texts: How does the oral Torah not contradict Dvarim 4:2?

texts:
If God intended there to be an oral Torah, why would He say not to add anything? Shouldn't He have at least mention this exception in the Torah, so we know the Talmud is divine?
Devarim 4:2

ב  לֹא תֹסִפוּ, עַל-הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם, וְלֹא תִגְרְעוּ, מִמֶּנּוּ--לִשְׁמֹר, אֶת-מִצְו‍ֹת יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי, מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם.
Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you (Mechon Mamre translation)


texts: Why does the tribe of Gad have an unusual population count in Bamidbar 1?

texts: When listing the census of the tribes in Bamidbar 1, only the tribe of Gad has the count 45,650 - I.e. - the count is not exactly on the hundreds as it is with all the other tribes. As the count was performed by a half shekel, I assume that all the numbers listed were accurate, or is it possible that somehow, there was an error, or the numbers were rounded? In either case, why is Gad the only tribe with this unusual count?


texts: Is there an actual mitzvah for women to dress tzanua in and of itself? Or is it simply helping out a man's mitzvah of not looking at ervah when learning/saying brachas, and not being led to forbidden thoughts?


texts: Looking for Sefer שלחן המערכת by Rav Yishak Yosef Shelit"a

texts: I've been searching for the book שלחן המערכת by Rav Yishak Yosef Shelit"a, but can't seem to find it. I hope you can help me find it (with a link). Thank you.


texts: Is a Minhag for a Baal Teshuva considered a Neder?

texts:
A Baal Teshuva that comes from an Ashkenazi family, became observant thru a Chabad house, with no understanding of different Nusachim and no intention to become a Lubavitcher, only to become more observant. He acquired Chabad Tefillin and keeps davening Nusach HaAri.

One day he listens to a Shiur and realizes the importance of following the father's traditions (his father davens 3 times a day) and wants to switch back to Ashkenazi Nosach and eventually Ashkenazi Teffilin.

Does performing a certain Minhag becomes a Neder? For how long?
Can he switch [back] from Nosach Ari to Ashkenazi both in Nosach and Teffilin? And how to cancel a Neder if anything?


texts: What does the Ritva hold about טלי קידושיך מעל גבי קרקע?

texts:
The case of "טלי גיטיך מעל גבי קרקע" (where the husband told his wife to pick up her גט [divorce document], rather than handing it to her directly) is an invalid divorce (רבא, Gittin 24a). The Rishonim discuss whether "טלי קידושיך מעל גבי קרקע" (the same case, just with קידושין) is the same as the case of גט מעל גבי קרקע.

I'd like to know what, if anything, the Ritva holds about טלי קידושיך מעל גבי קרקע.

The reason I'd like to know this is because the Ritva holds קדושין כ׳ג ע׳ב ד.ה. איבעיא להו (against several Rishonim) that "טלי" is a problem by שחרור עבד (freeing a slave), and because of that, some asked a question on his opinion, why "טלי" is not listed in the mishna on Gittin 10a, that lists those things that גיטי נשים (divorce documents) and שחרורי עבדים (slave-freeing documents) have in common. They wanted to answer that the Ritva may hold that "טלי" is a problem by קידושין as well, rendering "טלי" as a "מילתא דאיתא בקידושין," ("something that [also] applies to קידושין;" which the gemara determines does not belong in the list on 10a) which would mean that "טלי" does not belong in that list. That answer, obviously, hinges on what the Ritva actually holds regarding טלי קידושיך מעל גבי קרקע.


texts: Why does Nero convert to Judaism in folio 56a in tractate Gittin in the Babylon Talmud?

texts:
In the Gittin tractate, folio 56a (focusing on the destruction of Jerusalem), it briefly mentions Nero:

"He [the Emperor] sent against them Nero the Caesar.  As he was coming he shot an arrow towards the east, and it fell in Jerusalem. He then  shot one towards the west, and it again fell in Jerusalem. He shot towards all four points of the compass, and each time it fell in Jerusalem. He said to a certain boy: Repeat to me [the last] verse of Scripture you have learnt. He said: And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel. He said: The Holy One, blessed be He, desires to lay waste his House and to lay the blame on me. So he ran away and became a proselyte, and R. Meir was descended from him."

Does this indicate that Nero converted to Judaism since he ran away from destroying Jerusalem "and became a proselyte"? Furthermore, R. Meir is considered to be one of his star descendants.

While I recognize that this is probably fictional and folklore, why would the rabbinical scribes even insert this portion in the text? What purpose does it serve?


texts: The Gemarah in TANNIS (9a) says that there is nothing in the Nevim and Kesuvim that is not hinted to in the Torah. My question is, why have both?


texts: Looking for a resource that explains the musical trope "mood" used in Ashkenazic annual laining

texts:
Nusach Ashkenaz has these separate laining modes:

Regular weekly Torah reading (Shabbat, weekday, Yom Tov, etc.)
Special Torah reading mode for Yamim Nora'im (High Holidays)
Haftarah
3 Megillot - Kohellet, Shir Hashirim, Ruth
Esther
Eicha

Each tune is supposed to create a "mood" / nuance appropriate for that holiday. E.g. - Eicha and Esther are in major (mainly), though Esther is for Purim which is a happy occasion and Eicha is on Tish'a B'Av which is a sad occasion. Both tropes are similar to each other, yet different from the rest. There's probably a reason or "setting" for the tune / note scales chosen for each holiday.

Is there a resource that explains the nature of the different trope moods?


texts: Can one wear new clothes on the Shabbat preceding Tisha B'Av?

texts:
Can one wear new clothes on the Shabbat before Tisha B'Av? I guess by extension the Three weeks in general.

