texts:
Nowadays there are many halachically permissible birth control methods that are available (pills, diaphragms, coils, etc.) that were not available in the past. Aside from the natural means of menstruation regulation (e.g. breastfeeding) what methods of birth control were practiced (that were halachically acceptable) before the modern medical revolution? I am interested in answers that include male and female birth control intervention.

A wikipedia article here suggests a male form of birth control that may have been used in the middle ages:

  In the writings of Muslims and Jews during the Middle Ages, there are some references to attempts at male-controlled contraception, including suggestions to cover the penis in tar or soak it in onion juice. Some of these writings might describe condom use, but they are "oblique", "veiled", and "vague".

I am interested in answers with a scientific basis as well as Jewish superstitions/minhagim (e.g. amulets).


texts:
Recently when I visited Israel my family had a wonderful experience seeing the Dead Sea Scrolls and learning about Jewish life in the desert. When I grew up I had so little knowledge of this. I have 2 questions regarding the Essenes :

Are there any authentic, ancient Jewish texts that are from the Essenes? I have learned a little about the Essenes from books, lectures and the Internet, but I am wondering if there are actual texts that I can read that have been passed down throughout the ages? I am specifically interested in their Jewish customs/traditions.

I am also wondering what happened to the Essene Jewish traditions. I know that early Christians were considered Essene (and I think there is record of them--like the "desert fathers"?) but what happened to the Jewish Essenes who were not followers of Jesus? Was their philosophy passed on in Kabbalah or traditions that we might have now that are kept private?


texts: Source that every room in the house needs a mezuza

texts:
What are the source(s) that every room needs a mezuzah and not just the front door?

In the Torah and Talmud.


texts: When, why and who originated Chevruta style studying?

texts:
From reading various stories mentioned in the mishnah, it seems that students studied directly from their rav. I assume that they reviewed what they studied, and, perhaps, discussed ideas with each other.

But, there doesn't appear to be a mention to chevruta style learning which is common in yeshivot and Batei Midrash, today.

Who thought of this idea and why? What was the reasoning or motive? When did this idea begin?


texts: In Parshat Vayishlach, the place where Yaakov is named Israel is named פְּנִיאֵל (Pniel) by Yaakov, and then one verse later it is called פְּנוּאֵל(Pnuel). Why are these two alternate spellings so close to each other?


texts:
In the unfortunate cases of an Aguna "chained woman", Mesurevet Get "get refuser", if the husband is mentally deranged or in a coma, the wife is stuck. There is no way of getting divorced by Jewish law and she can therefore not remarry.

The Torah's laws are always so fair and balanced. How can it be so cruel and unfair?


texts: Who are the "Men from far away" mentioned in Zechariah 6:15?

texts:
וּרְחוֹקִ֣ים ׀ יָבֹ֗אוּ וּבָנוּ֙ בְּהֵיכַ֣ל יְהוָ֔ה וִידַעְתֶּ֕ם כִּֽי־יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם וְהָיָה֙ אִם־שָׁמ֣וֹעַ תִּשְׁמְע֔וּן בְּק֖וֹל יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃ (ס)
Men from far away shall come and take part in the building of the Temple of the LORD, and you shall know that I have been sent to you by the LORD of Hosts—if only you will obey the LORD your God!

(Zechariah 6:15)
Who are the "men from far away" mentioned in this verse ?


texts:
Why do tanaim and amoraim use disparaging terms (bavlai tipshai, for instance) or insults when talking with one another. If there is something positive to be learned from this behavior why is it no longer employed?

I have heard many attempts to explain this away, none that are satisfactory.


texts: Exodus of Israelites, war against Amalekite, blot them out

texts: I am reading about the Israelites time in the desert during their exile from Egypt. What did God mean when He said (Exodus 17:14): "I will blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heaven"?


texts: Shliach tzibur not following the shul nusach

texts: In my shul the official nusach is Chabad. The rabbi is Chabad too. Most of the congregants are not Chassidic and they are used to daven nusach Sfard or Ashkenaz. My question is: is the shliach tzibur allowed to skip paragraphs that are not in his nusach? I asked the rabbi, and he instructed me to tell the shliach tzibur myself, privately, that he's skipping. The rabbi does not want to antagonize anybody, in order to keep congregants content. When I asked the shliach Tzibur, he smiled and said to complain to the rabbi.


texts: Does one need to light Chanukah lights at both entrances nowadays in Israel?

texts:
Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 671:8 rules that if one has a courtyard with two entrances on different sides, one lights Chanukah lights at both entrances, to prevent passersby from suspecting that the owner has not performed the mitzvah.
However, Rema writes that:

בזמן הזה שכולם מדליקין בפנים ממש ואין היכר לבני רשות הרבים כלל אפי' יש לחצר או לבית הרבה פתחים לארבע רוחות אין מדליקין אלא פעם אחת בפנים כנ"ל וכן המנהג פשוט:
Nowadays, when everyone lights properly indoors, and those in the street cannot notice at all, even if the courtyard or house has many entrances to all four directions, one lights only once inside (as mentioned above). Such is the widespread custom.

Is this ruling of Rema applicable nowadays in Israel, where, it seems to me, many do have the custom to light outside by their doorways?
At first glance, it would appear that Rema's ruling would not be applicable. However, there a couple of points which could mean that it still applies:

Many people in Israel, while still ensuring that their lights are visible from the street, will light at a window, rather than outside a door. Maybe that fact is enough to remove the suspicious appearance of a door without lights?

Even if the vast majority of people now light by the door in Israel, the fact is that for hundreds of years people lit inside. Maybe this means that anyone seeing a door without lights would not necessarily suspect the inhabitants of not performing the mitzvah at all, but would instead presume that they had lit indoors?


texts: Why did David ask Uriah to go back to Betsheba?

texts:
David had relations with Bathsheba. Bathsheba got pregnant. David then told Uriah to return to Bathsheba. Uriah refused and latter David technically lawfully kill Uriah. See II Samuel 11.

A rabbi here http://torahideals.com/essays-and-imaginings/david-and-bathsheba/ then argues that David didn't sin at all.

The idea is that Uriah had a retroactive divorce against Bathsheba. So, when Uriah died, the retroactive divorce was in effect. Hence, technically, Bathsheba was nobody's wife, and hence being with her was not a sin.

The website assumes that having relations with single woman is not a sin. Notice that this is a pretty conservative rabbi. So for now, let's just agree with the website and "assume" that sex outside marriage is not a sin.

Now that we have that assumption, another problem shows up.

So David is technically not doing adultery thanks to the retroactive divorce. Uriah is dead, anyway. Killing Uriah is also not technically murder due to another technicality. Everything is up up.

Then, why did David ask Uriah to come back to his wife?

If Uriah goes back to his wife, then the retroactive divorce won't hold. That means Bathsheba was still "technically" Uriah's wife. That means David would have committed adultery.

One of the comments points this out

  While the ‘get’ may be effective retroactively, David was not in that
  “space” yet. Uriah had not been killed or missing in battle yet, so
  the “retroactive” stuff wasn’t operative? How could it be? If Uriah
  had returned alive from the battle, the ‘get’ would not have been
  effective, no? He would still have been married to Mrs. Uriah.

It seems that the pious thing to do, technically, is to just technically kill Uriah and continue having relations with Bathsheba. Which is what the pious David did anyway eventually.

But here, David is tempted to sin by asking Uriah to go back to Bathsheba. Had David succeeded, that would technically made his act post facto technical adultery.

Why would pious David do that? Bad lawyer?

Also - if Uriah did return to his wife, did David expect Uriah to know that his wife was already pregnant? Did David plan to man up and pay child support or did he expect Uriah to unknowingly raise his children?


texts:
What is the history behind the bracha of v'lamalshim?

Was there a specific ideology or
group that the baracha was targeting?
Why would someone davening to Hashem
and saying the rest of the barachos
(re: ejecting a shat"z who doesn't
say that bracha) take offense to this
bracha?  Was there an original
censored nusach that obviates this
issue?
Was this bracha always called birkas
haminim, or was there an earlier reference that was censored?
Which famous people were minim and
what were their practices?


texts: If we are commanded to marry, why no bracha "sanctified by your commandments". (Marriage is #70 on Rambam's list of mitzvot, see: http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm.)


texts: Why "כָּל הַבָּא אֶל הָאֹהֶל וְכָל אֲשֶׁר בָּאֹהֶל" and not the reverse?

texts:
Chukas 19:14, with Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan's translation (brackets in his original):

זֹאת הַתּוֹרָה אָדָם כִּי יָמוּת בְּאֹהֶל כָּל הַבָּא אֶל הָאֹהֶל וְכָל אֲשֶׁר בָּאֹהֶל יִטְמָא שִׁבְעַת יָמִים.
When a man dies in a tent, this is the law: Everything that comes into the tent or was [originally] in the tent shall be unclean for seven days.

(The "was [originally]" is how I read the verse before checking commentaries/translations, and doesn't contradict any of the commentaries I've seen AFAIR. Nor, indeed, can I think what the verse is referring to if not to something in the tent at the time of death.)
Why does it mention first things that enter the tent after death and only then things that were in the tent at death, rather than listing them chronologically?


texts: If a house has mezuzahs and one of bedroom's mezuzah isn't kosher is the entire house at risk or just that bedroom?

texts:
I read on this website the entire following article which includes major kabbalistic info about mezuzah protection and I was wondering if any major rabbi or kabbalist or anyone with the answer can answer my simple question.

If you have an entire house affixed with mezuzahs on each doorpost and "Room A" has a pasul mezuzah with chipped letters etc, is "Room A" ONLY not protected or is the entire house now  at risk?

This simple question might sound foolish but it means a lot to me, so if you can answer it please do.

Here's the article I read:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/310889/jewish/The-Protective-Power-of-Mezuzah.htm


texts:
Is Yom Ha-Atzma'ut (Israeli Independance Day) considered a Chag (Jewish Holiday)? I have been to three types of Shuls (Synagogues) on this day:

Those that have added the saying of Hallel but without the
recitation of a bracha (benediction)
Shuls that have added Hallel with the bracha
Shuls that have not added anything.


texts: Gad and Reuven exiled eight years before everyone else

texts:
Bamidbar Rabbah 22:7, Eichah Rabbah Pesikta 5, Midrash Tanchumah Mattos 4, Tanchumah Yashan Mattos 8 all point out that the tribes of Gad and Reuven, because they chose to live outside the land of Israel proper, were exiled before their brothers.

The Ba'al HaTurim to Numbers 32:1 notes that Gad and Reuven are mentioned eight times in the parsha where they request this land, to hint to the eight years they were exiled before everyone else. I also saw the Chida quotes Rabbeinu Efraim as saying the same thing. The above midrashim don't mention eight years; what is the source that it was specifically eight years?


texts: Does one fulfill their obligation of davening if they leaned on a shtender?

texts: I've seen people - in shul - leaning on shtenders when they are davening shemoneh esrei. Halachichally, if someone is leaning on his shtender while he's davening shemoneh esrei, is he יוצא?


texts:
The three basic texts that R' Yisroel Salanter wanted people to learn were Chovos HaLevavos, Mesilas Yesharim and Cheshbon HaNefesh.
(source: here)

what is the difference between Chovos Halevavos and Mesilas Yesharim

which book should a beginner focus on first and why?

what about someone more advanced?


texts:
The mishna Keilim 13:6 discusses the susceptibility to tumah of objects partially of wood and partially of metal.

