texts: Would you buy "Bible for Children" for a 2.8 year old toddler?

texts:
[This is not a duplicated question - I am asking here about specific book if it's a good read or not. The last part is asking for recommendations.]

I have bought lots of books to my toddler, such as Gruffalo, Room on the Broom and many other books that he loves me to read for him.

I'd like to buy him some books in English that have some spirituality as well (not only Gashmiut but also absorb some Ruchaniyut) ... I'm orthodox (Dati to be more accurate, please don't ask me to classify myself as Modern Orthodox or Orthodox or Frum, I don't like using these expressions) ..

Anyway bottom line - I'd like to know if this is a book I can order for my son?

Holy Bible: With Colour Stories from the Big Bible Storybook. (New International Version)
ISBN-13: 9781444701807
ISBN-10: 1444701800

I think it's originally a Christian book but I love the graphics in this book and it seems like it was well made ... Also since he would never read this book by himself but I can choose the chapters - what's your opinion about ordering this book? Is this OKAY or not?

Also if you have recommendations for other English books that are useful to encourage toddlers to learn some Torah with good graphics - please let me know. Thanks.


texts: Interchangeable usage of Hebrew letters (such as Beis and Vav, etc.)

texts:
I don't know if there is another post about this issue, but forgive me if there is.

Here is my question. I recently read somewhere that there are letters that can be interchanged for various reasons. For example, the letter Beis can be changed for the similar-sounding letter Vav. The same I think applies to Aleph and Heh. Is this true, and if so, when would this be an appropriate thing to do? Would it apply to situations where one is working on a Remez (hidden issue), or for Gematria purposes, or something else perhaps?

Does anyone know?

Thanks a lot.


texts: Help! It's Shabbos and the wind is blowing my garbage cans halfway down the block! I know they're muktza, so I can't move them. What can I do?


texts:
A person is discouraged from speaking after reciting the blessing of "Hamapil" before bed (Magen Avraham 239 s.v. ומברך המפיל explaining why the SA says to say Hamapil after Kriyas Shema).

Someone told me the purpose is to juxtapose the blessing to falling asleep. Therefore if after 30 minutes you fail to fall asleep, since you failed to make the juxtaposition, you're allowed to speak freely. Is there any basis for this statement? Any sources to back it up?


texts: Spiritual gift of perceptions - what is the cause and how should they be used?

texts:
There are people that claim to be able to see supernatural qualities about people they have just met, including episodes from his or her life, very personal details.

What, according to Judaism, is the cause of such gifts (angels, ruach hakodesh?) and what is the purpose of them? How is anyone who has them supposed to use these gifts, and why are these gifts given to a specific person?


texts:
What are the overall rules of Muktzeh and its categories?

When is one allowed to move a Muktza object and for what purpose?


texts: We seem to not know what manna is, yet how do we determine it is kosher? I suppose this is the case because G-d deemed it so, but what do our sources say?


texts: Can a public Torah reading be done by repeating words and trope as read by another?

texts:
It's time for Kri'at Hatorah (public Torah reading) on a Monday. The shul's regular Ba'al Kri'ah is absent, and no one else in the shul can read from the Torah - not even the rabbi. It is not just a question of not knowing the trope or pronouncing the words - they can't read the Hebrew writing in the Torah.

The rabbi appoints someone from the minyan and says, "You will open the Torah and while I read from a Chumash with trope, you'll repeat after me and follow along in the Torah." And this is how the Torah reading is done that day.

Is this halachically acceptable for public Torah reading? It seems that the "reader" wasn't actually reading; he was just mimicking what the rabbi was saying and the Torah was there as a prop.

Instead of the mimicking, would it have been better just to skip the Torah reading altogether? If this was not a halchically acceptable method, did those who received aliyot make a bracha levatalah (blessing in vain)?

To clarify b/c of comments: - My browser won't let me add comments, and, in this case, it's better to edit the question):

The rabbi stands on the side of the Torah table with the Chumash. Another stands in front of an open Torah holding the yad- the reader. Person getting the aliyah makes the bracha. The reader opens the Torah. The rabbi reads a few words from his chumash with the trope. The reader repeats exactly what the rabbi said - the words and the trope. But the reader is not moving the yad and not following any of the words in the Torah itself. He knows where the parsha starts, but has no idea, when looking in the Torah where the pasuk ends, or where the sequence of words that the rabbi said ends. In short, the open Torah is there as a "prop". He's not really reading any words from the Torah as a normal B'al Kri'ah would.


texts: Where does it come from that people pull their ear when they sneeze does it have something to do with our forefather Jacob before him no-one became ill just before death? That is, he became ill before he died so that he could call his sons in and bless them and to arrange his affairs befor he died. Before that, people would sneeze and die.


texts: Unusual pronunciation of "Mol" in Devarim 1:1

texts:
Devarim 1:1 uses the phrase "Mol Suf". The word is pronounced "Mol" vs. "Mul". I assume that the literal definition of the word is "against" or "near".

In other locations in the Torah, the word is pronounced "Mul". 3 such places, offhand:

Bamidbar 22:5 last word (granted that it is possessive, but has the same "root" meaning.)
Devarim 2:19
Devarim 11:30

Why is this pronounced "Mol", in Devarim 1:1? Does this have a different definition than "Mul", in this place?

Note: I know that there are numerous Midrashic translations of the names of the places mentioned in this verse. Your answer should not reference these unless it specifically explains the reason for the difference in the pronunciation of "mol".


texts: Is there any basis for Chabad minhagim regarding tallit gadol?

texts:
I often daven at Chabad shuls and I have noticed that they have some particulars regarding tallit usage inconsistent with the rest of Ashkenazi Jewry, including:

not wearing when receiving an aliyah or davening (even shacharit)
not wearing for leining
Chabad Ba'alei Teshuva discontinue the wearing of a tallit when the "become fromm"

I have read, in sources related to MMS that it is for the kavod of the kehilla and of the sefer torah that we do so. Furthermore, when I discussed this with R' Avram Grossbaum of Chabad, he provided a rationale which does not work in context, that of a minyan of bachurim. I have also been told that the Shulchan Aruch haRav brings that it is correct to wear a tallis before marriage (although I have not seen this inside).

Does Minhag Lubavitch bring any sources for their rationale?


texts: How מכה after מכה, פרעה could just go and still deny בנ"י the right to leave is preposterous. And maybe you’ll say ה' hardened his heart- but this is only after the last five מכות; the first מכות, פרעה hardened his own heart. He was wicked, but how could someone endure so much? Please bring מקורות.


texts: Difference between blessing and hallowing in Vaykhulu

texts:
We read Vaykhulu three times on the Shabbat eve, which includes the verse Bereishit 2:3:

וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַֽעֲשֽׂוֹת׃
And Hashem blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which Hashem in creating had made.

What is the relevance of having these two similar words in the sentence? Do commentators expound upon this difference?


texts: Is a seudah (festive meal) required for a Pidyon Hamor (redemption of a 1st born donkey)?

texts: I'm uncertain if a pidyon hamor requires a festive meal (I've never been to one), similar to pidyon haben (redeeming first born son.) Is there a mitzvah to do one? If it is not a mitzvah, do farmers do it, anyway? What do they serve (lamb chops, maybe?)


texts: Should we use a picture of the Western Wall as a “mizrach”?

texts: Shulchan Oruch Horav 90 (22) advises against davenning in front of decorations on the wall of the shul. Is it, therefore, a good thing to use a picture of the Western Wall as a “mizrach” ("mizrach" refers to an ornamental wall plaque used to indicate the direction of prayer in Jewish homes).


texts:
The verse of Devarim 6:5 reads: Love HaShem your G'd, with all your heart bechol levav'cha, with all your being uvechol nafshecha, and uvechol ... meodecha.

If I'm correct it's the only place in the whole Tenach where the exact rendering of * uvechol meodecha* occurs, whcih I used to translate as something like: and with all more you have (within you); Meodecha literally, from Meod-very, meaning your total commitment-all you have/are.

The phrase 'with all your heart and all your being' whether it's in singular or plural or whatever tense, seems to be referring to loving HaShem, Teshuvah, Doing Mitzvot, Serve (worship) HaShem and believing in general. All fundamental things which should indeed be done with once's heart and soul.

But why is it when it comes to loving HaShem the term meodecha is added?
What makes love different that it needs our meod?


texts: When and why was the ark placed at the front of the shul?

texts:
Wikipedia states that:

  In some ancient synagogues, such as the fifth-century synagogue in
  Susia, the Torah scroll was not placed inside the synagogue at all,
  but in a room adjacent to it, signifying that the sacredness of the
  synagogue does not come from the ark but from its being a house of
  prayer. The Torah was brought into the synagogue for reading purposes.

I'm not sure if the majority of the first synagogues followed this idea and had the ark separate from the main prayer area. But, I haven't seen any shul that does not have the Aron Kodesh within the shul, itself. So, something changed at some point for some reason. When did that happen, and why was that change made?


texts: What does "in the month of Nissan" mean for postexilic Jews?

texts:
In Nehemiah 2:1 we read:

  "And it came to pass in the month of Nissan, in the twentieth year of
  King Artaxerxes..."

What did the Jews in the postexilic era mean when they only mentioned the month of an event but not the specific day of that month? In Neh. 2:1, for example, only "month of Nissan"  is mentioned (without a specific day). For the Jews during that time, did that mean something like "the event occurred in any day of Nisan" or did they implicitly mean the 1st or some other day?

Compared to us today: If we say that something happend in the month of March, it could be any day in March. Was that the same for Jews like Nehemiah?

In summary: What is the semantic of "in the month of Nissan" for the postexilic Jews? Thanks!


texts: What Shabbat malachot are allowed on Rosh Hashanah(Sunday)?

texts: I was wondering what Shabbat malachot are allowed on Rosh Hashanah(Sunday). I know that I am allowed to carry, transfer a flame, and increase a flame. Are there any other ones? I am specifically wondering if I am allowed to write. Thank you.


texts: What is the source of 'Ma'alin bekodesh'?

texts:
Frequently, in halacha we see the rule of מעלין בקודש- loosely translated as "we go 'upwards' in holiness."

One example of this application is that one may use a parchment of tefillin to fix a Torah but not vice versa, because a Torah is considered 'holier' than tefillin.

Is there a Biblical verse for this principle? From where does this concept emanate?


texts: Do Strawberries acquired from a supermarket require washing to be kosher?

texts: This question comes from someone who's interested in preparing and selling food items with strawberries as a main ingredient. In a scenario where many strawberries are being used at once, would each strawberry need to be inspected for insects or residue and or washed before use?


texts: What are the correct ways to pronounce the ב (bet)? Are there variant traditions? Is there an academic/linguistic opinion on how it was most likely pronounced from the time of the giving of the Torah to the writing of the Talmud? How old are the 2 variant pronunciations of with and without a dagesh? What are the earliest references to this distinction? Is there any halachik significance to pronouncing it one way over the other? Is it just considered a hiddur?


texts: Tetragrammaton in paleo-Hebrew within Hebrew text of Tehilim

texts:
Many scrolls were found (in Qumran?) depicting a regular Hebrew scripture text with the Holy name written in paleo-Hebrew (כתב עברי), like this one:

What Talmudic explanation fits these findings, if this sort of writing is mentioned and what school is it associated with??


texts:
After the Eigel HaZahav, Moshe pleaded with HaShem, on grounds of a Chillul HaShem, that He spare the Jews, and HaShem relented (Shemos 32:11-14).