I understand that one shouldn't wear new clothes during the three weeks/9 days - does this apply on shabbat?


texts: Any known translations of the Talmudim et al into classical languages, prior to the 19th century?

texts:
Through the 19th and 20th centuries, the Bavli and Yerushalmi were fully or partially translated into English, French, German, Arabic and Italian.
Are there any extant translations of the Talmudim and/or other rabbinic texts (e.g., midrashim, hiddushim, codes, mussar, etc) of the early period (say, made c. 200 - 1000 C.E.) into any of the classical languages (Greek, Latin, Arabic, Persian)? The translations can have been made at any time between 200 and 1800 C.E.
It is well known that portions of the Bavli were translated into Latin during the 13th century as part of the Jewish-Christian disputations in Paris. The manuscripts were recently published by Cecini and de la Cruz Palma (Extractiones de Talmud per ordinem sequentialem, 2019).
Apparently there was an Arabic translation made in the 11th century by Yosef  ibn Abitur by commission of an Islamic ruler, but I'm not aware of any extant copies.
Does anyone know of anything else?
.
(By means of comparison, the Quran was first translated into Persian in the 7th century, into Greek during the 9th century, citations of which still remain from Nicetas of Byzantium, and into three or four Latin translations in the medieval period.)


texts:
The custom is to give 1 or 3 half-denomination coins to tzedaka on Taanit Esther to remember the yearly mitzva of machatzit hashekel (Rama 694:1).

How is this done in a country that has no half denomination coin?  The first example I could find: Paraguay uses a currency called guaraní, which used to be divided into 100 centimos, but because of inflation, céntimos are no longer in use.


texts:
As a non-Jew, undergoing the conversion process, I am very careful regarding the Torah, rabbinic, and cultural laws. However, some times it seems to me that some laws are not compatible for converts.

One of these incompatibilities that I have encountered is the kosher wine. In my understanding, if a non-Jew touches an open bottle he/she will render the wine non-kosher.

Apart from all the non-kosher additives, that can be a part of the process, it eludes me why a convert should buy kosher wine, as the wine is not kosher when he/she is drinking it?


texts:
The Torah gives us (B'midbar 15:39) the cause and effect that are supposed to occur when we are in the proximity of a tzitzis:

'וְהָיָה לָכֶם לְצִיצִת וּרְאִיתֶם אֹתוֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם אֶת כָּל מִצְו‍ֹת ה
It should be tzitzis for you, and you should look at it and remember all of God's commandments.

We know that when the Torah says "remember" in a context like this it means "recite verbally", just like the commandment for kidush on shabas, which Chazal understood, and Rambam (29:1) said explicitly, must be accomplished through speaking:

מצות עשה מן התורה לקדש את יום השבת בדברים, שנאמר "זכור את יום השבת לקדשו"
[It is] a positive commandment from the Torah to sanctify the day of shabas with words, as it is said, "remember the day of shabas to sanctify it"

So when one sees a tzitzis one is obligated to recite all of the mitzvos. This would apply equally well to clothing worn by others as by oneself, since sometimes other people are even more aware of what you are wearing than you are, such as when you are wearing kil'ayim (10:29) and don't know it until it is spotted and ripped off of you in the street - "הרואה כלאים של תורה על חבירו אפילו היה מהלך בשוק קופץ לו וקורעו עליו מיד".
Now, that is a lot of mitzvos to recite - 613 by most counts although YמMV - each time a person sees a tzitzis, especially in areas where it is common to keep them visibly hanging out. And it becomes even more difficult to say them all when one wants l'kayem the added level of "אחרי מצותיך תרדוף נפשי", necessarily leaving the person out of breath by the time they even start.

How can one fit in all that reciting of mitzvos and still have time left in the day?
Does the list have to be the סמ"ג or would it be enough to say just the סמ"ק or even the סמ"ק?
Is there a havinenu one can say instead?

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


texts:
The Oruch HaShulchan in Simon סימן תעה quotes the Rambam (פרק שמיני דין ו:)

ואחר כך מברך "על נטילת ידים"... ואחר כך כורך מצה ומרור כאחת, ומטבל
בחרוסת ומברך "ברוך... אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על אכילת מצות ומרורים",
ואוכלן. ואם אכל מצה בפני עצמה ומרור בפני עצמו – מברך על זה בפני עצמו
ועל זה בפני עצמו. ואחר כך מברך "ברוך... אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על
אכילת הזבח", ואוכל מבשר חגיגת ארבעה עשר תחילה. ומברך "ברוך... אשר
קדשנו במצותיו וצונו על אכילת הפסח", ואוכל מגופו של פסח. ולא ברכת הפסח
פוטרת של זבח, ולא ברכת הזבח פוטרת של פסח.

So one eats the matzoh and moror together without the Korban Pesach even in the times of the Beis Hamikdosh.
The  Oruch HaShluchan seeks to explain this with a Yerushalmi that seems to suggest that the matzoh and moror will מבטל=nullify the Korban Pesach.

סימן תעה סעיף יא
ונראה לעניות דעתי דדבריו מיוסדים על הירושלמי דפרק קמא דחלה, דגרסינן שם: הלל הזקן היה כורך שלושתן כאחת. אמר רבי יוחנן:
חלוקים על הלל הזקן. ופריך: והא רבי יוחנן כורך מצה ומרור? ומתרץ: כאן
בשעת המקדש, וכאן שלא בשעת המקדש. ואפילו תימר כאן וכאן בשעת המקדש,
שני דברים רבים על אחד ומבטלים אותו. עד כאן לשון הירושלמי.
והכי פירושו: דמקודם מתרץ דבשעת המקדש מבטלין זה את זה, כיון דכולן מן
התורה. ושלא בשעת המקדש, כיון דמרור אינו מדאורייתא – אינו מבטל. וזהו
היפך מסברת הש"ס דילן. ולזה אמר: ואפילו תימר דשניהם בשעת המקדש – דווקא
שלושתם אסור לכרוך, דשנים רבים על אחד ומבטלין אותו. אבל שנים ביחד – אין
האחד מבטל השני. ויפרש "על מצות ומרורים יאכלוהו" – דהמצה יוכרך עם המרור
ולא הפסח

How and in what sense can the  matzoh and moror  nullify the Korban Pesach?


texts: Shalom. Seeing the Shekhinah (probably the fire from where Gd speaks (Deuteronomy 4,12; 5,4) was liable to death according to Exodus 33,22? The Shekhinah is not G-d's face (panim), right?


texts: Does a non-Jew have an obligation to get married like the Jew does?


texts: Loshon Hara against public Jewish and non-Jewish figures

texts:
Both American and Israeli politics, and of course those of other democracies, can include a lot of personal attacks, both true and untrue, including innuendo about possible adultery, gay or straight, inappropriate behavior privately and/or publicly, influence-peddling, or even speculation as to whether they are "really frum" or just "pretending to be frum."