עֵץ הַמְשַׁמֵּשׁ אֶת הַמַּתֶּכֶת, טָמֵא. וְהַמַּתֶּכֶת הַמְשַׁמֵּשׁ אֶת הָעֵץ, טְהוֹרָה. כֵּיצַד, פּוֹתַחַת שֶׁל עֵץ וְהַפִּין שֶׁלָּהּ שֶׁל מַתֶּכֶת, אֲפִלּוּ אַחַת, טְמֵאָה. פּוֹתַחַת שֶׁל מַתֶּכֶת וְהַפִּין שֶׁלָּהּ שֶׁל עֵץ, טְהוֹרָה. טַבַּעַת שֶׁל מַתֶּכֶת וְחוֹתָם שֶׁלָּהּ שֶׁל אַלְמוֹג, טְמֵאָה. טַבַּעַת שֶׁל אַלְמוֹג וְחוֹתָם שֶׁלָּהּ שֶׁל מַתֶּכֶת, טְהוֹרָה. הַשֵּׁן שֶׁבַּטַּס, שֶׁבַּפּוֹתַחַת, וְשֶׁבַּמַּפְתֵּחַ, טְמֵאָה בִּפְנֵי עַצְמָהּ:
Wood that serves a metal vessel is susceptible to impurity, but metal that serves a wooden vessel is clean. How so? If a lock is of wood and its clutches are of metal, even if only one of them is so, it is susceptible to impurity, but if the lock is of metal and its clutches are of wood, it is clean. If a ring was of metal and its seal of coral, it is susceptible to impurity, but if the ring was of coral and its seal of metal, it is clean. The tooth in the plate of a lock or in a key is susceptible to impurity by itself.

In the middle of the explanation, we see that coral (אלמוג) is treated as a type of wood. Is this a mistranslation? If coral is indeed treated as wood for tumah purposes, what else gets treated as wood that we would not normally think of as wood? That is, how broad is the class "wood"?


texts: Is there any tradition in Rabbinical sources regarding the conquering of Jerusalem by Pompey?

texts:
In Josephus and other sources, around 120 years before the destruction of the Second Temple, Pompey, a Roman leader, conquered Jerusalem and exiled Aristobulus the 2nd, the son of King Yannai and Shlomtzion. Is there any discussion in Rabbinic sources about this event?

I've heard of the Maharsha reference the civil war between Aristobulus the 2nd and his brother.


texts:
The following assumes lighting an additional candle for each day of Chanukkah:

Two may light in a single Menorah for the first three days of Chanukkah; each in his end of the Menorah. This does not work for the fourth day, since it would be impossible to tell if it is the fourth day (two people lighting) or eighth day (single person lighting).

Clearly, it is a requirement to be able to deduce the current day. (Kitzur Shulchan Oruch 139 (6))

Many Menoros have the Shamash dividing the eight candles into two groups of four:

Some have the Shamash offset to the side, but still  have larger spacing in the middle.

How are we allowed to use such Menoros?


texts: The standard practice seems to be avoiding saying the word "Jesus" due to the halacha of שם רשעים ירקב, but some people seem to be willing to say it. Is there a heter for this? (Also, would this heter apply to "Buddha", "Krishna", etc.?)


texts:
The question might seem odd, I admit, but
In the beginning pages of the Bavli Sanhedrin (5a), it states that the power of the ראש גלותא in Babylon was bigger than that of נשיא in the land of Israel in the time of R' Yehuda Hanassi (see the whole Suggyah of certifying judges).

  "פשיטא מהכא להכא ומהתם להתם מהני ומהכא להתם נמי מהני דהכא שבט והתם מחוקק "

How come R' Yehuda Hanassi in the Holy Land decided on the codification of the Mishnah, but no ראש גלותא did so also, for they really could - they had the brains and the political power to force their decisions on all others Rabbis? Why was the "Israeli Mishnah" accepted unanimously even though the Israeli Rabbis were not trusted so much in Babylon?

Bonus wonder: how would the Bavli Mishnah be different from R' Yehudah's?


texts: Why is the Ramban's Hilchos Challah in the back of Bechoros?

texts: I noticed that Hilchos Challah follows Hilchos Bechoros in the back of the Gemarah Bechoros. Why is this where the Ramban placed his Hilchos Challah?


texts: ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד after a bracha with a false statement

texts:
If we make a bracha levatala or say Hashem's name by accident, we say ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד.

Is this true only if the original bracha is a valid praise of Hashem, or even if it contains false statements?  For example:

Sefardi women saying a bracha on an mitzva that applies only to men (וצונו is false according to Sefardim)

or I guess similarly, a Sefardi Kohen or Levi saying the bracha on pidyon haben

for everyone, a zar saying the bracha on birkat kohanim (אשר קדשנו בקדושתו של אהרן is definitely false, for Sefardim וצונו is also)
any bracha that contains יום ____ הזה on the wrong day

Is the function of ברוך שם to turn the bracha that you already said into a praise, which might not work in this case because your praise is false?  Or is it a standalone praise of Hashem because you mentioned His name, and the context wouldn't matter?


texts: Where does the Gra mention the idea that Sefer Devarim is split up into parshiot representing the centuries going into the 6000 millennium? There is another idea that Ki Tavo fits into the years of the holocaust,where is this idea from?


texts: Renting out a Property which is not my home during Passover

texts:
I am responsible for an apartment in Jerusalem, owned by a family member, which is rented out for short periods, ranging from a night to over a month.  In general it is rented to pretty much anyone.  When it is rented out, it and all it's contents are the responsibility of the tenant.

Does it matter (to me or the owner) if the person I rent it to during Passover brings chametz into the property:

If they're gentile
If they're Jewish


texts: Minimizing Onah obligation for maximizing income

texts:
Where to find sources regarding what happens when a man needs to travel to support his family (he cannot support them if he does not travel) (in both cases that if he will not traval he 1. can live off donations (localy) or 2. he does not have this option (he can not support his family at all)), but by doing so he will not fulfill his marital obligations (עונה) in the amount that his wife was used to.

For example, if someone who works in town and is obligated to be with his wife 2 times a week, now can not make enough money can he work out of town and by doing so he will now only be with her 1 time a week?


texts: Which Rabbinic source claimed that the Rambam "killed" the demons?

texts: I have heard many times that the Rambam "killed" the demons rather than simply denying that they ever existed. Which Rabbinic source claims as much? The Rambam himself seems to have said that they never existed.


texts: How fast did the 2.5 tribes build their new cities?

texts:
I can't find a clear timeline of the events that preceded the conquest but in a short recap:

Gad and Reuben asked to settle in Transjordan
Moses agrees and offers them to build cities(?) and fences: "בְּנוּ־לָכֶם עָרִים לְטַפְּכֶם וּגְדֵרֹת לְצֹנַאֲכֶם וְהַיֹּצֵא מִפִּיכֶם תַּעֲשׂוּ׃" - "Build towns for your children and sheepfolds for your flocks, but do what you have promised." (Num 32,24)
They built numerous cities: "וַיִּבְנוּ בְנֵי־גָד אֶת־דִּיבֹן וְאֶת־עֲטָרֹת וְאֵת עֲרֹעֵר׃ וְאֶת־עַטְרֹת שׁוֹפָן וְאֶת־יַעְזֵר וְיָגְבֳּהָה׃ וְאֶת־בֵּית נִמְרָה וְאֶת־בֵּית הָרָן עָרֵי מִבְצָר וְגִדְרֹת צֹאן׃", etc (ibid 34-42)

Those tribes totaled over 100K families with a population of probably reaching the current size of Jerusalem (600K, given 4 kids per household).

Completion of those cities must have preceded the conquest, which occurred only a couple of months later.

What is called "a city" that they built? And how did they build those cities so fast?


texts: What is the preferable form of Biur Chametz?

texts:
While burning the chametz is clearly the most popular, it is really not the only solution to disposing of it right before Pesach.
Other solutions I remember learning about are scattering it in the sea, dissolving it with acid, soaking it with poison, etc.

Is burning really the best form of Biur? Or is it most popular because of the confusion of what the word means... (biur means "getting rid of", as opposed to hav'ara which means "burning")?
Or is it just because burning things with fire is, well, fun :)

All else being equal, which is the first choice of Biur?


texts:
The gemara in Beitzah, 17a discusses the closing to the blessing on kiddush hayom on Shabbat/Yom Tov

(Rebbi): We close the middle Berachah with a reference to Yom Tov, - Mekadesh ha'Shabbos, Yisrael v'haZemanim.
1.The wording taught before Ravina was Mekadesh Yisrael v'haShabbos v'haZemanim.
2.Ravina corrected it back to Mekadesh ha'Shabbos on the grounds that Yisrael is not Mekadesh Shabbos.
(d)(R. Yosef): The Halachah follows Rebbi, as qualified by Ravina.

The Schottenstein edition (17a1, note 10) explains,

God sanctified the seventh day of creation and every seventh day thereafter is automatically the Sabbath. The sanctification of Israel in no way affects the Sabbath. Israel's sanctification affects only the sanctity of the festivals, since it is the Jewish court that determines the date of Rosh Chodesh, which in turn determines the dates of the festivals. Thus, Ravina objects that if someone first mentions that God sanctifies the Jews [Israel] and then mentions the Sabbath, he implies that God sanctifies the Jews who can then sanctify the Sabbath, which is erroneous. It is therefore proper to mention the sanctification of the Jews before the sanctification of Yom Tov, not before the sanctification of the Sabbath.

This not only doesn't address why we couldn't include the sanctification of the Jews AFTER the mention of the sanctification of the Sabbath (Mekadesh hashabbat v'yisrael), as asked in my other question, and it certainly doesn't address why Ravina or anyone would infer a causal link between listed elements in the bracha, or why one would think that a blessing worded to list what God has done would somehow be understood to refer to what Israel could do, but it also flies on the face of the wording of the Shabbat morning and Mussaf amida which speaks of Israel as:

עַם מְקַדְּשֵׁי שְׁבִיעִי

(and of course, there is the sentiment behind this piyyut)
The ma'ariv amida and other lines in the daytime tefilot all attest to the fact that God sanctified the day (ata kidashta, uvashvi'i ratzita bo v'kidashto) but then why would the Shacharit and Mussaf amidot call Israel the nation that sanctifies the seventh day?


texts:
In general, a niddah should not postpone immersion.

According to current universal custom, after observing a disqualifying stain, a niddah must observe 7 clean days before immersion, whereas a tehorah must wait at least 5 days before observing 7 clean days.

Consider these two scenarios:

Rochel finishes counting 7 clean days, and diligently immerses that night. The next morning she finds a disqualifying stain, and must wait at least 5 + 7 = 12 days in order to immerse again.
Leah finishes counting 7 clean days, and laxly postpones her immersion. The next morning she finds a disqualifying stain, and must wait only 7 days in order to immerse again.

Why is the diligent being punished?


texts:
I read here about certain Jewish sects prescribing face veil. A related question about the rule was asked here, and i was asked to ask a separate question on Biblical history of the same.

Was such a veil used by the women in Biblical times?

Do any Jewish sects encourage face veil for women today?


texts:
My family enjoys this English language Little Midrash series.