For the remainder of the parshah, Moshe cleaned up camp (read: killed a bunch of people and smashed the luchos) and once again played interference with HaShem, if you will. He was able to save Klal Yisrael from being wiped out, but HaShem still sent a plague to smite many of them.

I'd like to address the first paragraph, though, in which Moshe's argument appears somewhat flawed. Mimah nafshach: If the entire Bnei Yisrael had sinned, then why would a Chillul HaShem in their deaths save them from what they deserved? And if the entire Bnei Yisrael didn't sin, and it was possible just to kill the sinners and avoid the Chillul HaShem (which, in fact, was the case - see Rashi to 32:20 quoting AZ 44a as saying that those who sinned in various manners were still punished), then A) why did HaShem want to kill all of them? And B) what did Moshe's tefillah accomplish since strict justice still wouldn't result in a Chillul HaShem?


texts: Could a great sage tell if someone had a strong yetzer hara? That are in grave risk of becoming a rasha?

texts:
A very strange question and is mostly theoretical (well I am a writer, but I don't want to spread Lashon Hara about the Jewish people in my short story)*. But if someone was a great sage and lived at the time of the 2nd temple, would they be able to look at a boy of 13 and say "he has a very strong yetzer hara and will become a terrible rasha if he doesn't marry ASAP" then would they say? Or would that be damaging a little boy and spreading lashon hara?
I read that the Baal Shem Tov had visions, so I don't think a rabbi being able to make such a prediction is outside the realm of possibility...
Thank you for you patience in considering such an odd question.

*Enough of that in the NT & Quran


texts: Did Rabbi Akiva accept arguments from ignorance?

texts:
There's a common principle found in various academic disciplines, that absence of proof does not equal proof of absence (ie: a lack of evidence for something doesn't mean that it does not exist). I am often reminded of Eduyos 2:2 and Zevachim 12:4, in which the chakhomim tell Rabbi Akiva that "אין לא ראינו ראיה" ("We did not see it" is not a proof).

Given, however, that the chakhomim had to say this to Rabbi Akiva, and given that he did just use it as a proof, does that mean that Rabbi Akiva didn't hold to this principle?

Did Rabbi Akiva believe that not ever having seen something accounted to an argument in favour of that thing's non-existence?


texts: In Bereshis 1:28 God tells Adam to to conquer the land, וְכִבְשֻׁהָ. How or in what way was Adam supposed to do this? Build buildings? Farm? Something else?


texts: How was Dovid HaMelech allowed to tolerate Shimmi ben Geira?

texts:
Shimmi ben Geira cursed Dovid HaMelech as he was running away from Avshalom. Dovid HaMelech commanded that he be left alone as "Hashem put the words in his mouth".

However, the Gemara (Yoma 22b) writes that "אמר רב יהודה אמר רב מפני מה נענש שאול מפני שמחל על כבודו " (Shaul was punished because he overlooked his honor).

Why wasn't Dovid punished for overlooking his honor?


texts: May musicians practice their instruments during Sefirah?

texts:
Although one should not listen to music during Sefirah, may musicians practice their instruments during this time?

Would it matter if their livelihood is or is not dependent on their musical talent (professionals vs. hobbyists)?

Would it matter if they are certain they could survive 7 (or 5) weeks without any adverse effects to their musical talents?


texts: Does a succah require a definitive roof?

texts: Let's say your entire succah is made from very large bamboo poles, which are eligible to be used for schach. You decide to make a true 3-sided pyramid, where you lay the poles at an angle making a 3-sided base, but all the poles meet at a point on top. Essentially, there is no flat "roof", as your walls, in a sense, form the roof, and, as said, everything is shcach. Is this OK?


texts: Which communities accept sheitels (wigs) as adequate hair coverings for married women?

texts: Assuming that married women need to cover their hair today (I'm not going into that discussion), which communities accept that a sheitel is considered a covering?


texts: Why 'They hanged' rather than 'You hanged' in Al Hanissim?

texts:
In Al Hanissim on Purim, we praise Hashem directly

  וְאַתָּה בְּרַחֲמֶיךָ הָרַבִּים. הֵפַרְתָּ אֶת עֲצָתו. וְקִלְקַלְתָּ
  אֶת מַחֲשַׁבְתּו. וַהֲשֵׁבותָ לּו גְּמוּלו בְּראשׁו. וְתָלוּ אותו
  וְאֶת בָּנָיו עַל הָעֵץ -  In great mercy You frustrated his
  counsel and ruined his plan, and You returned his plan upon his
  own head and they hanged him and his sons upon the tree.

However, when thanking Him for hanging Haman and his sons, we revert to "they" rather than "You" - why?


texts: PTIJ: What are the political implications of Purim?

texts:
Mordechai is introduced as אִ֥ישׁ יְמִינִֽי׃ -- ish yemini, that is, "a man of the right".  [Esther 2:5]
Since he is a good and wise man, one to emulate, is this description a subtle way to teach us that good Jews should always vote Republican?
This question is Purim Torah and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the Purim Torah policy.


texts: In a Jewish-owned and -operated mifa'al (factory/business), there is a room that is designated for the non-Jewish workers where they can eat, rest, etc. The room is used for nothing else (not even for storage purposes). Does the room need a mezuzah?


texts:
(Not to be confused with this question.)
I recently moved, and all my Klafim got mixed up. I have some for Mezuzoth, some for Tefillin, and some for Sifrei Torah.  It just so happens that I was writing Sifrei Torah for pixies (there is a tribe in the Amazon rainforest that considers itself one of the lost tribes and intends to be converted by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate after they are brought to Israel), so I'm using Klafim about the same size as my Mezuzoth and Tefillin.
Is there any reason to assume one size is Muktzah over the other or to assume a more expensive klaf is Muktzah over a less expensive one?  Also, since I'm the Sofer, I'll be the final seller, so should I use my cost or my sales price to determine the value (if it's relevant)? Is every Klaf Muktzah? Would it only be Muktzah once it's been assigned a use (or would it only be non-Muktzah once it's been assigned a use)?
How can I identify which of my Klafim are Muktzah and which are not?

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


texts:
Suppose a Jewish fellow needs a loan of $50,000 and has been declined by the bank due to his credit record. The local Gemach can not lend such a large sum so he decides to give his expensive car as collateral to a pawn shop owned by a Jew to receive a loan. Under the terms, the lender holds on to the car (without using it) until the loan is paid back with interest or until the lender exercises an option to sell the car after a certain date and keep all the proceeds in exchange for cancelling the debt.

Can a Heter Iska be drawn for such a loan? Is there a limit on the interest rate?


texts:
It recently came up in a discussion with a friend about the halachos that say that you have to take care only to expose minimal parts of your body while going to the bathroom.  Personally, I was always mystified by this and just put it out of my mind, but now I'd like to ask about it.

Do people actually do this, or do most people just go to the bathroom in the normal way?  Are there any tshuvas about this, one way or the other?

It's just hard for my to fathom people I know doing this... I find the whole thing quite disturbing.


texts: Did R' Akiva's students die in one year?

texts:
שנים עשר אלף זוגים תלמידים היו לו לרבי עקיבא מגבת עד אנטיפרס וכולן מתו בפרק אחד מפני שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה
Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students in an area of land that stretched from Gevat to Antipatris in Judea, and they all died in one period of time, because they did not treat each other with respect. (Yevomos 62)

It says "one period" - is it "49 consecutive days of one year" or was it "one period in different years"?


texts:
How many names of Tannaim do we know?

How many names of Ammoraim do we know?

(I am asking about the names and not simply asking "how many were there" because I don't know if there were people that were considered a Tanna or Ammora that we don't know of [whatever that would mean])


texts: Should you take on a chumra if you're not sure you can maintain it?

texts:
Should someone take on a new stringency/hiddur/optional mitzvah if he or she is not absolutely sure he and his progeny will be able to maintain it on all further occasions? In such a case, is it better to take the risk and rely on G-d's future help in order to grow one's avodah, or not to take such a risk at all?

(It would seem that taking on a new practice by a "bli neder" is the best possible option. However, it's still unclear to me how often one has to say/think "bli neder" in order to retain that status. Is it by every performance of the mitzvah? One in three? When one starts? And if there is a risk of messing up the "bli neder," should one not undertake the mitzvah?)


texts: PTIJ: How do I get out of lending a hand?

texts:
I am left-handed, and my friend recently pointed out to me that everyone has a right to use my left arm. He proved it from Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 27:6, where it says (and they translated):

אטר... שמאלו שהוא ימין של כל אדם
A left-handed person... his left arm is the right of everyone else

I'm now stuck doing (uni)manual labour for my friend. Is there any way out of this before someone else comes along and takes up more of my time?

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


texts:
The minimum shiur for bikkurim miderabbonon is one-sixtieth - see the answer to this question.

One sixtieth of the harvest for a farmer of a sizable farm would be difficult to fit into even seven baskets - one for each of the seven species.

How practically did large farmers manage presenting their bikkurim?


texts:
I see in all sidurim in nussach of retse (BHMZ of Shabbat) "לשבת בו ולנוח בו". But recently some books changed the nussach to "לשבות בו ולנוח בו"
So far I believed that the kamats in place of Cholam was right and I tried to understand. In Rashi Ytro I just discovered some thing similar (Shemot 19, 24):

וְהַכֹּֽהֲנִ֣ים וְהָעָ֗ם אַל-יֶֽהֶרְס֛וּ לַֽעֲלֹ֥ת אֶל-יְהוָֹ֖ה פֶּן-יִפְרָץ-בָּֽם:
Rashi: One Precision, Rashi calls "Melopum" what we call nowaday "Holam"
פן יפרץ בם. אף על פי שהוא נקוד חטף קמ"ץ, אינו זז מגזרתו, כך דרך כל תיבה שנקודתה מלאפו"ם, כשהיא באה במקף, משתנה הנקוד לחטף קמ"ץ:
despite that the "יפרץ" is ponctuated (under the letter Resh) "Chataf kamats", he do not change signification. This is the rule: All word which is ponctuated with Melopum when it precedes a "Makaf", the vowel changes to "Chataf Kakmats".

May be that Lishbot bo is "לשבת-בו" and all is resolved.
But apparently this is not obvious. Some books changed the nussach to "לשבות בו ולנוח בו". If someone understand clearly the rule, I will be grateful to learn from him.


texts:
When (day, month, year) did Adoniahu die, as according to the pasuk below?

1 Kings 2:24 And now, (as) the Lord lives, Who has established me, and set me on
the throne of David, my father, and Who has made me a house, as He had
promised, that Adoniahu shall be put to death this day.


texts:
I was under the impression that Karpas isn't strictly required; as long as one has something to get the kids to ask, that should be enough. This is a position shared by other Mi Yodeyans as well. By this logic, then, if someone gets the kids to ask in a different way, he doesn't need to do Karpas.