To what extent can religious Jews listen to, discuss, or repeat loshon hara about Jewish political candidates or incumbent politicians?  Does it also apply to non-Jewish public figures as well?  Is a person's character ever on the table as a legitimate discussion point when our only source must be second-hand?

If no right exists for a layperson, is there a halachic basis that would give a Rav or Rosh HaYeshiva an exceptional right -- in their roles as community leaders -- to say loshon hara about political candidates when it is in their community's interest?

My observation is that rabbis have asserted such a right (even when they later admitted that they had no first-hand knowledge of the truth of the charges, nor had made any investigation), but I can't find any authority that gives it to them.


texts:
If you hear someone saying kaddish virtually (such as at a virtual siyum, or a streamed ceremony), should you answer amen?

Note that this is talking about when listening live.

Does it make a difference whether you're listening via internet or radio/TV?


texts: Can you say HaShem's name in personal tefillot?

texts: When saying a personal tefilla at the end of shemoneh esrei, and one is saying "May it be Your will, HaShem, etc." is it proper to say HaShem's actual name or not to?


texts: What did Rambam say about non-Jews putting on tefilin?

texts:
My mother says she's Jewish and I am also, but I'm still worried that maybe I am not and she is not and her mother is not and just they don't know but believe to be.

Is there anywhere that the Rambam says that a non-Jew is not allowed to put on tefilin?

I say tefilin because it's the rebbe's campaign to put on tefilin and that should be a foundation starting stone, and one of the main things I should work on,
but inside I'm worried what if I really am not Jewish and I'm violating halacha by putting on tefillin?  Does the Rambam say this anywhere?  I'm looking for exact wording if possible.


texts:
Ignoring vowelization, Sha-ul and She-ol is spelled the same way

שאול

We know that Shaul's name was derived from the root radical שאל = to question.

However, She-ol is pronounced like ש - אול belonging to/of "ol", but I am unable to find the word אול with any meaning.

Question:
Please explain (1)grammatically and (2) thro any rabbinic sources, any correlation, similarities and/or differences between the two instances of שאול

Appendix:

שְׁאוֹל =Sh-ol not shee-ol


texts:
May (or should) a convert recite kaddish after his biological parents' deaths?

I think the answer is that yes, he may do so out of respect for them (even though, in a strict halachic sense, he is no longer "related" to them - he still owes them basic respect (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De'ah 241:9)).

But does anyone have any sources pro or con?


texts: Is it possible for customs to be transmitted from the mother?

texts: Suppose someone is becoming more religious and he doesn't know his father's minhagim. Should he follow the minhagim of his mother and her family or of the rabbi who taught him and helped him become more religious?


texts: How to deal with modern archaeological knowledge regarding supposed polytheism of ancient Israel?

texts:
Supposedly, modern archaeological findings hold that ancient Israel was polytheistic (with the exodus from Egypt simply being  a legend), and then gradually shifted to monotheism.

How does one approach this knowledge without:

1) resorting to something which others can claim is anti-intellectual though, e.g. "my faith holds that this is not the case, regardless of whatever the findings of science are";

or

2) becoming "ultra-humanistic", e.g. the stories in the Hebrew Bible are seen only as extremely metaphorical parables, rather than actual historical events?

There is a very related question and answer, but it is worthwhile to note that it refers to claims of monolatrism, rather than claims of polytheism.


texts:
Why does each chasidut have its own distinct clothing?

Google and Wikipedia only list different kinds of clothes, but they don't explain why.


texts:
If a Jewish king went evil (as many did), would a religious Jew be allowed to rebel against him to try to remove him from power?

Is there any condition where a king can be removed from power (coma/senility)?


texts: Why do we have Motzi Matza and Maror at the Seder?

texts:
The source for the practice of Koreich, the matza-maror-charoset sandwich, is Hillel's practice of doing the same (although his included the Korban Pesach instead of charoset), based on Bamidbar 9:11:

בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בְּאַרְבָּעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם, בֵּין הָעַרְבַּיִם--יַעֲשׂוּ אֹתוֹ:  עַל-מַצּוֹת וּמְרֹרִים, יֹאכְלֻהוּ.
In the second month on the fourteenth day at dusk they shall keep it; they shall eat it with unleavened bread and (lit. on) bitter herbs.

Now, Hillel's approach of literally eating the Korban Pesach on Matza and Maror is (seemingly) not required by the other authorities. However, they, who only require the eating these three foods, would certainly admit that Hillel was Yotzei-- lechatchila, even.
With this in mind, what is the reason for Motzi Matza and Maror? Isn't Koreich be enough to fulfill the obligation, according to all opinions?


texts: Correcting a Rebbe who is learning during חזרת הש"ץ

texts: Is it better to tell my Rebbe that he can't learn during חזרת הש"ץ or is it better to respect him.


texts: Can one talk during Kaddish when he is not part of the Minyan?

texts:
One is not supposed to talk during Kaddish. See Mishna Berurah below Siman 56.