Does something like an English language 'Little Gemarah' (ie introduces reasoning logic) exist for children 6-12 years old?


texts: Is one allowed to be Machmir against a psak?

texts:
The Halacha follows Rabbi Yehoshua that a Mamzer is only if one marries an Erva that is Chayav Kares.
The Halacha follows the opinion  that the descendants of a non-Jew living with a Jewess are Kosher Jews and not Mamzerim.

Now, there are opinions arguing both points. Rabbi Akiva says that anyone who's a result of an intimacy which violates a simple negative commandment is also a Kares. There are a few opinions (in Yevamos) which hold that the descendant of a non-Jew with a Jewess are Mamzerim.

Now, someone offers a Shidduch to my friend. Would it be Halachically acceptable to advise him not to marry those people, despite the Gemara/Rishonim/Shulchan Aruch clearly permitting them, as perhaps Mashiach would come, a Sanhedrin would reconvene, and perhaps rule like Rabbi Akiva/The other opinions.

What about if there was a piece of Chelev about which there was a debate, and the Halacha got ruled that it's Kosher. Is it still acceptable to not eat it (and to tell others not to), as perhaps the sages Gemara made a mistake, and when Moshiach would come and a Sanhedrin would be restored we would all have to bring a Korban Chatas (note, I'm assuming most Jews didn't eat this particular cut of meat so there would be no Par Helem Davar Shel Tzibbur).


texts: Adressed to the orthodox: I am a goy who has committed adultery, should I end myself as a capital punishment?

texts:
I, a non-jew, committed adultery with a woman that is married but lives separated from that man. I was arrogant and soothed my conscience by saying to myself that this man had no interest in his wife anyways because he permitted her to live in separation, and I said to myself that probably their marriage vows were null anyways because they must be atheists or don't believe in G'd anyways. I was unrepentant.
I only realized my sin, when weeks after the intercourse I started manifesting a strange disease, that now happens to be inexplicable to the doctors (a progressive neuropathological disorder). I came to the realization that this is the curse of G'd. Since then I am extremely remorseful. My health is worse every day and I have no happiness anymore.
Is there a way to atone? I understand there is no teshuva for non-jews. What is my other option? Will ending myself be in accordance with G'd's will?
I have read that hell will be interminable for me as adulterer (not only a year).
Sotah 4b:14


texts:
charoses Ingredients
What do people put in charoses and why?


texts: How did they learn Torah before everything was taught in its entirety?

texts:
Halachos are spread throughout the Torah. Many times the Gemara uses pesukim that are scattered all around to figure out the true application of pesukim. So if, for example, we only had the section about topic X that was discussed in one place, we wouldn't have the correct picture because we need to take into account things said in another place. Also, the Torah tells us that Moshe said "These words" to the Jews--thus implying that those were the actual words he taught.

My question is that in the Torah it seems like some of the halachik sections are very separate from each other. For example, things that were given in Egypt. There are several sections about the moadim. A whole bunch of halachos are taught in Devarim right before entering Eretz Yisrael.

How did they learn the correct halacha before they had all the pieces of the puzzle?


texts:
I believe that the Talmud is the first place where the notion of Olam Haba - The world to come - is mentioned. This question explains why it is not mentioned in the Torah but doesn't quite explain how could such a major facet of Judaism could have such inexplict evidence.

Where does the idea originate from? Even if the Talmud is the first place this is mentioned, surely they must have derived the idea from somewhere, I assume.


texts: Forgetting to sell some of your Chumatz before Pesach

texts: If someone sold all the chumatz in their home before pesach, but forgot to sell any chumatz left at their place of work, are they allowed to eat the food left in their office after the holiday?


texts: amount of wood needed for the mizbeach (altar)

texts:
The Talmud (Yoma 39a) says that during the 40 years shimon hatzadik was high priest only two logs were added to the altar in the temple every day.

Is this to be taken literally? Also, what was the amount in the first temple times? There were after all thousands of korbanot burned every day. (King Solomon alone brought 1000 burnt offering each day)


texts: Saying Tehillas Hashem After Shir HaMaalos Before Benching?

texts: Although my perspective is limited to a handful of Jewish communities in a few different states, it seems the "modern" communities adopted saying the pesukim of תְּהִלַּת ה after שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת benching as opposed to the "yeshivish" communities. Are there sources which may suggest why the contrast was created?


texts: Praying in a synagogue with members who are publicly desecrating the Sabbath

texts:
Someone told me that he stopped davening in a certain shul because he saw members driving to shul on shabbos (the shul doesn't close their parking lot on shabbos.)

Is there a makkor in halacha not to daven in a shul that some members are mechalel shabbos befarhesya (desecrating the Sabbath in public) (even though they might have the geder of being a "tinok shenishba" (a child that was lost among the nations ie. brought up in a non-religious house))?


texts:
What is the shortest verse?
Someone asked me and i did not have an answer

In the tenach?
In the chumash?

How about second to shortest.

How did you find it?


texts:
I was told about a synagogue where they had a second reading of Parshas Zachor during the reading for Mincha with the following procedure: The first two aliyos are read normally, and for the third aliya (people are told to be mechaven for Zachor) the blessing is said and the normal portion is read, then the Sefer is rolled from where it is to Zachor, the reading is continued there and the final blessing is said. This is done during the regular Mincha. Supposedly, this procedure is approved by Rav Avigdor Neventzal, the Rav of the Old City of Jerusalem.
I find this procedure very difficult to accept, and question if it really was said by Rav Neventzal. This approach is directly against two halachos in Shulchan Aruch:

Orach Chaim 144:1
מדלגין בנביא ואין מדלגין בתורה מפרשה זו לפרשה אחרת והני מילי בשני עניינים דחיישינן שמא תתבלבל דעת השומעים
We skip in the Prophets, but we do not skip in the Torah from one section to another section. And these words are regarding two subjects where we are worried that perhaps the mind of the listeners will be confused,
144:3
אין גוללין ס"ת בצבור מפני כבוד הצבור ואם אין להם אלא ס"ת אחד והם צריכים לקרות בשני עניינים גוללים וידחה כבוד הצבור:
It is not proper to roll the Torah scroll in the presence of the congregation, so as to honor the congregation. And if they only have a single Torah scroll and they have to read two portions they may roll, and they defer the honor of the congregation.

To clarify the second issue, while (apparently) some of the congregation (let's even say some of the men) still need to hear Zachor, the congregation as a whole does not. How is the honor of the congregation pushed off for the need of the individuals? (If the only ones who need to hear Zachor are women, that can only make the issue worse.)
Can anyone 1) explain how this is not in conflict with both or either of these halachos, or 2) confirm that any notable Rabbi has ruled to follow this procedure?


texts: What exactly is the story behind the person who wrote the Akdomus (said on Shavous)

texts: On Shavous morning we say the poem Akdomus, and supposedly there's a fascinating story with the Baal Akdomus and the Sambatyon river (something about it being quiet on Shabbos which is why he was only able to across because of Pekuach Nefesh, but couldn't come back). I remember hearing it in yeshiva as a kid, but sadly I mostly forgot it and only know some vague details :( Is there anywhere I can read it? Where is it brought down exactly? Also, what's the connection to Shavous?


texts:
B"H
I heard from some that the vilna gaon wrote a letter saying that if one doesn't learn zohar he shouldn't poskin halacha. where can I look to find this letter?
Blessings and success


texts: PTIJ: Forbidden to use a computer mouse? What are good alternatives?

texts:
I saw an article (Are Mice Kosher?) which got me thinking. Then I remembered our holy Torah writes (Vayikra 11:29)

The following shall be unclean for you from among the things that
swarm on the earth: the mole, the mouse, and great lizards of
every variety.

This is really a problem for me as I have been using a mouse for years for my computer without knowing of this issue.
Would there be a good kosher alternative? I have a heard of a company called Gemara which makes a half-flesh half-earth mouse (model reference Sanhedrin 91a)? Would that be enough to be permitted?
Or is there somewhere a permitted mouse with a hekhsher?

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


texts: What is the difference between "nitzavim" and "omdim"?

texts:
The beginning of this week's parsha starts with the words אתם נצבים. Couldn't it have used the phrase אתם עומדים ? I understand that in this context, both words mean "stand". Why use the term נצבים. here? What else is  being conveyed?

Note: - Inevitably, words have multiple meanings. Please focus only on the differences of the meanings only as it applies to this verse.


texts:
Some study pirke Avos weekly through the summer, from Pesach to Rosh Hashana. Others do so only for the six Shabasos between Pesach and Shavuos, one chapter a week. I've heard the latter custom explained as providing moral preparation for Shavuos, though I don't know a source for this offhand.

In Israel, in some years, there are seven Shabasos between Pesach and Shavuos. (This occurs when the first day of Pesach is Shabas.) My question is about those who normally study pirke Avos only until Shavuos: what do they do in those years? Study chapter 1 the seventh week? Start the second week (studying nothing the first)? Something else? And why?

A source would be appreciated (especially for the "why").


texts: Why doesn't saying the sh'ma satisfy torah-reading requirements?

texts:
According to this answer to a related question, the g'mara on Bava Kamma 82a requires reading torah at least every three days because we should never go longer than that without words of torah.

But at minimum we say the sh'ma, a torah text, twice a day.

Why does that not satisfy the requirement?
Is the g'mara talking specifically about public reading?  (If so, why does that make a difference?)


texts:
If I'm not mistaken, Masechet Megillah mentions a few haftarot, I think, mainly for Yom Tov. I don't recall much mentioned about the weekly Shabbat haftarot.

In most Chumashim, I noticed that there are frequently different haftarot for Sephardim and Ashkenazim. Sometimes, these differences include Polish, Italian, and some other minhagim.

Who organized which haftarot should be said each week as well as for "special" occasions (e.g. Shabbat Rosh Hodesh, the 4 parshiot, etc.) and when where these compiled?


texts: It's known that for a gentile to perform the mitzvot commanded for the Jews is a sin; but modesty is a law for all the nations. So is a female gentile allowed to cover her hair?


texts: Why is the Tetragrammaton vowelized in Siddurim and in Sefarim?

texts:
I've often found that the Tetragrammaton (Shem Havayah) is often vowelized in siddurim and sefarim. Since we b'davkah don't say the Shem Havayah how it is spelled, why are the vowels included?

Also, are the vowels usually included an accurate reflection of how it was pronounced?

I've noticed that in Artscroll siddurim, they do spell out the yud, then heh, then vav, then heh, albeit without the nikkudos. This seems to make sense to me, as then someone reading it would have to go out of their way to pronounce it.

I do understand the difference in vowelization on whether it's Hashem/Elokim verses just Hashem/Ado-noi, but why do we print them in places other than a chumash or a tanach?


texts:
I've been reading from some places that it is forbidden to test Hashem. I think the context was when the Jews were in the desert, I think something with Balaam maybe?

What exactly does that mean?

