did Gdoley Israel react to the landing on the Moon?

texts:
IMHO, landing on the Moon did/could seriously undermine the bases of the Jewish religious view about the nature of the celestial bodies.

How did Gdoley Israel react/deal with the landing on Moon (and maybe the space exploration in general) in their writings, talks, Shiurim? How did it influence the Yeshivisher world of that time?


texts: How does one perform maaser rishon and maaser sheni and when is it required

texts: I am aware that the first and second tithe must be performed on the fruits of Israel. What is the procedure for this and when is it required outside of the land of Israel?


texts: How does one "add a year" in the Hebrew calendar?

texts:
I'm trying to support the Hebrew calendar in my Noda Time project, and need to support an operation of "add a year" - or more generally, answer the question of "Given an original date and a target year number, what's the resulting date?"

Firstly, I'd like to check that I'm correct in saying that Microsoft gets the answer wrong in .NET. For example, consider the date of this post: 8th of Sivan, 5774. Sivan is month 10 in the civil month numbering system in a leap year, and 5774 is a leap year. If we add one year to today's date, .NET keeps the month number (10) leaving us with 8th of Tamuz, 5775 - because 5775 is not a leap year. (Supporting code is at the bottom of this question1.) To me, this feels incorrect - it's the month itself that should be preserved, not the month number.

Assuming that my approach is correct (and that we should more reasonably end up with a month number of 9, which is Sivan in a non-leap year), that still leaves some edge cases:

What should we do if we add a year to the 30th of Heshvan, and Heshvan only has 29 days in the resulting year?
Similarly, what should we do if we add a year to the 30th of Kislev, and Kislev only has 29 days in the resulting year?
What should we do if we add a year to a date in Adar I, resulting in a non-leap year?

Special case: what should we do if we add a year to the 30th of Adar I?

What should we do if we add a year to a date in Adar II, resulting in a non-leap year?
What should we do if we add a year to a date in Adar, resulting in a leap year?

I have a proposal:

If you start with a date in Adar I or Adar II and the target year is not a leap year, the result should be in Adar
If you start with a date in Adar and the target year is a leap year, the result should be in Adar II
If the result would be longer than the month length in the target yet, truncate to the last day of the month (so 30th of Adar I would map to 29th of Adar, and the Heshvan/Kislev examples would both truncate to the 29th of the same month)

I believe this is close to but not quite the same as the birthday rule specified in Calendrical Calculations (documented for Hebcal), where 30th of (Adar I/Kislev/Heshvan) would be mapped to 1st of the next month... but so long as the above proposal is reasonable under Jewish tradition, it would be more consistent with other aspects of my code. (I'm happy to throw consistency out of the window if there's good cause, but I'd prefer to keep it otherwise.)

One problematic aspect of all of this is that it has to be context-free. I'm aware that there may very well be different rules for different contexts, but I need to have a "general purpose" rule, unfortunately.

So, is this a reasonable proposal, or do I still have a lot to learn about how to answer even simple questions about the Hebrew calendar?

1 Reference .NET code:

using System;
using System.Globalization;

class Test
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var calendar = new HebrewCalendar();
        DateTime start = new DateTime(5774, 10, 8, calendar);
        // Prints 5774-10-08
        Console.WriteLine(FormatYearMonthDay(start, calendar));
        DateTime end = calendar.AddYears(start, 1);
        // Prints 5775-10-08
        Console.WriteLine(FormatYearMonthDay(end, calendar));
    }

    static string FormatYearMonthDay(DateTime date, Calendar calendar)
    {
        return string.Format("{0}-{1}-{2}",
                             calendar.GetYear(date),
                             calendar.GetMonth(date),
                             calendar.GetDayOfMonth(date));
    }
}


texts: Davening together with the shliach tzibbur on Rosh HaShanah

texts: On Rosh HaShanah one was not able to daven the quiet Shemoneh Esrei with the tzibbur. Now he wants to daven together with the Shliach Tzibbur (in order that it should be considered "tefillah b'tzibbur") and will daven word-for-word with the shliach tzibbur may he also say yotzros?


texts: Is the commonly worn undershirt known as a "beged tzitzit" actually obligated in tzitzit at all?

texts:
What is meant by ‘a garment exempt from tzitzit’? Does it mean a garment smaller than the prescribed measure? But it has been taught: A garment with
  which a child can cover his head and most of his body, and in which a grown-up person would walk out for a moment, is subject to tzitzit  (Talmud Bavli, Menachot 40b-41a)

I wouldn't walk outside wearing only that flimsy sleeveless undershirt.  It's not modest dress at all, even for a man.  I don't think most observant Jewish men would walk from their front door to the curb to pick up the newspaper, wearing only that undershirt.

That being the case, wouldn't this mean that the so-called "beged tzitzit" is not really obligated in tzitzit, and one does not receive the reward of doing a mitzvah for wearing it?

Is it a bracha l'vatala (blessing in vain) to make the blessing "al mitzvat tzitzit" on such a garment?


texts: Which Haftarah is read with the least frequency?


texts:
Footnote 35 on page 395 of William Braude's English translation of Pesikta d'Rav Kahana says, "See MhG Gen., p. 880, where an anonymous teaching characterizes all prophecies predicting redemption as no more than a pack of lies."

First of all, there is no p. 880 in Midrash HaGadol on Bereshis, as there are only 772 pages in that book, as can be seen from here.

Secondly, can anyone who has access to Midrash HaGadol check to see if it actually states this?


texts: Non-kosher, non-Jewish-run, Sushi Restaurants

texts: Is the food served at a non-kosher, non-Jewish run sushi restaurant considered non-kosher because of the non-kosher-ness of the knives, the bishul akum of the rice, or both?


texts:
Is there a special name for a congregant who follows the Torah text in the actual scroll with a yad at the bimah while someone stands next to him/her and chants the text from a chumash (when there is no trained Torah reader available who can chant directly from the Torah scroll). That congregant doesn't need to be an oleh and get an aliyah (although they can), their job is to follow the text carefully with a yad while another congregant chants it out loud from a chumash. I'm just wondering if there is a special term describing this job.

I saw this situation at a service where there was a minyan but no one knew how to chant the Torah from the scroll. So one person used a chumash instead to chant the text out loud but another congregant quietly followed the text with a yad in the actual scroll. They tried to make up for the fact that no one was able to chant it from the scroll - the text was sung out loud from the chumash and at the same time quietly traced with a yad in the Torah scroll.


texts: Hebrew Pronunciation- Sephardic Ashkenaz

texts: I often hear Ashkenazim pronouncing (or at least trying) Hebrew words in Tefila/Keriat HaTorah like Sephardim. It probably isn't only Religious Zionists but it seems to be only them. Where did the this minhag come from? I heard live from either Rav Schechter or Rav Gedalya Shwartz that even the Rav (Solevecik) and Rav Kook would pronounce the Ashkenazi style. Maybe this came from Rav Nosson Adler (the Rav of the Chasam Sofer) who used to pronounce in the Sefardisha style? This is quite interesting also for some more info. http://www.dailyhalacha.com/displayRead.asp?readID=1778&txtSearch=pronunciation


texts: Is there a list of the haftorot for the tri-annual torah reading cycle?

texts:
Based on the assumption that when the tri-annual cycle for reading the torah was prevalent there were accompanying haftorot I would like to know if a list exists of what those haftorot were.