This position seems to be contradicted by two sets of halachos in the Shulchan Aruch. The first is in OC 473:6:

  נוטל ידיו לצורך טבול ראשון ולא יברך על הנטילה ויקח מהכרפס פחות מכזית ומטבילו בחומץ ומברך בורא פרי האדמה ואוכל ואינו מברך אחריו

  He washes his hands for the sake of the first dipping, and he does not make a blessing on the washing. He takes from the Karpas less than a kezayis, dips it in vinegar, and makes the blessing "Who created the fruit of the ground," and eats and does not make a blessing after.

No mention of "getting the kids to ask." Were it this halacha alone, I might not find this terribly noteworthy. But in ibid. §7 he does bring down the rationale of "getting the kids to ask" in the context of an entirely different obligation:

  מוזגין לו מיד כוס שני כדי שישאלו התינוקות למה שותים כוס שני קודם סעודה

  We pour for him the second cup immediately so that the children will ask, "Why are we drinking a second cup before the meal?"

From the fact that the Mechaber says this rationale here, but not regarding Karpas, it seems to imply that Karpas, in fact, is obligatory even if the kids ask from something else.

The second halacha is in OC 475:2:

  אם אין לו ירקות לטיבול ראשון אלא מרור יברך עליו בטיבול ראשון בורא פרי האדמה ועל אכילת מרור ובטיבול השני יטבלנו בחרוסת ויאכלנו בלא ברכה

  If he doesn't have any vegetables for the first dipping besides Marror, he makes a blessing on it by the first dipping, "Who created the fruit of the ground," and "regarding eating the Marror." By the second dipping, he dips it in Charoses and eats it without a Bracha.

If Karpas isn't obligatory, why doesn't the Mechaber (indeed, the Gemara) say that one should do something else to get the kids asking, and save the Marror and its bracha for later (relying on the Hamotzi to cover the Marror, rather than the Ha'adamah, as Tosfos indeed suggest we do normally)?

My first reaction to defend my initial assumption is that, for whatever reason, Karpas was accepted as Minhag Yisrael, and is therefore binding as Halacha. However, the fact that we promote the Marror to before Maggid when there's no Karpas seems to imply otherwise: just because of a minhag, even a Minhag Yisrael, we're going to perform the mitzvah in a less-than-ideal fashion?1

What, then, is the correct approach to these halachos? Is my initial assumption incorrect, and Karpas is indeed obligatory? Is my second assumption incorrect, and the fact that it's Minhag Yisrael is enough of a reason to override the ideal way of performing the Mitzvah? Is there a different solution?

1Yes, Tosfos hold that על מצות ומרורים יאכלוהו doesn't force you to eat the Marror immediately after the Matzah, but they clearly say that it's preferable.


texts:
Is it possible to convert between Torah measurements?

Specifically, T'fachim & Amot, (cubits) so I can figure out the size of the luchot (tablets) within the Aron Hakodesh (ark). (The Luchot are 6x6x3 t'fachim each [6 t'fachim cubed together] & the ark is 1.5 x 2.5x 1.5 cubits)


texts:
Do we ignore the language differences interpreting Moses being not a man of words (לֹא֩ אִ֨ישׁ דְּבָרִ֜ים אָנֹ֗כִי)?

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֣ה אֶל־יְהוָה֮ בִּ֣י אֲדֹנָי֒ לֹא֩ אִ֨ישׁ דְּבָרִ֜ים אָנֹ֗כִי גַּ֤ם מִתְּמוֹל֙ גַּ֣ם מִשִּׁלְשֹׁ֔ם גַּ֛ם מֵאָ֥ז דַּבֶּרְךָ אֶל־עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ כִּ֧י כְבַד־פֶּ֛ה וּכְבַ֥ד לָשׁ֖וֹן אָנֹֽכִי׃

But Moses said to the LORD, “Please, O Lord, I have never been a man of words, either in times past or now that You have spoken to Your servant; I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Exodus 4:10, JPS)

When people watch movies such as the Ten Commandments, the differences in languages aren’t portrayed.  While Moses’s mother probably taught him Hebrew, he undoubtedly spoke Egyptian in Pharaoh’s court, although his place subordinate to Pharaoh may have discouraged outspokenness.   Then, he spent 40 years in Midian, away from all that.  Midian may have spoken an Old Canaanite language much like Hebrew.
While the text states than Moses (מֹשֶׁ֣ה) was never “a man of words,” the lack of words may have also been related to the language barriers from being away for 40 years.  Apparently Aaron, living all that time in Egypt, was fluent in both Hebrew and Egyptian.  While we have basically interpreted "not a man of words" correctly, have we ignored the contribution of the different languages.


texts: Modesty: What is the difference between Conservative and Modern Orthodox?

texts: What are the differences between female Modern Orthodox/Modern Orthodox Liberal Jews and Conservatives in terms of women's modesty? My question applies both to dress and social interaction - shaking hands with men, singing or performing in public (not at the shul), wearing pants outside of the shul, married women covering their hair, mixing in public places such as work or swimming pools, etc. I would like to know the 'official' stance of the various groups and how it is in practice.


texts:
Ibn Ezra in his commentary to Shemos 2:10 says that the name Moshe was a translation of the Egyptian "Monius". I have, then, two questions:

1) Where does he get that his name was that? And 2) how is that related with something like "drawn from water"?

Related: Moses' Hebrew name was given to him in Egyptian?


texts: If anyone here has read Rabbi Avigdor Miller's Q and A's or heard any of his quotes or read them, can you help me find this that I remember reading/seeing.  He said that if a man has a day off work or something, he should go to the beis midrash and learn there and not come home until 10 pm.   Has anyone else heard/seen this?   Thanks.


texts: Should the chazan say "Ga'al Yisra'el" silently?

texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  How to say go-al Yisroel before Shacharis Amida

According to the Shulchan Aruch (66:7), one doesn't say "amen" after the chazan says "Ga'al Yisra'el." The Rama says that you do. The Mishnah Brurah (35) says that the proper thing to do is to fulfill all opinions and say the conclusion of the blessing together with the chazan, or to say the words "י"י שפתי תפתח" before the chazan concludes.

I have seen that the practice is for the chazan to say "Ga'al Yisra'el" silently, which seems to be in response to this problem. Is there any source or reason to use this solution other than the two the Mishnah Brurah quotes?


texts: Why is the Hekesh not on Rabbi Yishmael's list?

texts: Rabbi Yishmael has a list of 13 ways the Torah's expounded. Why is the Hekesh not included?


texts:
The "perakim" (chapters) of tanach were established by non-Jews. Why do we continue to use them? Many of the chapter breaks do not correspond to our petucha/setumah paragraph system, and they often seem arbitrary.

If the answer is simply they are helpful and we've had them for a long time, wouldn't it have made sense for Jews to set up a better system of chapters by now?

Why do we still use the non-Jewish way of delineating chapters in tanach?


texts:
I'm really confused and I'm hoping someone here might have the answer, or at least be able to point me in the right direction.

Let me begin with how my DNA test results have come as a shock. When I was 12 the BIG family secret came out that my mother's parents and grandparents were secretly Jewish, but that they'd all changed their names and converted to Catholicism and played up their Irish heritage. I didn't think much of that until I was an adult and as I got older I thought how wrong and cowardly it was of my ancestors to run and hide like that. So I converted Judaism and took my great-grandmother's Hebrew birth name, Sabra. While I adore Judaism, I also did it in sort of a tribute to my grandparents - who I believed were forced to leave Judaism as children.

Over the last few years I've been trying unsuccessfully to trace that heritage, but there wasn't much of Jewish trail (a few names here and there, but no concrete proof). Still, I felt compelled to know more and took the Ancestry.com DNA test. The problem is it shows I have NO European Jewish blood. Does that mean I'm really NOT Jewish or is there another test for Sephardic Jews?

Oy Vey. Please help.


texts: Is it חִסָרון or חֶסרון?

texts: In this Lechem Mishnah on the Rambam in Hilchos Deos says "ונראה לפרש דקצה ראשון הוא החסרון וקצה אחרון התוספת". Is it correct to put the nekudos as חִסָרון or חֶסרון?


texts:
is passive bal tashchis wrong?
i see jews eat things (sometimes even to the detriment of their health, (because of the amount or quality) so that they will not go to waste
is this a Jewish thing to do (obligation, recommendation...)? source, please
in general, do jews ever need to do something (active) to avoid bal tashchis, when the bal is happening from the inaction of the jew? (obligation, recommendation...)


texts: Can a gentile volunteer to perform prohibited actions on behalf of a Jew on Shabbat?

texts:
My mom grew up in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and then moved to Long Island, and in both places, she was quite happy to serve as a Shabbos Goy (gentile who does things for Jews on the Sabbath that would be forbidden for them to do). (I think she made a quarter a week, which translated to a huge pile of candy in the 1950's). Since I joined this site, I have been led to believe that technically, most of what she did - turning lights, heat, stoves and ovens, etc, on and off - would be a violation of the law according to the most strict interpretations anyway, because asking someone to do forbidden things is equivalent to doing those things yourself.

But I am wondering if it would be permissible for a gentile to volunteer to serve as a Shabbos Goy. By "volunteer", I mean offering to do the job(s) of one's own free will, whether or not compensation is involved.

Does it make a difference if the gentile volunteers?


texts: Is there a good visual companion to Tanach?

texts:
I'm looking for a visual companion to Tanach, i.e. maps, charts, and timelines. So when I'm learning Sefer Yehoshua, for example, I can see maps that chart the various battles and such.

Are there any good books or online resources for something like this?


texts: Mesader Kidushin late - How long to wait?

texts:
A fellow honors a Rabbi to be Mesader Kidushin. The time of the wedding arrives and the Rabbi is not there yet. Is there a official amount of time that one should wait prior to honoring a different Rabbi? Concerns from one side are taking away a Mitzva from someone, making them feel uncomfortable, etc.. From the other side there are people that are on a tight schedule, wedding may cost more if it goes into overtime, etc..

Now I imagine a Yekke would say "he's late, too bad". A Sefardi might say "Wait 2 hours". I am  looking for preferably a sourced answer or a Maase Rav.


texts: What is the status of divrei Torah written by someone who does not believe in the oral Torah? Does it retain any sanctity?  Should it be burned or buried?


texts: During the bracha that weds that chassan and kallah are we required in the audience to stand? is it a minhag? Can we sit? What's your source?


texts: Why were cows so Important and preferred as sacrifice over other animals in Bani Israel?

texts: I read a lot about cows used in sacrifice , what is the reason that cows were sacrificed and what was the importance of cows for Bani Israel


texts: If I say, "Tonight will be the X night of the Omer", why is that considered as I've already counted? If I say, "G-d is blessed for creating the fruit of the tree", don't I still need to make the Bracha is hebrew before eating the apple?


texts:
Consider the following opinions of what adumah can or does in fact mean.

Sadia gaon writes that Aduma of the Parah Adumah is 'Tzafra'. The footnote from Rav Kapach in the Mosad Rav Cook edition explains this means yellow, like an egg yolk.