I know there are sources in the Torah but I'm not sure where to look.


texts: The Medrash About Shlomo HaMelech's Daughter

texts:
The Medrash in Parsha Ki Sisa says the following story:

Shlomo HaMelech had a beautiful and wise daughter. As she got older,
he sought a husband for her. Astrologers advised the king that she was
destined to marry the poorest man in the kingdom.
Shlomo HaMelech understood that if this was Hashem’s choice, it would
be, but decided to create an opportunity for people to clearly see Yad
Hashem. So, on a small island in the Mediterranean Sea, he built a
castle and surrounded it with high walls. Placing his daughter in this
castle under the watch of seventy of his most trusted elders, the king
sealed the door – he had the only key.
“Now I’ll see how G-d fulfills his mission,” said the wise king.
Many months passed. One day a young man was wandering alone in a
forest on his travels to a certain city. He was tired and hungry and,
as night approached, began looking for shelter. He spied an empty
carcass of a cow and crept inside it to keep warm and quickly fell
asleep.
Soon a large eagle approached and, seeing the carcass, lifted it up
with the man in it and soared away looking for a place where he could
eat in solitude. After a while, he landed on the roof of the
princess’s castle on the island.
When the young man awoke, he did not know where he was. As he looked
around, the princess looked out and saw him.
“Who are you and what are you doing her?” she asked.
“I am a young Jew from the city of Acco and it seems a large bird
carried me here,” he said.
Noticing his tattered clothes, the princess brought him into the
castle and found him suitable clothing and food to eat. There was such
a transformation in the young man after he bathed and dressed in the
aristocratic clothes. In conversation it became clear that the young
man was a talmid chacham who spent his days steeped in learning.
After a short time, the princess asked him if he would marry her.
“With all my heart,” was the reply. “But how can we?”
It is said that the Malach Gavriel acted as an witness and the young
man pricked his finger and used his own blood to write the kesuva.
After a few days, the guards discovered what happened and quickly sent
word to Shlomo HaMelech that despite their vigilance the young
princess had married.
Some days later Shlomo HaMelech arrived at the island and questioned
his daughter, “This is my husband whom G-d sent me down from the
heavens,” she said. “He is a talmid chacham and we have been
halachically married.” She then produced their marriage contract which
was written in their blood.
Shlomo HaMelech was overjoyed that she had met her destined mate and
that Hashem’s clear hashgacha would be seen by all.

Does anyone know where in the Medrash this story can be found?


texts:
Several years ago, when my kid was in camp, I asked him what he did on a rainy day in camp. He said that they watch a "kosher movie".

OK, I know that the word "kosher" is used generically in English to mean "OK to use". But what makes a movie "kosher"? Is there a standard or certification for kosher movies? Who decides on movie kashrut, or is this up to each individual camp?

The answer to the last question is important, as sometimes my kids invite friends who go to different camps, so I'd like to get movies that can accommodate the kashrut of his friends.


texts: Is there a halachic prohibition with naming a child Iyov?

texts: I've heard that it's not good to name after someone who has suffered bad mazel, but are there any halachic prohibitions against it? It apparently means "persecuted" but Miriam means "bitter" so they don't all need to have pleasant meanings, right? I really appreciate the message of remaining faithful even when it isn't easy. Just wondering!


texts: What is the exact position expressed by Rabbi Danzig's Chochmat Adam regarding three-dimensional human images?

texts:
I'm an Italian noahide.

I read what Rambam says in Avodat Kochavim 3: 10-11 about the making of images by a Jew.

I also read the following words in a Jewish forum:

  “The Torah says, "Don't make a carved statue or the image of anything in the heaven above or the earth below..." This verse prohibits making
  a three-dimensional image. The Code of Jewish Law codifies this
  prohibition, and adds that even owning an idol is forbidden. One may
  neither own, use, nor derive any benefit from an idol whatsoever. One
  is not even allowed to throw it in the garbage; Rather, one must
  "throw it into the Dead Sea" or otherwise destroy it. However, most
  people follow the ruling of the Chochmat Adam. He says that nowadays,
  it is permitted to own images - even an image of a human being. He
  explains as follows: The whole reason it was forbidden to own an image
  was so that nobody would suspect the owner of being a "closet" idol
  worshipper. But since people generally do not worship idols today,
  there is no longer any cause for suspicion.”

If I understand correctly, here the Chochmat Adam speaks in terms of the lawfulness of just owning three-dimensional human images. Is it correct or does Rabbi Danzig extend his reasoning also to the lawfulness concerning realization of three-dimensional human images?


texts:
Is there a mainstream (or popular) Tikkun Sofrim used for the layout of complete Sifrei Nevi’im (and K’suvim)?

Notes: In the recent years, there seems to be a great uniformity in the way sofrim write Sifrei Torah (e.g. 42 lines, vavei ha’amudim etc) due to the standardization of the Tikkunim (particularly the infuence of R’ Davidovich).

There also seems to be a growing minhag to read haftarah from complete books of Navi written in the same way as a Sefer Torah (on a klaf scroll by a sofer). Is there a (more or less) standard Tikkun Sofrim used to write these complete Sifrei Nach?


texts:
Who knows three hundred and eight?
?שמונה ושלוש מאות - מי יודע
In the spirit of the song "Echad - mi yodeya", please post interesting and significant Jewish facts about the number 308.
If you feel the need to discuss lazy gematria, please resist.
Check out mi-yodeya-series for the previous three hundred and seven entries in this ongoing series.
Please include sources for your information wherever possible, as with all other answers on this site.


texts: How and exactly when was the Torah canonized and by whom

texts: I had read in the bible that Prophet Moses received the 10 commandments on a tablet and there was also some other revelations which were not nailed on the tablet which constitute the Torah. Hence I was curious to know how and exactly when the Pentateuch we have in our hands was canonized in a book form and by whom.


texts: Differences in Halachic wording - "This isn't X" or "This is not Kosher X"

texts:
In Succah 8b I noticed two different wordings regarding a Succah:

  א"ר לוי משום ר"מ שתי סוכות של יוצרים זו לפנים מזו -
  הפנימית אינה סוכה
  R' Levi said in the name of R' Meir: two craftsmen’s booths, one within the other, the inner one is not a Succah

And two lines down:

  תנו רבנן גנב"ך: סוכת גוים, סוכת נשים, סוכת בהמה, סוכת כותים,
  סוכה מכל מקום - כשרה
  The Sages taught:.. a Succah of gentiles, a Succah of women, a Succah of domesticated animals, a Succah of Samaritans, a Succah of any sort, is Kosher

Literally, in the first case, a booth is not called a Succah at all, in the second it is a Succah, but not Kosher. This pattern seems common in other Halachic realms also and, according to the way of common interpretations, is used interchangeably.

However, I was told that we should put close attention to the Sages' wording and there's a reason for such a difference.

So is there a difference and, if yes, what does it mean?


texts: Is there an issur of making eye contact with your own or someone else's makom bris? I remember seeing a sign by the Arizal's mikvah in Tzfat warning strongly against it (on halachic grounds), but I couldn't find anything in Shulchan Aruch. Can anyone shed some light?


texts: How to recite hallel with fewer than 3 men at seder

texts:
Are you supposed to do the responsive parts of Hallel at the Seder? indicates that, when three men are at the seder, Hallel is recited responsively.

At the seder, does one recite Hallel responsively with a table of 2 adult men and 1 adult woman?  If so, is it because the woman's chiyuv is the same as the man's in this regard?

If there is one adult man, one adult woman, and young children below bar mitvzah, is Hallel recited responsively?

I checked the mishna berura but it wasn't clear what his opinion was.


texts: איש אחד What does the Echad refer to and where else in the Tanch is it found?

texts: In Shmuel Aleph Perek Aleph Elkana is refered to as Ish Echad before his name is given.  The Midrash, according to Meam Loez, says that the Echad means Singular or Special. I was wondering where else in the Tanach is it used this way?


texts: Does one make a blessing on the scent of tea bags?

texts:
When I open a new box of tea bags, especially one that was sealed before I opened, I enjoy smelling the strong smell of the tea and/or various herbs that are in there.

Does this require a birkas hareiach (blessing for smell)? If so, which?


texts:
I arrived late for the last minyan for Maariv. Should I

A) Pray the amida with the community and lose the proximity of "geula" to "tefilla"
but gain the "tefilla betzibbur" or

B) Pray in order, losing "tefilla betzibbur"?

Related to Barchu or Kavana and an unsourced comment there by Yahu.


texts:
Was there a Metzudat Tzion written on the Torah? If so, does anyone know if it is available online or for sale?

I always loved this commentary as it explained the hard words on the Nach.


texts:
There is a letter of the Lubavitcher Rebbe where he writes a letter to a person whose brother said that not traveling on a Jewish owned ship is a "hard test" (which the person seemed to have failed).

The Rebbe responded the list of aveiros the person did while traveling, and one of those was that he drank Yayin nesech "since you traveled in a way that involved public Shabbos desecration, and you did kiddush on wine that was owned by a person who publicly desecrates Shabbos [the ship owner]. This wine is prohibited for drinking (and the hashgacha is a contradiction, since the prohibition of drinking the wine of a person who violates Shabbos isn't because of him touching [the wine]). Moreover, according to several Gdolim, even a seal within a seal wouldn't help, since the wine was already forbidden for drinking from before."

What is the source of prohibiting wine solely based on its ownership by a non-Jew/mechalel Shabbos?


texts: Can I choose to always be meikil (lenient) in Halachic disputes?

texts: Is there a problem with choosing to always follow the most lenient opinion in every Halachic dispute encountered? I'm talking about when the disputants are qualified poskim and the leniencies do not contradict each other.


texts:
(Note: likely not relevant to those who Daven/read Hebrew with an Ashkenazi pronunciation.)

This Shabbos I was asked to lead Pesukei Dezimrah at a shul I was visiting, and I was given a Koren Siddur to daven from.  I noticed that when I reached the Passuk of "כׇּ֥ל עַצְמוֹתַ֨י׀ תֹּאמַרְנָה֮ י״י֗ מִ֥י כָ֫מ֥וֹךָ מַצִּ֣יל עָ֭נִי מֵחָזָ֣ק מִמֶּ֑נּוּ וְעָנִ֥י וְ֝אֶבְי֗וֹן מִגֹּֽזְלֽוֹ׃" in Nishmat, they punctuated the first word (really letter) with a Kamatz Katan, to be read as "Kol". I found this interesting, as I had always been told that this was one of the exceptions to the general reading of "Kol" with a Kamatz Katan, and I had been taught to read it "Kal".

I looked into it in two ways:

I consulted the commentaries on that Passuk (Tehillim 35:10), which confirmed what I had been taught (see Minchat Shai and Radak at the above link).
I asked a didkduk expert, who told me that it's a Machlokes.

Now, I'm quite the dikduk novice, so please help me with this - who disagrees, and on what basis? Please give as much background as possible...

Hint: I see it is mentioned here backhandedly, although not with much detail.

Edit in honor of Rosh Chodesh Adar: To summarize my post with a quote from Megillat Esther (5:13):

  ו"כל" זה איננו שוה לי


texts: Are there limitations of the principle "Not in Heaven"?

texts:
A similar question was closed, but I'm going to elaborate on it:

It is universally accepted that after the principle was accepted (B"M 59b) in times of R' Eliezer, the Rabbis have the power to rule Halachah against the Heavenly truth.
As we also know that they have the power to kill even when the Torah doesn't require capital punishment (עונשים שלא מן הדין, Sanhedrin 81b).
My other question, ("why-did-sanhedrin-deal-with-who-has-a-share-in-olam-habah", showed that Rabbies did deal with areas other than Halachah Lemaaseh and openly argued with Heavens. And many Poskim rely on this Gemmorah to prove, for example, that setting a person's share in the WTC can be done by a Beis Din (thanks to @IsraelReader's answer and see the discussion there) obligating Heavens to follow.