I understand this cycle is currently in use by certain non-orthodox denominations. I do not know if the haftorot those denominations use matches what was used originally.


texts: Berith Millah in a different section of the Shul - Do you say Tahanun?

texts: Are you supposed to say Tahanun if there is a Berith Millah being held in a different section of the Shul (eg., different Minyan being held in a different room)?


texts: Is there a source for tzitzis being referred to as "the jersey of kings"?

texts: A song (Rachamana, by Ta Shma featuring Matisyahu) refers poetically to tzitzis as "the jersey of kings" - is there a source for this or a similar expression?


texts: Clear sources from gemara or rishonim for learning secular studies lechatchila?

texts:
I'm looking for clear sources in gemara or in rishonim that indicate the learning secular studies is something that should be done lechatchila as opposed to perhaps a necessary evil.
I've been told by a talmud of Rav Soloveitchik that he didn't like the Yeshiva University motto "Torah U'Mada" because he felt that mada was an integral part of torah. I'm basically asking if something like that exists in gemara or rishonim.
(I know it may seem a bit picky, but I'm looking for a source which explicitly says that secular studies are equally important as other mitzvot)
Thank you!!


texts: Is there a mitzvah to kill an apikorus that did teshuva?

texts: In Yoreh De’ah 158:2 it says that there is a mitzvah to kill an apikorus. Assuming this is in the time of the Temple (i.e Jewish/religious autonomy), if that person did teshuva, is there still a mitzvah to kill him? What if his teshuva wasn’t publicized?


texts: Brachos Daf 2a - What does Creation have to do with Krias Shema?

texts:
The Gemorah in Brachos Daf 2a asks two questions right away after
learning the Mishnah. The second is: Why is it that the Mishnah
taught about the time at night for Krias Shema first - really we
should have taught the time for the day first? (Tosfos justifies this question by pointing out that since Karbonos start by day, the order should have been the same here, too, perhaps since prayer is in place of the Karbonos.)

The Gemorah gives two answers to this:

Because the Torah says "... u'b'shachbecha u'b'kumecha." ("... and when you lie down, and when you arise.") regarding Krias Shema - therefore we teach the time of night
first.
Because, in describing Creation, the Torah says "...vayehi erev, vayehi boker ..." ("... and it was evening, and it was morning ...") Since it spoke about night first,
so does the Gemorah regarding Krias Shema.

The question is, what significance is there in understanding the Mishnah that the Gemorah had to give specifically these two answers? The first answer I can understand. However the second - what does it have to do with Krias Shema? Why should we refer to Creation as a way
to teach that we should first deal with the timing of Krias Shema at night
before day? What does Creation have to do with Krias Shema?


texts: Seeking an index for the Mishnah Berurah

texts: Can anyone tell me where I might find an index to help me to find a topic in Mishna Berura (preferably in English)?


texts: Why do we say Vehueesu "ach" samaech? Shouldnt it say maoed samaach?

texts: Doesnt ach limit it?  I would think just like we say ushmartem maoed" we should say maoed samaech - be very happy - any ideas


texts:
The narrative of 1 Shmuel 15 has to do with Shaul forfeiting his kingship because of his mercy to Agag. The root nun-het-mem (I'm seeing it translated as "repent" or "relent") appears three times, with seemingly contradictory meanings:

Verse 11: Hashem "repents" from having made Shaul king.
Verse 29: Shmuel says that "Hashem is not a man, that he should repent"
Verse 35: Hashem again repents from having made Shaul king

Why is a description of Hashem repenting juxtaposed with Shmuel's insistence that this is not an attribute of Hashem?


texts: PTIJ: Why are notable rabbis called "Moron D'asara"?

texts:
Frequently I have heard people refer to a community or their shul rabbi as a "moron d'asarah" which sounds like it means "the moron of the ten".
I guess I can understand the reference to "ten". Maybe because a shul rabbi depends on a minyan of ten men? But isn't calling a community rabbi, especially one who is well-learned and one who is a tzaddik and a community leader a "moron" extremely disrespectful? Why are so many people using this title?

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


texts: RaMBa"M's "Wondrous Point" about cooking "treif" meat from a Kosher animal with milk undermined by a simple Gemara?

texts:
Beitzah 12b seems to undermine RaMBa"M's Nekudah Niflaah that cooking and enjoying (not eating) Basar Tehorah Neveilah with milk is Mutar.

Beitzah 12a-12b has R' Yohanan appalled at the suggestion that someone who cooked Gid HaNasheh with milk on Yom Tov and ate the product is given five separate sets of lashes:

Cooking Gid on Yom Tov (there's no purpose for the product, since it's not Kosher, so there's no Ochel Nefesh).
Eating Gid.
Cooking meat and milk (not specifically on Yom Tov; just the general prohibition against cooking such a mixture).
Eating meat and milk that were cooked together.
Burning on Yom Tov (see 1).

He responds with shock and dismisses all the Yom Tov cooking violations because of Ochel Nefesh. But he doesn't say he's exempt from the lashes of cooking or eating meat and milk together.

Doesn't this undermine RaMBa"M's point that Kosher-species meat that is unKosher for other reasons is exempt from the added prohibitions of meat/milk mixtures?


texts: Eating liver instead fish on Shabbat morning seudah

texts:
There is a litvishe/yeshivishe minhag to eat liver on the Shabbat morning seudah as first plate, instead of fish. Mishna Berura 242:2 says in the name of Magen Avraham / Tikunei Shabat that it is good to eat fish all three times.

What is the source of this minhag? How can it be halachically strong enough against the Mishna Berurah, which is usually followed by them (in the lack of contradicting sources)?

Related:

Eating fish on Shabbos

Significance of the various Shabbos dishes


texts: At the hospital 2 newborns get swapped, one Jewish for one not. 20 yrs later someone realizes what happened & informs both kids of the mistake, does their status change? Does the ‘non Jewish’ boy who was raised to be a proud observant Jew need to officially convert now? And would the Jewish boy raised ‘non Jewish’ have to convert to Judaism now or was he always considered Jewish?


texts: Is there "פה שאסר הוא פה שהתיר" or a "מגו" in American law?

texts:
Does anyone know if there is any equivalent or usage of the principle "פה שאסר הוא פה שהתיר" or a "מגו" in American law that could help illustrate the principle?

A basic explanation of the principle of פה שאסר is that when a person makes a claim that includes a previously unknown piece of information, the person can qualify the statement.  For example, if a person were to say to his friend "this land belonged to your father, but I bought it from him" the person would be believed.  Although he has no evidence that the land belongs to him now, since the son did not know that his father even had this piece of land, the person is believed because had he kept quiet the son wouldn't have even known about the land in the first place.

Another example would be if a woman, who is not known to have been ever married, says that she was married (Therefore Prohibited to other men) but is now divorced (and therefore permitted to marry another). She is allowed to marry another man without proof of divorce.  The reason is the very statement that would have prohibited her also includes a statement that permits her.

In other words my understanding is that we view the two statements as a unit.  If we are going to believe the first part of the statement then we should believe the second half.  If we don't accept the second half, then on what basis are we accepting the first half.

This is a brief treatment of the subject.  I hope it gives some clarification of what I am looking for.

Are there any examples in American Law?

For example of Halachik usage see כתובות דף טז


texts: Keeping your right to an object but delaying your purchase

texts:
The reason behind the idea of עני מהפך (קידושין נט עמוד א) is a argued (תוס רש״י). The רמ״א explains that in a case of buying and selling the only time there is a case of עני מהפך is when both sides have agreed and all that's left to be done is the קנין
 (רמ״א שולחן עורך ח״מ רלז ס״א).

My question: let's say the עני had the chance to purchase the item by decided he rather do it later (Seller says he's ready to sell and עני says he needs more time. The seller does not care to postpone like the עני). Is this still a case of עני מהפך or can one peruse the item since the עני clearly doesn't care about or need the item that badly that I could be hurting his finances (Rashis reason for עני מהפך).