Torah Temimah on the first passuk in chukas #8 says Adumah could have meant black, if not for the fact that the Torah specifies temimah.

Does anyone else suggest any other colors adumah might mean?


texts: Why does the Chazon Ish not allow supporting the schach with nailed planks?

texts:
The Chazon Ish in Hilchos Sukkah 143:2 writes:

  ולכן לדידן שאנו נוהגין להחמיר בדין המעמיד הסכך בדבר המקבל טומאה כדעת
  רמב"ן ור"ן, אין לקבוע הכלונסות במסמרים.

  Therefore according to us, who are stringent in the law of supporting
  the schach with something which can become tamei, one should not
  stabilize the planks (which support the schach) with nails.

(This is the source of the famous no-nail "Chazon Ish sukkah")

Qusetion: The Mishnah in KEILIM 11:3 states:

  העושה כלים... וּמִן הַמַּסְמְרוֹת, שֶׁיָּדוּעַ שֶׁנַּעֲשׂוּ מִכְּלִי,
  טְמֵאִין. מִן הַמַּסְמְרוֹת, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי מְטַמְּאִין, וּבֵית הִלֵּל
  מְטַהֲרִין:

  One who makes vessels... from nails that were known to have been made
  from vessels, are impure. From ordinary nails: Beit Shammai says: they
  are impure; and Beit Hillel says that they are pure.

We see from this Mishnah that (according to Bais Hillel, as is the halachah)  only nails which are definitely recycled from other vessels are mekabel tumah, but regular nails are not mekabel Tumah.

So why does the Chazon Ish not allow supporting the schach with nailed planks?


texts: What are the parameters and conditions of when one is allowed (and not allowed) to ask another Rabbi once he/she got a Psak from the first Rabbi?


texts: Ten Martyrs - Why would Binyamin be culpable?

texts:
There's the famous incident known as the Ten Martyrs (see here), where Ten famous Rabbis were killed (not in the same period) as an atonement for the Ten children of Yaakov selling Yosef.
The ten are usually assumed to exclude Yosef (who was sold), and Binyamin (who wasn't involved). However, this question asks why Reuven was considered culpable, when the verse attests that he tried to save Yosef.
The Zohar Chadash (brought in this answer) explains that Reuven was indeed innocent, and was reincarnated into Rabbi Eliezer HaGadol. The latter was only imprisoned by the Romans, but indeed wasn't killed. The answer there implied that there weren't really Ten Martyrs, but Nine, and the Tenth was merely imprisoned.
However, we have a list of the Ten who were killed. One could say it's a dispute, but the Benei Yissaschar (Chodesh Tishrei § 12) brings the Zohar Chadash, and says even though Reuven's reincarnation was spared, the rest of the brothers were reincarnated into Ten Sages, who were all killed. Unless he means 9 brothers were reincarnated into 10 people (which I assume not, as I don't know what that means), the only other explanation is that Binyamin was also reincarnated and martyred. This would imply his culpability in the sale.
Am I totally off the mark? Does anyone hold Binyamin accountable in the sale? Was he indeed reincarnated and martyred?


texts:
How and when did the word "Kollel" come to mean "an institution for paying scholars to study Torah"?

If I'm not mistaken, the Hebrew word "kollel" means "includes."

But today we've all heard of the noun Kollel; "Shmerel learns at Rabbi Goldstein's Kollel."

How and when was that term coined?


texts: How to beware of the prohibition of Ona'a?

texts:
When learning about Ona'a (ShuA CM רכ"ז) I notice, that despite the long list of Halochos there are no measures of prevention mentioned either for the seller or the buyer(as far as I could see).

I could think about an obligation to check the prices in advance, to stick price labels on all products etc.

I think of myself as  G-d fearing guy and I'd like to beware of Ona'a when selling my home-grown tomatoes at the local market (Shuk Ben Yehudah in Jerusalem), for example. (I'd like to make my example as close to their times as possible).

It should be noted, that many Poskim say that איסור אונאה and דין אונאה are two different things, and איסור אונאה (the prohibition) holds even for less than 1/6 it's just cannot be claimed (for making Teshuvah on that for example). So I'd like to be very careful about it even for less than 1/6.

What should I do when I come to the market, how do I care not to transgress this important Mitzvah?

-Should I make a survey of the existing sellers before I set my price? How often should I do it throughout the day? Should I contact the local Rabbonus, the Ministry of trade or other authorities?

How can I compare my produce to others' to set a fair price? How different my tomatoes can be to claim it's of a different sort, organic, 30 days in the fridge warranty?
What should I tell every customer about the history of the tomatoes and my business model - how much I spent on them, how much I plan to profit and why my price is different from others'?

Similarly, if I am a buyer and I come to the market for tomatoes, how can I be sure I don't override this Mitzvah when buying cheaper or more expensive than "needed"?


texts: Wordplay concerning the Ayin and the Aleph in Gemara

texts:
I remember hearing about some interesting statements made about those that fail to distinguish pronunciation between the ayin and the aleph. An example was given in gemara about why such a distinction is important to make when speaking Hebrew and was made with wordplay where a sentence could be fundamentally changed if the two letters are confused. I think it went along the lines of confusing axing someone (killing them) with giving them dates.

Does anyone here possibly know what I may be misremembering?


texts: List of things that make one 'as if one rejects the core'

texts:
I was recently looking up something about lashon harah, and on Erchin 15A, Rav Yosi ben Zimra says that anyone that says lashon harah it is as if they reject everything, and I know I have seen similar things in the Gemara before (references escape me).

Is there a list of things about which the Gemara says one is "kofer b'kol"?

The motivating example for this was lashon harah, where someone was saying it's "not so bad" (i.e. some people seem to treat it with far more importance than other mitzvot that are "more clearly deorita" (not talking about "lo telech rachil" here)), and the Gemara seems to claim it's as bad as killing people. This list would show either (if long) that it's mostly hyperbolic, and it's just a way of saying that it's bad, or (if very short) that it is in a rather small group of very important mitzvot that really are equivalent to murder.


texts: Are women allowed to have an alternative lifestyle haircut?

texts: Is it permissible for a woman have a haircut where they shave half of her hair off and leave the other side of her hair untouched - a style strongly associated with lesbians, bisexuals, transgender men, queers?


texts:
I was curious about where Karaite Jews sit on the topic of Mashiach considering they reject Rabbinical Judaism and only accept the original Five Books as their standard.

The vast majority of the writings and beliefs on Mashiach came after Torah. The full "fleshed out" concept can be argued as being established by the Rabbis and in Oral tradition after the fact. We only really see this being discussed in detail in prophets.

This leads me to assume that Karaite Jews may not actually endorse Mashiach as a concept since the vast majority of the writings on the topic exist outside of the original five books.

I was curious if there is a clear answer as to whether they endorse Mashiach as a concept or not?


texts: Why does Rambam say the omer can be cut by day and on Shabas?

texts:
Rambam תמידין ומוספין chapter 7:

מצותו להקצר בלילה בליל ששה עשר בין בחול בין בשבת. וכל הלילה כשר לקצירת העומר ואם קצרוהו ביום כשר
The command of [the omer] is to be reaped at night, the night of the sixteenth [of Nisan], whether a weekday or Shabas. All night is suitable for the reaping of the omer; if they reaped it by day, it's valid.

Lechem Mishne asks the obvious[1] question (copy-pasted from the version at hebrewbooks.org):

תימה דמשמע בפרק רבי ישמעאל (דף ע"ב) דמאן דאית ליה דקצירת העומר דוחה שבת אית ליה דנקצר ביום פסול דאי סלקא דעתיך כשר אמאי דוחה שבת כיון דעומר שנקצר שלא כמצותו כשר נקצריה מערב שבת דהא כ"ע אית להו כרבי עקיבא דאמר כל מלאכה שאפשר לעשותה מערב שבת אינה דוחה שבת וכן פסק רבינו ז"ל בפ' ראשון מהלכות קרבן פסח ואם כן רבינו ז"ל איך פסק דברים סותרים שדוחה שבת ואם נקצר ביום כשר וכן התוס' ז"ל בפ' ר' ישמעאל (דף ס"ו.) בדיבור זכר למקדש כו' פסקו דנקצר פסול והכריחו הדבר בראיות וחדא מינייהו משום דקי"ל דדחי שבת וכיון דדחי שבת ע"כ נקצר ביום פסול ולרבינו ז"ל שחילק הדברים לא ידעתי טעם וצ"ע

In sum, that it's valid if cut by day and that it's cut on Shabas are incompatible views. What, if any, answers exist to this question?

[1] That is, obvious to someone who has just studied M'nachos 72.


texts: Prophecies referring to the final redemption

texts: What lines of neviim are generally understood as referring to the final redemption (as opposed to the return in the 2nd temple period)?


texts:
The Gemara Shabbath (several pages, but look anywhere from 59a through at least 62a for several discussions) contains a great deal of discussion about wearing "Tachshitim" (ornaments/jewelry) on Shabbath and whether or not it is considered carrying outside.

I think I must have missed something, though. About half the time that the Gemara concludes that something is a Tachshit, it says it is therefore totally fine for someone to wear outside on Shabbath, but the other half of the time the Gemara concludes that something is a Tachshit, it concludes that it is therefore forbidden for someone to wear it outside on Shabbath.

Which is it?  Is it permissible or forbidden to wear a Tachshit on Shabbath?

This question is part of the Daf Yomi Challenge.


texts: If a small non-poisonous bug jumps into a pot of noodles cooking, instantly dying because of the boiling water, and then is scooped out right away is there a problem with either the noodles or the spoon, technically speaking?


texts: Is it allowed to have the wedding dinner before the ceremony?

texts:
In all Jewish weddings that I have attended the actual wedding (Chuppah and kiddushin) precedes the dinner (seudat mitzvah).

Do the sources speak about having the dinner before the ceremony. I was recently invited to such a wedding.

The following not insuperable problems occur to me:
chatan and kallah normally fast before the wedding so they would not eat at the meal;
since they are not married yet, there would be no sheva berachot after the birkat hamazon.


texts: Story about a shepherd who prays to God but not using traditional prayers?

texts: I'm looking for the story about a shepherd who prayed to G-d using only his own prayers.  When a rabbi heard him praying one day he decided to teach him to pray using only traditional Jewish prayers. After the rabbi taught the shepherd the traditional prayers and moved on, the shepherd forgot the traditional prayers. The shepherd was embarrassed by this so he stopped praying all together.  G-d noticed the shepherd had stopped praying and was disappointed because G-d liked the shepherd's singing.  Does anyone know this story or have a link to it.


texts: Is there a condition under which a child can be exempt from honoring his father?

texts:
This is a serious question seeking sources that discuss the topic.

I speculate that a father that regrets his son being born, does not support him, does not teach him Torah or Mitzvos etc., is considered "תוהא על הראשונות" (Rambam: one that regrets doing a Mitzvah is not rewarded for it.) may somehow lose his right to Kibud Av of the child.
Maybe serious child abuse or even rape can suffice.