What, then, are the limits of the Rabbinical power, based on this principle:

can they free a person from Hell, by deciding he's a Tzadik? Can they decide on reincarnation or resurrection?
can they rewrite history, denying or altering the historical events from the Torah?
can they change Kabbalistic concepts, like swapping Tifferes and Yesod, adding or subtracting Sfiros?
can they change the flow of the Geulah, deciding on how it will occur and when?

I searched for information on this principle but I didn't see anybody clearly defining the limits. I understand the information is scarce, but I'm looking for sources that might speculate on extrapolating the principles on areas I mentioned or explicitly denying it.


texts: Is it permitted to visit a Druze dominant area?

texts: I was wondering if its permitted to visit a Druze dominant area, as sometimes when I go to Israel with my family we go there and now since becoming more observant, I'm not so sure of the rules so not sure if its permitted or not.. can someone please help me out? I'd appreciate it.


texts: Tosafos Rebbeinu Peretz (in Pesachim 38a) refers to הר"ר דיילקרויישא מאורליינש. Does anyone know who this is, or at least how his name is pronounced? (It looks like it could be "R' Delacroix of Orleans", but Delacroix is not exactly a Jewish name.)


texts: Is it permitted to brush a sheital (wig) on shabbos or yom tov?


texts: Can one still send away a bird if one does not need its eggs?

texts: Is the mitzva of shiluach haken only if you need the eggs?


texts: Which parts of the prayer service must be said clearly out loud?

texts:
I've heard a few different opinions on this. During longer prayer services, such as Shacharit on Shabbat, at least in Nusach Sefard, Pesukei D'Zimrah is quite long and there is a tendency for the chazzan where I daven to pray ridiculously fast. I'm fairly proficient at Hebrew, but there is literally no way that I could possibly enunciate every word clearly at that speed (and I have serious doubts that the chazan can either), let alone try to keep up.

I have heard from a friendly source that it's not completely necessary to say each and every word during certain parts of the prayer service, but I can't vouch for the correctness of this. I do know for sure that during specific parts of the service, extreme care must be taken to enunciate each and every word clearly and separately, namely the Shema.

Specifically, I have two questions:

Are there parts of the prayer service where it isn't strictly necessary to pronounce or say each word, and if so, what are they?
If one simply sits through the prayer service, says "amen" to the blessings when they come (baruch she'amar etc.), says his Shema clearly out loud, and pronounces each word of the "silent" Shemoneh Esrei, has he fulfilled the mitzvah of tefillah?

I'm looking for specifics here, and a tertiary question I might offer is whether this all applies when one is praying alone. I know that whenever I end up praying alone and I'm not being rushed, I make my best effort to pray every single word in the siddur clearly.


texts: Not speaking of Kabbalah or kabballistic ideas in public - halacha or wisdom?

texts:
A couple times now on forums and shiurim I have heard the speaker or rabbi address a question or comment with kabbalistic undertone with 'that is a kabbalistic idea. I don't discuss kabbalah in public'.

So is speaking of kabbalistic ideas (such as gilgulim and etc.) in public halachically inappropriate? Is there a matter of wisdom using such restraint? Is public defined on intention of captive audience?

*Questioned updated to include 'kabbalistic ideas' as OP has learned of such not in havruta as encouraged here.


texts:
I found this symbol on a box of chocolates today:

It was on a box of chocolates from this company - http://www.hauserchocolates.com.

Anybody recognize the agency?


texts: Is it permitted that male person to have feminine job? And otherwise?

texts:
Is it forbidden for a male person to have feminine job? If so, how is a feminine job defined according to halacha?

Likewise, is it forbidden for a female person to have a masculine job?


texts: What possible Kashrus concerns may exist with these vitamins?

texts:
Recently my child's Doctor prescribed vitamin drops for my infant son. When I went to the pharmacy to fill the prescription the pharmacist said that the vitamin drops prescribed are Treif, and the Kosher drops are not covered by insurance. I had him fill the prescription as indicated by the  Doctor and contacted the manufacturer to see if the vitamin drops are Kosher. The customer service rep at the vitamin company said that although they do not make any Kosher claims, there are absolutely no animal byproducts in the ingredients.

The ingredients are as follows.
Vitamin A (as palmitate), Vitamin C (as ascorbic acid), Vitamin D (as cholecalcifeol), Glycerin, purified water, polysorbate 80, natural cherry flavor, methylparaben, sodium benzoate, sodium hydroxide, potassium citrate, and caramel.

If there are no animal byproducts in the ingredients - perhaps it is not certified Kosher - however what else can possibly make these vitamin drops Treif?


texts: Why doesn't the king of Belah get a name?

texts:
Bereishis 14:2 names the 5 kings who were on Team B in the war between the 4 kings and the 5 kings.  Regarding 4 of the 5 kings on Team B, we are told their name and their domain.  But by the king of Belah, we only get the name of his locale.

How come he doesn't get named?


texts: Eating whole foods -- like sandwiches and pizza

texts: Where does it say that one shouldn't eat foods like sandwiches or pizza and hold the food in one's hand and bring it towards there face, but should rather eat in smaller bites or with a knife and fork. Who are the poskim that say there is no problem of this nowadays (and perhaps that it's considered to be the way people act)?


texts: I often see donation requests with amounts in multiples of $18. I would like to know the source for giving charity of the numeric value of the Hebrew word chai (18) and its multiples.


texts: Is it really kosher to "apply" to become a gentile king's wife?

texts:
Near the beginning of the Purim story, Esther lives in King Achashverosh's harem and "applies" to be queen by spending the night with him.  What do our interpretations say about why she did this and whether it was, l'chatchila, Torah-sanctioned behavior?

My motivation for asking is that I wasn't aware that there were any special permissions for a Jewish woman to enter a non-Jewish man's harem or engineer to marry him, even if she had righteous intentions (nor for a father to give away his daughter to do this). Mitzvos that might apply are

Leviticus 21:29 "Profane not thy daughter, to make her a harlot, lest
the land fall into harlotry, and the land become full of lewdness."
(re: Mordechai's hand in this)
Deutronomy 23:18 "There shall be no harlot of the daughters of
Israel"

(I don't know if Esther was literally being "וְאֶת רָחָב
הַזּוֹנָה," but it would seem that at least a similar prohibition
could be involved.)

...Someone told me that Esther and her father were "made" to do this, but the Megillah is not clear. If that interpretation is correct, please provide a textual source.

If she was, in fact, forced, I would be interested in any possible answers to the related question of whether Esther made effort to avoid being kept or chosen. I never get that sense from the Megillah itself, but I haven't read much commentary.


texts: Is it permissible to attend a non-frum event, such as a wedding or bar/bat mitzvah of a family member or friend?


texts: Tzeit HaKokhavim According To The Gr"a & Geonim

texts:
I have been investigating the various shitoth regarding sheqiah ("sunset") and sseth ha-kokhavim ("tzeit ha-kokhavim" or, when three stars are visible) and cannot find certain info regarding the shitah of the Gr"a (and the Geonim) regarding the time it takes to walk 3/4 mil (i.e. how long it takes after Sheqi`ath HaHamah to become laylah/ sseth ha-kokhavim).

What I have found is that according to the Gr"a - assuming an 18 minute mil - 13.5 minutes after sunset is definite night. Others use the same shitah of calculation, but have a different definition for halikhath mil ("[the time it takes to] walk a talmudic mile"), ranging from 16 minutes to 24 minutes after sunset. However, unless it is just less possible due to street lights, etc. I have a hard time believing that 14 minutes after sunset in Wisconsin would truly be night with three stars visible. I have also heard that this amount of time was only a reality in Bavel and Eress Yisrael.

So, my question is: What would the shitah of the Gra/the Geonim be in various places in the world? What would the calculation be? When would sseth ha-kokhavim be - according to the Gr"a - in Wisconsin for instance?


texts: How should the words "all" and "every" be interpreted in the Scriptures?

texts:
What is the correct way of interpreting and understanding the words all and every in the Bible? My problem is that I learned maths for years and sometimes it makes it very hard for me to understand things. Mathematically every means that there is no exception. But what does this word mean in the Bible?

Exampe 1

  And of every living thing of all
  flesh, two of every sort shalt thou
  bring into the ark, to keep them alive
  with thee; they shall be male and
  female.

vs.

  Of every clean beast thou shalt take
  to thee seven and seven, the male and
  his female; and of the beasts that are
  not clean two, the male and his
  female.

Taking the first citation literally means that two were taken into the ark from even the clean beasts. But the second says later that there were seven from them. In this case however the two sentences are relatively close, so they’re straightforward for everyone (except me with my overly mathematical mind).

Example 2

What about fish? They are living flesh, I think, so Noah should have taken fish into the ark too. But I don’t think fish were killed by the cataclysm. Or were they?

  And every living thing was destroyed
  that was upon the face of the ground,
  both man, and cattle, and creeping
  things, and birds of the heavens; and
  they were destroyed from the earth:
  and Noah only was left, and they that
  were with him in the ark.

Fish are not “upon the face of the ground” so they might survive, however if only those who were in the ark were saved, then fish should have been destroyed.

Coda

To be clear: this question is not about the fish and Noah’s ark (those are merely examples), but about understanding the words every and each in the Bible.


texts: Which Tanakh verses support the halacha that tribal affiliation is transmitted through the paternal side?


texts: What is the source of yeridas hadoros and does anyone disagree?

texts:
There is a concept often talked about in orthodox circles called yeridas hadoros.
What is the earliest source for this idea? Does anyone argue?


texts:
The first night of Sukkos we make kiddush after tzeit (Rama 639:3).  My understanding is that this is purely because of the bracha of לישב בסוכה which you can't say until it's definitely night (Magen Avraham and Biur Halacha).  The Dirshu Mishna Berura quotes someone, I believe it's R' Chaim Brisker, who makes the point that we worry about the possibility (R' Tam?) that accepting Yom Tov does not create a full reality of Yom Tov that would allow you to say this bracha.  Otherwise, you could make kiddush and eat, and just make sure to eat a kezayit of bread after tzeit.

My question:

Are there situations when you can make kiddush before tzeit?

You are an woman and not eating in the sukkah, or a Sefardi woman and eating in the sukkah with no לישב בסוכה Does this allow for Kiddush to be made before nightfall?
You're a man and will not be able to eat in the sukkah, e.g.a hurricane is building up and its pikuach nefesh if you go in after nightfull, should one recite Kiddush in the Sukkah before nightfall?
It's pouring and it's obvious that it's going to continue all night.  The Rama (639:5) says that you should make kiddush in the sukkah, so that your שהחינו will apply to it, and eat a kezayit there; the Mishna Berura says that you don't make a לישב בסוכה because many Rishonim say that you are not yotzei.  Can you do this early, go inside and eat most of your meal, and then go back to the sukkah and eat another kezayit of bread?
It's after sunset and not raining now, but it's going to start soon, before tzeit, and continue all night.  If you wait, you won't have any chance to fulfill the mitzva according to the opinions that rain ruins the sukkah on the first night.  Also, you won't be able to make a לישב בסוכה in any case.  Should you make kiddush and eat a kezayit in the sukkah now, to at least get a chance of doing the mitzva according to those opinions, and then eat another kezayit after tzeit, to get 100% chance according to the others?


texts:
Why don't we count two nights each night, if there was always a Safek (doubt) what the date is.