Possible case: עני wants to buy an apartment from the Seller. The Seller says (To the עני whose Infront of him) alright I'm ready to sell it to you. All the עני has left is to do the קנין. The עני responds that he needs more time.

Does the fact that he says he needs more time mean that there's more then the קנין left or maybe that's all that's left he's just posponing.


texts: Why does the mohel say the brocha at the bris?

texts: Optimally, a father should circumcise his own sons.  Optimally, an aliyah should read the Torah when called up.  When we are called up for an aliyah, we say the brocha and the baal koreh reads for us.  At a bris, though, the mohel says the brocha.  Why doesn't the father say the brocha at the bris, and then the mohel performs the bris for him?


texts: Why miracle of no blood dripping on Pinchas, if Zimri and Kozbi were still still alive?

texts:
The Midrashim [Bamidbar] Rabbah and Tanchumah, and the Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel write that When Pinchas killed zimri and Kozbi many miracles took place.

Two of the miracles are listed as follows:

Bamidbar Rabbah

  הַתְּשִׁיעִי, לֹא הִטִּיפוּ דָם, שֶׁלֹא יִטַּמָּא פִּינְחָס.
  הָעֲשִׂירִי, שֶׁשָּׁמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא רוּחוֹתֵיהֶן שֶׁלֹא
  יָמוּתוּ וְיִטַּמָּא

Medrash Tanchumah

הַתְּשִׁיעִי, לֹא הִטִּיפוּ דָּם, כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יִטָּמֵא פִּנְחָס. הָעֲשִׂירִי, שָׁמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא רוּחָם שֶׁלֹּא יָמוּתוּ.

Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel

נֵס חַדְסְרָאֵי דְאִתְנַטְרוּ כַּד חַיָין עַד זְמַן דַהֲלִיךְ יַתְהוֹן בְּכָל מַשִׁרְיָיתָא מִן בִּגְלַל דְלָא יִסְתָּאָב כַּהֲנָא בְּאָהֳלֵי דְמִיתָא. נֵס תְּרֵיסְרָאֵי דְאִתְקַרִישׁ אַדְמֵיהוֹן וְלָא נָפִיל עִילַוֵיהּ

Translation: 1) Their blood did not drip on Pinchas as not to make him Tamei.

2) Their life was kept in them (as long as Pinchas was carrying them) so as to avoid Tumah.

Question: If they did not die until later, why would their blood make Pinchas Tamei, if it was blood that dripped while they were still alive?

Note: The Sifrei only brings the miracle of the blood not dripping out, but not the one of them not dying.


texts: Hebrew grammar according to the Rabbanim

texts: Is there a comprehensive book which collects all opinions from Rishonim all the way down to our times concerning Hebrew grammar rules?


texts:
Is it permitted to learn Torah with one's wife?

And if so, are there any special recommendations for what to study with her?

Generally speaking I understand that men don't take women as Chavrutas, related or otherwise.


texts: Do men on the women's side count toward a minyan?

texts:
If men are on the women's side of the shul during davening when there are no women there, do they count toward the minyan, or are they considered separate?  Does it matter if the women's area is right next to the men's side, up on a balcony, or somewhere else?

Is it different if there are women there?


texts: How can saying vidui for a dying person substitute for his own confession?

texts:
The Mishna at Sanhedrin 6:2 says that anyone who confesses his sins before dying has a share in the World to Come.  The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch at 193:13 says that when visiting a sick person who is near death, the visitor should engage the patient in conversation and encourage him to "recite the confession" (i.e. the vidui), and assure the patient that doing so does not assure his death, as many have recited the vidui and recovered.  If he can only speak a bit, one is to have the patient say, "May my death be an atonement for all my sins," and that he should request forgiveness from any person he has wronged.

But I have seen patients who were unconscious before death and unable to confess their sins, so loved ones would recite the vidui for them.  How can another person, even a close relative, confess the sins of the patient?  Is there an implied agency?  Where is that recognized?


texts: What are Geonim's definitions of Attiphath Yishma'elim?

texts: I would like to specifically know what the definitions of attiphath yishma'elim were among the Geonim. The opinions of the Rishonim on the subject seem to be convoluted (i.e. no one really knew what it was). So did the Geonim know? Do they describe it?


texts: Could the Temple vessels become tamei? What happens?

texts:
At one point, the Romans would give the job of Kohein Gadol to the highest bidder, who often happened to be a Tziduki (Sadducee). Come Yom Kippur, these Tzidukim would die while performing the avodah (service), because they didn't follow the way the Sages prescribed. [citation needed]

If they died in the Temple itself, did the keilim become tamei meit? As it is, they shared a roof with the body. What were the practical ramifications of that, if any?

Sources please.

Related (not dupe, but see comments): How could the Temple have become tamei?


texts: Are there high level poskim who are easily accessible?

texts: I often have Halachic questions that upon approaching local Orthodox rabbonim, I don't feel comfortable with their psak. I know enough to know that they don't have a complete grasp of halacha but I don't know enough to deal with the questions on my own. I have no problem accepting the psak and moving on but I really wish I could approach someone approaching the level of Rav Moshe Feinstein who had everything at his fingertips. Are there any leading poskim (ones who have a complete mastery of all areas of halacha) who are easily accessible for the regular guy on the street?


texts: Why do we get "so did they do" for the commandment of expelling tamei people in Parashat Naso?

texts:
Parashat Naso, in Numbers 5:1-3, presents a commandment to "send from the camp" anyone who is tamei due to either tzara'at or a zav-type discharage. After that, we have Verse 4, affirming that the Israelites did as commanded:

  וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כֵן בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיְשַׁלְּחוּ אוֹתָם אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר יְהוָֹה אֶל משֶׁה כֵּן עָשׂוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

  The children of Israel did so: they sent them outside the camp; as the Lord had spoken to Moses, so did the children of Israel do.

It seems to me that this commandment was meant to apply in perpetuity and was not a one-time expulsion. If so, it seems atypical that the Torah would record the fact that it was adhered to the first time. (One other example that comes to mind was a record in Numbers 9:5 that the Israelites performed the first Korban Pesach after the Exodus, but I can see various reasons for that, including that it was leading into the Pesach Sheini story.)

Am I right that this sort of "and so they did" is atypical for commandments meant to apply in perpetuity?
If so, why did this commandment, in particular, get such a record?


texts:
I read an article from the website Torah Musings titled "Was Rabbi Hillel a Heretic?" I found the explanations offered by rabbis throughout the ages interesting and it's got me thinking, the Torah speaks nothing of any messiah. The central message is always aligning personal responsibility, the responsibility we have with our own reality, and therefore a personal responsibility.
I know this is probably a minor opinion, but are there other members here that have a similar thinking? If so, what has brought you to your conclusion? Am I wrong for believing doing away with this retrograde ideology of a Messiah solving all our problems?
Here's a link to the article: https://www.torahmusings.com/2010/06/was-rabbi-hillel-a-heretic-2/


texts:
In Bereishis God places Cherubin to guard the path to the tree of life so that Adam does not eat from it.

There's only one other place where we find the Cherubin - on the ark. Inside the ark was the torah, and the torah is called a tree of life. Yet, here God wants us to take from it.

so what's going on? is the tree of life good or bad?


texts: Why don't Kohanim and Levi'im thank Hashem for not making them regular Israelites?

texts:
As answers to Why don't we thank God for making us men/women? say, men thank Hashem for not making them a woman because the obligations or mitzvot that a man has is greater in number than that of a woman, slave, or non Jew.

