texts:
A woman accused of being a Sotah (had intentional seclusion with a man she was warned against), is now forbidden to her husband until she drinks the Sotah waters. If she committed adultery, she'll die after drinking.

Let's say the woman was raped while in seclusion, would she die if she drank the waters?

This question is motivated by the Maharal to Esther 4:16 and Penei Yehoshua to Kesubos 51b who both say a woman who had intentional seclusion with a man, and was raped, is forever forbidden to her husband. They prove this from Esther, who intentionally secluded herself with Achashverosh, and was thus forbidden to Mordechai, even though relations with him weren't with intent. If we take their opinion into account, the question would then be how far to take what they're saying.


texts:
Every Shabbas I bless my 3 children but I feel like it's incomplete. What about a blessing on for my wife?

I suppose many sing Eshet Chayil but I feel it is more directed to the Shabbas rather than my wife (even my wife will sing it).

What should one say to show gratitude towards one's wife, and ask for protection over her, as well as protection over our marriage?


texts: Entering / Davening in a Karaite synagogue

texts: Is one permitted to enter and/or daven in a Karaite synagogue nowadays (according to Rabbinite law)?


texts: Is "קל ארך אפים" said if the Torah's not to be read from?

texts:
Tachanun is supplemented on Mondays and Thursdays by extended tachanunim starting "V'hu rachum". On those days, after tachanun is half-kadish (kadish l'ela, as some call it), a short paragraph that starts "Kel erech apayim", and the removal of the Torah scroll from where it's stored for reading.

I'm trying to determine whether "Kel erech apayim" is said on a Monday or Thursday on which tachanun is recited but the Torah isn't read from (because there's no Torah scroll, let's say, or because there's no one around who knows how to read it, or because there's no minyan, or some other reason). That, in fact, is my question, and you can stop reading now if you wish. The rest of this post illustrates whence my confusion has arisen.

Various sources seem to connect "Kel erech apayim" to tachanun, not to the Torah reading. The sidur of Bes Yaakov (Emden) clearly puts the paragraph in the section devoted to tachanun and not in the following section, devoted to the Torah reading. Shaare Efrayim, a book on the laws of the Torah reading, mentions (in chapter 10) various prayers said when the Torah scroll is taken out and put away, but does not mention "Kel erech apayim". And Taame Haminhagim mentions "Kel erech apayim" in paragraph 138, when discussing the late parts of shacharis, including tachanun, and not later, in the section about the Torah reading.

However, the ArtScroll sidurim and many other modern sidurim clearly put "Kel erech apayim" in the section devoted to the Torah reading. Not only that — the instructions in ArtScroll's English editions indicate that it's recited before the Torah is read, implying that it's not recited if the Torah isn't going to be read.

Is ArtScroll correct: do we recite "Kel erech apayim" only if the Torah is to be read? Does anyone (other than ArtScroll) say so?


texts: Are those below age 20 forgiven more easily?

texts:
Are those who are below 20, forgiven by Hashem more easily than others?

The Gemmorah in Shabbat 89b says:

  "דל עשרין דלא ענשת עלייהו" -  Subtract the first twenty years of his life. [One is not punished for sins committed then, as in heavenly matters, a person is only punished from age twenty].

For example, if one is below 20 chas veshalom wasted seed, will Hashem forgive him right away if he does Teshuva, or will he have to go through the long Teshuva process that others would have to go through?

How is the Teshuva for one who is below 20 different than one who is above 20? And how much more does Hashem forgive one who is below 20?


texts: Sitting shiva upon the death of excommunicated individuals?

texts: If a Minudeh (excommunicated individual) dies, does his or her family sit shiva for them?  Does it matter whether they previously mourned this individual as part of the excommunication process?


texts:
I looked up the Chasam Sofer with the piece that is boxed and could not find it.

Is there anyone who is well-versed in his writings that provide me with a link to his sefer?


texts: Variable pronunciation of patach chataf in Lithuanian Hebrew

texts:
In theory, a "patach chataf" - a patach with a shva next to it, like this:

חֲ

is pronounced in Lithuanian Hebrew like a patach followed by a yud.

This results in the common pronunciations (which I have even heard amongst those who are not Litvish) "Mairiv", "gaiva", and "maiseh".

Is there a rule for how this pronunciation is applied?  It seems irregular as I have never heard "rachaimim", "ahaiva", or "chaidasha".  How about "Ya'aikov"?


texts: Partially based on this question, I would like to know what the source is that Moshiach will be a king.


texts:
In this question, I asked about any safrut teachers in my area. As of present, I have not heard back from the sofer provided in the link.

However, I was wondering, as a corollary, considering the online education industry of the modern day, whether there were any online courses dealing in hilchot safrut and k'tav. I would be looking for an experienced sofer whose course is taught with Orthodox, particularly more modern, students in mind.


texts: If a man converts to Judaism, does his already-Jewish son have to follow the custom his father decides to follow?

texts: If a man converts to Judaism and follows Sephardic customs, and his son (who is Jewish-by-birth or has already converted) follows Ashkenazic customs, does the son have to follow his father and also observe Sephardic customs?


texts: Is one allowed to create a "mixed" Vavei Ha'amudim and non Vavei Ha'mudim Torah?

texts:
Related to this M.Y. question:

The answers and comments seem to state that one cannot create a Torah that has two different writing styles.

During Simchat Torah, I noticed that the main Torah I read from in my shul has been pieced together by multiple sofrim (scribes). The beginning of the torah (staring from Breishit) uses the Vavei Ha'amudim standard (a style where the beginning of each column (with a few exceptions) begins with the letter vav). However, somewhere in the middle, the style is not Vavei Ha'amudim.

Is this mix halachically allowable when repairing or even creating a new Sefer Torah. (I assume that a Torah is allowed to be create by more than one sofer.)


texts: Why couldn't the idols smell their hands or touch their feet?

texts:
In Hallel, Tehillim 115:7-8 it says:
אף להם ולא יריחון ידיהם ולא ימישון רגליהם
David is discussing the nations that built idols. These people believed that these idols were like human / gods. So, I would assume that when they designed these idols, they would give them powers similar to humans.
Yet, it seems that these people designed these idols in a way where they couldn't smell their hands or touch their feet. I don't get it. Why would these people build idols with such defects?

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


texts: What is the source that forbids indecent dress by women?

texts:
I have been hardpressed finding a source for something that would seem to be such a well known Halacha. I (and most other too probably) have been brought up with the belief that it is forbidden for a girl to walk around indecently. What that exactly is depends on whom you ask, with many opinions saying a skirt must reach 4 inches below the knee.

Where does anyone even mention such an Issur in the Torah before 100 years ago?

Here are some Pshatim I have heard.

Most people tend to quote the Issur of praying in front of an Ervah, however this is an Issur on Dvorim Shebikdusha and does not dictate how a lady must dress?
People bandy about with the term  לִפְנֵ֣י עִוֵּ֔ר לֹ֥א תִתֵּ֖ן מִכְשֹׁ֑ל (Lifnei Iver Loh Siten Michshol). However this should then subject it to the many rules of Lifnei Iver, upon which many leniencies should then apply. For example, one could say there are other ways a man has access to Hirhur and Histaklus, even if those would actually cost him money (Rema 151:1)
Another Pshat I heard is that like the Gemoro deduces a woman must cover her hair from the fact it says Uporah Rosh HaIsha, so too we can deduct that she must cover her body because it says you shall uncover her top. This seems to me like a nice Vort, but I dont think we can make Droshos for ourselves.

Is it simply common sense but it was too obvious to be recorded in Halacha? If so, where do the Shiurim of x amount of inches come from? Was it common sense to use the Ervah guidelines used for Dvarim Shebikdusha?


texts: I'm looking to increase my knowledge of biblical archeology. As an orthodox jew, I'd prefer a book which takes a more traditional view with regards to the historicity of tanach. Any suggestions?


texts: Why is the name of mercy YHWH is mentioned exclusively in the story of Sodom?

texts:
The name YHWH is associated with mercy whereas the name Elokim is associated with justice (Refer to Rashi on Devarim 3:24 quoting the Sifrei here).
I noticed that the name of YHWH is used exclusively in the story of destroying Sodom, no name of Elohim (Genesis.19.1-20).
Why the holy name of mercy is used exclusively in this devastating story?


texts: What is the source to forbid Toldos תולדות?

texts:
There are times that Torah gives specific "examples" of what is forbidden (e.g. 39 melachos given via a reference to the actions done in the משכן or through other means; Or The Torah specifies 4 cases of damages for which one is liable.
However, what is the source that tells us that these are not meant only as specific issurim, but rather "אבות"  e.g. avos melachos (Shabbos Mishnah 7:2) or "avos nezikin" (Bava Kamma 1:1) under which other (similar) actions can be included.  i.e. meant not as specific prohibitions only forbidding what it says (e.g. separating grain from the husk) but rather to be a general description from which תולדות come out from (e.g. to say bruising someone, so that the blood is no separated from its location is also forbidden with the same severity).
It doesn't seem to be that we learn these out via מה מצינו, or that they are דרשות learned out via the י"ג מדות שהתורה נדרשת בהם.  If so, where does this license come from?
The Gemara is Shabbos 70b learns הנה אבות מהנה תולדות however it doesn't seem to be learning out that this is the source of the concept/ability to make Toldos, but rather how the halachos of Toldos work (that they are included - i.e. "from" the Av and not viewed as separately in regards to שגגות והעלמות).
And even if it would be a source, it would still leave the question of where the source is for nezikin.  The Gemara seems to only say מדתני אבות מכלל דאיכא תולדות in other words the language the that Tanna used implies that there are more- and thus what are they.  But there doesn't seem to be any "מנלן" to find how the Tanna was able to include more in what the Torah stated.
And the other question (aside from the source), is whether it's limited (e.g. to Shabbos, Nezikin) and if so, why would it be limited to only those cases.  Or, are all issurim in the Torah meant in the same manner, such that in theory any action that entails the same essence is included?


texts:
What does נמר quoted in this Passuk mean:

  ירמיהו יג, כג: היהפוך כושי עורו ונמר חברבורותיו

I see it translated as a leopard
e.g. in mishna avot 5.20 and in
"What's the point of Jeremiah 13:18–27?"

Someone told me it is incorrect and it means tiger.

Ifs he is correct what is the source?

Alternatively could there be another explanation?


texts: What is the argument between Rashi and the Ra'avid about the meaning of HaMelech HaKadosh

texts:
I was reading בחינת דת, a work of Hashkafa by Elias ben Moise del Medigo and in it he references* an argument between Rashi and the Ra'avid regarding the meaning of HaMelech HaKadosh. The context is apparently that some use this as evidence that one (or both?) of them had access to Kabbalah, and he is dismissive of the claim - however he neither describes the nature of the claim nor refutes it.

What is the argument and where is each found in the original works of Rashi and the Ra'avid respectively?

Brownie points: How does that argument relate to Kabbalah?

*I have seen a claim that the commentary on the bottom of this print was written by a Maskil.


texts: Birkas Hamitzvah on food which is normally assur, but allowed due to pikuach nefesh

texts:
From Making a bracha on food which is normally assur, but allowed due to pikuach nefesh, if you eat normally forbidden foods because of pikuach nefesh, you make a bracha on them.

Does the same apply to a birkas hamitzvah?  For instance, if you're starving on Pesach night and have nothing to eat except forbidden matzah*, can you say על אכילת מצה?  And if you get normal matzah later that night, are you still required to eat it?