Does this apply to someone who is not Davening in the particular Minyan where the Kaddish is being said, but happens to be in the room at that time? If he also should not talk, what about if he is in a different room but hears Kaddish being recited?


texts: Why does מגילת אסתר make a point of telling us that the סריס המלך שומר הפילגשים was called שעשגז?


texts: Is practicing laining considered learning Torah?

texts:
Is practicing laining for a Parsha considered Talmud Torah?

Namely, does this "count" as Torah learning, would one get s'char for this etc OR could it be considered more like memorizing a song?

Sources welcome- thanks!


texts: Where can I find Rav Kook's writing of this?

texts:
There is a recent article in which Rabbi Moishe Bane writes the following :

  The legendary Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzchok KaCohen Kook z”l, observed
  that in every society, in every religion, in every country, in every
  era throughout history, there is a remarkable inverse correlation
  between a community’s level of education and sophistication and the
  degree of its religious intensity. The more educated a community, the
  less vigorous its religious commitment. Is this observation not
  evidence, asked Rav Kook, that religion generally appeals only to the
  most primitive minds? Doesn’t this inverse correlation prove that we,
  as sophisticated individuals, should recognize the folly of a
  commitment to, and passion for, Torah Judaism?

  Rav Kook explained
  that every society, in every religion, in every country, in every era
  throughout history, provides their youth with roughly the equivalent
  of a third grade religious education. Consequently, in those societies
  in which that third grade religious education is accompanied by
  a third grade secular education, the youth mature into adulthood
  satisfied with their understanding of religion. By contrast, when a
  community receives a third grade religious education, but then goes on
  to receive a high school, university and an even more advanced secular
  education, they consider the simplistic nature of religion, as they
  had been taught, and dismiss religion as being primitive.

Where can I find Rav Kook writing such a thing?


texts: Does ‘it is not in heaven’ imply that we ought not hope for further words from Heaven in this life?

texts:
I am struggling to understand the implications of Devarim 30:11-14. I have taken the words ‘it is not in heaven’ to mean that the ‘full counsel’ of HaShem is down here, in the Tanakh, and that one therefore ought not hope or expect to hear any more from Him in this life. The trouble is, much of my hope had hitherto been placed in the possibility of a personal relationship with Him, and as such the idea that He has already said all that He has to say to me before I die has left me feeling very disheartened.

What, I ask, ought we to hope for with respect to HaShem? What hope is there of a personal relationship with Him in this life if His full counsel is down here, bound in leather (so to speak)?

My blessings to whoever can provide a satisfactory answer to these questions. TW


texts:
I remember hearing during a shiur on Neiros Shabbos and Chanukah...shalom bayis/Shabbos trumping pirsumei nisah/Chanukah, etc.

There was one source which said that the pach shemen was actually discovered behind some dislodged dirt or bricks used for the sotah's drink on the grounds of the mikdash.

Has anyone heard this and can you share the source?


texts: With which Torah can one fulfill the obligation of Parshas Zachor?

texts:
There is an argument between texts if the word "Petzua Daka" (Devarim 23:2) should be with an Alef or a Heih. Can someone fulfill his obligation to read Zachor (and normal Torah reading) with a Torah which was written not like his custom?

As always, CYLOR.

Similar to Parshas Zachor Sfardi versus Ashkenazi but not exactly.


texts:
According to Plaut ("The Torah a Modern Commentary", Revised Edition, p. 530) the term "ger" has changed over time.

Ger was the term applied to resident non-Israelites who could no longer count on the protection of their erstwhile tribe or society.(9)

Later Jewish tradition distinguished between the ger toshav, the resident stranger, i.e., a non-Jewish resident (of the land of Israel) who observed the seven Noahide laws, and the ger tzedek who had become a full proselyte.

I read this to mean that originally the term "ger" was applied to the resident non-Israelite, but later the term "ger" was refined by using either ger toshav or ger tzedek in order to be more descriptive of the stranger being discussed.
When did this change in usage occur?  Deuteronomy, post-Torah, earlier, later?
I have seen this earlier question, Ger Tzedek/Tzadik earliest sources and definition, but it does not answer my question.


texts: How does one implement "zachin leadam shelo befanav" to give a gift on Shabbat?

texts:
I am aware that we don't give gifts -- or, more specifically, transfer ownership of an item -- on Shabbat or Yom Tov.  I once asked a question about ransoming the afikoman and received this comment:

  ... That issue can be circumvented, I think, by having a third party accept the gifts on behalf of the intended recipients before Y"T. This is OK to do without their knowledge because "zachin le-adam shelo befanav" - "we can do unmitigated good for someone without their presence (or knowledge).  – Isaac Moses Feb 20 '12

I understand that this is also done when shuls present a bar/bat mitzvah with a gift on Shabbat.  And I have seen the "kinyan on another's behalf" approach used recently by somebody who I know to be careful in halacha.

My question is about the logistics: if one wants to effect such a transfer using an agent to accept in advance on another's behalf, what must one do?  Specifically:

Are there any restriction on who the agent can be?
Is there any specific declaration text that either the giver or the agent needs to say, or is anything that gets the idea across ("I am giving this to Ploni"/"I accept on Ploni's behalf") ok?
Can this be done for an unnamed person that can be identified later, such as "the child who presents me with the afikoman"?
Can this be done for unnamed people who aren't identified in advance, such as "any guests I have for Shabbat lunch" (maybe you made up something in advance, like bentchers or something to commemorate a simcha)?

DoubleAA linked this page from Hebrew Wikipedia in chat; possibly there are answers to be found within, but I can't read it.


texts: Must one have intent that a specific food will fulfill the third meal for them?

texts:
Being that we don't have a Kiddush for Shaleshudes (Seudah Shlishit)  is intent needed for one's eating to be counted for this or is simply eating enough?