However, why don't certain classifications of Jews (i.e. Kohanim or Leviim) make a declaration of their own highlighting the preponderance of mitzvot they have over regular Israelites?


texts: If I'm running a small minyan that sometimes has a quorum and sometimes doesn't, and I'd like to only hold the minyan when I know we'll have ten, is there an online tool to help me manage this?


texts:
Why was it necessary for there to be 12 tribes, with different portions of Israel given to each? The Midrash even states that when the sea split, there were 12 separate paths for each tribe (Pirkei d'Rebbi Eliezer ch. 42). This question is divided into two parts:

It seems pointless that such distinctions were made between the tribes (i.e. the different portions of land, and the separate paths in the Red Sea). What was the point?
Isn't it better if the Jewish people are unified? Both the different allotments of land and the splitting of the sea into different paths seem like they would create a lack of unity.


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

Upvote all interesting answers.

Accept the best answer.

Go on to the next number.


texts: How did the modern day Beis Hora'ah phenomenon develop?

texts:
Here in Eretz Yisrael, we find Batei Hora'ah in many cities - places where a moreh hora'ah sits either during special times or perhaps the whole day or different rabbonim throughout the day answering shailos in all areas of Shulchan Aruch.

When did this all start?  I'm looking to find any insights people might have for how this developed or any sources as well.

My theory:

Once upon a time, I suppose, a beis medresh was enough because all of the chachamim were there. If someone had a shailo they went to the beis medresh. Nowadays, batei medreshim are filled with either avreichim in kollel, yeshiva bachurim, or baalei batim that spend some of their time learning. Generally no one in these groups of people would be qualified (or "certified") to answer shailos in halacha.

Perhaps this is why things changed? Along with the fact that a city used to have maybe one rov or each kehillah had a rov for themselves. In Yerushalayim alone I'm sure you could find 100s if not 1000s of people qualified to pasken shailos in practical halacha.


texts: Why are descriptive 'names' of God holy?

texts: Ado-noy and Elokim are regular words in Hebrew that have regular meaning ("lords" and "powers"). Why do we treat them as holy words when used in reference to God? They seem the same as any other description (like Rachum -- merciful) which is not considered a holy word.


texts:
When does R Moshe's heter apply - is bshaas hadchak required? If so, what would constitute bshaas hadchak?
Is it a minhag, or plainly Halachic, to insist on chalav yisroel where it is hardly available (regardless of bshaas hadchak or not)?
[deleted]
Assuming the law imposes a penalty by fine or prison on mislabelling of food ingredients; it is also unheard of, to have unkosher animals' milk in the vicinity. Do we disregard the possibility that the corporations nevertheless mislabel the milk because it decides that a violation of law is still more economically beneficial than abidance?
Assuming the heter applies, would the chalav stam be regarded as of the same status as chalav yisroel?

Thank you!


texts:
I'm trying to figure out what the text of Yoma 45b is teaching it's reader.
There is this part (verse 6) about the 'perpetual fire' of the outer court of the mikdash as in Vayikra 6:6. And from this fire coals seem to be derived for lightning the candelabrum (Menorah).

But I got a little bit confused. Is it that the the Menorah had to be lit - on regular daily basis to give light from the eve untill the morning, and then again be lit at eve - by the fire, or coals produced by it, from the mizbeach of the outer court. And in such case, where these coals or this fire transported from the outside to the inner altar in order to light the Menorah there. Or was Menorah taken outside to be lit? The point is I don't quite understand the connection made between these two and in what way one has to do with the other.

Could someone please explain me this concept and maybe show from which verses or ideas Yoma 45b derives it's conclusions/interpretations.


texts:
Here it mentions that it is better to mix wine and grape juice than to have plain grape juice. How about mixing water with wine; is the diluted wine still more preferable for kiddush and havdalah? (And does it matter the ratio of wine to water?)
In addition, a Rosh Kolel has mentioned that it is questionable if one fulfills his obligation of חרות with grape juice for the four cups. Has anyone seen a source for this? And would this impact the advantage (if there is one) grape juice has over diluted wine on Pesach?


texts: Is ethical hacking a Halakhikly permissible profession?

texts:
Is ethical (white hat) hacking a Halakhikly permissible profession? What are the halachot which apply to hacking and in particular ethical hacking? What stance would Jewish ethics take on ethical hacking?

For example may one appear as an intruder in order to test a system or make things appear one way when really they are another in order to correct vulnerabilities?

How does Marit Aayn come into play?

Does the Halacha change if the work is not merely commercial but for a national interest or during a war? Like so:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuPZUUED5uk

What about in cases of self-defense? Can one hack to defend oneself?

Can a jew be an ethical hacker?


texts: Are Tallis and Tefillin considered beged ish?

texts:
Given that Tallis and Tefillin are mitzvos given primarily to men (Kiddushin 29b), is there a beged ish issue with women wearing them? If there is, would we apply the rule of Asi Asei v'dachi Lo Sa'aseh and say that the positive commandment of Tefillin should override the negative commandment of Beged Ish?

Although related, this is independent of the general controversy of whether women may wear Tallis/Tefillin. I am asking in respect to the specific issue of Beged Ish. Because of my point about Asi Asei v'dachi Lo Sa'aseh, the fact that someone allows women to put on Tefillin is not a proof either way, unless they address the issue of Beged Ish explicitly.


texts: Must I ceremonially dispatch a non-kosher animal meant for Gentile consumption?

texts: I raise non-kosher animals (rabbits) primarily for manure for my garden and fur for clothing.  I give the meat away to non-Jews.  I understand all domesticated animals are to be humanely killed, regardless of intended use, if killing is called for. Is there a prayer to say before dispatching, even though I am not a trained shochet?


texts: What is the difference between non-kosher food and insects regarding "transference"?

texts:
My understanding of the "transference" of non-kosher status to a kosher item.

If I cook a non-kosher piece of chicken in the same pot as a kosher piece of chicken, the kosher piece and the pot are non-kosher. Even after I remove the non-kosher chicken from the pot, it doesn't matter.

But if there's a worm in the lettuce, all I need to do is remove the worm and the lettuce is kosher.

What's the difference with the two? Is it the heating and the transference of "taste"? If so, all chicken tastes alike (pretty much). How would I know the difference between the non-kosher and the kosher chicken? If anything, if I ate the lettuce with the worm, I might taste the worm.


texts:
Suppose that in their infinite pubescent wisdom, a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy decided that they wanted to get married, somehow acquired a kosher ring and witnesses, performed kiddushin, and then refused to give or receive a get.

Could their parents and/or school principal get the marriage invalidated without their cooperation? If not, would they have any obligations to each other? How should such a couple conduct themselves?

(As always, CYLOR.)


texts: While Torah means instructions, does this explain it equaling commands?

texts: How do Jewish scholars view the conclusion some make from the Hittite Instructions in The Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament  (3rd ed. with Supplement, p. i). Pritchard, J. B. (Ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press. (1969). These were instructions of the Hittite king to various subjects.  Of course instructions from a king were more like commands than what we think of as instructions today.  Some claim that God used a form similar to a king instructing his subjects, a form that Israel would understand.  Of course, God's instructions are much more important than a kings'.


texts:
In many siddurim and benchers, I notice that Psalm 23 is included as part of zemirot and / or Kiddush on Shabbat. I don't think I've seen it as part of Friday night, but I have seen it at the beginning of the morning Kiddush as well as zemirot for Se'udah Shlishit. Nusach Sefard also includes this near the end of Ma'ariv for Lail Shabbat.

What is the reason or what theme is in Psalm 23 that was deemed important to include it in all of these items? Is there some theme that connects Psalm 23 with Shabbat?


texts:
A piano is muksze as any other musical instrument.