* For the specific example, chadash or terumah (temei'ah for a kohen, tehorah for a zar) works.

Many of the normal prohibitions that you think of for these questions don't apply here.  Chametz is out of the question because it's not matzah.  If you put in treif meat, same thing because it's matzah ashira.  For tevel you can just take maasros on Yom Tov which is a lesser prohibition, and then you can definitely say the bracha (though I suppose it would work if you're at gunpoint instead of starving).  Kilei hakerem gets into כיתותי מכתת issues that I don't want to address here but might make an interesting follow up.


texts:
The verses describing the splitting of the Yam Suf (Reed Sea) say a strong wind blew overnight before the sea split. To me, this implies a gradual process of moving a great deal of water.

On the other hand, we have midrashim which imply it was a suddenly occuring phenomenon, saving Nachshon from drowning. Also, the verses say Moshe stretched out his staff and the sea split in response.

If it was a miraculous, quick transition from sea to dry land, what was the strong wind for? Or am I interpreting it wrong?


texts: Limited nature of products considered kosher

texts:
I was reading about the laws of bitul, though I've never learnt about them properly in any detail.

One example given in the book (An Artscroll book on kashrut) was that you can assume that a grocery store uses a knife only for watermelons... and that even if it's possible that the knife is not kosher, it would become so after a few cuts and the first few fruits cut would be nullified among the rest.

Based on the principles in this reasoning, why are some people extra stringent to avoid cholov stam milk and other products that are given kosher status by kosher lists but don't have a hechsher? It totally makes sense to me that you would want to avoid any possibility of contamination, but since it can apparently be nullified with a high enough quantity of the kosher ingredient (as would tend to be present), and since you can assume so much... what is the difference between the possibly non-kosher knife used to cut fruit and the machinery used to process something else? If it's heretical to say you can't eat actually non-kosher meat mixed in by accident with kosher meat in particular situations, then how is the extra caution necessary?

If there a factor of bitul only counting 'after the fact' so that you have to be cautious still with processes, why doesn't this apply in the case of the fruit from a grocery store? Is it because there more likelihood in the 'assumption' in that case? And if so, why the problem with cholov stam milk in the eyes of some people?


texts: What was the font of the first printed edition of Rash"i's commentary?

texts: In what font was the first printed edition of Rash"i's commentary on the Torah printed? Was it some "standard" Hebrew block print or something more like the type face so eponymously associated with the man today?


texts:
Who knows one hundred fifty-five?
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 do you CYLOR after posting on judaism.stackexchange.com?

texts:
We recommend CYLOR. How do I:

ask the OR a shaaloh that one has already posted on judaism.stackexchange.com. Should I acknowledge its use when asking?
introduce the concept of judaism.stackexchange.com to an OR who understands that we use the internet but is not entirely positive about it?


texts:
The Torah itself in several places explains the names of people's names. For instance:

Yaakov was so called because he grabbed onto Esav's heel (Bereishis 25:26), and he was later called Yisrael as a reference to his defeating Esav's angel (ibid. 32:29).
Chavah was originally called Ishah, having been created from man (ibid. 2:23); she was later called Chavah due to being the mother of all life (ibid. 3:20).

Similarly, Chazal in several places expound upon the names of people in Tanach. For instance:

Adam was so called due to having been created from the ground (Bereishis Rabbah 17:4).
The spy Sasur ben Michael was so called because he contradicted the will of Hashem and made Him appear weak (Sotah 34a, which attests that we once knew similar expositions on the other spies' names).

Is there a sefer which compiles such teachings from Chazal to expound on all names in Tanach (or at least, as many as Chazal have expositions for)?


texts: Why didn't the Tur discuss traditional Jewish philosophy?

texts:
Of all classical works of Halacha, only the Rambam has a section dedicated "Hilchos Deos". For example, he begins with the most fundamental Jewish belief, the belief in one G-d, that G-d is the original existence, that He doesn't have a body, etc.

Yet, none of the other classical Jewish Halachic books (such as the Tur, therefore the Shulchan Aruch, etc.) discuss these concepts at length. These concepts are the fundamentals of Judaism. Someone that doesn't believe in them is a heretic (which has practical ramifications for Yayin Nesech etc.)

Why doesn't the Tur discuss these Halachos?


texts: Is the Bnei Brak of the Hagada and Megila the same as modern-day Bnei Brak?

texts:
The Pesach Hagada mentions the story of five rabbis in Bnei Brak

  It happened once [on Pesach] that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi
  Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon were reclining in
  Bnei Brak and were telling the story of the exodus from Egypt that
  whole night

The gemara (Gittin 57b) mentions

  some of Haman’s descendants studied Torah in Bnei Brak

Do we have sources tracing the location of the Bnei Brak of the Hagada and Megilla? Is it the same as modern-day Bnei Brak, a religious city close to Tel Aviv?


texts:
I heard that it is forbidden to offend Jews

Is this true?
      And until what level, (how much should we need to know what offends people (it is in their head))?

If yes, Is it forbidden to offend a Jew by not doing something? (Example not taking his gift).

Sometimes people get offended just for the show, and sometimes they hide that they are offended,
What is the halachik responsibility not to offend? (It is hard to imagine that the halocho is not specific and practical, but general, and the more psychology you know the better you can do it)


texts: I have spent many years in yeshivas, but unfortunately I have very little knowledge of Tanach. Is there any recommended book that would help me summarize the main events of the entire tanach?


texts: Does the book of Daniel accurately date the war with Babylon?

texts:
According to Wikipedia:

  The introductory verses tell how, in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim (606 BCE), Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were among the young Jewish nobility carried off to Babylon following the city's capture by Nebuchadnezzar, king ofBabylon.[7] (This, incidentally, is the first of a string of historical errors in the Book of Daniel which have led scholars to see its hero as a fictional character, since the meticulous Babylonian chronicles make no mention of an attack on Jerusalem before 598 BCE).

Any defense against that charge?


texts: Yibum & Chalitzah: Questionable hekesh with wife's sister

texts:
In Yevamoth 3b, we learn that the reason for exempting fourteen women (of the fifteen enumerated in mishna 1:1) and their co-wives from yibum (levirate marriage) and chalitzah (the decision not to do levirate marriage) is due to a hekesh (textual comparison) with the case of a man's wife's sister.

  מה אחות אשה מיוחדת שהיא ערוה וחייבין על זדונה כרת ועל שגגתה חטאת ואסורה ליבם, אף כל שהיא ערוה וחייבין על זדונה כרת ועל שגגתה חטאת אסורה ליבם

  As a wife's sister is singled out in that she is a forbidden relative, the penalty for presumptuous intercourse with her is kareth (spiritual excision) and for unwitting intercourse a sin-offering, and she is forbidden to the levir, so also any woman who is a forbidden relative, and the penalty for presumptuous intercourse with whom is kareth and for unwitting intercourse a sin-offering, is forbidden to the levir. [translation from here]

The same hekesh is then used to exclude the co-wives of the fourteen women from yibum and chalitzah.

The gemara then comments that this hekesh shows that a different group of six women do not exempt their co-wives from yibum and chalitzah, by finding an attribute of the case of a man's wife's sister that is not shared by the cases of the six women, namely, that in the case of a man's wife's sister, the sister may marry another one of the yavam's (levir's) brothers, whereas the six women may never marry any of the brothers of the yavam.

My question: why do we not argue that the first hekesh is invalid, by saying that in the case of a man's wife's sister, the sister is permitted after the death of the wife, whereas in the other fourteen cases, the women never become permitted to the yavam?

It's clear that we're willing to use such an argument by dint of having done so to include co-wives of the six women in yibum and chalitzah.  Why do we not do so here?


texts:
The gemara in chullin 55b brings from the mishna that an animal remains kosher if the lower jaw was removed. Rabbi Zeira qualifies this law by saying that the animal is only kosher if it can be feed by a person,but if it cannot then the animal is treif.

Is there any idea that if one performs surgery to correct a treif ,or even to have a transplant to correct the treifa then the animal is now considered kosher? Can human intervention correct a treif animal,like the case above?


texts: Knife Becoming Unusable By Threatening Someone With It

texts: I have heard that if a knife is used (even for pretend) to threaten someone it is treif to use unless Neitza is done to it (being stabbed in the ground 10 times). Does anybody know of a source for this?


texts: Seeking Ramchal's Hoker u'MeKubal in English

texts: Is the Ramchal's Hoker u'MeKubal available in English? I have already read Derech HaShem, Daas Tevunos, Mesillas Yesharim, and Ma'amar HaGeulas, so I would be interested  in other of his works in English as well.


texts: Chapters of Tanach present in Talmud Bavli

texts:
I heard there is a style of Talmud study somewhere, where as a verse presents itself in the Talmud, the student would learn the entire chapter from תנ״ך.

With that, were one to complete the entire Talmud Bavli, would he also have completed the entire תנ״ך?


texts: Say I wanted to learn with an elder fellow (80s) who's always Been irreligious his entire life. What should I learn with him to bring him to Religion. Keep in mind: He can read Hebrew, he believes in GD & his main problem is that the Rabbis came along of enacted their own stuff. He essentially only believes in the Written Torah. None of his immediate family is religious either. What does traditional kiruv have to say about this, what sefer do I learn with him; Tanach, Mishna, Gemara, Mussar?


texts: Showing respect and love for someone or things without worship but with the knowledge it's a deity or considered/treated as one in the eyes of others

texts:
Bowing is considered as a way to show respect, that's why one could bow to a king (Melachim 1:1:23) or why the brothers of Yosef bowed down to him (Bereshit 42:6).

We dance with the Torah on Simchat Torah as a way to show our love.

But these two examples aren't considered as worship, giving respect isn't idol worship, showing love neither, worship an idol/deity is what's considered idol worship. So showing respect to the Torah isn't considered idol worship for example (as asked in this question).

But does this mean that showing respect or love for a human who's considered to be a deity is allowed? Or show love for a satue (because I fancy the looks of it) is assur? Is it permissable to show love, respect etc. in a similar fashion to someone or something which is considered to be an idol/deity if one doesn't worship this idol/deity? (although one knows it's considered to be an idol/deity by others or could be considered as one).


texts: Explaining non-Jewish holidays to children?

texts: How should one explain non-Jewish holidays and churches to young children?


texts: Difference in usage of two words for "kissing" in the Torah

texts:
I saw an article in my local weekly Jewish paper this past Shabbat where someone addressed this question. Unfortunately, the article didn't really answer my question. So, I hope that if I get one or more great answers, I can relay them to the author.