Any sources or thoughts on this?


texts: How many subchapters in the Zohar Hakadosh?

texts:
How many subchapters are in the Zohar, including the Tikkunei Zohar and the Zohar CHadash?

I am trying to make a schedule.


texts: Why do we use the masculine form in a Shabbat greeting?

texts:
My Israeli friend explained to me that the word "שבת" is a feminine word, since the plural uses the feminine ending - it is שבתות.

If this is true, why is a common greeting שבת שלום ומבורך using the maculine format instead of שבת שלום ומבורכת ?


texts:
The Kadish is a declaration of praise and recognition that God is great. As I understand it, a mourner says Kadish to declare that despite his loss he still praises God and understands that this was God's will. If so, my questions are:

How would someone else say Kadish in a mourner's place? The person saying it felt no loss and therefore has no reason or purpose to declare his continued faith.
Where does the minhag that one can have someone say Kadish for them come from?


texts: Why is Aseret Yemei Teshuva a time when Teshuvah will be accepted immediately?

texts:
The Rambam in the Laws of Teshuvah, Chapter 2 Law 6 states:

  אע"פ שהתשובה והצעקה יפה לעולם, בעשרה
  הימים שבין ראש השנה ויום הכפורים היא
  יפה ביותר ומתקבלת היא מיד שנאמר
  (ישעיהו נה:ו) דרשו ה' בהמצאו קראהו
  בהיותו קרוב...
  רמב"ם הלכות תשובה ב:ו

  Even though repentance and calling out [to God] are
  desirable at all times, during the days between Rosh
  Hashana and Yom Kippur, they are even more
  desirable and will be accepted immediately as it
  states [Isaiah 55:6]: ‘Seek God when He is to be found’...

Why is it that our Teshuvah and calling out will be accepted immediately?  What is it about this time that has that affect?  It is not as if Hashem changes, he being perfect does not change.  So what is different?

Also, why is it only מתקבלת, accepted?  Why not נענים, answered (like by a ציבור, see end of Halacha)?


texts:
I have the 2015 calendar from the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam, and today I noticed that the September page has a picture of a shofar made from an ibex horn.  The calendar dates it to 1850-1900 (Amsterdam) and has the catalog number JHM00837.

Coincidentally, this week's edition of my local Jewish newspaper contains an article about somebody researching the history of the Jewish community in southern Italy (Calabria), and there too there is mention of blowing an ibex-horn shofar.

These are the only two times I've heard of an ibex horn being used for a shofar instead of the usual ram's horn, and in one case we only have an anecdote in the press.  So I'm wondering:  is or was an ibex horn commonly used anywhere?   (If so, where and when?)  Or would that be giving too much weight to a single Dutch artifact and some Italian stories?

Notes:

I know that some of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 ended up in various parts of Italy and some ended up in Amsterdam.  So if using an ibex horn was done in both places, there could have been a common origin.

This question talks about Yemenite Jews using an antelope (not ibex) horn because, according to the answer, they find it more beautiful than the Rambam-mandated ram's horn.  An ibex is not an antelope and I'm not aware of commonalities among these communities, but I mention it in case it's relevant.


texts: Why did the Lubavitcher Rebbe give out dollars?

texts: Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the late Rebbe of Lubavitch used to give out dollars to people who came to meet him. Why did he do this?


texts:
Transcendental Meditation is a popular form of meditation that, many practitioners claim, relieves psychological stress. Although it was founded an Indian guru, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, it is not at all clear what, if any, religious qualities there are to the practice.

This site, for example, claims the following:

  The practice of the program involves no religious beliefs but is a mechanical and effortless technique for experiencing increasingly refined or restful levels of mental and physiological activity enjoyed by individuals of all religious (and non-religious) backgrounds. [...] The practice of the Transcendental Meditation program does not involve contemplation about any religious or secular ideas, nor does it involve concentration, which is characteristic of some religious practices.

I am not familiar with the practice itself. All that I have seen in rabbinic literature is a reference by R. Aryeh Kaplan in an article, "Davening with Kavana." In it, he mentions a girl who has been practicing TM by repeating a mantra and writes:

  To be sure, TM, which is a type of avodah zarah (idolatry), bears absolutely no relationship to davening.

Can one practice TM without saying a mantra? If one were seeking a method to relieve stress, what exactly are the halakhic issues with practicing TM?


texts: Can 'Omer' be translated as 'sheaf', or does it only refer to a measure of grain?

texts:
What is the translation of an omer? Do the sages or rabbis use, at least, two different translations? Does an "omer" ever mean a bundle of standing (or not standing) grain stalks?

Please note: I am not asking what an omer is. That has been answered here already.  What is Omer and how much is it?

Chabad-Website leaves the word "omer" untranslated, assuming the average reader knows what an "omer" is. For example, Vayikra 23:11 reads "And he shall wave the omer before the Lord so that it will be acceptable for you; the kohen shall wave it on the day after the rest day." https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9924/showrashi/true

Mechon-Mamre translates the word "omer" as "sheaf" all throughout Vayikra 23. For example, Vayikra 23:11 reads "And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you; on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it."
https://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0323.htm

My understanding is that the average reader thinks of a bundle of standing (or not standing) grain stalks when they read "sheaf". Does an "omer" then ever mean a bundle of standing (or not standing) grain stalks? If not, then "sheaf" is a very misleading translation.


texts: Are there Peirushim on the Tisha BAv Night kinot available on the internet?

texts:
In my preperation for this evening I have found lots of material for tomorrow's kinot, however, I have found next to nothing on this evening's kinot (Zekhor Hashem, Baleil Zeh, Shomron Kol Titein and Ad Ana Bikhyah B'Tziyon).

Does anyone know of any resources available online that I could look at?


texts: What is the form of טבו in מה טבו אהליך יעקב?

texts:
In the verse (Num 24,5):

  מַה־טֹּבוּ אֹהָלֶיךָ יַעֲקֹב מִשְׁכְּנֹתֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל׃

What's the meaning of טובו, could it not be written מה טובים אהליך יעקב?


texts: In this question there are various opinions regarding pizza and the Bracha you make on it. How should one view Calzones? Furthermore, is it considered a Memula similar to Pashtida (OC 168:17)?


texts: What happens at an Orthodox Bat Mitzvah?

texts:
My cousins are Orthodox (black-hat/yeshivish/live in Passaic) and one of them is having a Bat Mitzvah in November. I have never attended an Orthodox Bat Mitzvah, so I don't really know what to expect.

They are having it on a Sunday afternoon at their house (not Rosh Chodesh). Is this typical? Since girls don't read the Torah portion maybe it's ok to have a bat mitzvah on Sunday? What will they be doing at their house? Why would it not be at synagogue? Would it be the kind of thing where I should dress up like on Shabbat or are regular clothes (following the Orthodox modesty rules) ok?

I'm sorry if this is a very obvious question.


texts: May a surgeon who needs to do surgery on Shabbat correct the time on his watch?

texts:
According to the various sources mentioned in this article one is not allowed to set a stopped watch on Shabbat.

Suppose that a surgeon is scheduled to operate on a patient on Shabbat afternoon. (Let's assume it's a life-saving procedure.) During shul, he notices that his watch has stopped. He wants to reset the time so that he will not be late for the surgery. Since he is a surgeon who cannot be late, can he override the prohibition because of piku'ach nefesh of someone else?

While technically, it is possible for him to ask someone else for the time, in this case, his being prompt is urgent, and there's no guarantee that he can find someone to ask, or have his mind set on asking at the proper time, as his mind is focused on the patient.


texts: Is there a Jewish theology equivalent to Calvinism?

texts:
I have a question that may seem odd, but bear with me. Basically, I'm wondering whether there's any Jewish theology analogous to Calvinist Christianity. I am NOT wondering about the salvation/sacrifice/Jesus aspect per se, since obviously there's no analogy there. Instead, I'm wondering about Calvin's general view of God and humanity.

The basic tenets of Calvinism, in a nutshell, are:

You're inherently awful and loathsome
Even if you do all the right things, that doesn't get you into Heaven
There's an in-group (Heaven-bound) and an out-group (Hell-bound), chosen by God for His own inscrutable reasons and not for their merits, such as they are
Whether you're In or Out, nothing you do can change your status. (So if you're going to Heaven, no amount of sinning will change God's mind.)

I know there are plenty of sources that talk about God's sovereignty (e.g., Job and Qohelet both talk about the impossibility of trying to know the mind of God). So I'm not asking about that. This is about whether the Calvinist emphasis on human depravity and helplessness exists in Jewish theology, and, if so, where.


texts:
I know that Jews have specific traditions regarding burial and cemeteries, and that one of these traditions involves putting pebbles on gravestones, which I think is quite beautiful, although I don't know the story behind it.  I have been led to believe that there are specific restrictions on putting flowers on graves, but I am not familiar with the reasons for it (by the same token, I also don't know why non-Jews do put flowers on graves).

Why don't Jewish people put flowers on graves?


texts: Am I allowed to give my kid a non-Hebrew (non-Jewish?) name?

texts: I'd seen some poster that said it's horribly wrong to ever give your kid a non-Jewish/non-Hebrew name.  Is that the norm?


texts: What's the oldest continuously-existing, still-open kosher restaurant?


texts: Why are you allowed to say the elokay nitzor in the end of the amidah on shabbat and yom tov?

texts:
You are not allowed to ask for personal requests on shabbat and yom tov when praying to god. However the elokay nitzor following the amidah has a format of a request and is yet still said on these days.

Why is this the case and is it any different the the remaining request-like blessings that are said in the amidah during the week (e.g. refaeni, selach, barech aleynu, etc.)?

The same could be asked regarding the yehi ratzons of the birkhot hashakhar.


texts: What meaning do the names of the ten sons of Haman have?

texts:
Is there a meaning behind the names of the ten sons of Haman who were killed and hung (Esther 9:7-9)? They are:

פַּרְשַׁנְדָּתָא Parshandasa
דַּלְפוֹן Dalphon
אַסְפָּתָא Aspasa
פּוֹרָתָא Porasa
אֲדַלְיָא Adalia
אֲרִידָתָא Aridasa
פַּרְמַשְׁתָּא Parmashta
אֲרִיסַי Arisai
אֲרִידַי Aridai
וַיְזָתָא Vaizasa


texts: How did Rivka get married when she was three years old?

texts: What does the Medrash mean when it tells us that Rivka was three years old when she married Yitzchok? Is that meant in a literal sense? If so, how is this to be explained in a rational way?


texts: Are there discussions of the difference in what Lavan says and what Hashem actually did?

texts:
I apologize in advance if this is obvious but I simply haven't stumbled on anything which answers this yet.

In Bereishit 31, Hashem gives a message directly to Lavan. Apparently (as reported in the Stone Chumash), the Ramban says that even though Lavan was not a nice guy Hashem came to him in honor of Yaakov. According to the text, there are two differences between what happened and what Lavan reports happened:

The text says (pasuk 24) that hashem had come in a dream, but when Lavan reports this (pasuk 29) he says that Hashem simply spoke to him. I can see that he is making himself seem more special by saying that his level of nevu'ah surpasses requiring a dream state and that Hashem came to him not in a dream but when he was fully awake.
Hashem said to him "hishamer lecha pen tidaber" -- beware, lest you speak...
but he reports the conversation as "hishamer lecha midaber" -- beware of speaking (translations from the Stone).