Does this change depending on the type of food; for example, if someone does not wash but rather is Kovea Seuda through fruit or Mezonos?


texts:
Gentiles were commanded on 6 types of Arayos (forbidden relationships) Rambam Melachim 9,5.
What is the legal status of a child from those relations between two gentiles.
If he converts convert would he still be a Mamzer for example? I couldn't find any definition.


texts: May a Child light the Menorah in Shul being that it is not the real lighting?


texts: Can a child have the din of a "machalel shabbos b'farhasia"?

texts:
A Jew that is a m"chalel shabbos b'farhasia" (that they desecrate the Shabbos in public) could have a different status in regards to certain dinim -- for example handling wine that wasn't cooked and how it would affect the kashrus of it. Does this also apply to a katan (minor)? I'm asking in general could a katan have the status of a "m'chalel shabbos b'farhasia"? Although it might be difficult to find something where this would make a difference I still want to know in general if the din would apply, why or why not. Obviously we are speaking in the case of a katan who is already somewhat of a bar-das (intelligent) and is able to understand that they are not allowed to be m'challel Shabbos. (My original thought is that it should be asking in the case of a child who is 9 and above.)

The case of touching wine might not be such a good example of where we could say it makes a difference since I know the poskim say that a non-Jewish child can't make yain nesech (the particular case I saw was an Arab child which is perhaps better since they are not idol worshippers. Certainly then a Jewish child wouldn't be worse than this. However my question, like I said, is in general if they could even have the din of "m'chalel shabbos b'farhesia" applied to them.


texts:
Shmita is every 7 years and we leave the land unused.
In Egypt there were 7 years of feast, then 7 years of famine.
As leaving the land unused could be considered famine like conditions, are there any sources that relate these two?

Shmita is often compared to creation, 7 day:7 years.
If this is the case the reverse question can be asked: were the feast and famine periods related to creation?

Or, neither are compared at all and seven is just a oft used number in Torah.


texts: Why do we thank G-d for giving the rooster understanding?

texts:
In the morning blessings, we thank G-d for various things. We thank Him for "opening the eyes" (poke'ach ivrim), "releasing the bound" (matir asurim), "straightening the bent" (zokef k'fufim), etc.
However, the first of these blessings doesn't really match the rest:

ברוך אתה ה' אלהינו מלך העולם, הנותן (נ''א אשר נתן) לשכוי בינה להבחין בין יום ובין לילה
Blessed are You, L-rd our G-d, King of the universe, who gives (also: "who gave") the rooster understanding to differientiate between day and night.

Why do we thank G-d for this? It doesn't matter to me whether the rooster knows the difference or not. I have an alarm clock to wake me up in the morning. People haven't used roosters to wake them up for many, many years.
But yet this blessing can't be obsolete. I have often wondered if there was a deeper meaning to this blessing.
I learned that שכוי (sechvi) can mean "heart" (from the ArtScroll Siddur).1 If you translate "day" and "night" metaphorically to mean good and evil (day is light; night is dark), then the blessing gets way more meaningful (to me):

Blessed are You... who gives the heart understanding to differientiate between light and dark (good and evil).

Is this a proper understanding of this blessing? I'd like to know what real Torah sources think about this.

1. It's not strange that a word meaning "rooster" can also relate to mankind. גבר (g'var) means both "man" and "rooster".


texts: Was Adam placed in Gan Eden to keep the service of HaShem?

texts:
Bereshit 2:15 reads:  לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ, but it seems that this can't be referring to: 'to work the earth and keep it', because after the chet (the sin) it reads in Bereshit 3:23 that Adam was taken out of Eden to work the earth, לַעֲבֹד אֶת-הָאֲדָמָה

The Targums read: and set him to do service in the law, and to keep it('s commandments), while the Zohar points out that l'avdah refers to the positive commandments and uleshomrah to the negative commandments (the do's and don'ts).

But I wondered if there are any scriptures or comments referring to keeping the service, what kind of service was this?

Could Gan Eden be a part of The Heavenly Temple where Adam served and worshiped HaShem?

Hoping for some insight.


texts: Why does the torah repeat itself regarding defects in Kohanim?

texts:
In Emor, perek:21 posuk:17 the Torah says:

דַּבֵּ֥ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֖ן לֵאמֹ֑ר אִ֣ישׁ מִֽזַּרְעֲךָ֞ לְדֹרֹתָ֗ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִהְיֶ֥ה בוֹ֙ מ֔וּם לֹ֣א יִקְרַ֔ב לְהַקְרִ֖יב לֶ֥חֶם אֱלֹהָֽיו׃
Speak to Aaron and say: No man of your offspring throughout the ages
who has a defect shall be qualified to offer the food of his God.

Then just a few pesukim later (posuk 21), it states:

כָּל־אִ֞ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־בּ֣וֹ מ֗וּם מִזֶּ֙רַע֙ אַהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֔ן לֹ֣א יִגַּ֔שׁ לְהַקְרִ֖יב אֶת־אִשֵּׁ֣י יְהוָ֑ה מ֣וּם בּ֔וֹ אֵ֚ת לֶ֣חֶם אֱלֹהָ֔יו לֹ֥א יִגַּ֖שׁ לְהַקְרִֽיב

"No man among the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall be qualified to offer the LORD’s offering by fire; having a defect, he shall not be qualified to offer the food of his God."
(translations by sefaria)

What is behind this repetition?


texts: Does anyone have a design for a stand alone Keilim Mikvah to be built next to a Shul?

texts: We are planning to build a stand alone keilim Mikvah next to our shul building, but can't find detailed plans.  Does anyone have plans, drawings or details about construction?


texts: Is tearing the hymen something that should be avoided

texts:
I have always heard that tearing the hymen by beilas mitzva (first intercourse with a virgin after marriage) is a good thing and it should not be avoided (maybe to tear it is the mitzvah as it seems to me from shulchan aruch harav 280.3). (Though to be fair I did not know that it was possible to avoid it.)

@Aaron is claiming that tearing the hymen can and should be avoided.
(As any other damages to a Jewish body)

Is @Aaron right?