In the Torah, there seem to be two words used for "kiss"

וישק as in:

  Breishit 27:27 - וַיִּגַּשׁ וַיִּשַּׁק לוֹ וַיָּרַח אֶת רֵיחַ
  בְּגָדָיו וַיְבָרֲכֵהוּ

  Breishit 50:1 - וַיִּפֹּל יוֹסֵף עַל פְּנֵי אָבִיו וַיֵּבְךְּ עָלָיו
  וַיִּשַּׁק לוֹ

וינשק as in:

  Breishit 29:13 - וַיְהִי כִשְׁמֹעַ לָבָן אֶת שֵׁמַע יַעֲקֹב בֶּן
  אֲחֹתוֹ וַיָּרָץ לִקְרָאתוֹ וַיְחַבֶּק לוֹ וַיְנַשֶּׁק לוֹ
  וַיְבִיאֵהוּ אֶל בֵּיתוֹ וַיְסַפֵּר לְלָבָן אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים
  הָאֵלֶּה

  Breishit 32:1 - וַיַּשְׁכֵּם לָבָן בַּבֹּקֶר וַיְנַשֵּׁק לְבָנָיו
  וְלִבְנוֹתָיו וַיְבָרֶךְ אֶתְהֶם וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיָּשָׁב לָבָן לִמְקֹמוֹ

  Breishit 48:15 - וַיְנַשֵּׁק לְכָל אֶחָיו וַיֵּבְךְּ עֲלֵיהֶם
  וְאַחֲרֵי כֵן דִּבְּרוּ אֶחָיו אִתּוֹ

Is there a difference in meaning of these two words? Is there a reason the Torah chooses to use one term vs. the other?


texts: Does anyone know of the following quote from Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz?

texts: I am looking for the source on the quote from Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz: "“If a person would know what happens to the food from the moment they put it into their mouth to the moment it leaves their body, just to study that process they would see as one of the greatest miracles of life and they would dance every single time they go to the bathroom.”


texts: In Kiddush Levana, what does the phrase עֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת לַעֲמוּסֵי בָטֶן refer to?

texts:
There is an interesting metaphor used in the bracha for Kiddush Levana (Sanctification of the moon):

  עֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת לַעֲמוּסֵי בָטֶן

translated (loosely) as "A crown of beauty to those carried in the womb".

I think that the ending of the phrase refers to the Jewish people, but why are they called "those carried in the womb". What does this metaphor mean, and how did it originate?


texts: Animal rights vs other considerations in halacha and hashkafa

texts:
On a boat, Reuven owns five ostriches and one of them eats a diamond off of Shimon's hat which is on his head. Though we are not sure which one ate it we know with certainty that one of them did. Assume that we would have to kill them one by one in order to find the right one.

Do ethics regarding animal rights play a role here? Also, does Shimon have any part ownership in the ostrich to the extent that Reuven cannot sell it until the matter is clarified? Is killing a possibility in order to retrieve the diamond?

What is the straight halacha and the hashkafic view of animal rights in this situation?


texts: Eldad HaDani's Lasting Influence - Is there any?

texts:
Eldad HaDani is (apparently) considered today to have been a fraud. According to this Wikipedia article, he was a traveler who told stories of his place of origin, which he claimed was a sovereign Jewish state comprised of descendants of four of the 10 lost tribes.

But he also taught Halachah from his homeland, which did not have the Mishnah or the Talmud. And, according to the above Wikipedia article, many people appreciated his additions to the Torah landscape, including Rashi, RaAVa"D and (according to Wikipedia) Avraham ben Maimon (the Wikipedia author may have meant Avraham Ben HaRaMBa"M but I don't know that for a fact).

To the extent that we take with great reverence what was written by the above sages, what has been the lasting influence of Eldad HaDani?

Also, to the extent that we HAVE accepted certain "new" manuscripts (Meiri comes to mind), how much, if any, of Eldad HaDani's statements should we accept?

And to the extent that we accept the Kuzari despite no historical evidence to support it, why are we urged to reject Eldad HaDani?

Finally, why is there so little literature on this character (such that I had never even heard of him until he started showing up on this site)?


texts: What kind of Mechitza is required when the women daven on the second floor?

texts:
Many times I have seen Shuls where women pray on a balcony on the second floor.

What kind of Mechitza do they need?

Is it enough if one can't see them (for example, if the angle is such that they are invisible)?
Do they need a ledge of a certain size (above the Maaka size).
Do they need to be behind a curtain as if they were on ground level?
Could they be behind glass?


texts: Talis on head for people who don't wear a (black) hat

texts:
I have always been under the impression that people wear their talises over their heads when davening as their second head-covering. I understood this to be the reason why people don't wear black hats when davening shacharit.

But I commonly see people who do not wear a black hat (including when davening mincha and ma'ariv) who still cover their heads with their talis during shacharit. What is the reason that these people do this?


texts: Beis Shammai's dinar for kiddushin - philosophy?

texts:
The Mishna in Kiddushin (1:1) outlines a machlokes regarding the minimum amount of money necessary to effect kiddushin (i.e. create a marriage).

According to Beis Hillel, the amount of money (or equivalent goods or services) required is a perutah. A perutah is the smallest amount of money with buying power; so I understand philosophically that the Torah is saying one way to execute a marriage is with a symbolic transaction that minimally looks like a valid business one. The one-perutah requirement is similar to people with salaries (or rents) of "one dollar per year."

Beis Shammai, however, requires a dinar (or equivalent goods or services), which is quite a bit more. What's the source for the dinar requirement (once it's not "anything with buying power", where do we set the bar?), and do we know how Beis Shammai may have viewed kiddushin accordingly?


texts: Celebrating Rosh Chodesh & Yom tovs on Planets

texts: Would it be possible theoretically to celebrate Rosh Chodesh and Yomim Tovim on planets that have more than one moon? As the Jewish Calender is based on the moon.


texts: Is a ban on government workers wearing religious symbols a gezeirat hamalchut for which one would be obligated to give up his life?

texts:
So, i haven't heard that anyone today is making this punishable by death, but still...

France has a law that prohibits government workers from wearing religious symbols on their job. This naturally includes the kippa. Quebec was also considering it (the article is from late 2013, i haven't seen anything newer).

According to the Rambam (Yesodei Hatorah 5), during "שעת השמד" - a time of destruction, when the ruler outlaws some Jewish practices, it is a mitzvah to be a martyr and not comply with it. (See also: Self-sacrifice in Jewish law on Wikipedia) I think i remember learning that this applies even to customs.

If the ban was actually so severe that you could be killed (and not just fired or fined), would this qualify for yehareg v'al yaavor - let him be killed and not transgress?


texts:
Is one allowed to watch movies (i.e. on his tv), today?

Since they portray:

• Women not dressed modestly.

• Affections between men and women

If one does watch a movie, is he transgressing any Torah prohibitions?


texts: Moshe instructed Betzalel to do other than Moshe had been commanded?

texts:
The Gemoro Berachos 55a quoted by Rashi on Shemos 38 (22) seems to say that Moshe ordered that the vessels should be made before the Mishkan that was to contain them.

  Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: Bezalel was
  called by that name on account of his wisdom. When the Holy One,
  Blessed be He, said to Moses: Go say to Bezalel, “Make a tabernacle,
  an ark, and vessels” (see Exodus 31:7–11), Moses went and reversed the
  order and told Bezalel: “Make an ark, and vessels, and a tabernacle”
  (see Exodus 25–26). (Sefaria)

Moshe admitted to Betzalel that  Betzalel had the right idea:

  Perhaps, said Betzalel, God told you the following: “Make a
  tabernacle, ark, and vessels” (see Exodus 36). Moses said to Bezalel:
  Perhaps you were in God’s shadow [betzel El], and you knew precisely
  what He said. You intuited God’s commands just as He stated them, as
  if you were there.

We believe that Moshe and his Torah are true. How then can it be that Moshe seems to have instructed Betzalel to do other than Moshe had been commanded?


texts: Is it allowed to fool adblock recognition mechanism

texts:
This is a continuation of Is ad-blocker software permissible?

Nowadays more and more sites are detecting if someone uses ad blocking software . If they detect it, they don't serve the content of the site.

Is it allowed to install software or take other actions to fool these mechanisms, so that we can still see the content?

It could be that i am allowed to use an adblocker because of the fact that the web site owner can detect that i am using it and can block the site for me, but at the time i start to fool the detection mechanism it could be more chomur.


texts:
I'm currently making a Mesorah chart (I know there are some out there, I just wanted to do it myself). I've gotten all the way back to the Vilna Gaon's Rav, Rav Moshe Margolis, but I can't find any sources as to who his Rav was.

If anybody has any information out there about who his Rav was, I'd really appreciate it. Please cite all sources.


texts: closest successor of the Lubavitch Rebbi today

texts:
who is the closest person today to being the successor of the Lubavitch Rebbi?

i.e. who is the biggest (greatest scholar) Chabad Rabbi to ask questions to about Chabad issues.


texts: Is there a guideline to knowing when to consult a rabbi and when to use your own judgement?

texts:
Sometimes when I get a life dilemma I wonder if it's something I should be asking my rabbi or decide on my own.

When it's a matter of Torah and Judaism then it's fairly clear that the rabbi should be consulted but with secular things such as picking one of two jobs or medical issues, does a rabbi need to be bothered and taken away from his busy schedule?


texts: May a woman think about another man during relations?

texts: I understand the talmud says that a man may not think about another woman during marital relations, does the same prohibition apply to the woman?


texts:
I don't want to be disrespectful, but I remember the story of when Rabbi Akiva saw the temple destroyed with foxes walking where the Kodesh HaKodashim used to be. He laughed because even though everybody saw the bad side, he understood that because of this the Third Temple should come.
So why in times of Tisha B'Av we cry? Shouldn't we see the good side even in the worst of tragedies like Rabbi Akiva did?


texts: Shaarei Teshuvah by Rabbeinu Yonah online in English

texts:
Does anyone know where I can find Shaarei Teshuvah by Rabbeinu Yonah online?

I am looking for some online resources in English.


texts: A Headquarters During the 40 Years of Wandering

texts: In the beginning of Parshah D’varim the Israelites’ 40 years of wandering is recounted.  I had always pictured this as one large, nomadic group moving in unison around the desert. In D’varim [1:2] Kadesh-barnea is mentioned as one of the stopping points. On p. 1161, footnote 2 of Plaut’s “The Torah A Modern Commentary” (Revised Edition), it says of the geographic location Kadesh-barnea, “It was the Israelites’ headquarters for most of their forty years of wandering.” A stationary headquarters seems inconsistent with the picture of a single, large group traveling in unison.  Can someone provide a more accurate description (and source) of how the Israelite community traveled about during these 40 years?  For example, was it in smaller, separate groups that remained in communication with the stationary headquarters; or something else entirely?


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

Upvote all interesting and relevant answers.

Accept the what I think is the "best" answer.

Go on to the next number.

Back to hard ones, a prime in this case.


texts:
There are some times on this site where questioners will be directed to "ask their Rabbi." While it's always optimal to have such people discuss the question with their own Rabbi (and such action should be stressed), there are times when people either don't actually have a Rabbi [yikes], or are embarrassed to ask such questions to their own Rabbi.

What are some useful and reliable websites to get practical Rabbinic advice?


texts: Reading Megillah when it's only Purim for the listener

texts:
Residents of a walled city and unwalled cities celebrate Purim on different days. May either of these people read the Megillah for the other on whatever day the listener needs to hear Megillah? Or does it need to be read by someone who is obligated in the mitzvah on that specific day?

Would one fulfill his listening obligation bedi'eved if this was done?


texts: I know (from a friend who attends) that the Maimonides, the school founded by R' Soloveitchik, observes Thanksgiving. Did the Rav, or any other notable American Rabbanim, observe Thanksgiving?


texts: Why aren't Aharon's sons or B'nei Yisra'el mentioned in Vayikra 21:17?

texts:
Compare Leviticus 21:17 and 24:

דַּבֵּ֥ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֖ן לֵאמֹ֑ר אִ֣ישׁ מִֽזַּרְעֲךָ֞ לְדֹרֹתָ֗ם
אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִהְיֶ֥ה בוֹ֙ מ֔וּם לֹ֣א יִקְרַ֔ב לְהַקְרִ֖יב לֶ֥חֶם
אֱלֹהָֽיו׃
Speak unto Aaron, saying: Whosoever he be of thy seed throughout their
generations that hath a blemish, let him not approach to offer the
bread of his God.