In other words: if we are not sure when the second night of Pesach is, why don't we carry that doubt throughout the entire duration of Sefira?


texts: Naming your child using a dead relative's initial

texts: Is there a Jewish tradition of naming your child using the first letter of the name of a recently deceased relative?


texts:
I live near a rock quarry that was discontinued and somehow filled with water.

I don't know exactly how this one was filled but from looking online it seems that usually what happens is that while the quarry is in use they constantly need to pump out ground water that seeps in and rain water that falls in... when they stop using the quarry and take out the pumps it eventually fills with this water.

Can it be used as a mikva?


texts: May one combine drink mix powder with water on Shabbos?

texts: For example: making iced tea or punch with a powdered mix such as this one. This is different than the question of preparing coffee or tea as it does not involve heat.


texts: What does the Red heifer supposed to mean?

texts: I've seen references to the importance of the Red Heifer as an eschatological sign of the coming Messianic Age. What is it supposed to mean?


texts:
Genesis 25:30 says:

... הַלְעִיטֵנִי נָא מִן הָאָדֹם הָאָדֹם הַזֶּה ...
... "Pour into [me] some of this red, red [pottage] ..."

Why did Eisav feel the need to say "red" twice?


texts: Why did God send Dovid to Hebron specifically?

texts:
In Shmuel Bet 2:1, Dovid asks God which city he should go to and God tells him to go to Hebron. What is the reason he is told to go to that city specifically? I have seen commentaries explain that it was a big and important city; I'm looking for a conceptual or symbolic reason that it had to be Hebron.

  וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי כֵן וַיִּשְׁאַל דָּוִד בַּיהֹוָה | לֵאמֹר הַאֶעֱלֶה
  בְּאַחַת עָרֵי יְהוּדָה וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֵלָיו עֲלֵה וַיֹּאמֶר
  דָּוִד אָנָה אֶעֱלֶה וַיֹּאמֶר חֶבְרֹנָה

  And it was after this, that David enquired of the Lord saying, "Shall
  I go up into one of the cities of Judah?" And the Lord said to him,
  "Go up." Said David, "Where shall I go up?" And He said, "To Hebron."

( Chabad translation )


texts: Do we have Hilchot Shotrim (Policemen laws)?

texts:
"מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁל תּוֹרָה לְמַנּוֹת שׁוֹפְטִים וְשׁוֹטְרִים בְּכָל מְדִינָה וּמְדִינָה וּבְכָל פֶּלֶךְ וּפֶלֶךְ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים טז יח) "שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ".
  שׁוֹפְטִים אֵלּוּ הַדַּיָּנִים הַקְּבוּעִין בְּבֵית דִּין וּבַעֲלֵי דִּינִין בָּאִים לִפְנֵיהֶם.
  שׁוֹטְרִים אֵלּוּ בַּעֲלֵי מַקֵּל וּרְצוּעָה וְהֵם עוֹמְדִים לִפְנֵי הַדַּיָּנִין הַמְסַבְּבִין בַּשְּׁוָקִים וּבָרְחוֹבוֹת וְעַל הַחֲנֻיּוֹת לְתַקֵּן הַשְּׁעָרִים וְהַמִּדּוֹת וּלְהַכּוֹת כָּל מְעַוֵּת וְכָל מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם עַל פִּי הַדַּיָּנִים וְכָל שֶׁיִּרְאוּ בּוֹ עִוּוּת דָּבָר מְבִיאִין אוֹתוֹ לְבֵית דִּין וְדָנִין אוֹתוֹ כְּפִי רִשְׁעוֹ: (Rambam Sanhedrin 1)

IIRC, that's all we have on Shotrim. Rambam himself does not mention Shotrim in Sefer Hamitzvos. In addition, just as the Mitzvah of Judges wasn't abolished so, seemingly, shouldn't the commandment on Shotrim.

What happened to the commandment to appoint Shotrim and what Halochos, besides that Rambam, do we have?


texts:
In exploring the topic of a convert or orphan who is married as a Na'arah, I stumbled upon a surprising piece in the Beis Shmuel:

  ...הואיל קידושין דאורייתא הם ונישואין אינם מדאורייתא...

  ...since Kiddushin is from the Torah, but Nisuin is not from the Torah...

While it's obvious that Kiddushin is from the Torah, I was surprised to see an opinion that Nisuin is not from the Torah, as I had never heard of such a thing before. Indeed, it's the Rambam's opinion that Kiddushin and Nisuin are two parts of the same Biblical mitzvah (as discussed here).

What is the Beis Shmuel's source for this assertion?
Whatever the answer to #1, how does the Rambam address it?


texts: R' Yehoshua and the Athenian Elders: The case of the attempt to marry

texts:
This is part of a series of questions on the Gemara in Bechoros 8b-9a. Below is a summary of the relevant parts of the Gemara. After being challenged by Caesar, R' Yehoshua went to Athens to defeat the Athenian Elders in a battle of wits.

In the process of their debate, the following exchange occurred.

"Say that a man wants to marry a woman," the Elders asked him, "and her family refused to give her to him. Why should he then go ahead and attempt to marry a woman of a better lineage?"

R' Yehoshua picked up a peg and stuck it against the lower part of the wall, and it wouldn't stick. He stuck it against a higher part of the wall, and it stuck. He explained, "Maybe he wasn't meant to marry the woman of the lesser lineage; certainly he should attempt to marry the woman of the better lineage, for perhaps he is destined to marry her."

Now, the Elders' question is on the presumption that a family with better yichus would surely prevent their daughter's marriage if the family with worse yichus refused him. Why? The family in their case never specified that they aren't giving her to him because he's not good enough for them.


texts: Is it OK to save a life if you may have to kill the survivor?

texts:
What would the Torah say about this scenario? A CEO of a hospital has only 1 machine. This machine can save lives if you put someone in it. However, for some patients, this will not make them live, rather just delay their deaths. Let's say patient A walks in. He is in a very bad situation, he will die within 1 hour if not put in the machine for a 24 hours minimum. If he is put in the machine, he will survive for 1 month. Is it better to put him in the machine and let him live for a month? However, if you do this, you may have to face a situation where patient B, who will die in an hour but will live until his normal life expectancy if put in the machine, will show up. And you have must either take Patient A out of the machine, directly killing him, and put patient B in, saving him. Or you could leave patient A in, let him live for another month, and indirectly kill patient B. What should the CEO do?
P.S. I tried to make this question as clear as possible but it is hard to formulate so please feel free to comment to ask for clarification.


texts: "Echad mi yodeya" describing merits for Exodus -- source?

texts:
The Artscroll Family Hagadah explains that Echad Mi Yodeya is asking "in what merit were the Jews redeemed from Egypt?" Well, they believed in one God, they would receive two tablets, they had great ancestors, and so on ... "nine are the months before a baby's born" -- they kept having babies and carrying pregnancies to term, even when things looked bleak.

That last point feels somewhat, well, modern. Is there an earlier commentary that says this, or was this an insight of the Artscroll authors?


texts: List of Greek-Roman decrees against Jewish rituals in ancient Israel

texts:
I'm confused by the prevalence of the Talmudic accounts of various Greek/Roman administrative decrees against the Jews and Jewish rituals/Torah study. On the other hand, most of the historical material I meet shows relative tolerance or indifference.
Where can I find a list of rulers/years when such decrees were issued?


texts: During the time when the Sanhedrin was primarily Sadducees, would the average citizen that believed in the Oral Law have to listen to them?

texts:
During the reign of Alexander Yannai, the court was mostly Sadducees (Sanhedrin 52b, other places) before Shimon Ben Shetach returned and was able to remove them.

During the period before Shimon Ben Shetach returned, assuming there was a majority of Sadducees, would someone that believed in the Pharisses/Oral Law be obligated to obey their heretical judgements since during that time they were the Sanhedrin?


texts: Why don't we raise the fourth kos during Hallel?

texts:
Ta'amei HaMinhagim 544 says that we raise our cup from "Lefichach" to the end of Maggid in light of the Gemara in Erchin (11a): "How do we know that we only say Shirah on wine? As it says, 'The grape said to them....'"

According to this logic, why don't we raise our cups during Hallel toward the end of the Seder? Should the derashah not apply to Hallel also? Why do we limit it to Hallel HaMitzri?


texts: Why R'Moshe Fenstein considers whey as being pareve?

texts:
Why does he considers whey as being pareve whereas it is clearly pareve only mideoraita and not midrabanan (according to Tosfot, the Rosh considers it as being dairy even mideoraita)?

Sources: http://www.dafyomi.co.il/chulin/insites/ch-dt-114.htm
https://oukosher.org/blog/consumer-kosher/dairy-primer/ (point IV)


texts: נִפְתַּ֛לְתִּי "my prayer was accepted" notarikon

texts:
In Genesis 30:8 Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, conceived and Rachel named the son Naftali נִפְתַּלְתִּי
It says here that for  נִפְתַּ֛לְתִּי "my prayer was accepted"

There are many aggadic midrashim that interpret this phrase with the
method of notarikon, (i.e., each group of letters represents a word).

Can people list a few of those aggadic midrashim or/and in general indicate how to go about looking them up in other cases?


texts: Does an עירוב turn the area into a רשות היחיד for נזיקין?

texts: As far as I understand it, an עירוב (for carrying on Shabbat) works because it turns the whole area within it into one big רשות היחיד. Now if this is the case, do the laws of רשות היחיד for נזיקין apply (as opposed to the laws of רשות הרבים) when you're inside an עירוב? If so, how would that play out (for example, whose רשות is the area in the עירוב considered to be and how does that affect דיני נזיקין)?


texts: Is there a prohibition for shaving ones mustache with a blade?

texts:
Reason why question is brought up in the first place :

Halacha : one may not take a blade to their face when shaving in 5 specific places.

Question :

There is no mention of a prohibition towards shaving the mustache. Are we to assume that we can shave it with a blade?


texts:
Halacha is a typological ideal which we desire to manifest in our actual behavior. Inasmuch as life itself has a structure, halacha is contoured exactly to life in its entirety and beyond. Halachic constructs associate with eachother in such intricate ways, forming a vast and complex web of ideas. This reflects a sensitivity to nuanced actual or structural similarities between disparate realms of Halacha being legitimate data for halachic derivation.
These wormholes in the space of halachic constructs which link far away areas together demonstrate different parts of our halachic life are bound together even if not in the space of everyday experience. From the perspective of an anthropologist this would make no sense at all if like the roots of a tree different areas of life each go their own way. In halacha, life is an integrated whole.
Not that I am well versed in academic literature, I'm mainly in the beis medrish, but I'm curious if anyone has come across any pieces whether within mainstream torah or even from western academia which discusses the anthropological reality of jewish society and tries to discern the inner structure of the system from without, or from starting from observing minhag yisroel and decoding the structure of the life system of the torah from that stance.


texts: Understanding the split payments for embarrassment in Kesubos 6:1

texts:
Kesubos 6:1 says:

מְצִיאַת הָאִשָּׁה וּמַעֲשֵׂה יָדֶיהָ, לְבַעְלָהּ. וִירֻשָּׁתָהּ, הוּא אוֹכֵל פֵּרוֹת בְּחַיֶּיהָ. בָּשְׁתָּהּ וּפְגָמָהּ, שֶׁלָּהּ. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה בֶן בְּתֵירָא אוֹמֵר, בִּזְמַן שֶׁבַּסֵּתֶר, לָהּ שְׁנֵי חֲלָקִים, וְלוֹ אֶחָד. וּבִזְמַן שֶׁבַּגָּלוּי, לוֹ שְׁנֵי חֲלָקִים, וְלָהּ אֶחָד. שֶׁלּוֹ, יִנָּתֵן מִיָּד. וְשֶׁלָּהּ, יִלָּקַח בָּהֶן קַרְקַע, וְהוּא אוֹכֵל פֵּרוֹת:
What a woman finds or produces belongs to her husband.  What she inherits, he benefits from it during her life.  The payment for her embarrassment or damage goes to her.  Rabbi Yehuda ben Beseira says, if she was damaged or embarrassed in private, she gets 2/3 and he gets 1/3; in public, he gets 2/3 and she gets 1/3.  He gets his part right away.  Her part goes to buy land, and he gets to benefit from it.