I'm looking for sourced Jewish views on the subject.


texts: PTIJ: If Haman would have fallen with no one around to hear him fall, would that still have made a sound?

texts:
Esther 7:8 writes:

והמלך שב מגנת הביתן אל־בית משתה היין והמן נפל על־המטה אשר אסתר עליה ויאמר המלך הגם לכבוש את־המלכה עמי בבית הדבר יצא מפי המלך ופני המן חפו
When the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet room, Haman fell on the couch on which Esther reclined. “Does he mean,” cried the king, “to ravish the queen in my own palace?” No sooner did these words leave the king’s lips than Haman’s face was covered.

The Megillah makes it clear that Achashverosh was in the room when Haman fell, but I can't help but wonder:
If Haman would have fallen with no one around to hear him fall, would that still have made a sound?

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


texts: What to do to fill the void when a Torah giant dies

texts:
I want to do something to fill the void left in the world from the passing of a Torah Giant.
All the Torah that he learnt, all the Mitzvos that he did, all the merit that this world had because of him - is now not here.

Does anyone have a source for an appropriate way to perpetuate the Torah, Mitzvos, and Gemilas Chasadim that a Torah sage left behind?

(Note: I'm asking my question due to the most recent Gadol BaTorah who just passed away, but my question is not referring specifically to him.)


texts: Sample Temple diaspora rabbinic responsum

texts: Are there any books which present, in the traditional rabbinic responsum format, questions that could or would arise throughout temple life (or just the temple)? [And thus answer them based on traditional sources.]


texts: On the qualifications to be queen of Persia

texts:
In the first chapter of Ester, Achashverosh is advised that his queen, Vashti, be removed from her position

…וּמַלְכוּתָהּ יִתֵּן הַמֶּלֶךְ לִרְעוּתָהּ הַטּוֹבָה מִמֶּנָּה. וְנִשְׁמַע פִּתְגָם הַמֶּלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה בְּכָל מַלְכוּתוֹ כִּי רַבָּה הִיא…
…and let the king give her queenship to her peer who is better than she. And let the edict of the king be heard — let him establish it in his entire kingdom — that she be a rabba…

and Achashverosh did this.

Why did he want his new queen to be a rabba?
In the end, his search for a new queen landed him Ester. Was she, in fact, a rabba?

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


texts: Can a husband forbid his wife from doing something (which will not hurt her)

texts:
A husband cannot make his wife do something using a vow (Helckas Mehokek 74.17 end, Bais Shmuel 74.12 end).

  אם מדיר אותה דבר שהוא לטובתה כגון שהדיר קונם הנאת תשמישך עלי אם לא תתקשט והיא אינה רוצה א"י לכופה והנדר חל והוא אין לו דין מורד והיא אינה מורדת ולאחר ששה חדשים יוצי' ויתן הכתובה כמ"ש בסי' ע"ז:

The Shach writes (235.16) that if she was the one who made a vow, he can force her to do things by annulling the vow on condition that she does them, as long as they are not degrading.

But theoretically can a husband forbid his wife from doing something (that does not hurt her)?

For example if he tells her "relations with you are forbidden to me if you go to your parents house during this next week" (halachikly it only hurts her to not go to her parents for more than a month - if they live in the same city).

Is she allowed to go to her parents house (during this week)?
What happens if she does?
Does it make her a moredes?

PS. How about not theoretically?

Sources please


texts: Many siddurim include sections before tefillot and mitzvot (such as Baruch She'amar, tzitzit/tallit, and tefillin) kabbalistic declarations of intent, typically beginning with the words hareini or hareinu or the formula of l'shem yichud…. Is it appropriate to say these aloud? When davening before the amud?


texts: Study of Written Law Without Comprehension

texts:
What are the earliest sources that confirm or contradict the assertion that recitation of Torah Shebiksav fulfills the obligation to study Torah even without understanding of the words?

Preferred: Halachic sources not kabbalistic sources.


texts: While the colors of the rainbow (or spectral colors) form a continuum, people have assigned them to finitely many pigeonholes for centuries and probably millennia. Apparently, Newton used seven colors to describe the rainbow. He wrote in Latin, I think, but we'd call them red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Nowadays, schoolchildren are taught the six colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. (I guess the indigo faded in the laundry, or something.) Does Judaism (the Torah) do this: is there some finite number of colors of the rainbow (or spectrum) listed somewhere? If so, is there any (midrashic or similar) significance assigned to that list?


texts: Technological advances of Yehoshua's generation over the natives

texts:
My question is based on "were-rabbis-ahead-of-the-times". A claim is made that the Torah contains scientific knowledge known to Rabbis and unknown to Gentiles.

Many try to bring examples from the Gemmorah and later Rabbis, but as all of them were well educated with general knowledge it is difficult to tell.

I thought about a simple "test": the Jewish nation received the Written as well as the Oral Torah in the wilderness and learned it for 40 years straight from Moses. It's fair to call them the best Torah scholars of them all (אם הראשונים כמלאכים).

When they entered the Promised Land, I would expect them to be more technologically/scientifically advanced than the native gentile nations in many areas - geometry, astronomy, medicine, agriculture, metallurgy etc allowing them to get better crops, lesser death rates, better weather prediction and more. As this knowledge would clearly prove advantageous, I would expect our sources to mention them.

So I'm looking for the sources in Na"KH that show that the Israelites had advanced techniques over the natives.


texts:
I have a child with a milk allergy. He will be undergoing a "baked milk" food challenge shortly. For this I need to bake him muffins with powdered milk.

I have found several brands of kosher powdered milk, but so far, I couldn't find any that is chalav yisroel, and available for purchase in the USA. Does anyone here know of any?


texts: What is the overall procedure to upgrade a kitchen to kosher service?

texts: If a Jewish family buys a house from Gentiles, naturally the kitchen would not be left in a kosher state.  What is the list of special decontamination or other upgrade procedures necessary to convert a gentile kitchen to kosher use?


texts:
A countertop rotating pizza oven has a turntable on which pizza is placed. It has two heating elements: one heats from below the turntable, like a hot plate. A heating element above broils a section of the pizza at a time as it rotates. There are no enclosed spaces that would trap steam as in a traditional oven or toaster oven.