Leviticus 21:24:

וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֖ן וְאֶל־בָּנָ֑יו וְאֶֽל־כָּל־בְּנֵ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
So Moses spoke unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the
children of Israel.

Rash"i, Ib'n Ezra and others explain why Moses spoke to B'nai Isra'el as well, even though that wasn't explicitly stated in the commandment in v. 17. I understand that, and I assume that since the commandment was mainly for Aharon and Kohanim, Aharon's sons needed to know, as well.
My question is, that if these two other groups of people were to know these laws, why didn't G-d explicitly include them in verse 17?


texts:
Is shaving with this laser shaver kosher? I don't keep a beard and not looking forward to keeping one at all but I don't use razors etc, only electric shaver etc.

This "razor" uses a laser for "shaving" so it's not a blade and doesn't permanently destroys the hair so I "think" it's ok, any thoughts anyone?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/skarp/the-skarp-laser-razor-21st-century-shaving?ref=video


texts: Does being Yotzei a Bracha count for 100?

texts: There are many brachos where by listening to the bracha one can be yotzei his obligation for that bracha. If someone does do so, does that bracha count towards the quota of 100 brochos a day?


texts: M'Doraisa how many strings of tzitzis does one need?

texts:
Nowadays a beged (i.e. garment) with tzitzis has 4 strings on each corner that are then tied in such a way so it comes out as 8 strings altogether hanging down. It is then connected to the beged with 5 knots and a number of times wrapped around between each knot (with various minhagim (i.e. customs) on how to tie the tzitzis exactly.)

This is what we do now, however M'Doraisa (i.e. Biblically) what does a beged with tzitzis look like? How many strings would satisfy the requirement M'Doraisa? Would one string (tied in a single knot -- kesher elyon d'oraisa (the top kesher in min hatorah) and hanging down as 2 fulfill it? Do we need 4 (doubled to 8) strings M'Doraisa?


texts: I have heard many times that one cannot let tefillin touch the floor. However, it's known that the original Jewish practice was to bow and prostrate on the floor. How was one able to do this without parts of the tefillin constantly touching the ground?


texts: If kosher food happens to sit in the presence of nonkosher food and thereby acquires some of its flavor, is it still kosher?  (In general, it is not possible to completely shield food from surrounding smells and aromas.)


texts: Until what time in the morning may you eat on a fast day?

texts: On fast days that begin in the morning, (Asara B'Teves, Taanis Esther, Shiva Asar B'Tamuz, Tzom Gedalya) if you intend to eat when you awake, until what time may you eat in the morning? Does it depend on Shaos Zemanios?


texts: What unifies all the ideas of the הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא together?

texts:
הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא seems to link a few topics on one paragraph.

1) The nature of Matzah.

2) The invitation to the poor.

3) Hope for the future to be in Israel and Free.

What does the invitation have to do with the first statement regarding the nature of מצה?

What does the last statement of "that next year we should be in Israel" have to do with the previous points?

What unifies all these ideas together?

  הָא לַחְמָא עַנְיָא דִּי אֲכָלוּ אַבְהָתָנָא בְּאַרְעָא דְמִצְרָיִם
  כָּל דִּכְפִין יֵיתֵי וְיֵיכוֹל
  כָּל דִּצְרִיךְ יֵיתֵי וְיִפְסַח
  הָשַׁתָּא הָכָא – לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּאַרְעָא דְיִשְׂרָאֵל
  הָשַׁתָּא עַבְדֵּי – לְשָׁנָה הַבָּאָה בְּנֵי חוֹרִין.


texts:
What are the sources for the Jewish law or "Halacha"? Is there any priority among these sources? In common practice, when a law is described, is the citation given form the main sources or derived codified books?
(Please consider explaining any Jewish/Hebrew terms.)


texts:
Among Yerushalmi Chareidim, a special dress code seems to have developed which has some features which are unique from standard Eastern Ashkenazi dress. While most Chareidim I have seen wear black coats or jackets, the Yerushalmim wear more colourful clothing: a blue-and-white striped kaftan on weekdays and a gold-and-blue one on Shabbat.*

What is the origin of the Yerushalmi kaftan and why is it colourful when most Chareidim are makpid on black or dark grey?

*Source, I have seen it in Me'ah Shearim and the Rova.


texts: The proper age for a boy to start dating

texts: From a halachic viewpoint, what is the proper age for a boy to meet one's potential wife nowadays? (i.e. dating)


texts:
How did the fire extinguisher/sprinkler system not put out the fire on the altar? There's an Issur of לא תכבה for one to extinguish the fire. More importantly, when the 3rd Beis Hamikdash is rebuilt, will there be any fire extinguishers installed? Emergency exits? Any sprinkler systems?

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


texts: Why did  Samson the holiest ever person at birth 'degrade' himself and  'marry' a philistine woman and how did she cause his 'downfall? What made him tell her his 'precious' secret? Did that he came from the Dan tribe have to do with it?


texts: Why don’t we say Keil Erech Apayim on Yom Kippur?

texts:
According to my Nusach Ashkenaz Siddur, the Thirteen Middos are preceded by a passage beginning קל ארך אפים, whose text is as follows:

  אֵ-ל אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם אַתָּה וּבַעַל הָרַחֲמִים נִקְרֵאתָ. וְדֶרֶךְ תְּשׁוּבָה הורֵיתָ. גְּדֻלַּת רַחֲמֶיךָ וַחֲסָדֶיךָ תִּזְכּור הַיּום וּבְכָל יום לְזֶרַע יְדִידֶיךָ. תֵּפֶן אֵלֵינוּ בְּרַחֲמִים. כִּי אַתָּה הוּא בַּעַל הָרַחֲמִים. בְּתַחֲנוּן וּבִתְפִלָּה פָּנֶיךָ נְקַדֵּם. כְּהודַעְתָּ לֶעָנָו מִקֶּדֶם. מֵחֲרון אַפְּךָ שׁוּב. כְּמו בְּתורָתְךָ כָּתוּב. וּבְצֵל כְּנָפֶיךָ נֶחְסֶה וְנִתְלונָן. כְּיום וַיֵּרֶד ה' בֶּעָנָן. תַּעֲבר עַל פֶּשַׁע וְתִמְחֶה אָשָׁם. כְּיום וַיִּתְיַצֵּב עִמּו שָׁם. תַּאֲזִין שַׁוְעָתֵנוּ וְתַקְשִׁיב מֶנּוּ מַאֲמַר. כְּיום וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם ה' וְשָׁם נֶאֱמַר:

My Nusach Ashkenaz Selichos for fast days and Elul/Tishrei include this passage for the first time the Middos are said, while the following one is inserted each subsequent time:

  אֵ-ל מֶלֶךְ יוֹשֵׁב עַל כִּסֵּא רַחֲמִים מִתְנַהֵג בַּחֲסִידוּת, מוֹחֵל עֲוֹנוֹת עַמּוֹ מַעֲבִיר רִאשׁוֹן רִאשׁוֹן, מַרְבֶּה מְחִילָה לְחַטָּאִים וּסְלִיחָה לַפּוֹשְׁעִים, עֹשֶׂה צְדָקוֹת עִם כָּל בָּשָׂר וָרוּחַ, לֹא כְרָעָתָם תִּגְמוֹל, אֵ-ל הוֹרֵיתָ לָּנוּ לוֹמַר שְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה, וּזְכָר לָנוּ הַיּוֹם בְּרִית שְׁלשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה, כְּהוֹדַעְתָּ לֶעָנָיו מִקֶּדֶם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב וַיֵּרֶד ה׳ בֶּעָנָן וַיִּתְיַצֵּב עִמּוֹ שָׁם, וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם ה׳:

My Nusach Ashkenaz Machzor for Yom Kippur includes this latter paragraph every time they’re mentioned. Why? Why isn’t the former paragraph mentioned the first time the Middos are recited during Selichos after Maariv and during Ne’ilah, the same way that they are during Selichos on other days?


texts:
How many Mishnaoyot are there?

For counting purposes I am only interested in the counting of the author's.  Meaning if the mishna puts two rules together under one halacha that counts as 1 and not 2.
Also, I am only interested in published sets of the Mishna.  I.e. I am not interested in how either the Talmud Yerushalmi or Talmud bavli breaks up the Mishnayot for this question.

I imagine that if someone has access to the Bar Ilan research tools the answer would be easy to find out.

I am curious to compare this number to other methods of counting halachot.


texts: Bircas HaMazon when starting to eat on Hoshanah Rabbah and finishing on Shmini Etzeres

texts: A person eating a seudah on Hoshanah Rabbah wanted to continue eating his seudah when Shmini Etzeres already started. He was "pores mappah", made kiddush and continued to eat. Now, after a meal eaten wholly on Hoshanah Rabbah, one says "Sukkos" in Yaleh V'Yavo in Bircas HaMazon; after a meal eaten wholly on Shmini Etzeres, one says "Shmini Etzeres". So what about this felow who started on Hoshanah Rabbah and ended on Shmini Etzeres: When he recites Bircas HaMazon what day should be mentioned in Yaleh V'Yavo, "Sukkos" or "Shmini Etzeres"? What's the reason why and please cite all sources.


texts: How can someone, halachically, do teshuva when s/he has offended an anonymous person on the internet?

texts:
Ramba"m among others, state that Yom Kippur does not atone for sins committed between a person and his neighbor until a person personally asks the other for forgiveness.

Mi Yodeya is an example of meeting people anonymously. With, perhaps, a few exceptions, no one personally knows anyone behind the user ID. (I sometimes don't know myself :-)

If someone offended someone else on a web forum such as this one, or a blog post or comment, where s/he doesn't know who read his/her posts, what would be the proper or best halachich way to ask for teshuva? Can a generic "I'm sorry to whomever I offended" be used, or is there some other preferred method?


texts: The Halachic Reasoning Behind the Neturei Karta

texts:
The Neturei Karta is a group of Haredim who believe that the creation of the State of Israel is against Torah, claiming that Jews are forbidden to have their own country until Moshiach comes.

They refuse, like many Haredi Jews, to serve in the Israeli military and vote in Israeli governmental elections. Some even go as far as to praise the actions of Palestinian leaders, and advocate giving the land of Israel "back" to the Palestinians.

A lot of the people hate them.

But I suppose my question is thus: the Neturei Karta says that it is against Torah for the Jews to have their own country until the Messianic era, but where do they draw this conclusion from?

Additionally, a lot of Haredim believe it is wrong for a religious young man to serve in the Israeli army. Why would serving time in the military be against Torah for any religious Jew, other than that it detracts from the time a young man could be studying?

Note: I thought I might make it clear by saying that I am not in agreement with the Neturei Karta, although I am not Zionistic.


texts:
Could someone translate the following from Rashi's commentary on the Talmud:

במחשכים הושיבני - שאין נוחין זה עם זה ותלמודם ספק בידם

I'm interested in what Rashi has to say regarding Rabbi Yirmeya's statement in the Talmud.


texts: White or wheat? Matzah on Pesach (Passover)

texts:
Matzah on Pesach can be made from white (refined) or whole grain wheat (or any of the other allowed grains).

Did our ancestors typically bake with refined or whole grain wheat?

Were the first matzah white (refined) or whole grain wheat?