The fallboard is a part of the piano attached with hinges designed to cover the keys. If the fallboard was left open when shabbos came in it is permissible to close it during shabbos to cover the keys?

The purpose of closing the piano was for aesthetic purposes (looks nicer next to the shabbos table) and preventing young children from playing it thus disturbing the shabbos atmosphere.


texts:
There Gemara Berachot 35 says "anyone who enjoys from this world without a Beracha is stealing."

Does one make a Beracha on intravenous feeding?


texts:
Mordechai warns Ester that if she does not partake in saving the Jews:

  כִּ֣י אִם־הַחֲרֵ֣שׁ תַּחֲרִישִׁי֮ בָּעֵ֣ת הַזֹּאת֒
  רֶ֣וַח וְהַצָּלָ֞ה יַעֲמ֤וֹד לַיְּהוּדִים֙ מִמָּק֣וֹם אַחֵ֔ר
  וְאַ֥תְּ וּבֵית־אָבִ֖יךְ תֹּאבֵ֑דוּ
  וּמִ֣י יוֹדֵ֔עַ אִם־לְעֵ֣ת כָּזֹ֔את הִגַּ֖עַתְּ לַמַּלְכֽוּת׃

Ester did her part. What remarkable lineage stemmed from her as a reward for that?


texts: From Whence do we derive that Jews must span the political spectrum?

texts:
Is there any source for Am Yisrael spanning the gamut of the political spectrum, seeing as we have produced political leaders Left, Right, and Centre.

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


texts: Is it true that proselytes immersed in their birthday suits in ancient times?

texts: I was told that Jewish proselytes immersed in their birthday suits in ancient times. Is this true? If so, could you please provide sources stating this fact?


texts:
The Torah says Yehoshua was "bin Nun", the son of a Catholic nun. Does this mean that Yehoshua had to convert to be a part of the Jewish people (which might explain his name change from Hoshea to Yehoshua)? Perhaps his mother was indeed a Jew but she converted out of the faith? Whatever the possibility, his mother was obviously a bad nun as nuns are supposed to be celibate.

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


texts: Are a convert's children considered to be of Jewish lineage?

texts:
Last week's parsha talks about appointing a Jewish king over Israel, and that it is prohibited to appoint a king who is not of Jewish lineage, even if he is a convert.
At what point are one's children considered to be of Jewish lineage (if both parents are converts)?


texts: If you own property (e.g. stocks or real estate) that increase in value over the course of the year, are you require to donate 10% of the increase to tzedaka, if you are merely holding on to the assets rather than selling them?  Or is the 10% not due until you sell the assets, as with US capital gains tax?  Or none of the above?


texts:
Inspired by this question:

[substitute "6 hours" in this question with whatever one's tradition might be]

Suppose it is less than 6 hours since Reuven last ate meat. Out of habit, he mistakenly bites into a dairy candy bar. While it's still in his mouth - but before he swallows it - his kind friend Shimon reminds Reuven that he's fleishig.

Now Reuven is in a dilemma: Does he spit out the candy bar or swallow it?

I would expect an answer treat the type of food as an example, and treat all cases (e.g. what if it was milk, etc.)

So what should Reuven do?


texts: It seems that people use the word machalah to refer to cancer not only as a translation of the word (although there might be a more specific and correct translation) but because they do not want to say that someone has cancer. Why do people do this?


texts: Where does the sense of morality come from?

texts:
Where does our sense of morality which impels us to right conduct come from?

Is it something internal to us, or perhaps it is external to us? Is it physical or spiritual, etc.

For example, does our sense of right and wrong stem from thought, such as thinking about the  distress of others (potential or actual) and feeling empathy thereby refraining from doing something which may harm them. Or perhaps it stems from some kind of spiritual sense in us.

Perhaps an explanation of what is the "yetzer tov" would answer this if that is the driving force.


texts: Why is Herod's Temple Not Considered a "Third Temple"?

texts:
Closely Related:
- What's the earliest source for the Third Temple?

1. Question :

If the Second Temple is when Israel rebuilt Solomon's temple, then why isn't the rebuilding of "Herod's Temple" considered the third?

2. Issue - Unreferenced Explanation :

The Altar (?): Would keeping the altar in tact mean it is the same temple?  Is there a historical reference that the altar was preserved, in tact?  Is there a Scriptural basis for this?

What is the Rabbinical source of that argument?


texts: Has the corpus of Tosafoth been printed in one volume?

texts:
The Talmudic commentary called Tosafoth has been printed together with the Talmud text itself for many centuries. For example, even Maharal testifies (in 1595) to this in Nesiv Hatorah ch. 5:

  והכל בשביל שלמודם תוס' דבר שהוא הוספה וכי לא היה טוב יותר שיקנה גוף התלמוד קודם, והכל בשביל שנדפסו התוספות אצל הגמרא.
  ...It is because they were taught Tosafoth, which, as its name attests, is only but an addition. However, would it not have been more fitting for a student to study the very text of the Talmud itself? This is only because the Tosafoth are printed on the same page as the Talmud.

However, I imagine that prior to such printing presses they were copied as a stand alone work. Regardless, as with many books, such as Tosefta, has there been a printing of the Tosafoth as a stand alone book? Besides reference, they could also serve as critical version of the texts.

Although there are many different volumes in print which contain in the title ‘Tosafoth’, I seek only that which is printed in the standard Talmud layout.


texts: Mourners prayers that we say at the funeral

texts: Is there a place I can get the prayers that we say at a funeral online so I can print it out. It's an Ashkenazi funeral also if anyone has one with both Hebrew and English that would be amazing.


texts: How does a gentile annul a vow? Also, do gentiles have equal laws of oaths to Jews? Thank you


texts:
Deuteronomy 23:3: A bastard shall not enter into the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation shall none of his enter into the assembly of the LORD.

Why can't an illegitimate child enter the temple? And what's wrong with the seventh or eighth generation entering in?


texts: Pulling out hairs while wiping yourself on Shabbat

texts:
Religious Jews are normally careful not to pull out hairs during Shabbat.

After Mr. Ploni defecates, he wipes his rear end carefully. But he knows that it's impossible for him to clean his bottom to his preferred standards without finding a hair or two on the toilet paper.

What should Mr. Ploni do on Shabbat?

CYLOR.


texts: Is the celebration of salvation affected by the deaths of those who were not saved?

texts:
There is a obligation to thank G-d  when one is saved from a life-threatening situation. Some have a custom to publicly celebrate, often with a festive meal. Some even make it a yearly occurrence.

What happens when one is saved from a tragedy where other people were not as fortunate. Does this affect the celebration. For example, does one forgo the festive meal? Maybe only publicly?

Are there some kind of guidelines about how to celebrate in such a circumstance.

One example I can think of is someone who survived the collapse of the World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001. How is his celebration halachically affected by the deaths of others while he was saved?


texts: Were the people of Chelm really unintelligent?

texts: There are many stories that are told over about the people who lived in Chelm. They all have the theme of: the people in Chelm were fairly unintelligent. Where did this come from? Is it true? It sounds highly unlikely that a whole city would be more unintelligent then the next city.


texts: Where are the dinim of multiple wives located?

texts: I know the history, the gezerim, etc., but what I can't find is the practical halachot once one has multiple wives. Where can I find this?


texts: Wearing clean but not "freshly laundered" clothes in the 9 Days

texts:
As an extension of this unanswered question, and based on the site linked to in this question, what does "freshly laundered" mean?