The Shulchan Aruch follows R' Yehuda ben Beseira and says that the payment gets split in this way.
I'm having trouble understanding why the payment for embarrassment gets split.  The Gemara has a short piece about why embarrassing a man's wife is like embarrassing the man himself, and I can understand why he gets paid.  I would have thought though that his payment would be in addition to hers.  Why does that come out of her payment?  Is she somehow less embarrassed because he's around?


texts: Where is there a good online source to check how often a word appears in Tanach?

texts: Where is there a good online source where you can check how often a word appears in Tanach?


texts: If you're really thirsty (e.g. breaking a fast), do you make a bracha first on the water or solids?

texts:
I know generally speaking, when prioritizing brachos, if you have food and drink, the food goes first; also, shehakols tend to rank low.

But what if you're really, really thirsty (e.g. breaking a fast), and you have a cup of water and a cookie.  Which bracha do you make first?


texts: In what language did Adam name the animals?

texts:
I wonder what language Adam used when he named the animals: Hebrew, Aramaic, or some Sacred Language. Obviously the names reflect the "true nature" of the animal, so it must be a special language, probably the same one which Hashem uses to name the light "day" and the darkness "night".

Thanks!


texts: Is it okay to respond "Amein" to a gibberish prayer made in jest?

texts: As the title says, is it permissible to respond "Amein" and "B'rik Hu"to a Kaddish/Chatzi Kaddish prayer made in gibberish, with words like "Blah blah blah" thrown in for jest? Or should one stay silent in such cases?


texts: Why Syrian Idolatresses okay but Canaanite not?

texts:
Why was Abraham, and later Isaac and Rebecca, dead set against their sons, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, respectively, marrying idolatrous Canaanite and Hittite women, but perfectly okay with them marrying women from amongst their own equally idolatrous close relatives?  Wouldn't it have been better to have each marry a woman from within the camp?
Is it a Royalty/Aristocracy thing?


texts: Does it matter where the flames came from in the Beit ha Mikdash?

texts:
In the Greek book commonly known as Second Maccabees (not generally recognized among Jews as being authoritative), there is a detail given about the rededication of the Second Temple where the relit flames were produced by striking flint.

10.3 They purified the sanctuary, and made another altar of sacrifice; then, striking fire out of flint, they offered sacrifices, after a lapse of two years, and they offered incense and lighted lamps and set out the bread of the Presence.

Are there any Jewish sources that support this idea that the proper way to get fire for sacred use in the Temple was to strike flint as opposed to other sources: for example a bow drill or an ember transferred from a existing fire?
It is possible that this is an authentic detail preserved by this writer (who from his preface clearly considers himself a historian). It could be what the Jews re-establishing the sacrifices felt was the right thing to do, but I do not know if it was strictly speaking a "requirement". Would it have been equally acceptable to bring a fire that has its original source elsewhere? The story of Aaron's sons and their "strange fire" might lead one to be especially careful in this and using the flint could have been seen as a precaution. Does anyone know of places in the Talmud or other sources that speak of this and the relevant concerns?


texts:
Why do people have a custom of drinking davka wine on Purim? After all, the story took place in שושן הבירה - Shushan of Beer (Ester 1:2)!
Why do people drink wine instead of beer then?

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


texts: What did Moses understand in Rabbi Akiva's class?

texts:
The Talmud records a story about how Moses could not understand even laws expounded in his name:

Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: When Moses ascended on High, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, sitting and tying crowns on the letters [of the Torah]. … [God] said to him: There is a man who is destined to be born after several generations, and Akiva ben Yosef is his name. He is destined to derive from each and every thorn [of these crowns] mounds and mounds of laws.  It is for his sake that the crowns must be added to the letters of the Torah.
Moses said before God: Master of the Universe, show him to me. God said to him: Return behind you. Moses went and sat at the end of the eighth row in Rabbi Akiva’s study hall and did not understand what they were saying. Moses’ strength waned. [He thought his Torah knowledge was deficient]… [Rabbi Akiva’s] students said: My teacher, from where do you derive this? Rabbi Akiva said to them: It is a law transmitted to Moses from Sinai. When Moses heard this, his mind was put at ease. [Menachot 29b]

Why was Moses uncomfortable at first, then his mind was "put at ease" when he heard that?
(1) Because he realized he must have known it all along, but had forgotten it?  (If so, what is the point of the story? That we all get old?  Suggested in Parshat Vayelech, Deut 31:1-2.)
(2) Because he was happy to see that what he started would continue and evolve, even past his own ability to understand?  (Perhaps Moses thought at first that Akiva was making things up, which made him uneasy, then realized Akiva was deriving it from what Moses himself taught, at which point he relaxed?)


texts:
When searching for the meaning of the phrase ברפידם I found out that the commentators read this as an acronym. But I found different of these:
One says it's an acronym for rafu yadeyhem (or rifui yadayim ריפוי ידים)
Another it's an acronym for rafu yedeyhem min Hamitzvot
While others say its's rafu yedeyhem mi'divrei Torah or min ha'Torah

I'm looking for their sources and the reason for their differences


texts: Prophet "Jeremiah" from Tanach in translation to German language online available?

texts:
These days the story of the prophet Jeremiah caught my deeper interest. Currently reading it in various German translations of the Bible I see that it might be non-trivial how near to the original the translation is, so I started to compile a side-by-side synopsis of three main versions ("Luther (1984)", "Einheitsübersetzung", "Neue evangelische Übersetzung") But I have not been successful to find a German Tanach-version of it.

  Q: Where can I find an online version of the Tanach in German translation? (at least the book of the prophet Jeremiah)


texts:
Are Jews allowed to banter (the playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks)?

On one hand, the receiver seems often to enjoy it.
On the other hand, it seems similar to what I heard that it is not good to use a nickname for a Jew even if he is okay with it. Also, I never saw respected Rabbis doing it: they are sometimes playful but never teasing.

Would it make a difference if it were done in private or in public?

Please include sources in answers.


texts:
After reading How do I do the car-door-sukkah trick?, i wondered: isn't this building it on Sukkot?

So, is it permissible to build a succah on Sukkot?

I originally thought no, because i know that the succah is muktzah for all of chag. Also, per When can you build the sukkah?, it seems that it should be done within 30 days of the chag.


texts:
On the one hand it appears the tribe of Levi was granted their role as those who serve in the Mishkan/Beis Hamikdash from Bamibdar (3:12)

וַאֲנִ֞י הִנֵּ֧ה לָקַ֣חְתִּי אֶת־הַלְוִיִּ֗ם מִתּוֹךְ֙ בְּנֵ֣י
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל תַּ֧חַת כָּל־בְּכ֛וֹר פֶּ֥טֶר רֶ֖חֶם מִבְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל
וְהָ֥יוּ לִ֖י הַלְוִיִּֽם׃
I hereby take the Levites from among the Israelites in place of all
the first-born, the first issue of the womb among the Israelites: the
Levites shall be Mine.

which seems to imply that Levi only took on the role after the Golden Calf. However, the Chizkuni (Shemot 5:4) explains

באותה שעה נזכר שבטו של לוי מה שצוה יעקב בשעת פטירתו שלא ישאהו לוי לפי
שהיה עתיד לשאת את ארון קודש ולא רצה לשעבד את עצמו ולא הכריחם פרעה,
מיום ההוא והלאה הוקבע להיות משועבד כל מי ששעבד עצמו
At that time
the tribe of Levi remembered what their founding father Yaakov had
said to them on his death bed, that Levi was not to be one of his pall
bearers as that tribe was destined in the future to carry the Holy Ark
on its shoulders. They therefore declined at the time to participate
in the building of fortifications, and Pharaoh did not make an issue
of this as also the Egyptians had a caste of priests who Joseph during
the years of famine had completely excused from any taxation.

which makes it seem like Levi had a greater role in serving Hashem in the Mishkan/Beis Hamikdash before the firstborn lost it.
Q: What was the role of Levi before the firstborn lost their service in the Mishkan?


texts: Rabbi Akiva seeing Bar Kochba sleeping on his back?

texts: I once saw it in some sefer that Rabbi Akiva saw Bar Kochba sleeping on his back (not on his side) and then he knew that he wasn't Mashiach. Does anyone know where this is written? I'm pretty sure its not in the Talmud.


texts:
I heard a mind-blowing idea a couple of years back in the name of the Chasam Sofer, and I would really love to know the source....
It says in Vayikra 23:15 -

וּסְפַרְתֶּ֤ם לָכֶם֙ מִמָּחֳרַ֣ת הַשַּׁבָּ֔ת מִיּוֹם֙ הֲבִ֣יאֲכֶ֔ם אֶת־עֹ֖מֶר הַתְּנוּפָ֑ה שֶׁ֥בַע שַׁבָּת֖וֹת תְּמִימֹ֥ת תִּהְיֶֽינָה׃
And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the sabbath—you shall count off seven weeks - They must be complete:

Whilst these seven complete weeks are understood halachically that one needs to count the days consecutively without dropping a day (refer to Sefer HaChinuch 306:5 and Sefer HaMitzvos 162) they can also be seen as a qualitative measure, namely an auspicious time to work on oneself - a time for self improvement and an 'aliyah' (elevation) in ruchniyos (spiritual matters). We know that the Jewish people at the time of leaving Mitzrayim (Egypt) were on the 49th level of tumah (impurity) and with each subsequent day, ascended till they were on the requisite level of holiness to receive the Torah (e.g. see Kedushas Levi). Thus with each day of sefirah, we are gifted the opportunity to improve ourselves and grow closer to Hakadosh Boruch Hu.
Now here's the Chasam Sofer....
The Chasam Sofer wrote (somehere?!!) that a person can, during this 49 day period, achieve great heights, and on each individual day of Sefirah, can rectify that which would normally require two years of toil. As a result, 49 days of Sefirah (when used productively) can equate to 98 years worth of aliyah in ruchniyus!!!


texts: Does one have to keep separate ketchup bottles for meat and dairy? (and why or why not?)


texts: Usually a parent would have the job of deciding during their youth where to go and as a result will have a better idea of where he wants to go for adult learning. What do the sources have to say about how to go about finding and choosing the right yeshiva for someone who didn't have the benefit of growing up with a Jewish education?


texts: Why does Judaism have such an emphasis on Hebrew phrases in their religion and seems reluctant to translate them to English or another language?


texts:
Does one need to remain fully covered when there is a mezuzah in view? I am asking based on the principle of koved seforim, according to which, as I understand it, one may not expose ervah to (uncovered) holy books and other holy items.