Why do we see more white (refined) matzah nowadays?


texts: Were there insects in the garden of eden?

texts:
I was recently thinking, we create comfort for ourselves by keeping nature at bay.
Flies and mosquitos are annoying, would Adam and Eve have thought the same?
There were certainly serpents, maybe other pests that were even worse!
Was it really a paradise then if were there potato bugs, beetles and spiders!?


texts: Question about placement of 2nd Shacharit Ashrei in Nusah Ashkenaz

texts:
This is what I have seen listed in most Nusach Ashkenaz siddurim / occur in most Nusach Ashkenaz shuls:

When the Torah is read during Shacharit:

On weekdays - The 2nd Ashrei is said after the Torah is returned to the aron
On Shabbat and Yom Tov, Ashrei is said before the Torah is returned to the aron.

Why is there a difference between these two days?


texts: How long did Iyov suffer unfairly until G-d gave him blessings for resisting it?

texts:
Some relevant passages from the book of Iyov (Job):

1:1 "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was sincere and upright, God-fearing and shunning evil."

1:8-9 "Now the Lord said to the Adversary, 'Have you paid attention to My servant Job? For there is none like him on earth, a sincere and upright man, God-fearing and shunning evil.'

And the Adversary answered the Lord and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing?"

1:11-12 "But now, stretch forth Your hand and touch all that he has, will he not blaspheme You to Your face?

Now the Lord said to the Adversary, 'Behold, all that he has is in your hands; only upon him do not stretch forth your hand.' Now the Adversary left the presence of the Lord."

7:20-21 "I have sinned; what do I do to You? O watcher of man, why have You made me as a mark for You, so that I have become a burden to myself?

Now why do You not forgive my transgression and remove my iniquity, for now I will lie on the dust; and You shall seek me but I am not here."

9:21 "I am blameless, but I do not know how to find rest; I despise my life."

23:10-13 "Because He knows the way that is with me; He has tested me that I will emerge like gold.

[I kept] the commandment of His lips and I do not remove [it]; more than my daily bread I kept the words of His mouth.

But He is One, and who will answer Him? [Therefore,] whatever His soul desires He does."

27:6 "I have maintained my righteousness, and I will not let it go; my heart will not reproach [me] because of my days."

31:1 "Now these three men ceased to answer Job because he considered himself righteous.

42:10 "Now the Lord returned Job's captivity when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had had before."

According to Iyov 42:10, Job stopped suffering unfairly after he prayed for his friends - that is, supposing that "returning Job's captivity" means that. But, beyond that, there is no way to tell how long did Job suffer unfairly, right? I couldn't find anything in Iyov.


texts: In 1 Sam. 20:25, why does עַל-מוֹשָׁבוֹ appear to have two te'amim?

texts:
I understand that there is a rule (with rare exceptions) that a single word cannot bear two Masoretic accents. However, I have not seen 1 Sam. 20:25 listed as one of the exceptions:

וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב הַ֠מֶּלֶךְ עַל־מ֨וֹשָׁב֜וֹ כְּפַ֣עַם ׀ בְּפַ֗עַם אֶל־מוֹשַׁב֙ הַקִּ֔יר וַיָּ֨קָם֙ יְה֣וֹנָתָ֔ן וַיֵּ֥שֶׁב אַבְנֵ֖ר מִצַּ֣ד שָׁא֑וּל וַיִּפָּקֵ֖ד מְק֥וֹם דָּוִֽד׃
And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul's side; but David's place was empty.

I have also read that azla "occasionally replaces metheg to mark secondary stress," but I am not confident that this can logically apply here (if so how?).
What I wasn't understanding was that, with the preposition joined by maqqef, the "secondary accent" syllable receiving the kadma is not "the first syllable of the word." For Wickes, p. 113, says, "Azla may take the place of light Metheg in the same word with Geresh (only of course not on the first letter)." If this is a valid rule, then the word moshav with the two accents would be illegal, but I suppose `al-moshav is another animal.
How common is the phenomenon exemplified by the accentuation of the word moshav here?


texts:
Which ספר מנורת המאור Sefer Menoras Hamaor came first?

Between the two sefarim called ספר מנורת המאור Sefer Menoras Hamaor - One written by Rav Yisrael ben Yoseph Alnakaweh, and one written by Rav Yitzchak Abuhav I have heard that the latter was originally thought to be based on the previous work. Later I heard that many have disagreed and claimed the opposite to be true, and the Sefer of R' Abuhav came was the original Menoras Hamaor which the Menoras Hamaor of R' Al-Nakaweh was based on. I heard a 3rd opinion that they were written indepententally of each other without either affecting the other.

Can someone supply some more insight, sources, detail on this matter?

PS I would prefer, if available, a little more than just citings of sources stating one way or another.


texts: Sources for individual's "four cubits in the Land of Israel"

texts:
I know of one teshuva (Maharam of Rothenburg, Prague Edition, 4:536), that deals with the practical implications of one's halakhically guaranteed four cubits in the Land of Israel.
Does anyone know of other sources?


texts: Request in Kiddush Levanah about restoring the moon's original luminance

texts:
Near the end of Kiddush Levana, there is a request that says:

וִיהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶיךָ יְיָ אֱלֹהַי וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתַי לְמַלּאֹת פְּגִימַת הַלְּבָנָה, וְלאֹ יִהְיֶה בָּהּ שׁוּם מִעוּט, וִיהִי אוֹר הַלְּבָנָה כְּאוֹר הַחַמָּה וּכְאוֹר שִׁבְעַת יְמֵי בְרֵאשִׁית, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהָיְתָה קוֹדֶם מִעוּטָהּ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר וַיַּעַשֹ אֱלֹהִים אֶת שְׁנֵי הַמְּאֹרֹת הַגְּדֹלִים

My rough translation:

May it be your will, Lord, my G-d and G-d of my fathers to fill the blemish of the moon and there should be no lessening. And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun and the light that it had during the 7 days of creation prior to its light being diminished, as is written (Genesis 1:16) "... the two great lights" (implying that both the sun and moon's lights were equal.)

This concept is based on a Midrash cited in Talmud Chulin 60b. In brief, the moon complained to G-d, "Is it possible that there should be two rulers in the sky?" Whereby G-d told the moon to make itself smaller.

My questions:

By making this request, aren't we, in a sense, recreating the initial "problem"?
Of more practical value, reading further in the Talmud page, G-d said that the moon will benefit because Israel will establish its calendar by its cycle. But, if the sun and moon were both in the sky with the same light, would that also, possibly diminish or eliminate its role as being the heavenly body used for Rosh Hodesh? From the Talmud's discussion, it seems as if this role were created because the moon's light was diminished, only.


texts: Can one watch a video on Youtube that was recorded or uploaded by a Jew on Shabbat, or is this considered Maaseh Shabbat?


texts:
Necessary background: Lashon Harah (slander) is prohibited, unless it is for a to'eles (constructive purpose).

Can I say Lashon Harah that would be available to everyone, would be beneficial for some people, and I have no way of finding the people for whom it would be beneficial?

For example, let's say I am renting an apartment and my landlord is a miserable wretch.  I would like to warn any future tenants about his wretchedness.  However, he won't be sending any future potential tenants to me as a reference.  Can I post to an anonymous internet site how terrible my landlord was, in the hopes that future potential tenants may google the address and find my review?  The information would also be available to people who weren't looking into this apartment.

Would it make a difference if the site I posted to was a primarily Jewish visited site (such as Yeshiva World News or something) or if the landlord was Jewish or not?


texts: If Avraham Already Knew Who Yitzchak’s Wife Would Be Why Not Just Tell Eliezer Which Girl To Go To?

texts:
Rashi (dibbur hamatchil אחרי הדברים האלה ויוגד וגו׳ of Bereishit 22:20) says:

בשרו הקב״ה שנולדה רבקה בת זוגו

If Hashem already informed Avraham exactly who Yitzchak’s wife would be why not just tell Eliezer straight out who it is and he can go directly to the family and say that she is the chosen one for Yitzchak?  Why send him on a mission and speaking generally to find a wife for Yitzchak, what to do and what not to do, where to go and where not to go.  Avraham explained the possibility of the girl not wanting to come (Bereishit 24:2-8).  Why did he need to ask Hashem to arrange it so that the girl will be the one who comes to draw water and has the quality of chesed and offers drink to Eliezer and his camels (see Bereishit 24:12-14).  Avraham could have Eliezer just bypass it all and go straight to Rivka.


texts: KosherLamp closed by window (Moris Ayin?)

texts: Was wondering if closing the KosherLamp on Shabbat while a window shade is up when it is dark and possible onlookers can see a light go off in ones house constitute a case of moris ayin (doing something that is permitted, in a way that might appear to onlookers as doing something forbidden, which is generally discouraged in Judaism). Especially if one were to close the window shades quickly right after. I'm aware these days people are aware of automated lights which I'm guessing is one reason it most likely wouldn't be but does one still have to be careful regarding not showing subsequent actions such as closing the shades thereafter?


texts:
There are many Hilchos Brochos (on food) seforim for Ashkenazim such as Halachos of Brochos, The Laws of B'rachos, etc.

What are examples of English Brachos seforim that sefardim could use? (in other words, seforim that follow sefardi psak)

Obviously, the premise of this question is highly related to this question (which has yet to get an answer)...


texts: Are there any Halachik or Hashkafic issues with using rogaine or some other hair loss prevention medicine?


texts: Someone said the closing Torah blessing instead of the opening one. What should he do?

texts:
A person who is called for an aliyah L'Torah said the closing blessing (אשר נתן) instead of the opening one (אשר בחר). He did say Barchu. Assuming that the Torah reader has not begun reading,  which of these should he do?

Repeat saying the correct opening blessing with Barchu. End with the usual closing blessing.
Same as 1 but without Barchu
Don't repeat anything for opening blessing. In place of the usual closing blessing, say the opening one.
Same as 3, but for the closing say the usual closing blessing.

If the reader began reading, which of choices 3 or 4 should he do?


texts:
Where can I find the Sifre on the book of Devarim online in text form (as opposed to Pdf)?

The commentary of the Netziv would also be appreciated.


texts:
Following questions about naming animals, in Genesis narrative, God creates Earth, it grows plants and trees, God creates animals, then man, man names animals.
Who named the plants, for example, the 7 Minim of Eretz Israel? Did angels know their names? Did Adam know their names?


texts: History of waiting for the Rav / Rabbi to finish Shemona Esrei

texts:
Rama - Orach Chaim 124:3 says that the one leading the prayers should not wait for the respected people to finish their Tefila. Mishna Berura 13 - says the reason is because of Tircha D'tzibura. Mishna Berura goes on and says that these days we do wait for האב״ד (this acronym is the Av Bais Din - perhaps extended to Rabbi or most Chashuv person in the Shul)

  ועכשיו נהגו שהש״ץ ממתין עד שיסיים האב״ד את תפלתו

My question is - What is the earliest recorded point after the Rama that this changed, and we started waiting for האב״ד / Rabbi prior to repeating the Tefila?


texts:
The week day Shmoneh Esrei prayer has a series of requests during which we ask Hashem for many of our needs. In my siddur (Tefilla Hashalem) there is a subtle change made in the texts of 1 of the brachot, adding in a word not found in my Artscroll.

In the prayer for the righteous (al hatzadikkim) my siddur reads "יהמו נא רחמיך" while the Artscroll omits the "na."

In the siddur Shiloh, that "na" is present as is one in the prayer for redemption (re'ei), "ראה נא בענינו" which is missing from both my siddur and the Artscroll.