Can a non-kosher pizza oven of this type (such as at a workplace or common area) be used for kosher food? If so, what steps would be necessary?

Here is a PDF of a manual with diagrams.

(CYLOR)


texts: If an onen comes across a meis mitzvah (let's assume there is either another person to be involved with the onen's personal meis or there is more time to be involved with his meis later), is the onen allowed to be involved with the meis mitzvah? Is it optional for the onen? Obligatory? Perhaps ossur? What's the proof for this?


texts:
How many se'ifim (not simanim) are there in the entire Shulchan Aruch?  Not just Orach Chaim and not the Kitzur, but the entire, unabridged sefer.

I'm trying to figure out scheduling for reviewing large parts of it.


texts: Are the borders of Eretz Israel going to be the same in regard to the Torah when moshiach comes?

texts: I have read before an opinion that they are not going to be the same borders, I am hoping for some backup information.


texts: Clarification on the Mann scattering pattern

texts:
Following the question on the Mann miracles I would like to understand one specific miracle: how exactly did Mann fall closer to the righteous for them than for the wicked:

Did it have name tags attached?
Could Mann be stolen? Why couldn't the wicked take the closest Mann possible?
Did it fall on everyone's private property? What about falling outside the camp for the wicked?
How did everyone know where to look for his Mann? Did Moses tell each one his spiritual level?


texts: Why Ishmael never claimed the right of firstborn?

texts:
Note: the question should have read "did he ever claim" but I assumed he didn't as I didn't hear of it. (I'm aware of the Midrash that says that his descendants claimed before Alexander the Great the double rights on the Holy land, but those were material claims).

If the right of firstborn was so important why didn't Yishmael ever claim it, considering that he made full Teshuvah later in his life?


texts:
Some years back, i heard a song that counted using Mishna quotes.  It was to the tune of (this website's anthem), Echad mi yodea.

The first few lines, as best I remember them:

  אֶחָד הַחוֹפֵר בּוֹר (Bava Kamma 5:5)
  שְׁנַיִם אוֹחֲזִין בְּטַלִּית,
  (Bava Metzia 1:1)
  שְׁלשָׁה שֶׁאָכְלוּ כְאֶחָד (Berakhot 7:1)
  אַרְבָּעָה אֲבוֹת נְזִיקִין (Bava Kamma 1:1)

It goes as high as 11, and can be found here.

Can one count higher?  Certainly there are the 15 women from Yevamot 1:1, but I don't know if the intervening numbers appear.  It seems odd that 12 would be absent, but also odd that 12, if present, wasn't included.


texts: Does definition of Nichush cover Middos based behavior?

texts:
The Gemmorah (on Gen 24) considers Eliezer's approach to choosing a wife a [forbidden] Nichush.

IIRC it was based on a girl's special [and seemingly rare] virtues and not blind chance. If I was truly frum I could say it for my boys - you marry the first girl of good virtues.

Why in Gemmora's view, does Nichush cover Middos?


texts: Where was Moses standing when he spoke the Shema?

texts:
Having a visual sometimes helps.

When reading scripture I like to visualize it.

I would like to be as accurate as possible.

If we went back in time to the moment Moses said "Hear O Israel", and were present there, what would it have been like?

Not just where he was standing, but what was around him? A camp fire?  Was it near a mountain?  Could they hear running water if a river was nearby?

So that I can memorize is my purpose, write it on my heart if you will.

(The stated goal of the question is to aid in remembering Torah.  But perhaps visualizing Torah is an incorrect way of going about this; could singing the Torah be a better solution?)

Visualizing it as I was actually there is the goal.

Not visualize it being written down, but visualize what's being wrote down.


texts:
The Gemara tells us that in the same way one must decrease joy in Av, one must increase joy in Adar:

  אמר רב יהודה בריה דרב שמואל בר שילת משמיה דרב כשם שמשנכנס אב ממעטין בשמחה כך משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה

What about the second half of the month? I think most people assume that the amount of joy is in preparation for the upcoming holiday within that month.

In Av, for example, seemingly after the 15th of Av there is no longer a need to decrease joy. Does one need to continue increasing joy after Purim? Please be sure to provide sources.

Related: Time Parameters of Mishenichnas Adar Marbin B'Simcha


texts: Does Torah inerrancy extend to the prophets and the writings?

texts:
Most Orthodox Jewish scholars hold that the Torah is 100% factually accurate (see previous question).  I believe this is generally understood to refer specifically to the five books of Moses.  What do scholars believe regarding the books of the nevi'im (prophets) and ketuvim (writings)?

For example, do we believe the claim that King Solomon had 1000 wives and concubines?  This seems unlikely given that the total population of Jerusalem is estimated to have been in the low thousands at the time.

I'm sure there are other examples, and so I just want to know whether we are required to believe these implausible claims.


texts:
RIBBIS QUESTION:

In a travel agents' office, where the pay is based on a base + commission + bonus system, and a bonus is given to any agent who sells more than a certain weekly sales quota, may an agent who is just slightly short of the bonus amount toward the end of a week ask another agent to forward a customer to him, in exchange for forwarding one of his own customers to that agent the following week. Do we need to be concerned that the sale which will be "repaid" to the first forwarding agent will be more valuable than the sale originally given.