I understand the mezuzah is already covered once by a case, but two covers are preferred by many ( http://gt.torah.org/advanced/weekly-halacha/5774/vayechi.html , inter alia); also, I worry that the /shin/ on the outside of the mezuzah case is a Shem Hashem (or close enough) before which one should not be uncovered.

Practically speaking, the requirement I'm asking about would--I think--mean only changing clothes, etc., in the most distal rooms of the house--and maybe not even in these, if the mezuze is inside the door--or in bathrooms, and always with the door closed. Is this how it is?


texts: Did converts (ger tzedek) in ancient Israel own land?

texts:
Sources like Exodus 12:48,49 lead me to believe, that righteous converts/ proselytes(ger tzedek) became full-fledged citizens and members of the nation of Israel.

On the other hand, I know that the land of ancient Israel was divided according to the ancestral affiliation. Moreover, land could not be sold indefinitely (Lev. 25:23) and jubilee years often reverted the purchases to the original owners.

My question is - how do proselytes fit into this land-allocation system if they did not have any ancestors from any of the tribes? Did they formally join one of the tribes after the conversion and thus were assigned a share of land? Was it possible for a proselyte to obtain land that would be inherited by his family during the following generations - that means obtaining the land not in a way that would revert the ownership to the original owner, native Israelite during jubilee year?


texts: Are there any situations where it is halachickly advisable to encourage someone to convert rather than be Noahide?


texts: The halacha we have today is mostly sourced in Talmud Bavli(the Babylonian Talmud),Medrash and Zohar. I would like to know what Halachot in which we rule according to the Yerushalmi (the Jerusalem Talmud)  versus the Bavli (the Babylonian Talmud)?


texts: Are there any leniencies for shortening the torah reading so the cycle takes more than a year?

texts:
In a small community without a learned ba'al koreh, it can be difficult to assemble enough readers to read the entire weekly parsha to a suitable degree of proficiency.  Is there any provision in halacha for reading less, provided the entire torah is read over the course of the cycle (which will take more than a year in this case)?

I understand that some have a triennial cycle instead of the annual one (I've heard this said of Israeli communities in particular).  I have the impression, perhaps mistaken, that those communities have a received tradition of the triennial cycle; they didn't just do it for expedience.  Here I'm asking about a community that would otherwise read the entire parsha and complete the cycle in a year, except that they don't have enough good-enough readers.  Short of fixing their ba'al koreh deficiency, what can such a community do?


texts: As the berachah on the havdalah candle is made, I've been told, the proper thing to do is to raise your hands toward the candle with your fingers curled over your palm and look at the shadow of your fingers, which are cast onto the palm. Where is the halachic source for this?


texts:
There was nothing that I could locate in Mishnah Berurah or similar halachic sources that indicates that one should shuckle (sway) during prayers.

When did this custom begin, and why? I notice that different people have various ways of shuckling, besides speed. Some go back and forth, some do it sideways. A few people squint their eyes and some rub their hands while shuckling. Are there any specifc reasons for doing these specific motions? Are they specific to certain groups (sects) of people that prefer one way over the other?


texts: Why isn't כל הכשר להצניע… in שלחן ערוך?

texts:
The seventh chapter of mishnayos Shabas has this general rule ("כלל"):

  Whatever is fit for storing and people store that [amount of it], and he carried it out on Shabas, he's liable therefor to bring a korban chatas. Whatever is not fit for storing, or people don't store that [amount of it], and he carried it out on Shabas, he's not liable, except one who stores it.

The subsequent mishnayos — off and on for the next three chapters (!) — give specific examples of this: how much food is fit for storing, how much wine, how much rope, how much hide, how much ink, how much wood, and so on and so forth.

And this is all codified in the Rambam (Shabas chapter 18), as well as in the halachic restatements of the Rif and Rosh (ad loc.).

But it's not in the Shulchan Aruch. Or at least: There's no reference to Shulchan Aruch in the En Mishpat – Ner Mitzva for any of these mishnayos, and I can't find them in the Shulchan Aruch anywhere.

Why not?

I was thinking to answer as follows (but this answer doesn't work, as I'll show). It may be because Shulchan Aruch is not concerned with nowadays-impractical topics like korbanos. Whether a prohibition is mid'oraysa (divinely imposed) or mid'rabanan (rabbinically imposed) is important even nowadays, but — I thought — carrying out even less than a worthwhile amount of a substance is forbidden mid'oraysa (because of the principle of "chatzi shiur asur min hatora", "a part-measure is forbidden mid'oraysa"), which renders these mishnayos relevant only to the issue of korban and thus moot nowadays. However, that's not the case: Aruch Hashulchan (301:34) clarifies that "a part-measure for all labors except carrying out is forbidden mid'oraysa". So that proposed answer doesn't work.


texts: Questions regarding counting for Shemitta and Yovel

texts:
Leviticus 25:8 (Sefaria English translation):

  וְסָפַרְתָּ֣ לְךָ֗ שֶׁ֚בַע שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת שָׁנִ֔ים שֶׁ֥בַע שָׁנִ֖ים
  שֶׁ֣בַע פְּעָמִ֑ים וְהָי֣וּ לְךָ֗ יְמֵי֙ שֶׁ֚בַע שַׁבְּתֹ֣ת
  הַשָּׁנִ֔ים תֵּ֥שַׁע וְאַרְבָּעִ֖ים שָׁנָֽה׃

  And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times
  seven years; and there shall be unto thee the days of seven sabbaths
  of years, even forty and nine years.

1) The verse seems unclear to me. What exactly was counted? Did they count each of the 7 years that comprise each Shemitah year?(i.e., did they count each of the 49 years; saying, "this is year 1; this is year 49"?) Or did they count only each grouping of Shemittah years (saying, e.g. "This is the 1st group of Shemitah years .. this is the 7th group)? Or did they count both?

2) Who counted - was it all farmers; every person who lived in Israel; someone else?

3) When was it counted - what date began the year?

4) Was a bracha said (similar to what is done for counting the Omer)? If so, what was the bracha? If not, why not?


texts: What is the obligation of respecting parents

texts:
Is respecting parents doing what they want (hint) or doing what they command (ask for)

Does a son have an obligation to find/figure out what the father wants him to do?
Or can he just simply do what his father command him?
Or does he only need to respect him in the specific ways written in the Shulchan Aruch yd 240.4,7 feed, drink, cloth, cover, take him in and take him out, with a nice face, stand up before him


texts:
In Parashat Bereshit, Rashi comments 3 times the words Nefesh Chaya נפש חיה (Bereshit 1:20 ; 1:21 and 1:24) the same way which is:
"נפש חיה: שיש בה חיות", translated by www.chabad.org "living creatures: That there should be life in them".
Why is Rashi repeating the same thing 2 other times? What do we learn from these repetitions?
Any help to understand Rashi's comment would be appreciated.


texts: Is it permissible to say "Shabbos/Shabbat" in the bathroom?

texts:
I once heard or read somewhere that Shabbos/Shabbat is one of the names of Hashem.

1- Is there a source for this?

2- If it's true, can I say "Shabbos/Shabbat" in the bathroom?


texts: Dancing at Bar Mitzvah Celebration during Sefira

texts:
I attended a Bar Mitzvah last night, and there was so-called "sefira music" playing, and there was also dancing. As far as I recall learning, there are some justifications for listening to such music, but I don't know of any heter to dance during Sefira. There were some local Rabbis in attendance, and no-one said anything, leading me to believe there is a heter for it.

My question is, what is the heter to dance at a Bar Mitzvah celebration during Sefira?


texts: Why is Shabbos called shabbos bereishis?

texts:
I have found in multiple sources that Rishonim refer to Shabbos as shabbos bereishis, and it is clear from context that they are referring to the weekly Shabbos as opposed to Shabbos of Creation.

For example, the Rambam says in Hilchos Kiddush Hachodesh 1:5

  אין ראיית הירח מסורה לכל אדם כמו שבת בראשית שכל אחד מונה ששה ושובת בשביעי

And Rashi in parshas Behar 25:2 regarding shemita:

  ושתבה הארץ שבת לה' - לשם ה', כשם שנאמר בשבת בראשית

What is the reason that they refer to it this way? Is there any primary source for this?


texts: Plague of darkness: if he was standing, he was unable to sit?

texts:
Rashi on Shemot 10:22 states:

  ויהי חשך אפלה שלשת ימים וגו': חשך של אופל שלא ראו איש את אחיו אותן
  שלשת ימים. ועוד שלשת ימים אחרים חשך מוכפל על זה, שלא קמו איש מתחתיו.
  יושב אין יכול לעמוד, ועומד אין יכול לישב.

  and there was thick darkness… for three days, etc.: Thick darkness in
  which they did not see each other for those three days, and another
  three days of darkness twice as dark as this, so that no one rose from
  his place. If he was sitting, he was unable to stand, and if he was
  standing, he was unable to sit.

From the wording, it seems like this inability to stand/sit was because of the thick darkness.

If so: how does darkness effect the ability to stand or sit?

Also, after 3 days standing - wouldn't they have fallen over by then?

If not: was this an additional punishment which came with darkness (i.e. being paralyzed)?


texts:
Does a kettle 1, whose body made of plastic, need tevila? (Do we consider the body, or the metallic resistor?)

1 A very classic electrical kettle, ie a jug with a warming resistor immersed into the liquid. There is an electric-connected base so that when the you put the kettle on the base, current flows through the resistor and water comes to ebullition. Afterwards you take the jug from the basis and you can bring it to the table.


texts: Once the Tzitzit have been tied, is there any requirement about their length?


texts: Bircas HaMazon of Channukah after the last day

texts:
In OC Siman 695 Sif 3 that if one starts their Purim seudah by day and finishes by night they should still say "Al Hanisim" in Bircas HaMazon. The Machaber brings an opinion that says to not say it; however, the Rema adds in that the minhag (custom) is like the first opinon to say it.

(This halacha is true even in Yerushalayim (and any other place) where Purim is celebrated on the 15th. I'm pointing this out so one shouldn't think that Purim is superior to Channukah with respect to this halacha in that in the evening from the 14th to the 15th one could argue that there is more of a reason to say al hanissim even after the day ended as long as the seudah started by day.)

My question is: is the same true by Channukah? If someone started a seudah on Zos Channukah (the last day of Channukah) and the seudah went into the night would the person also say al hanissim. The only difference I could think of is that by Purim there is an obligation to eat a meal. This is not the case by Channukah where the meal's not an obligation however under the right circumstances may be considered a mitzvah. Why this would be a difference for saying al hanissim or not after the day has ended I don't know: I'm just pointing out that this could be a possible difference that would affect the halacha. In any event, the Shulchan Aruch brings this point and makhlokes only by Purim and not by Channukah. So again, is it the same halacha by Channukah or perhaps over here there is no maklokes and everyone agrees that after the day has ended al hanissim shouldn't be said?

I've looked around and haven't seen anyone that discusses this yet so I'm bringing the question here.


texts: May one perform an autopsy on his father?

texts:
I understand that an autopsy may sometimes be performed if doing so is useful to gain knowledge that may be used to prevent deadly diseases or sicknesses in other people. Refer to this M.Y. answer.

May someone do an autopsy on his own father, or is there an extra prohibition of kibbud av that may prevent him / her from doing so? What if he is the expert or only person who has ample knowledge in the sickness that he is researching?