I had a bunch of long sleeved shirts laundered in mid-June but then my summer wardrobe kicked in and I didn't wear any of those shirts. If I wanted to wear one of the shirts now, it would still be "freshly" cleaned in the sense that it hasn't been worn since it was washed, but not "freshly" cleaned in the sense that it was done recently. What if the shirts hadn't been worn after being laundered in March or even September? Is there a time limit to the idea of "freshly laundered" or is it strictly a function of "not having been worn"?

Since there is at least one other way of making clothes "not freshly washed" without wearing them (by laying them on the floor, even without trampling on them - Shulchan Aruch w/Mishnah Berurah 551:3, Piskei Tshuvos 551:17), could 'time elapsed' constitute a valid way to make clothes wearable?


texts: Does the mitzvah of eradicating Amalek supersede Shabbos?

texts:
The Sefer Chinuch 604 tells us we have a mitzvah to wipe out Amalek.

למחות זרעו מן העולם - שנצטוינו למחות זרעו של עמלק ולאבד זכרו מן העולם, זכר ונקבה, גדול וקטן, ועל זה נאמר (דברים כה יט) ''תמחה את זכר עמלק'',
To blot out his seed from the world: That we were commanded to blot out the seed of Amalek and to destroy his memory from the world - male and female, old and young. And about this is it stated (Deuteronomy 25:19), "you shall blot out the memory (zekher) of Amalek"

Disclaimer: below is a hypothetical question
Suppose one were to see an Amalekite, but it happened to be Shabbos:
would a person be allowed to break Shabbos to fulfill the mitzvah of wiping out Amalek?


texts: Heter to decorate the shul in a humorous way in Adar?

texts: I am bias here, I was raised to treat a beit k'neset (shul) with utmost respect; not to use the sanctuary as a shortcut, avoid mundane discussions there etc. I now live in a community which festively decorates the sanctuary of the shul in honor of the advent of Adar with all manner of frivolity. I would like to know what the poskim say in regards to this practice? Is it permitted and if so why (meaning why is it not a p'gam in the kavod of a beit k'neset)?


texts: Accepting a fast upon oneself after the prayer of Mincha

texts: If someone wants to do a personal fast (taanit) and forgot to receive it during Mincha. Can he still receive it after Mincha before the day is out? What should he recite?


texts:
When I was young, I read the following story / parable:

  Every evening, the Tzadik of Strelisk comes home after the evening prayer and feeds his cow. Every evening in the same hour.

  One evening, the Tzadik got very excited during the prayer. He wept so much about the sorrow of the Shechina, that he forgot the time and did not come home in time.

  During this time, the cow thought to herself: "why does my master not give me the food? What happened? I know! He must have taken the food to himself! He liked my food! Poor me! My master is surely dining and feasting on my food and leaves me hungry!...

This message of this parable is that, when we try to understand the actions of Tzadikim in the past (especially in Biblical times), we  often behave like this cow - we interpret their actions according to our very material conceptions.

I read this parable in an old book. Now, I do not find its source anywhere. Can anyone find the source of this story?


texts: Software for organizing a "thing" gemach

texts:
I'd like to organize a baby clothes gemach in my area and I was wondering if there was any software that people have used to do this, or if this was a piece of software I'd have to write on my own.

Requirements:

If possible, I'd love this to be a "distributed gemach" where some donors might store their own donations.

This means these donors would have to post their own donations (logins, account management, etc).
This also means all donations would need a pickup address/time/maybe contact info once an item is "purchased".

Aside from that, mostly just like an online store that allows for a finite set of tags/categories where the prices are $0 and there is no available shipping.  I just want to be able to skin it so it doesn't feel so e-commercey.


texts: Are there any halachic problems with a Jew being a professional boxer?


texts: Ohr HaChaim on Redemption because of Torah

texts:
I've heard that the Ohr HaChaim quotes the Zohar Chadash that we will be redeemed because of the merit of Mosheh and learning Torah.

Does such a comment exist in the Ohr HaChaim? If so, can someone please source it?

(I am actually certain that I read it in the Ohr HaChaim, but I couldn't find it.)


texts:
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD, the God of heaven, given me; and He hath charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all His people--the LORD his God be with him--let him go up.

—2 Chronicles 36:23 (JPS)

Here, Cyrus seems to believe that God (the god of the Jews) has the power to give him all kingdom in the earth. Does Cyrus in fact believe in God?

This is discussed further here:
http://www.thephora.net/forum/showthread.php?t=62619

According to

http://biblehub.com/text/2_chronicles/36-23.htm

Cyrus say that Hashem (Y..H) is God of Shamayim (sky/heaven). It's as if he is admitting that Hashem is more than just God of jews.

He latter claim that Hashem is the god of the jews though and is located at Jerusalem (instead of everywhere at once like what modern theology would believe) http://biblehub.com/text/ezra/1-3.htm

So, some of what Cyrus said seems monotheistic. Hashem is God of Shamayim.

Latter he said Hashem is elohei yisrael and "the god that in Jerusalem". As if he is being henotheistic.


texts: Prayer for Illness - Why use the mothers name?

texts: Why when someone is sick do we say his mothers name not his father's?


texts:
I, from an outside faith is studying Judaism. However, I do have a question - are there any Jewish miracles (exclusively Jewish, those that are particular to the faith)?

For example, in Christianity some believe in Bernadette having seen Virgin Mary. Muslims believe in the splitting of the moon, etc.

Thanks in advance


texts: What is the Galitzianer minhag in regards to waiting between meat and milk?

texts: My ancestors were Galitzianer Chassidim, and I'm trying to figure out the minhag of Galitziana in regards to waiting between eating meat and milk. Does anyone know what the minhag is?


texts:
The סידור תהלת ה׳ is widely used by Chabad-Lubavitch people and synagogues everywhere. It is, if anything is, the official prayer book of Chabad-Lubavitch. Here's what it has to say (immediately after the weekday morning שמונה עשרה):

כל המשיח בבהכ״נ בשעה שהצבור עסוקין בשבחו של מקום מראה בעצמו שאין לו חלק באלקי ישראל
Any messiah in the synagogue, while the community is busy praising the place, shows about himself that he has no share in the God of Israel.

I don't fully understand this passage, but I'm worried. Because every Chabad-Lubavitch synagogue I've been to has a messiah in the synagogue. A big portrait, usually right near the entrance, usually that pose with his hand up.
So, like I said, I don't really understand the passage — what does praising the synagogue have to do with anything? But it sounds like it's saying the messiah shows that he has no share in God, which I find hard to swallow. Or maybe the guy who put up the picture has no share in God? Can someone please clarify this passage? This has been bothering me quite a bit.

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


texts: Shnayim mikra ve'echad targum in English

texts: Can I fulfill the obligation of shnayim mikra by saying the pasuk two times and then the English translation one time?


texts: What is the kashrus status of a pot if the food cooked in it was Kosher, but cooked by Non Jew? Is the pot kosher or not?


texts: Why do Jews physically resemble members of their "host" nationalities?

texts:
Why do Jews often so closely resemble the members of the nationalities amongst whom they have been living for only a few hundred years? How do features spread through such an exclusive population so quickly to the extent that it is easier to identify on sight national origin (with some degree of accuracy) than religious affiliation?