Is there any discussion of the significance of the second difference (and/or something more scholarly about the first difference than my gut reaction)?


texts: Who is Eliakim? Could he be both a son of the son of Hilkiah and Josiah?

texts: In Kings II 18, Eliakim is the son of Hilkiah the kohen gadol, in Kings II 23 he is referred to as Jehoiakim son of Josiah. How could he be both?


texts:
I've seen this mentioned in the context of tefillot (and shiurim as well).

What does דשלהי stand for:

For example:

  להחזיק ביד לומדי התורה ולחזק הני ברכי דרבנן דשלהי . . . נתינה זו הנזכרת בכתוב נוהגת לעולם, דאע"ג דאין מצות מחצית השקל בזה"ז, נותנים זכר למחצית השקל, ואע"ג דאין מקדש ואין קרבן לכפר, נותנים הצדקה לעניים, ולהחזקת הני ברכי דרבנן דשלהי, לחזק ידי עמלי תורה, שיוכלו להמשיך בעמלם על התורה ועל עבודת ה', ובזה מתכפרים. וכבר אמרו חז"ל במסכת מגילה (יג, ב), ...

Thanks!


texts:
(Not to be confused with this question.)
Are there any halachic problems with a Jew being a professional beat boxer? (For those unfamiliar, click the speaker icon here for audio.)
This question is Purim Torah and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the Purim Torah policy.


texts: Questions about the 7000-year shmita cycles

texts:
The (currently) top rated answer to this other question says that:

  R' Aryeh Kaplan z'l teaches as follows:

  R' Nehunia ben Hakana brings in Sefer Temuna that there are larger
  shmita cycles of 7000 years each, of which we are now in the 6th,
  putting the age of the earth at 42,000 years old.

I am interested in these 7000-year shmita cycles and would like to ask a couple of questions about them.

(The word shmita refers to the concept of the recurring Sabbatical year, discussed in this Wikipedia article. This word is sometimes spelled shemitah or shemittah.)

Is any information available on how old this concept is? For example, if it was perhaps proposed relatively recently such as in 19th century, or if it is older than that.

Does additional information exist (sorry, it would have to be in English) where I can read more about it? I am interested on what reasoning or sources this concept is based on.

Update:
The answer by Menachem brought me to the Wikipedia article about Sefer HaTemunah. This article refers to a document called "Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin" which says in Folio 97a (3rd paragraph from the end)

  R. Kattina said: Six thousand years shall the world exist, and one
  [thousand, the seventh], it shall be desolate

and in Folio 97b (3rd paragraph from the beginning)

  and the remaining [period] will be the Messianic era, whilst the Holy
  One, blessed be He, will renew his world only after seven thousand
  years

So it looks like this concept itself predates the book Sefer HaTemunah?


texts: introversion and extroversion in Judaism

texts: Is there anywhere in the Torah literature that discusses introversion and extroversion as being positive and/or negative traits? Is one preferred over the other?


texts:
I've often heard people say something like, "Someone was talking during davening today" while being careful to avoid naming the person. From here I might guess that it is not considered lashon hara if the person is not named. Is this correct?

If so, how far does this extend? May one say something bad about "a member of the Goldstein family" (where there are only a few possible people)? What about saying, "Either Reuven or Shimon did [bad thing]"?

Suppose there are three relevant people. Can someone say that two of them committed a sin, so each person now has a 2/3 chance of being guilty (although no one is definitively faulted)? If so, what about discussing the sins of "everyone in shul except one person"?

In short, may one say something negative about an unnamed person? If so, where is the line drawn?

Please provide sources.


texts: Would a non-Jew sin if he were to proclaim himself a Jew for the sake of solidarity?

texts:
For those interested, I'll also be asking this question on Islam.SE and Christianity.SE (with respect to those religions)

In recent rallies protesting what is perceived as bigoted policies by President Donald Trump, several individuals who are not in fact Muslim and do not subscribe to the Islamic faith have claimed they are Muslim in a show of solidarity with the Muslim world.

I'm curious if, if a non-Jew were to claim Judaism, it would be a specific sin. While I generally understand that not subscribing to the faith in general is sinful, I'm curious about the act of proclaiming that you are an adherent when that is not true. (I'm asking in particular about the sin of falsely claiming adherence to the faith, this should be understood as being a different or greater-magnitude sin than simply violating any general rules about lying or telling falsehoods.)


texts: Is sitting in a succah normal succos time?

texts:
The Tur in Orach Chaim siman 668, when dealing with the issue of sitting in a succah on Shmini Atzeres outside of Eretz Yisroel out of doubt,  brings a Rosh who explains the reason why sitting there is not a blatant bal tosef considering the Shmini Atzeres point of view, is because it is common for people to sit in shady booths anyway this time of year, so there is no reason to assume someone is sitting there specifically for the mitzvah. His words read:

"ולא שייך בישיבתו בה לומר היאך נעשנו חול שכך דרך בני אדם לפעמים לישב בצל סוכה אפילו שלא לשם מצוה".

However, the Tur in the very beginning of hilchos succah, siman 625, also asked why do we sit in succos in the fall and not the spring when we actually left Egypt?  The answer given is that people normally sit in booths in the springtime so our sitting there would not be apparent as done for a mitzvah. We therefore wait until the fall when everyone leaves their booths and goes into their houses, whereupon we go sit in booths when nobody else does, to show it is only for the mitzvah. His words again:

"ואף על פי שהוציאנו ממצרים בחודש ניסן לא צונו לעשות סוכה באותו הזמן לפי שהוא ימות הקיץ ודרך כל אדם לעשות סוכה לצל ולא היתה ניכרת עשייתנו בהם שהם במצות הבורא יתברך ולכן צוה אותנו שנעשה סוכות בחודש השביעי שהוא זמן הגשמים ודרך כל אדם לצאת מסוכתו ולישב בביתו ואנחנו יוצאים מן הבית לישב בסוכה בזה יראה לכל שמצות המלך היא עלינו לעשותה".

How do these two statements coexist?


texts: What significance, if any, does Judaism attach to gray/white hair or to a person's hair turning gray/white? Does this significance hold true equally for men and women?


texts: can a parent confiscate his dependent child's property?

texts:
If a child is over bar mitzva and dependent on the parent, may the latter confiscate his child's possessions as a form of punishment or would this be considered damage/theft

I am not asking on property which belongs to the father but rather something that belongs solely to the son such as a gift given specifically to him.


texts:
The Bavli, Chulin 60:2, says (in my own loose translation):

Rabbi Shim'on ben Pazi noted a contradiction: [B'reshis 1:16] says, "God made the two big luminaries" and "the big luminary… and the small luminary".
The moon said to God: "Master of the world, is it possible for two kings to use one crown?"
He told her: "Go diminish yourself."
She told him: "Master of the world, because I said something proper to you I have to diminish myself?"
He told her: "Go and rule [=shine] by day and night."

(And the conversation continued further.)
Presumably this midrash is not meant literally. (Moons don't talk, for one thing.) But my question will assume it's literal. In other words, my question will be about the storyline of the midrash, assuming its premise.
My question is: In what sense was the moon diminished? Here are the two most reasonable possibilities I can see:

The sun and moon were the same size (say, a million kilometers' diameter, like the sun is now), and the moon shrank to the 3500 kilometers' diameter it is now.
The sun and moon were the same apparent size as viewed from earth (same angular diameter) — as they are in fact now! — and the moon shrank in the sense that now it wanes.


texts: Why is there a custom to hang up flowers and growing green things on shavuot?


texts: I've never seen sh'chita of birds, but my understanding is that kisuy hadam is done with sawdust. Why sawdust specifically?


texts: Are there examples of Hebrew Slaves in the Gemmorah?

texts:
Are there examples of Hebrew Slaves mentioned in the Gemmorah?

Names of the slaves or their masters, the amounts paid, the terms served etc?

(I recall a couple of Eved K'naani like Tavi, but can't recall a Hebrew one).


texts: During Shivah must the mourner always sit on a low stool?

texts: During the Shivah period, does one have to sit on a low stool all of the time or only when visitors are present?


texts: Must EMTs and others rend Kriyah each time they see a patient die?

texts: I was looking at Yoreh De'ah 340:5 (יו"ד סימן ש"מ ס"ק ה) and Moed Katan 25b (כה עמוד ב), which require Kriyah (garment-rending) for all who are there at the time of death. It would seem to me that an EMT, EMS member, doctor, nurse, or any other emergency first responder who is there at the time of death must rip Kriyah for all the places they respond to when a death of a Jewish patient occurs. Also a doctor who regularly see patients die must tear Kriyah every time, as he can lose many patients in a single day (oncology, cardiology). What is the approach with ripping Kriyah in these cases?


texts: I have heard that there is a Sefer published 300-400 years ago which indicates that the (Melamdim) Torah teachers would be off on Chamisha Asar B'Shevat in order to rejuvenate. Anyone know where this can be found?


texts: When did this minhag begin? Where? and with who, and why is it almost all of Klal Yisroel who do it today? Is there any other "kabbalistic" minhag like this (well L'cha Dodi comes to mind).


texts: How was the Shaalos Utshuvos Min Hashamayim allowed to do what he did?

texts:
The Shut Min Hashamayim was written by a Rishon in the time of Tosfos. He used to ask questions from Shamayim (Heaven) in a Sheilas Chalom (Dream Question) and write the answers down. Many of those questions are practical Halachic questions (for example, is the correct Tfillin Rashi or Rabbeinu Tam, etc).

How is this not a violation of Lo Bashamayim Hi (Torah is not in Heaven)? (Devarim 30:12, Bava Metzia 49b)


texts: Source for learning all parts of Torah at least once

texts: I was once told that one should learn every part of Torah at least once, even without complete understanding. Once you have seen it once in "Shamayim" you will be able to reveal the depths of everything. Does anyone know of a source for this? I think it was said in the name of the Chafetz Chaim.


texts:
While researching this question I came across a picture of the gravestone of Reb Arye Kaplan זצ"ל.

The post-final line reads:

  נפטר בש"ט בי"ד בשבט תשמ"ג

What does the abbreviation בש"ט stand for? All I can think of is 'בשעה טובה' - hardly appropriate for a deceased in a good time, especially since he was all of 48 years old! :-(


texts: Can halacha change based on scientific research?

texts:
Shabbat 39a says: "With regard to heating food in the sun itself, everyone agreed that one is permitted to place food in the sun to heat it, as it is certainly neither fire nor a typical form of cooking".