I understand that the texts are sometimes variable, though I'm used to seeing shifts only in v'lamalshinim, but my question is not about these local changes. I am wondering, why is the presence of "please" so infrequent? Is there something special about these blessings that would mandate saying please? Isn't that something that should be in our every request? Should we say please when we ask for healing or intelligence or the arrival of a Moshiach?


texts: How long after the Torah was given did the Jewish people start wearing tefillin?

texts:
From one of the explanations of eating milky foods on Shavuos, we understand that it was not possible to do all the mitzvos connecting with preparing meat for food immediately after accepting the Torah.

Shechting an animal and skinning it are also stages in preparing tefillin. So do we have any sources that tell us how long after the Torah was given did the Jewish people start wearing tefillin?


texts:
Talmud Qidushin 3b

סד''א תיתי בקל וחומר מיבמה מה יבמה שאינה יוצאה בגט יוצאה בחליצה, אשה שיוצאה בגט אינו דין שיוצאה בחליצה ... ספר כורתה ואין דבר אחר כורתה
[You could think ... if a yevama that cannot go out by a get, goes out by chalitza, a regular wife that goes out by a get, a fortiori she could go out by chalitza ... No, we learn from the verse that only the act cuts and no other thing]

What is the idea that, unless the מיעוט, chalitza would make sense, or be efficient, on a wife? But chalitza is tailored specifically for a brother-in-law, not for a husband!
The yevama begins saying מאן יבמי the yavam responds, and finally after she spit:

ככה יעשה ... בית אחיו

Some remarks after the comments/answer below:

These sayings are not mandatory. However, if the yavam or yevama cannot say them (because they are mute), the chalitza is not OK, in virtue of the principle of כל שאינו ראוי לבילה בילה מעכבת בו. Meforshim explain this principle: ok, tora said to do something, if occasionnaly you didn't, it is not catastrophic; but if there is a case where this thing cannot be done, one is no more in the field of application of this law. So, here, the sayings making no sense, this principle show us that chalitza was not defined here.

Seems very difficult to change the sayings to adapt them in every situation: you see the tora wants these precise words to be said, and only in Hebrew (Sotah beginning of perek 7).

In Tosfot, they ask why don't say the qal vahomer to free an אמה העבריה. Even there is a מצות יעוד on her, she is primarily a servant, so that her master profit from מעשה ידיה : an economical relation. It is more difficult to see here a divorce.

How, at all, we can begin the qal vahomer ומה יבמה שאינה יוצאה בגט etc ... So what?.. Get is weak?! How can we think that a get, that permits an אשת איש, would be weaker than chalitza?! If get don't work on yevama, there must be something particular, but never because of weakness!

Why don't say פירכא: מה ליבמה שכן איסור לאו, תאמר באשת איש שיש בה מיתה


texts: Is "Understanding God half-way" a true understanding?

texts:
If I try to summarize answers to various theological questions, it goes like this:

we understand that God is/acts/feels/desires X (good, just, etc) in the literal sense, or in this world, e.g. caring, giving, providing us with food and shelter and peace, etc.
we understand that God is/acts/feels/desires Y in a higher sense, in a higher world, e.g will compensate us in the afterlife, judges for previous sins, etc.
we resign to "we can't understand God", we can't explain it in our terms.

For example, if my kid thinks that I married his mother or brought him to this world in order to give him food and a bicycle, he probably does not understand me at all, not that he understands me halfway.
Is "Understanding God half-way" an understanding, if we can't comprehend it fully?


texts:
The Gemara in Chaggigah (4b) mentions a woman by the name of Miriam Megadla Se'ar:

  זיל אייתי לי מרים מגדלא שיער נשייא

Which means she was a "grower of woman's hair" which is to mean she was a hair dresser.

When I came across this I thought for sure this is a reference to Mary Magdalene of Christian fame. She is also the patron saint of hairdressers (SE.Christianity site featuring our very own Mi Yodeyan:-)). So I thought for sure the Gemara is talking about the same person. As both the name and profession seem to line up.

However, Tosafos on the Daf says instead this is Jesus' mother Mary.

  דמרים מגדלא נשייא בבית שני היה דהיתה אמו של פלוני

I was wondering is Tosafos correct in their identification?
Were the Baalei Hatosfos familiar with Christian theology and works to be able to correctly identify Mary?

Are there any sources which discusses this?


texts: Does a home megilla reading require separate seating (or a mechitza) between men and women?

texts:
Occasionally people hold additional megillah readings in someone's home on Purim.

Assuming there's no prayers other than the megillah reading and its associated brachas, must/should there be a mechitza between the men and women for the reading? If not, should they still sit in separate places, or does it not matter?


texts: I saw this video earlier today and it got me thinking: nothing in the recipe for fresh ramen noodles (as opposed to instant ramen) requires a hechsher on its own, as the ingredients are: flour, water, kansui (an alum-rich water, traditionally sourced from lakes in Mongolia) and [sometimes] egg. They are packed while moist, rather than being dried in oil. Consequently: as they are also uncooked, should fresh, Asian-style noodles, require a hechsher?


texts: Does anyone know how women-only Kabbalat Shabbat prayer came about? I have only come across it in newspapers from about the late 2000s in some United Synagogues. Have there been cases way before this? What is the Halachic approach to this?


texts: May one engage in pleasurable voluntary activities during the Three Weeks?

texts:
During the Three Weeks (or at least during the Nine Days), is there a recommendation to distance oneself from voluntary activities that one particularly enjoys?

(The question is less regarding commandments, and more regarding voluntary activities. For example, perhaps the permission to learn Torah during these weeks is due to the commandment to learn, with less consideration of the possibility that one may enjoy performing that commandment.)

related: Learning music theory during the Three Weeks?


texts: There is a rabbinic obligation to wait between meat and dairy though customs are diverse regarding how long to wait, ranging from 1 hour (for those who come from e.g. Dutch communities) to the more common 6 hrs. With regard to small children, the general custom is to gradually increase the amount of time they wait as they get older until they wait the full time that adults in their community wait. My question is: within, e.g. the communities that wait 5+ hrs, is there a standard protocol to follow across childhood? Are there any published (or oral) rabbinic rulings? Please cite the names of the works or authorities.


texts:
Who knows irrational numbers?
?מספר אי-רציונלי - מי יודע
In the spirit of the song "Echad - mi yodeya", please post interesting and significant Jewish facts about irrational numbers. I tried dealing with them, but it's just impossible ... They're completely irrational. Who knows? Maybe YOU do!
Please, no lazy gematria about these numbers. I'm looking for something clever.

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


texts: Does the gentile seeking conversion have more obligations than a Noahide Person?

texts:
I am a gentile seeking to convert to Judaism, but I can't make a contact with a Beit Din since there is no Rabbi in my country neither an active Synagogue. But I am very serious toward conversion and being Noahide is too basic for me. I will convert in the far future after relocating outside the country.

Since I am seeking conversion, do I have more obligation than a Noahide ?


texts: Which, if any, internal organs do Ashkenazim customarily not eat?

texts:
I am Sephardi, and being adventurous in the kitchen I occasionally like to prepare non-standard organs: lungs, hearts, spleens, etc.

Occasionally I've had objections from Ashkenazi friends or relatives: "we don't eat hearts", "we don't eat spleens", etc.

I've done a lot of Google searching and haven't found any source that said Ashkenazim can't eat any of the above (or other internal) organs. Are there actual, known minhagim related to these? Or are my guests just making excuses to avoid eating something they find too weird?

(To clarify: I'm not referring to the laws of cutting open hearts/liver and roasting them before cooking and various other restrictions - I'm referring to a blanket prohibition.)


texts: In SA Orach Chaim 187:1 in Mishnah Brurah Sif Beis, he writes that the phrase in Birchas Hamazon should be 'Bphi' kol chai and not 'Bphe'. Anyone have an idea why?


texts: Are there any limitations to what you can carry or where you can carry within an eruv on Shabbat?


texts: "What do they do with the rest of the Matzah?"

texts:
I don't know how many times I've been sitting and enjoying some matzah ball soup, with both Jews and non-Jews, and someone asks:
"...so what do they do with the rest of the matzah?"
I've always wondered about this myself.
I know they somehow use them to make a "bread of affliction", and also use their milk to make cheese, matzah brie(always wondered why not matzah mozzarella or cheddar..).  There must be other ways to enjoy a perfectly shechted matzah, besides the traditional "Sinai oyster" soup..
So - what DO they do with the rest of the matzah?
This question is Purim Torah and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the Purim Torah policy.


texts: Why do Akdamut, Reshuyot on Simchat Torah and Yom Tov kiddush use the same tune?

texts:
The tune used for Yom Tov Kiddush throughout the year by most Ashkenazim is almost exactly like the tune used for Akdamut - the Aramaic poem recited in many Nusach Ashkenaz and Nusach Sefard synagogues just prior to reading the Torah on the 1st day of Shavu'ot, and the "reshuyot" for Chatanei Torah and Breishit on Simchat Torah (Thanks to DoubleAA for pointing tout the Reshuyot).

Is there any relationship between kiddush and these other items that historically have them use the same tunes?


texts: Can one disconnect an emergency lamp from power on shabbat?

texts:
This is an emergency torch. It is plugged on power and, in case the electricity stops, turns itself on automatically and runs on batteries for hours

If power falls on shabbat, can one

disconnect this lamp from power ? (since by definition there is no electricity anymore)
move it across the house to where light is needed ? (or is it muktze?) - if yes can one move it normally ?, does it have to be with a shinui, e.g., pushing it with the feet ?


texts: Jewish woman marrying a Ben Noah: Halahik consequences

texts:
I would like to know the Halahick consequences of a Jewish woman cohabiting with a non-idolatrous goy or Ben Noah.

Reading some parts in the Talmud, I understood that they would not be considered married, therefore the woman could marry a Jew without requiring a Get. And that the off-spring would be considered "Pasul".
Other than that I do not see other consequences.
What does it mean that someone is "pasul" anyway?


texts: Serving food at Kiruv Events and OC 169:2

texts:
In Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 169:2 the following is noted:
(Source Provided by Sefaria.org)

(לֹא יִתֵּן לֶאֱכֹל אֶלָּא לְמִי שֶׁיּוֹדֵעַ בּוֹ שֶׁיְּבָרֵךְ, הגה: וְיֵשׁ מְקִלִּין אִם נוֹתֵן לְעָנִי בְּתוֹרַת צְדָקָה (הר''י סוֹף פֶּרֶק אֵלּוּ דְּבָרִים
One should only give food to be eaten to someone who knows how to make the blessing (on the food) REMA: There are those who are lenient who say if you give it to a poor person as charity (it is permitted)

My Question
It is very popular in a variety of outreach events to provide refreshments and food even in a non-Shabbos meal setting1 (e.g. sushi, cookies, drinks, etc.).
This being said, under these circumstances it is unlikely to assure that those who do not know how to bless make a blessing2.
With the above noted, is there a Heter which Kiruv organizations use when serving food at an event which is likely that the large majority of participants will not recite a blessing on the food they are eating in light of the Shulchan Aruch and Rema quoted3?

1In a Shabbos meal setting, the host would be able to relieve the guests of their obligation with his blessings on wine and bread. Which would not be common in a case of a event where only light refreshments would be served.
2Additionally I have heard (for what its worth) of people involved in Kiruv that making non-practicing Jews make blessings before they eat in a non-ceremonial setting will give the impression that Judaism is too demanding for them, thus causing them to abandon the possibility of becoming a practicing jew.
3 I presume if there is a Heter, it would be based on the Rema but I am unsure how it would work


texts: Should you say a blessing on diet soda used to swallow a pill?

texts:
The halacha is that you should only say a bracha on water if you're thirsty. All the seforim I've read agree on the following: if you're not thirsty, but you drink water in order to swallow a pill, you don't say any bracha before or after.