(I think this question might be founded on faulty assumptions about any subset of {genetics; statistics; physiology; Judaism}. If so, please correct.)


texts: Why don't we light the full menorah all 8 days?

texts: If the reason we light candles on Chanukah is as a commemoration for the fact that the lights of the menorah burned for 8 days on fuel that was only sufficient for 1, why don't we light our menorahs in the same way the menorah was lit in the beis hamikdash? Meaning, why don't we light all 8 (or, if we really wanted to emulate the way the menorah was lit, 7) candles each day of Chanukah?


texts: What are some of the halachic issues with taking a train on Shabbos?

texts: I'd like to know all of the potential issues involved and what leniencies exist to handle? Sources would be great.


texts:
My chavrusa and I were going through Sanhedrin (40b) this evening, and the topic of how to get accurate statements from witnesses. Rashi mentioned the concept of moving the witnesses around in order to get them "confused" so that they'll state the truth:

כר״ש בן אלעזר. להטריחם דאמר (לעיל לף לב:) מסיעין היו את העדים ממקום למקום כדי שתטרף דעתן עליהן ויחזרו בהן׃
My chavrusa and I started talking about this practice, and we were wondering whether there is any recognition in the gemara that coerced testimony may not be valid. I'm familiar with the concept of "כופין אתו עד שיאמר רוצה אני", but I don't think this is similar... that concept is uniquely suited to situations where there is a mitzvah being done. Here, he is simply giving testimony about a case. Is there a parallel in halacha?


texts:
The MeshivasNefesh Chelek Even Haezer, Takanat Agunot 35.7 is quoted as permitting an aguna based on the combination of factors including a mother saying her son appeared in a dream saying he drowned and mentioned the area of the river.

Are there others who disagree with this ruling?

Note: CYLOR who will then call his gadol


texts:
Shalom.
The following article from Chabad.org claims that one should ‘offer one’s back / cheek’ to no one but Hashem:
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1791975/jewish/Is-Turning-the-Other-Cheek-a-Jewish-Value.htm
This does seem to me to be a fair reading of Eicha 3:30, but it does not account for Yeshayahu 50:6-7, which specifically opposes the floggers, spitters and insulters to Hashem, Who upholds and protects the Navi in the face of these things.
It would therefore seem to me that ‘turning the other cheek’ is, in some circumstances, a Jewish value.
Have any recognised authorities endorsed this view, and, if so, have any said anything about whether one ought to solicit abuse and insult (or rebuke) in the case of an angry person (i.e. by asking them how one can improve)?
Thanks in advance.


texts: Where does the power of a Jewish king to sentence to death come from?

texts:
Rambam Melachim 3:8:

  "כָּל הַמּוֹרֵד בְּמֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ לַמֶּלֶךְ רְשׁוּת לְהָרְגוֹ.
  אֲפִלּוּ גָּזַר עַל אֶחָד מִשְּׁאָר הָעָם שֶׁיֵּלֵךְ לְמָקוֹם פְּלוֹנִי וְלֹא הָלַךְ אוֹ שֶׁלֹּא יָצָא מִבֵּיתוֹ וְיָצָא חַיָּב מִיתָה.
  וְאִם רָצָה לְהָרְגוֹ יֵהָרֵג.
  שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (יהושע א יח) "כָּל־אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר־יַמְרֶה אֶת־פִּיךָ וְלֹא־יִשְׁמַע אֶת־דְּבָרֶיךָ לְכֹל אֲשֶׁר־תְּצַוֶּנּוּ יוּמָת רַק חֲזַק וֶאֱמָץ׃"

  "The king has the right to execute anyone who rebels against a king."

The idea seems to be anonymously accepted in the Gemmorah, but I couldn't find any discussion on King's rights. Moreover, the Pasuk talks of Yehoshua that wasn't a king (officially) but he was a prophet, so the punishment can be seen as זקן ממרה  - contradicting G-d's prophecy, and not as a King's will.

In Shmuel 8, Shmuel lists the 30 rights of the Jewish King:

  "וַיֹּאמֶר זֶה יִהְיֶה מִשְׁפַּט הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר יִמְלֹךְ עֲלֵיכֶם:
  אֶת־בְּנֵיכֶם יִקָּח וְשָׂם לוֹ בְּמֶרְכַּבְתּוֹ וּבְפָרָשָׁיו וְרָצוּ לִפְנֵי מֶרְכַּבְתּוֹ׃
  וְלָשׂוּם לוֹ שָׂרֵי אֲלָפִים וְשָׂרֵי חֲמִשִּׁים וְלַחֲרֹשׁ חֲרִישׁוֹ
  וְלִקְצֹר קְצִירוֹ וְלַעֲשׂוֹת כְּלֵי־מִלְחַמְתּוֹ וּכְלֵי רִכְבּוֹ׃
  וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם יִקָּח לְרַקָּחוֹת וּלְטַבָּחוֹת וּלְאֹפוֹת׃
  וְאֶת־שְׂדוֹתֵיכֶם וְאֶת־כַּרְמֵיכֶם וְזֵיתֵיכֶם הַטּוֹבִים יִקָּח וְנָתַן לַעֲבָדָיו׃
  וְזַרְעֵיכֶם וְכַרְמֵיכֶם יַעְשֹׂר וְנָתַן לְסָרִיסָיו וְלַעֲבָדָיו׃
  וְאֶת־עַבְדֵיכֶם וְאֶת־שִׁפְחוֹתֵיכֶם וְאֶת־בַּחוּרֵיכֶם הַטּוֹבִים
  וְאֶת־חֲמוֹרֵיכֶם יִקָּח וְעָשָׂה לִמְלַאכְתּוֹ׃
  צֹאנְכֶם יַעְשֹׂר וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ־לוֹ לַעֲבָדִים׃"

But I can't spot the right to sentence to death. It is also very counterintuitive (in our times) to place a King's whims before G-d's justice.

So Where is this power learned from?


texts:
The third Patriarch's birth name was Jacob. He is given another name, Israel, in Genesis 32. Jacob had two primary wives; Leah and Rachel.

I have heard the idea that the Rachel was the betrothed partner of the Jacob side of Jacob, whereas Leah was the betrothed partner of the Israel part of Jacob.

Essentially, the idea asserts that the two names invoke two different sides of Jacob, and that his two wives each complemented one of those two different sides. Conceptually this makes sense to me, however I do not know of a source for this concept.

Does anyone know of a source for this?


texts: Using the Coravin Wine Preserver on shabbat

texts:
There is a new device called the coravin which allows one to insert a needle into a cork of a wine bottle and the wine flows through the needle by using argon gas (protects quality of wine) and by doing this no oxygen comes in contact with wine. What makes this revolutionary is that now one can extract a glass a wine and put the bottle away for months without losing any flavor or substance (tastes like a brand new unopened bottle).

My question is can one use this device (argon gas) on shabbas.  see how it works https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=490BvJQcFKw


texts: Is it correct to say that the term Elohim, when referring to HaShem, means "Supreme Legislator"?

texts: I read here in Italy, in some forums organized by Orthodox Jews, that the term Elohim, when referring to HaShem, means "Supreme Legislator". Is this statement correct? Would it be permissible to use this translation? (I repeat, only when Elohim refers to the Creator)


texts: Customs regarding reciting the Shema after the allowed time

texts:
The latest time for reciting the קְרִיאַת-שְׁמַע is שׇׁלוֺש שׇׁעוֺת זְמׇנִיּוֺת (three variable hours) after sunrise (Orach Chayim 58:1).  On Shabbat, many communities recite the morning Shema after this latest Biblical time.  Hence, ba'al batim at these shuls have the practice of reciting the three paragraphs of Shema at home to fulfill the requirement.

My question is why do we still treat the recitation of the Shema in shul on Shabbat past the allowed time as if it were the real thing?  To give two examples, many people who show up to shul late will interrupt themselves in the middle of a Psalm to join the minyan in saying the Shema.  But isn't this pointless, since the time for the Biblical mitzvah has already passed?  As a second example, why do we kiss the צִיצִת of the טׇלׅית when reciting the last paragraph of the Shema in shul when the time to fulfill the mitzvah has already passed?