However, today we know that sun and fire, from physics point of view, are actually quite similar (they consist of matter in form of plasma). So the statement "it is certainly not fire" can be questioned. That brings me to the following question:

Can halacha be changed/adjusted, if a scientific research shows that some of the argumentation behind it was actually not valid? Has it happened, does anyone know some examples?


texts: How many times did the Kohanim carry the Aron?

texts: We know that it is a mitzvah for the Kohanim to transport the Aron. Do we know how many times this mitzvah was performed?


texts: Good idea to fast on the day of conversion?

texts: Is there any reason someone would refrain from eating on the day of conversion up until it is complete?


texts: What percentage of Jews are descendants of Abraham?

texts:
From my limited understanding of the religion being Jewish requires being born of Jewish parents or following some moderately complex procedures.  From that I would assume that every Jew alive today is either a decedent of Abraham or is a first generation convert.  A quick search on line indicates this might not be the case.  But I am unsure of the validity of them.

Are Today’s Jews the Physical Descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the Israelite Tribes?
Are Modern Jews Descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob?
"Jews" are not descendants of Abraham


texts: Does using the mikvah for conversion make you tahor for marriage?

texts: Does one become tahor for all purposes by using a mikvah for a single purpose? For example, if a giyores converts in the mikvah, is she then tahor for marriage? I ask because the converts I know have never been required to count seven clean days, make bedikas, etc., before going to the mikvah, and according to one thing I heard, they may even be able to tovel while menstruating (not sure about this). This would suggest the immersion is not l'chatchila kosher for taharas hamishpacha. But shouldn't a mikvah dip in theory accomplish full purity, that is, by a universal standard? Please discuss.


texts:
There is a frequently cited midrash that we read "Guard the Matzos" as "Guard the Mitzvos". I see this cited all over the internet, but no one seems to give the exact source. Could someone let me know what it is?

Relatedly, I've seen a citation to Mekhilta Shemos 12 for the statement "When a Mitzvah comes into your hand, don't let it become chametz." Is the Mekhilta the source for both statements? And does anyone know more specifically where in Ch. 12 it appears?

Thanks.


texts: Why don’t women say שלא עשני גויה and שפחה, according to Ashkenazim?

texts:
I see in Nusach Edos HaMizrach, women say שלא עשני גויה and שלא עשני שפחה, “Who did not make me a non-Jewess” and “Who did not make me a maidservant,” paralleling the men’s שלא עשני גוי and שלא עשני עבד, “Who did not make me a non-Jew” and “Who did not make me a slave.”

Why don’t Ashkenazi women say these forms of the Berachos? Doesn’t it make more sense for women to refer to female non-Jews and slaves, rather than use the masculine form?


texts: When did the Levites say to their father and mother “I have not seen him” as mentioned in Deuteronomy 33:9?

texts:
When did the Levites say to their father and mother "I have not seen him" as mentioned in Deuteronomy 33:9 ?

And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;
Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have
not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his
own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant.
[Deuteronomy 33: 8,9 KJV ]

What does it mean?
Why was the Lord pleased about it so as bless them and to make them close to Him?


texts: Is it heretical to not accept the writings of the Prophets (besides of Moses)?

texts:
Is it heretical for someone to accept all the '5 books of Moses', but not the writings of the other prophets, namely from the 'Neviim' section in the Tanach?

Note: for the purpose of this question, one may assume it was Moses himself that wrote of his own death

Note #2: In the 'Ani Maamin' lithurgy that seems to be somewhat based on the Rambam's principles, the 6th principle is phrased that the belief is that "all the words of the prophets are true."


texts: Why do we start requesting rain on the 59th day after tekufas Tishri?

texts: What is the reason that in the diaspora, we start requesting rain in the Amidah on the 59th day after תקופת תשרי and what is the significance of 59 days in particular?


texts: Why can't we light Shabbos candles with Nachum's fat?

texts:
The first mishna in the second chapter of Shabbos teaches that you are not allowed to use Nachum's fat for Shabbos candles.

ולא בשמן שריפה ולא באליה ולא בחלב נחום
[one may not light Shabbos candles with] oil set for burning
[consecrated oil that has become impure], nor with [the fat from]
sheeps' tails, nor with Nachum's fat

What's wrong with Nachum's fat?

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


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

Upvote all interesting answers.

Accept the best answer.

Go on to the next number.


texts: If one has a job where his employer informs him that if he wears a kippa he will be fired, does he have to wear a kippa?


texts:
Why do such few religious homes have dogs?
The Torah speaks often about how important it is to have rachmanus on animals. We are living in a time where millions upon millions of dogs are being housed in shelters every year & due to lack of resources many of these sweet animals are killed every single day. Is there something that I’m missing? Are there halachic problems with owning a dog that I’m unaware of? Why is it considered taboo in the frum world to save a dog’s life? Is there a single Orthodox Rabbi that advocates for saving these innocent animals?


texts: What should you do if you are arrested on Shabbat?

texts: If a person is arrested (God forbid) on Shabbat what leniencies, if any, should he be aware of? For instance may he sign paperwork (with a shinuy) or have his fingerprint taken if refusing to do so would lead to significant legal repercussions?


texts: Some times, like just after waking-up, men have an erection. But what if one just woke up and wants to say the Mode Ani, must he wait for it to pass or can he say it as is? Would it be disrespectful or make an averah to say it as is?


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

Upvote all answers I consider relevant and interesting.

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

Go on to the next number.


texts: Why does the hagadah describe matzoh being made on the Jews backs as they fled Egypt?

texts:
It is understood that the ACTUAL making of מצה  today is a very careful and meticulous process -and it would seem that there is a discrepancy in the process of people leaving Egypt by way of it simply not rising as they left with dough that didn't rise as it baked in the open air under the hot sun as opposed to in an oven as we bake it today. This opens up for several points:

Is matzoh making today TRYING to replicate this process as described in the הגדה?
clearly the process of rolling, and baking needs to be done at high heat within 18 minutes and the SUN is not as hot as a מצה oven.
Either it is understood that we have a different method today in baking matzos, at least  the Askenazi minhag (as opposed to timoni or sefardi methods)

Assuming there is a discrepancy between the הגדה and contemporary מצה making methods, either there is a reason the הגדה describes it this way which would seemingly be incorrect and there is a deeper meaning, OR perhaps we have added stringencies since the actual Exodus.


texts: Is it possible to have a Jewish wedding after a civil ceremony?

texts: My (legal) husband and I had a small courthouse wedding ceremony, which was done entirely for practical reasons after my cancer diagnosis. Neither of us are as frum now as we were raised, but having a Jewish wedding ceremony and ketubah is very important to us. Is there any halachic reason why we couldn't now have a Jewish wedding ceremony?


texts: What is the Lubavitcher Rebbe's position on gentiles in the Land of Israel

texts: The Rebbe, as is well known, held that it was assur to give away any parts of Eretz Yisrael. But I've never heard what his position on the gentiles living there was.  If Judea and Samaria were to be annexed would the Arabs be given citizenship or did he support their expulsion like Rabbi Kahane?


texts:
I was recently taught the concept of a shinui to be "something done in a way that is unusual compared to the norm in one's area of residence", with respect to the permissibility of actions done on Shabbat and Yom Tov.

My question is "what constitutes the norm"? What if 51% of people do something one way and 49% of people do it another way? Furthermore, what constitutes one's "area of residence" in this matter? Is one's "area of residence" confined to one's home, neighborhood, city, country, state, continent, planet?


texts:
A learned friend of mine is of the opinion that it is forbidden to learn from a Rabbi (or anyone else) who is known to have sinned. He used the example of a particular Rabbi caught in a scandal so malodorous he was forced to leave his community and indeed the country. After a number of years overseas he has quietly returned and has begun giving a shiur to a small audience who are obviously able to overlook his past. My friend rails against what is happening and compares it to 'drinking from a sewage pipe'.

This attitude seems far too stringent to me. I have asked him for sources for his opinion, which he is preparing.

I expect the halacha is far more nuanced than what he says. I am looking for sources for and against learning from such a person. For example,

forbidding learning from such a person
the danger of learning from such a person
judging someone to have done teshuvah
learning from any available source
etc.


texts:
I remember that Harav Kook (הראי״ה) had in Orot Hakodesh a 10 steps for how to study something new, though I couldn't find it.

What are the acceptable/recommended ways to study either Torah or science? What are the techniques that the greatest Jewish scholars used to follow in order to study so much material in so short time?


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Hashems name on device

Normally there are all sorts of problems with writing Hashem's name on paper, and then erasing it. How does this apply to digital mediums (more specifically, computers & phones)?

Also, which names does this apply to? [or should that be a separate question?]


texts: How does one get an animal off of the Altar surreptitiously?

texts:
The Mishna, in Zevachim 9:3, lists blemished animals among those that are inherently invalid for the Altar, such that if they are brought up onto it, they are brought down again. Then, R' Chanina, Segan Hakohanim reports that

דּוֹחֶה הָיָה אַבָּא אֶת בַּעֲלֵי מוּמִין מֵעַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ
My father used to push blemished animals off the altar.

R' Obadiah MiBartenura explains:

שאם עלו דוחה היה אותן כלאחר יד ולא היה מורידן דרך בזיון בפרהסיא
[Meaning] that if they ascended, he would push them away back-handedly and would not take them down in a degrading way, in public.

(My translation)
How would one get an animal off of the Altar without it being publicly noticed? The Altar was in the center of the Temple courtyard and the center of the action there. There was one access point - the open ramp on the south side. Generally, offerings would go up the ramp and be burned at the top, not come down, so I have trouble picturing how an animal could come down that way without being noticed.
If R' Chanina's father would literally push these animals off one of the other sides of the Altar, I would expect that such a dramatic decent would be even more noticeable, not to mention degrading. Perhaps he shoved them off the west side, where the only lines of sight available were from inside the courtyard, where only Kohanim were?


texts: Loosely holding utensils in a mikve - halacha development

texts:
The Rambam (Hilchot Mikvaot 2:11) does not allow loosely holding a utensil in a mikve

  When one holds another person or an implement and immerses them, they
  remain impure. This applies even if he loosens his hand and allows
  water to reach the person or the article being immersed. This is a
  decree, lest he not loosen his hand. If he rinses his hand in water
  first, the immersion is acceptable.

(see also the mishna in Mikvaot 8:4)

However the Shulchan Aruch (YD 120:2) rules that it is permissible to hold a utensil loosely

  The vessel must be loose in your hands at the time of dunking, for if
  it is tight in your hands it is an interposition, and if you dampen
  your hand in the water at the outset there is no need to worry (Rema:
  and specifically that you dampened your hands in the waters of the
  Mikvah but not in water that is detached).

and this is the halacha as practiced (see e.g., here and there).

Why this difference of opinion? What led the SA to rule differently? Is there a difference in the physical reality (e.g., were mikvaot at the time of the Rambam so deep that they would be worried to loosen their grip on utensils?)


texts: Book of TaNaKhic names with their meanings

texts:
I hope this is the right forum for a search/request like this.

A few months ago - unfortunately, I don't remember the context in which it arose - I stumbled across a terrific book on HebrewBooks.org that listed virtually every name appearing in TaNa"Kh with its meaning and source.

One name I specifically remember appearing in the book is אהליאב. It described the name as meaning that HaShem (G-d) is our tent (i.e. our protector) and brought a description of who Aholiav was.