Let's say you swallow a pill with Diet Coke or another type of sugar-free pop. But such pop has no nutritional value. [Edit: Maybe the phosphoric acid in diet soda even removes calcium from your bones and teeth, and maybe the artificial sweetener even makes your pancreas wrongly release insulin into the bloodstream. So maybe diet soda even has negative nutritional value.]

Should you say a bracha on the drink beforehand?
Why?

Please cite sources.

I couldn't find an answer to this question online. I seem to recall that The Laws of B'rachos by R' Binyomin Forst (ArtScroll) includes a discussion of when blessings are necessary before food and drink, and when they're unnecessary. But I don't remember exactly what R' Forst wrote.

CYLOR.


texts: When I go jogging or play soccer my yarmulkah will not stay on, so I wear a baseball cap instead (my hair is too thin/absent for clips or velro). This makes my head uncomfortably hot. What could I wear instead?


texts: what is the source suggesting that blasphemous sentences are exempted in distressing situations?

texts: I read a talmudic source recently suggesting an 'exemption' for 'blasphemous' statements uttered in situations of extreme distress - the source for which was Talmudic, and this was articulated in the context of an experience of the Shoah - does anyone know this Talmud source that articulates this view?


texts: In the United States (and possibly other countries), what are the reasons behind Jewish funerals always having closed caskets?


texts: Why are those parshios in particular combined?

texts:
The Tur (OC 428), as explained by the Tiferes Yisrael (Shevili d'Rakia 15), lists four dates that must fall out at certain points in the leining cycle:

Pesach must fall out after Tzav in a non-leap year or after Metzora or Acharei  in a leap year
Shavuos must fall out after Bamidbar
Tishah B'av must fall out after Devarim
Rosh Hashanah must fall out after Netzavim

In order to account for these, Shvili d'Rakia continues, depending on the year and place, the following parshios might be combined or split:

Vayakhel-Pekudei
Tazria-Metzora
Acharei-Kedoshim
Behar-Bechukosai
Chukas-Balak
Mattos-Maasei
Netzavim-Vayeilech

None of these make sense. Why can't we pick other parshios to combine? For instance, this week is Tazria-Metzora. Why don't we combine Shemini and Tazria instead, in a non-leap year? Why not combine Emor and Behar instead of Behar and Bechukosai? Why not Vayeilech and Haazinu instead of Netzavim and Vayeilech? There are any number of combinations that could be made for each of these gaps; why do we pick these in particular?

(If you want to point to length, we combine Mattos-Maasei and Vayakhel-Pekudei. If you want to point to similar content, we combine Chukas-Balak while we don't combine  Vayeilech-Haazinu, or Lech Lecha-Vayeira, or Vayeishev-Miketz, or Va'eira-Bo, or Bo-Beshalach, or Yisro-Mishpatim, or Terumah-Tetzaveh.)


texts: Saying VaYhi Erev VaYehi Voker before Kiddush Friday night

texts:
The Minhag that many people have is to start Kiddush Friday night with VaYehi Erev VaYehi Voker before saying Yom HaShishi.

I heard that HaRav Moshe Feinstein Zatzal did not say VaYehi Erev VaYehi Voker before saying Yom HaShishi, he just started from Yom HaShishi. The reason was that even though you may not split a Posuk, anything less than 3 words is not considered splitting.

The Aruch HaShulchan says that you should say the entire Posuk (Bereshit 1:31) quietly, even the words before VaYehi Erev VaYehi Voker.

Those that do say VaYehi Erev VaYehi Voker before saying Yom HaShishi why do they say it?


texts:
Assuming the view that Avraham was not a Jew (see here and here1), "ha-nefesh asher asu beCharan" (Gen. 12:5) that Rashi explains were converts, what did they convert to?

To give credit where credit is due; my question was inspired by this one.

1 I'm using these as sources until I find better ones....if you can help me with this please comment!


texts: When Mashiach will come, will we still have the Avoda in the Yom Kippur Mussaf?

texts:
Presumably, the reason we have the Avoda in Mussaf is because of Uneshalma Parim Sefateinu - by saying (or learning) about sacrifices, it's as if we brought them. So if we're bringing real sacrifices we shouldn't need the second-best method.

Yet, we presumably had Mussaf, which is a mostly sacrifice prayer with little personal requests, in the time of the Beis Hamikdash and we didn't say that we are doing the real thing so why say a substitute.

So when Moshiach comes, will we say the Avoda?


texts:
The Megillah says the name of Esther’s father (Abichayel) but did anyone ever see a source naming her mother?

This isn’t a Halacha question but it would be nice to have a source for her mom’s name


texts: Does the one-year rule regarding Milchig and Fleishig pots apply to non-Kosher vessels?

texts:
According to Ashkenazi tradition, "If a meat/milk pot hasn't been used for a year+, it may be used as the other type without Kashering".
If I have a ceramic coffee mug that may or may not have contained a hot non-kosher food/liquid more than one year ago, may I now use it?


texts: The Torah tells us G-d brought Adam into Gan Eden after his creation from earth (Bereishis 2:15). If this is the case where was Adam created?


texts: Is one allowed to have one's kippah resting on the straps of the shel rosh

texts: Is a man permitted to have the kippah that he is wearing resting on the straps of the shel rosh tefillin that are on his head?  Perhaps it would be forbidden because it would be a secular object resting on a holy object.


texts:
If a man is not circumcised can he perform the mitzvah himself? Aside from issues of pain, and difficulty in the actual cut, can he say the beracha in such a state if he is not covered properly? What are the other issues related to this?

Could even be the best way of doing the mitzvah since מצוה בו יותר מבשלוחו (kiddushin)


texts: Can it be that some midrashic literature got lost over time?

texts: Is it possible that some of the material of the old Jewish midrashim (on the different books of the Hebrew Bible) that was written and was available during the Pre-Talmudic era is no longer available?


texts:
There is a famous mishnah in Sanhedrin (7:7) about a Ba'al Ov [necromancer]

בעל אוב זה פתום המדבר משחיו
A Ba'al Ov: this is the one who speaks through his armpit

As we know, armpit flatulence is like speaking through one's armpit, as such is it assur to partake in armpit flatulence ?

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


texts: If one is allergic to bread, what should he do for Challah and Matzah?

texts: Let's say that someone is allergic to bread. All five grains. Not fatally, but enough that it causes a serious allergic reaction (say, to a degree that he would be allowed to take medicine on Shabbos). What should he do for Challah and Matzah? Do we apply oneis rachmana patrei? Does it depend on how allergic he is?


texts:
I've a short question about Psalm 82, verse 1.
The hebrew reads:  מִזְמוֹר לְאָסָף אֱלֹהִים נִצָּב בַּעֲדַת־אֵל בְּקֶרֶב אֱלֹהִים יִשְׁפֹּט

So how should one read these verse?
1. Is it that G-d will judge the elohim from the midst of the assembly of G-d?
2. Or is it that G-d takes stand in the assembly, and there, from the midst of elohim, He judges.
3. Or is it that He will judge with the elohim?

As there are no punctuation symbols such as the comma in the Hebrew verse, but it makes a lot of difference to the meaning of the verse.


texts: Why does Moses use a euphemism in talking to God?

texts:
In this week's portion, Behaalotecha, Moses tells God:

  If this is how You are going to treat me, then, if I have found favor in Your eyes, kill me, and do not let me witness my evil. [Num. 11:15]

Sifrei Bamidbar 84:4 says that it really means "their" evil, i.e., the Israelites' evil, not Moses' evil, and that the inversion is just a euphemism, and that this is done frequently in the Tanach.

But in this particular case, why is Moses reluctant to talk directly about the people's sins?  He wasn't before.  For example, in Ex. 32:31 he tells God "‘Oh, this people have sinned a great sin!"


texts:
What are the necessary conditions for being ready to learn Kabala?

And if one meets those conditions, what books should he start with?

Please provide a source.


texts: Does one need to wear tzitzis while exercising? Isn't it disrespectful to the tzitzis to make them all sweaty?


texts: 176 verses in longest parasha, longest psalm and last page of longest Talmud tractate - what is the significance?

texts:
As was already noted before on MiYodeya,

the longest parasha (Naso) has 176 verses
the longest Psalm (119) has 176 verses
the longest tractate of Talmud Bavli (Bava Batra) ends on daf 176

Is there any significance to this coincidence?

(of course there is no coincidence, in Hebrew the letters for MiKReH, coincidence, also spell out Rak Me Hashem - only from God).

One very nice explanation I heard (and now found here and here) is that 176 equals 22 times 8. 22 is the number of letters in the Alef Bet (the complete Hebrew alphabet), 8 symbolizes "one beyond the natural" or "completeness beyond nature".

The product of two complete numbers is therefore the ultimate completeness and demonstrates completeness and perfection of Torah.

Are there other explanations or relevant sources?


texts: A friend stumped me with this question: What is the earliest reference to the custom of having newlyweds dip their hallah in honey? My guess is that it's an extension from the custom of honey on Rosh haShana... Any ideas?


texts:
a) When were the tefillos of Selichos instituted or composed?
b) Who composed them?
When were they first said?
Did they say selichos in the times of the Beis HaMikdash ?


texts: What's the most efficient method for learning biblical Hebrew?

texts:
I have gone through some basic schooling at a modern yeshiva. For 10 years I haven't touched a Chumash, but would like to get back into it. I have started reading the Artscroll Chumash--reading the Hebrew and then looking at the English translation when I run across a word or phrase I don't know. I then note that word with its translation in a notepad. This method turns out to be excruciatingly slow and requires a lot of patience.

Is there a better method for getting up to speed with biblical Hebrew. I will also use this method for learning Aramaic.

My goal is to be able to open up any parsha and be able to understand the entire hebrew along with any mepharshim available.


texts: Inspired by this question ( SE Challenge: Halachot in which rulings range from permissible to Torah violation?) , I thought I'd go further. Can you think of any Halachoth whose rulings range from obligatory to a (Torah) prohibition?


texts:
Is there a peshat difference between the usual wording,
“ושתי המלכה”
Vashti the queen
(or “אסתר המלכה” Esther the queen),
and the wording used twice in Chapter 1 (verses 12 and 15),
“המלכה ושתי”
the queen, Vashti?

Is “Queen Vashti” a better match in English for “ושתי המלכה”,
and “Vashti, the queen” for “המלכה ושתי”, despite the actual word order?


texts:
VaYikra/Leviticus 15:2-3
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them: When any man hath an issue out of his flesh, his issue is unclean. And this shall be his uncleanness in his issue: whether his flesh run with his issue, or his flesh be stopped from his issue, it is his uncleanness.

What kind of issue(s) are these?

And afterwards when one is cleansed from the issue one should count seven days, and on the eight day bring a sacrifice (verse 13 and 14).

Should one from whom the flow of seed goeth out, so that he is unclean thereby, also count? Or is it only for an issue?


texts: Is the "wicked son" of the Haggadah an apostate Jew?

texts: I've seen a few sources that seem to understand that the wicked son of the Haggadah was an apostate Jew, who converted to Christianity.  See for example, this answer and linked article, as well as this.  What other evidence supports or rejects that claim?


texts:
Is there an order in which one must prepare the oil/candles each night of Chanuka?