As a bonus question, is this the reason that many communities have a Hashkamah minyan on Shabbat?  These early minyans meet early enough that they can recite the Shema before the allotted time has past.


texts: Is living outside Israel a sin according to Talmud?

texts:
In Berachot 57a:15 Chazal mention that one who sees a dream of himself standing naked in Babylonia, it's a sign that he is free of transgression. Then it's written that "living outside of Israel is itself a transgression".

Is it really so? If it is, then why do so many great Rabbis live outside Israel? What's the explanation of this statement in Talmud?


texts: Bird droppings invalidating location for prayer?

texts:
One may not pray near feces or other sources of biological waste and decay that give a foul odor (see the article for several opinions on when/how it applies).  Does this include bird droppings?

I've never smelled a foul odor from them, but I imagine that if someone kept dozens of birds together in a house and didn't clean the house, that the build-up of droppings would smell, meaning that there is some foul smell.  And it is biological waste.

Does this mean that it falls into the same category as cow manure for purposes of the Halachah?


texts: Owning stock in companies that operate on shabbat

texts: It is my understanding that one may only have ownership in a business that operates on shabbat if you co-own with a gentile and have an explicit arrangement that all profits derived on shabbat belong to him and not you, as one ought not benefit from work done on the day of rest. If this is true, then why is it permissible to own stock in large companies (denoting partial ownership), even when no such explicit arrangement is made?


texts: Looking for a midrash about Moshe not being born perfect

texts: Looking for a midrash about Moshe (preferably in English) that says that Moshe rabenu was not born perfect but over the early part of his life perfected his character...


texts:
The widespread practice seems to say the beracha of HagGomel in the presence of a Sefer Torah. Is this a halacha or a minhag? What is the source for this practice?

Furthermore, what is the relationship between the beracha of HagGomel and a Sefer Torah?


texts:
A member of our minyan has a degenerative vision problem and has, for a time, been using a home-made very-large-print siddur.  After an absence, she returned this Shabbat with a guide dog and said she can no longer use the siddur.  She said the stuff she has memorized and listened to the rest.  I've started to work with her to help her learn/memorize more (and we'll get recordings), which helps some, but that's not an ideal solution.  I mean, being able to do the Shabbat t'filah from memory is helpful, but it doesn't help with seasonal changes, and memorizing the whole service is a big task.  What she really needs, I suspect, is a Braille siddur.

But does her knowledge of standard Braille help with Hebrew?  I know that it's possible to have a Braille siddur, because I once saw somebody using one, but I didn't ask him about it at the time.  Do they transliterate the Hebrew, so you use the Braille alphabet you already know?  Or is there a scheme of writing Hebrew in Braille that requires the reader to learn a new Braille alphabet?  I got the sense in talking with her that she's probably not ready to learn a second Braille system yet (she's still learning the first).

I'd like to help her get the best tools to be able to participate in the minyan.  But before I approach the siddur publisher to ask about a Braille edition, I want to know if that would actually be helpful to somebody who only knows "regular" Braille for the English language.  And that leads me to the question: how do Hebrew texts get set in Braille, linguistically speaking?

(This question arises out of a Jewish situation, but I recognize that it might be borderline here as it's about language (in a way) and publishing.  If people think it's off-topic, please speak up.)


texts: How does someone adopted as an infant determine Jewish status?

texts:
While this question applies to me it is being edited to become more general in accordance with the rules of this site.

If an infant, the child of a non-Jewish mother (and therefore not Jewish), is adopted by Jewish parents as a minor, but that child is raised Jewish in a home that keeps Shabbos and kosher, what is the correct procedure to prove that this person is or is not Jewish once they become an adult? What should have been done, and now that the person is an adult, what should he or she do?  Is having had a bar or bat mitzvah relevant?  What about having attended an Orthodox shul?


texts: saying asher yatzar while in an improper state

texts: If you used the bathroom but you're not in the right state to say Asher Yatzar (about to take a shower or not properly dressed). What should you do?


texts:
I was discussing the subject of tefillin with my father motzei-Shabbat and particular, the battim (leather boxes that contain the parshiyot, or parchment scrolls). We ended up wondering what the mid-to-late 20th century Acharonim, in particular those with a more "modern-Orthodox" background, preferred in regards to the use of tefillin peshutim in the modern era, when better forms of battim are available. We also wondered on the opinion of R' Moshe Feinstein זצ”ל, as his teshuvot are often used as a yardstick to measure others.

Modern- and Neo-Orthoodox opinions (if they exist):

The Rav זצ”ל
R' Amital זצ”ל
R' Michael Melchior שליט”א
R' Aharon Lichtenstein זצ”ל
R' Norman Lamm שליט”א
R' Teitz (rabbinic family from Elizabeth, R' Pinchas, זצ”ל or R' Elazar Mayer, שליט”א in particular)
R' Josef Breuer זצ”ל, rav of KAJ/Washington Heights and former head of the Frankfurt Realschüle


texts: One of the symptoms of COVID-19 is the loss of smell. Is one still Yotzei their father bracha of Borei Menei B’Samim even if they cannot smell the B’samim?


texts: Why did Moshe complain about the Spies in Bamidbar if he thought it was a good idea?

texts:
The Posuk (Deut 1, 23) says:

  ,וַיִּיטַב בְּעֵינַי, הַדָּבָר
  .וָאֶקַּח מִכֶּם שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אֲנָשִׁים, אִישׁ אֶחָד לַשָּׁבֶט

  [Moses replied to people's offer] It was good in my eyes...

What was Moshe's complaint if it was good in his eyes that they offered to spy?


texts: Is it okay for a gentile to join a Christian or an Islamic charity movement?

texts: If a gentile want to spend his free time other than Study Torah and want to join a Charity movement but the problem isnthat all the charity movements he/she knows and are near them is Christian or Islamic. Is it better to join or not to join any of these ?


texts:
(Inspired by Who was Yehoshua Bin Nun's father?, as well as the riddle "What was Kalev ben Yefuneh's father's name?" "Chetzron!")

Looking for sources that an actual person named Yefuneh actually existed, and what we know about him/her (perhaps someone suggests Yefuneh was a woman).

I'm aware that the opinion of many Mefarshim is that of Gemara Sotah 11b, that Kalev's father's name was actually Chetzron, but I'm looking for other opinions.


texts: Can a 3yo girl be Halachically asked for consent to marry?

texts:
וַיֹּאמְרוּ נִקְרָא לַנַּעֲרָ וְנִשְׁאֲלָה אֶת־פִּיהָ׃ - And they said, “Let us call the girl and ask for her reply.”

Rashi: מִכָּאן שֶׁאֵין מַשִּׂיאִין אֶת הָאִשָּׁה אֶלָּא מִדַּעְתָּהּ (בראשית רבה): Genesis.24.57

EDIT: IIRC, traditionally, Rivkah was 3yo when she married Isaac.
Halachicly speaking, is an underage girl also asked for necessary consent before being married out?


texts: What kind of work is prohibited on Passover?

texts:
I want to know what is prohibited on Passover?

"all work" (כל מלאכה) Shemot 12:16
"any work of service" (כל מלאכה עבדה) Vayikra 23:7-8
"work" (מלאכה) Devarim 16:8

As you can see, its either all work, any work of service or simply work? Which is it? And why?


texts: What is the origin of the claim that they played games to hide Torah learning prior to Chanuka

texts:
This question makes a very commonly heard claim: "Before the miracle of Hanukkah, when those who controlled the land severely restricted Torah study, Jewish children would gather to study Torah in secret, and brought dreidels with them so that, should they be discovered by the authorities, they could appear to be playing rather than studying."

What is the origin of this claim?