Does anyone know of a book or books like this? I would be truly grateful!


texts: Why bracha HaGomel in a synagogue with Torah?

texts: Why do we try to say bracha HaGomel in a shul with a minyan on the days when we read Torah?


texts: Are there analogs to “Abba” & “Ima” for in-laws?

texts: I know that “אבא” and “אמא” are originally Aramaic translations of the Hebrew “אבי” and “אמי” which have become adapted to Hebrew, especially in the accusative case.  Are there similar forms in Aramaic corresponding to “חמי” (or is that “חותני”?) or “חמותי”?


texts: I've heard some frum families not allowing non-Jews at the shabbos table for the Friday night meal, because oneg shabbos is specifically for Jews. Is there a source for this in any writings?


texts: Do some Litvaks in Jerusalem have a minhag of long payos? For example, Rav Azriel Auerbach has long curled payos even though he is Litvish.


texts: Will a mezuzah be kosher if installed by a non-Jew?

texts: I'm wondering if a non-Jew simply does the hammering, whether the mezuzah will still be considered kosher so long as the proper blessing is said.


texts: How can you set two eruvin? It's making your residence in two places!

texts:
The introduction of ר׳ פנחס קהתי's to מסכת ערובין reads, in part (in my own translation and with emphasis supplied):

… that residents of the courtyard not carry from their houses to the courtyard or from the courtyard to their houses unless they made an "eruv [chatzeros]", i.e. that all the residents place food before the sabbath in the house of one of their number. By doing so their domain becomes combined, they themselves are as if they're all concentrated in the residence in which the eruv food is placed, and the entire courtyard with its houses becomes as if one homogeneous domain.…
… makes an "eruv t'chumim" before the sabbath, i.e. that he places… two meals' food, thereby acquiring sabbathhood at that location when the sabbath starts, meaning that we look upon the location where he left the eruv as if it's his house for this sabbath…

My kid asked: Why is it possible for someone to make both an eruv chatzeros and an eruv t'chumin? It's setting his residence in two different places for the same sabbath and shouldn't work. [I might add that the same applies to making two eruve chatzeros.] We've never heard that's impossible.


texts: Where does the custom not to say Tachanun on a Yahrtzeit come from?


texts: When does one use the condensed Shemoneh Esrei?

texts:
To Pray as a Jew mentions that there is a condensed form of the Shemoneh Esrei which can sometimes be used in place of the full version. The condensed form was different than the Shabbat version of the prayer. So when would it be appropriate to use the condensed form?

And if anyone knows, did the condensed form originate from halakhah or minhag?


texts:
To the amida prayer from Rosh Hashana through Yom Kipur, we add a brief prayer that starts:

  זָכְרֵנוּ לְחַיִּים מֶלֶךְ חָפֵץ בַּחַיִּים

ArtScroll translates that as:

  Remember us for life, O King Who desires life

But there's another way one might translate it:

  Remember us for life, O King Who desires the living

We see the kal verb חפץ in Tanach many times, sometimes with a direct object and other times with a ב־ object. Most often (always?), when the object is a person, there's a ב־. And we do see חיים=life as a direct (no ב־) object in Psalms 34:13. On the other hand, we also see מות=death as a ב־ object in Ezekiel 18:23,32; 33:11. And, indeed, most objects of חפץ generally use ב־. Plus, maybe the usage (transitivity) of חפץ changed between Tanach and when this prayer was written.

So my question is whether ArtScroll is right. Specifically: Is there any good source/argument for one or the other (or some other) possible translation of בַּחַיִּים in this prayer?


texts: What does it mean that "his face became blackened" in the Gemara?

texts: Throughout the Gemara we see times when someone's face is described as becoming blackened, due to fasts or other things like intense learning. (Example: Sotah 12a) What does this mean?


texts:
Is one allowed to use/inhale Snuff on Yom Kippur? Are there any sources that explicitly say it's ok?

Even if one says it's "technically" not eating, could there be any problems with using it on Yom Kippur? (ie not on the spirit of the day etc)


texts: Is there a movement to centralize Rabbinical authority through all Jewish communities?

texts:
Due to the exile, Jewish civilization ended up splintering off into various sub-groups.

Ashkenazim
Sephardim/Mizrahim
etc.

Through this division, Judaism developed a series of "flavors" with regards to common practices and Minhags to each community. The downside of this is we sometimes have cultural conflicts which divide communities from having true universal worship.

Even in a country like Israel, which is supposed to be the focal point of Jewish civilization, the Chief Rabbinate is shared between two different meta-communities (a Sephardic and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi subdivisions)

Has there been any real push by the various sub-communities to try and bridge the gaps into a new universal center? Or is the topic considered closed off until Mashiach?


texts:
In Sanhedrin 65b (line 24 and further) Tornosrufus asked same question
  to R. Akiva. R. Akiva answered that there are three proofs that the
  day Jew think is Shabbos is a real Shabbos.

River Sebation is very fast on other days and on Shabbos it streams slowly.
Baal Ov couldn't be applied on Shabbos.
Smoke comes out of the grave of Tornosrufus's father each day except for Shabbos.

So what's the story here? I found about Tonos Rufus and he is a general that put Akiva to death. I thought Akiva is sentenced to death by an emperor.

Anyway, back to the question: Are there verifications for these miracles?

Where is River Sebation? Is it true that river flow more slowly during Sabbath? If so, does it flow more slowly starting at 18:00 to the next 18:00?
Not sure what Baal Ov is but perhaps someone can verify this.
Is that grave still around till now? Do other graves in the area emit smokes?


texts: We know from the text that he was son of Itzhar, son of Kehas, son of Levi. Is there a reference that talks about his age at any point, or his birth year?


texts: Why are the laws of niddah called "tohoras mishpacha" - "family purity"

texts: Why are the laws of niddah called the laws of tohoras mishpacha/family purity? Certainly the "tohorah" part of the phrase makes sense, but why isn't it called "tohoras ishus", marriage purity, or something along those lines?


texts: Search for Eliyahu Kitov source in Midrash (Bar Ilan search?)

texts:
Looking for someone who can search all midrashim/chazal/yalkut etc for original source
If I had otzar or bar ilan, I'd do it myself, using search words like I typed below from kitov's hebrew text. I'm assuming rabbi kitov didn't make it up, but culled it from some authentic midrashic source.

Here's loshon from Sefer Hatodaah:

ומה היא גבורתו שהיה יכול לעמוד ביסורים יותר מכל אדם שעל פני האדמה לכך נתנו הקב"ה באמצע הדורות שיהא נושא עליו כל הדורות שלפניו ושלאחריו עד שיגלה כל כחו לעת קץ הימים כקורה זו שנותנים אותה באמצעה של התקרה כדי שתעמיד את כל התקרה

Although it's also possible that it was indeed his own conclusion,, and if counting the "midpoint beam" from Dovid's birth, the Geulah would have been in the mems' (1984?), a year which would have sounded plenty futuristic and eschatological, from rabbi ki tov's perspective (like g orwell's lhavdil)

On page 142 of "The Book of our Heritage, Vol 3" by R. Eliyahu Kitov

[King] David however was the greatest hero of all the generations.
What was his strength, that he was able to withstand suffering more than any person on Earth?
G-d placed him at the midpoint of all the generations, so that he should be able to bear upon himself all the preceding generations and all those following till his power would be revealed at the End-of-Days -- like the center beam which holds aloft the entire ceiling.

Using this information, and the date of King David's birth of 2854 (from Chabad.org ) as well as the fact that he lived 70 years we take the midpoint of his life and double it to get the year of the Geulah:

( 2854+35) * 2 = 5778


texts:
Who is the author of the Maamar Mordechai quoted often in the Mishna Berurah.
There are quite a number of sefarim on HebrewBooks with that title and the old prints make it hard to scan through them to find a given quote.


texts: Does a tea infuser need to be immersed in the mikvah?

texts:
I don't know the criteria for an item to be required to be immersed in the mikvah before use.

Does a loose tea infuser (images below) need to be immersed? You put loose tea leaves into it and then you steep it in a hot cup of water to make tea (just like a tea bag).


texts:
Who knows two hundred eighty-seven?
?שבעה ושמונים ומאתים - מי יודע
In the spirit of the song "Echad - mi yodeya", please post interesting and significant Jewish facts about the number 287.
There are probably references to lazy gematria for this one scattered all over the place.
Check out mi-yodeya-series for the previous two hundred eighty-six entries in this ongoing series.
Please include sources for your information wherever possible, as with all other answers on this site.


texts: Yom kippur is a day of kapparah (forgiveness). In most machzorim it says at a certain point in every t'filla 'Now one says selichot'. Does any shul ever say them? Which?


texts:
Shortly after Moshe received the Torah, we are told of the Children of Israel (Shemot 32:6) that:

ויקמו לצחק
They got up to play.

Presumably, they understood from the Torah that had just been given that they ought to be playing games.
Unfortunately, the verses don’t seem to be very clear regarding what exactly they were playing.
So please enlighten me.
Which sports, games or other pastimes, can you find mentioned or hinted to in Tanach, Talmud, or elsewhere in Jewish literature?

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


texts: The process of the evaluation of the Sages' wisdom when electing for the Sanhedrin?

texts:
Mishnah Sanhedrin 4,4:

"ושלש שורות של תלמידי חכמים יושבין לפניהם כל אחד ואחד מכיר את מקומו"
Three rows of the Sages sit before [the Sanhedrin of 71], every one of them knows his place

Rambam's explanation:

"בכל שורה מהם ג"כ כ"ג מסודרין ראשון ושני ושלישי עד סופם כפי מעלתם בחכמה"
23 of them in every row arranged the first, the second, the third till the last one according to their wisdom

To elaborate how-were-judges-appointed: it seems to be a tough task - to compare different Rabbis, at times when no prophecy and no Halachic books existed. According to Rambam it was the standard procedure when appointing all sort of Beis Dins from the tree of Mamonos straight to the 71 of the Great Sanhedrin.
In other words: if the Sanhedrin was elected in our days, how would you evaluate the Gdoylim of the 20th century: Chofetz Chaim, Chazon Ish, R' Elyashiv, R' Moshe Feinstein, R' Shteinman, R' Ovadia or the Lubavicher Rebe Z"Ls?

What was the procedure or tests to evaluate Rabbis' wisdom?

How often did those tests take place? How many time were they re-evaluated and re-seated?

What institution was in charge of this evaluation and how its members were elected?


texts: Are there any examples of "par ha'elem davar" in Tanakh or Talmud?

texts:
In Lev. 4:13-15, we learn

If it is the whole community of Israel that has erred and the matter escapes the notice of the congregation, so that they do any of the things which by the LORD’s commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt—when the sin through which they incurred guilt becomes known, the congregation shall offer a bull of the herd as a sin offering, and bring it before the Tent of Meeting. The elders of the community shall lay their hands upon the head of the bull before the LORD, and the bull shall be slaughtered before the LORD.

[sefaria translation]
Are there any examples where this actually happened in Tanakh? What about stories in the gemara?


texts: Is there a minhag that one should not pass a child over a table to another person to hold?  In my family we would pass a child from person to person all the way around the table, but nobody could ever explain the reason.  Is there a source for that?