Last night as I was preparing the menorah one of my guests commented that while we light the newest candle first that when we prepare the menorah you should start with the oldest one first - and move forward saving the newest candle for last.  I have never heard of this.  Is this a requirement and if so can you provide a source?


texts:
A friend posted on Facebook the following question, and I couldn't solve it based on any context, so I thought I'd bring it here.

When the רא״ש refers to "הגאון", who is he referring to?

Is there someone he generally calls by that title?


texts: Are these Latin/Greek translations of Hebrew terms useful?

texts:
If you use the following Latin or Greek translations of Hebrew terms in conversation with secular people, do they tend to know what you're talking about? If so, in what contexts - a university Classics or Philosophy department, the corner grocery, the accounting firm where you work?

Related: In what secular contexts have you heard other people use these terms?

Examples:

"A fortiori" for "kal vachomer"
"Ab initio" for "lechatchila"
"Phylacteries" for "tefillin"

Feel free to add more examples, including by editing this question.


texts: In order to make a siyum on a mesechta, does one have to leave over the last piece for the siyum, & if not, how soon after completing the masechta does one have to make the siyum?


texts:
Are Jews allowed to eat hunted animals? That means the animals are dead before getting their necks cut.

I do not think that a large proportions of ancient Jews were hunters, but I would be surprised to find that there was not a single hunter in all of Jewish history.


texts: What is a Literal Translation of Asher Yatzar?

texts:
I have two similar English translations of Asher Yatzar. They both have something to the effect of "many orifices and cavities." However, the Hebrew for these two is ,נקבים נקבים חלולים חלולים.

What is a literal translation of this and how can the same word mean both orifice and many and another mean cavity and many?


texts: Why is it that there appear to be so many different nuschaos of Selichos?

texts: Why is it that there appear to be more different nuschaos of Selichos than other tefillos? I have heard of Askenaz, Sfard, Lita, Polin and Ungvar.


texts:
The Book of Judges relates how Avimelekh, the son of Gideon rose to power and made himself a king by killing his seventy brothers. His eventual fate came, when he sieged Teiveitz and wanted to take a fortified tower (Judges 9:53):

וַתַּשְׁלֵ֞ךְ אִשָּׁ֥ה אַחַ֛ת פֶּ֥לַח רֶ֖כֶב עַל־רֹ֣אשׁ אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ וַתָּ֖רִץ אֶת־גֻּלְגָּלְתּֽוֹ׃
And a certain woman cast an upper millstone upon Avimelech's head, and broke his skull.

Most commentaries I saw discuss the upper millstone regarding this verse, but they don't tell anything about the identity of this woman. For me it's quite strange that a woman could lift such a heavy stone, yet I failed to find anything about her. Do you know anything particular about her that escaped my attention? Besides being a serious blow to the ego of Avimelekh, why is it important that he was killed by a woman?


texts: What is the hetter for yeshivas to daven a Hoiche Kedusha?

texts:
I have seen many Yeshivas (and some not-so-yeshivas [day schools, etc.]) doing a Hoiche Kedusha  for Mincha. They had the Chazzan start the first three Brachos of Shemoneh Esrei aloud and say Kedushah, and then everyone would say the Shmone Esrei together. They do this even if they are davening in the middle of he day.

What hetter do they have to do so? It says that one should do this only BeShaas Hadchak or Bedieved, not lechatchila?

I heard two explanations:

They don't have time because of Bittul Torah. My objection to this is: come on. They time the break so perfectly they can't give up two minutes to say a lechatchila Chazaras Hashatz?
There was no enactment of Chazzaras Hashatz in a Yeshiva, since everyone was a Talmid Chochom. My objections to this are: a. Where is a source in the Gemara/Rishonim which distinguishes between a Beis Medrash and a normal Beis Haknesses? and b. How do day-schools, which contain plenty of unlearned people, rely on this hetter?

Does anyone know any real source to this minhag?


texts: Judicial System During the First Temple period

texts:
The Sanhedrin was a Jewish high court that was the supreme authority for Jewish law during the second Temple period. There seem to be a references to a central group of Sages in Exodus 24 and Deuteronomy 17:8-12. Also, there were Judges in Israel before the monarchy.

I know there are a number of potential aggadic references to such a court, such as Sanh 101b for one in Samaria that is inveigled into sanctioning Jeroboam's idol worship, and 107a for one in Judah that separates from David when he contracts tzaraat.

Please provide biblical or historic, (not aggadic) evidence for a High Court in Judah and/or Samaria. Alternatively, provide evidence for systems in lieu of such a court.


texts: Under what conditions is baking powder kosher

texts: I'm a Jew from Iran. I want to know if baking powder is kosher without any certificate since they don't exist in Iran. Generally baking powder include TARTARIC ACID.


texts: If you come early to a minyan factory and catch the previous minyan's torah reading, are you yotzeh?

texts:
If you come early to your minyan in a minyan factory for shachrit and you're able to hear the entire torah reading from beginning to end, do you have to stick around for YOUR minyan's torah reading the second time around?

IE:
 Your Shachris starts at 8:00 am.
 You arrive at 7:45 am.
 The previous minyan just took out the torah scroll.

Can you pay attention to the previous minyan's torah reading and leave right after shemonah esrei or do you have to listen to your own and stay until the end of the shachrit of your own minyan?


texts: Is there gender separation for tourists who aren't praying at the Kotel (Western Wall)?

texts: I’m going with my wife and I’m not sure whether we will be separated.


texts:
Tosfos writes the following in Pesachim Daf 99b:

  לא יפחתו לו מארבע כוסות. מתוך הלשון משמע קצת שאין נותנין לבניו ולבני ביתו כי אם לעצמו והוא מוציא את כולם בשלו וסברא הוא דמאי שנא ארבע כוסות מקידוש דכל השנה שאחד מוציא את כולם ומיהו גם בקידוש שמא היה לכל אחד כוס כדמשמע לקמן (דף קו.) גבי חזיה לההוא סבא דגחין ושתי אבל בפרק בכל מערבין (עירובין דף מ:) גבי זמן משמע קצת שלא היה לכל אחד כוסו ועוד דאמר בגמרא (לקמן דף קח:) השקה מהן לבניו ולבני ביתו יצא והוא דשתה רובא דכסא משמע דהם יצאו בשמיעה דהא בעינן רובא דכסא ועוד דמשמע דלכתחלה אין רגילות להשקותם מיהו יש לדחות בשיש להם כוס לעצמם אי נמי בבניו ובני ביתו קטנים מיירי שלא הגיעו לחינוך ואין אשתו בכלל ומיהו בגמרא משמע שצריך כל אחד ארבע כוסות דקתני (שם) הכל חייבין בארבע כוסות אחד נשים ואחד תינוקות אמר רבי יהודה מה תועלת לתינוקות ביין משמע דלתנא קמא צריך כוס אף לתינוקות ויש לדחות דחייבין לשמוע ברכת ארבע כוסות קאמר ומשום חינוך ונראה להחמיר ולהצריך ארבע כוסות לכל אחד והמחמיר צריך ליזהר שלא יהא כוסם פגום דאמר בגמרא (לקמן ד' קה:) טעמו פגמו

While I'm not going to translate the entire Tosfos I will say simply that he is entertaining the idea that one could be yotzee the mitzvah of arba cosos through the bal habayis (like by Kiddush) even if he himself doesn't actually drink from the cos. He goes through many proofs and pushes some away however ends off that one should be "machmir" to have arba cosos for every person.

What is the sofek of Tosfos exactly? Why is it that he doesn't find it so simple that for each person to fulfill the mitzvbah of arba cosos he must drink every cos? Why does he seem to compare (all arba cosos) to that of Kiddush the whole year that one may say the kiddush, drink the wine and everyone is yotzee with him.

I had seen brought down from the Gaonim that the arba cosos of the Pesach Seder are a "chovo" and impossible to not drink them (See here brought down in Gilonei HaShas from R' Yosef Engel)

As well the Gemorah in Pesachim Daf 117b says

  ארבע כסי תיקנו רבנן דרך חירות

How is one able to fullfill the inyun of "derech cheres" without drinking the cos?

So again, what is causing Tosfos to entertain this idea, where is he getting it from, what's his savarah? I have heard that the later achronim (Chazzon Ish, Har Tzvi, HaRav Pinchus Sheinberg ZT"L) have a derech in this however it's difficult for me to understand. Any insights or earlier sources that dealt with this would help


texts: The mother of Sisera seems to take on a fairly large role [see Rosh Hashana (33b)] in understanding blowing the Shofar on Rosh Hashana, based on her crying for her son after his war against Klal Yisroel [Shoftim (5:28)]. In fact, one of the reasons we blow the shofar 100 times on Rosh Hashana is due to her wails [Aruch (דק p. 119)]. However, I haven't seen her name mentioned once in Chazal, Rishonim, or Achronim. Do any Jewish sources tell us the name of the "mother of Sisera"?


texts: Breakdown of Yirmiyahu's 70 year prophecy

texts:
Can someone supply a good breakdown of Yirmiyahu's 70 year prophecy, and the misinterpretations of the prophecy? This is what I've learned in the past:

Yirmiyahu made a prophecy that 70 years after the exile started, the Jews will return to Israel.
There are different possible starting points for calculating the 70 years.
Both Belshatzar and Achashverosh miscalculated the end of the 70 years, and threw a party using the vessels of the Beit HaMikdash.
The Jews indeed returned to Israel when the real 70 years ended.

Where is Yirmiyahu's prophecy recorded?

What were the possible starting points for calculating the 70 years?

What were Belshatzar and Achashverosh's mistakes?

What was the real calculation, i.e. how was the prophecy actually fulfilled?

What other (if any) details am I missing?


texts:
I was once told in the name of R' Herschel Schachter that we try to avoid giving the ba'al kriah his own 'aliyah under most circumstances (exceptions would include maftir, a bar mitzvah bochur even on a weekday, and when the ba'al kriah is the only Kohen or Levi).

What is the source for this, particularly considering that originally each 'oleh read his own 'aliyah?


texts: Is somebody who dozed off behind the wheel liable for damages?

texts:
If someone dozed off behind the wheel and caused serious injuries to his passengers, is he liable for the damages?

The premise of the question is that perhaps, because he dozed off, the driver is considered an Ones (beyond his control and therefore exonerated of any fault or negligence)


texts:
It says in the Rema in OC Siman 98 Sif 1 that it's ossur to kiss a child in shul. There are perhaps exceptions to this rule and cases where it would be allowed however that's that it says in the Rema (See here for many details in this halacha.)

Under the normal circumstances where it's ossur, would it also be ossur in the Ezras Nashim (i.e. for a woman to kiss a child in that part of the shul)?


texts: Only my grandfather was Jewish. Can I pray at home in my grandfather's tallit?

texts:
I'm a "patrilinear" Jew, only my grandfather was really jewish for halakhà. I'm proud of my jewish heritage and I follow many jewish traditions (like Kasheruth, Pesach, Yom Kippur...) From 2007 I attend a orthodox congregation in my city. I don't think one day I will make the ghiur, 'cause I have a non-jewish wife and a son, and I think that is not possible in these circumstances to convert, to "return" to judaism. So, in these day I have found my grandpa's tallit, and I don't know what do with it, I would find a significance for it. I know that is not possible to wear this in synagogue, but is possible to use it in my home for the tefillah?

Thanks, shalom, Pesach Sameach


texts: What is the source of the Hebrew word "Rabbi" - which is commonly applied to a Rav, Rosh Yeshiva, etc.?