If this is a concern, how do we figure the value of each sale made? Do we look at the dollar value, and if the returned sale is of higher dollar value than the originally forwarded sale, it would be considered ribbis, or would we say that since the original sale put the accepting agent into the bonus area, by putting him over the weekly sales quote, we include the bonus value into the value of the first sale, and there won't be a ribbis problem unless the second sale is of higher value than the bonus earned by the original accepting agent?


texts: What are "secrets of Torah" according to the Rambam?

texts:
The Rambam explicitly acknowledges that there is something called "secrets of Torah." His words (or at least R' Kapach's translation of his words) are (Moreh Nevochim 2:33):

שאי אפשר להכנס למעמד הר סיני יותר משיעור זה שהזכירו לפי שהוא מכלל סתרי תורה
... as it is impossible to enter into [explaining] the event of Har Sinai more than this amount that we have mentioned, since it is included in "secrets of Torah"

What are the nature of secrets of Torah (which are not possible to communicate) according to the Rambam?  Particularly if one accepts that the Rambam rejected all aspects of Kabbalah.


texts:
A braita cited authoritatively in the Talmud (Menachoth 40b-41a) seems to be pretty explicit that only a garment sufficient to cover a majority of a child is obligated in tzitzith:

  טלית שהקטן מתכסה בו ראשו ורובו
  והגדול יוצא בה דרך עראי חייבת בציצית
  אין הקטן מתכסה בו ראשו ורובו אע"פ שהגדול יוצא בה עראי פטורה

  A cloak with which a minor can cover his head and majority (of his body) and an adult would go out in it occasionally is obligated in tzitzith.  If the minor can not cover his head and majority with it, even though an adult would occasionally go out in it, it is exempt.

Nonetheless, the Arokh HaShulchan (OC 16:5) attempts to defend a prevalent lenient practice regarding wearing small garments with tzitzit, even in reshut harabim (public domain) on Shabbath, which had previously been decried as a desecration of Shabbath, by arguing that any sized garment is obligated in tzitzith:

  טלית קטן שתחת הבגדים אינה צריכה שיעור כלל, דאם רק יש בו ארבע כנפות – חייב בציצית

  ... A tallit katan worn under the clothes does not require any (minimum) measurement at all, for if it has four corners - it is obligated in tzitzith.

(See also op. cit. OC 8:4 and 10:20) Does this mean that the practice at the time was indeed to append tzitzith to every size of garment - e.g. scarves, neckties, etc?  Wouldn't it be a tarti d'satri (contradiction) for a person to be wearing a small tallit simultaneously with - e.g. a scarf?  Similarly, nowadays, if someone is wearing a less-than-shiur tallith katan (e.g. an adolescent), does that mean he must be relying on the Arokh HaShulchan and should not also wear a necktie?


texts:
In the time of the Gemara (since at least the time of Rav), there were famous Rabbis in Bavel (and, at least in the early years, there were also famous Rabbis in Israel).

But before that time, you don't hear of anyone of any importance living in Bavel. The only "Babylonian" that I know off was Hillel, and he became famous only after moving to Israel.

You may answer that while there were big Rabbis then in Bavel, they just weren't known in Israel, and since the Sanhedrin (and Rebbi - the author of the Mishna) lived in Israel, he only mentioned local Rabbis.

Yet the Yerushalmi, which was written in Israel, albeit later, mentions "Babylonians" such as Shmuel. Were there simply no big Yeshivas in Bavel in the time of the Tanaim, and if there were, why are they so rarely mentioned?


texts: I understand there was a little fence in Bayit Sheni called "HaSoreg"/"The Grille" which was meant to warn away gentiles and tme'im from entering the Chayil part of Har Habayit (according to the mishna in Kelim 1:8 and commentaries such as the Bartenura who mentions Shaar Nikanor which was only in Bayit Sheni) (just on a side-note, a couple of the Soreg's signs were found by archaeologists, as can be seen here). Was there such a thing in Bayit Rishon? And if not, why?


texts:
Why do the Sifrei Eme"s (i.e. Job, Proverbs, Psalms) have cantillation marks?

Are they read to a tune or is it just punctuation for personal usage?

Have they ever been read publicly with the tune?

(See here for what inspired me to ask this.)


texts: Why no bracha on the Torah commandment of watching matzah?

texts: There is a Torah obligation to guard matza (Exodus 12, 17) (shemur matza).  But there does not seem to be a bracha said on doing this.  Why?  (The watching is not just mental exercise. You have to walk or otherwise get yourself to where the flour is, and then be active in watching. It is not just a mental activity.)


texts: Are there any sources for parents respecting children

texts:
BSD

Are there any sources in any Torah literature of the importance of a parent respecting their child. I am referring to a parent understanding their child. For example a parent not caring about his child's passions or pursuits, or verbally discounting their child's pursuit in life, something that could be quite damaging. I think we could fill a box set of encyclopedias of stories of parents not understanding their children and giving them space to make independent choices. I am asking if any sources touch upon this aspect.

Obviously there is a lot of emphasis on the respecting one's parents. But is there any writings on the other way around, parent respecting child?  Are there any sources for this?


texts: Why didn't Yehoshua conquer the whole land of Israel before he passed away?

texts: It's written that some cities were left for the individual tribes to conquer, some from the hands of the Canaanites. Wasn't Yehoshua supposed to destroy all of the 7 nations including the Canaanites?


texts: Can you run to perform a non-required mitzvah on Shabbos/Yom Tov?

texts:
I have heard from many sources that running is prohibited on Shabbos unless one is running to do a mitzvah, i.e. toward shul for davening. However, could one run--on Shabbos or Yom Tov--to perform a mitzvah in which one is not strictly obligated? I am thinking of--possibly--running to maariv, or, for a woman, running to any positive mitzvah that is not required of her and for which she does not have a chazaka, such as davening in shul per se, or the second kiddush.

Related: Can You Run On Shabbos?


texts:
It is customary to put many honorific titles before most modern day Rabbis (I've even seen seforim that write Harav Hagaon etc. etc. So-And-So). Many times one sees long lines of adjactives praising the Rabbi being quoted.

Yet, we refer to most of the earlier Rabbis with much less adjectives. I've never heard anyone say Harav Hagaon Rashkebehag Kvod Kdushas Moshe Zatzal when referring to Moshe Rabbeinu.

Is it that we have more respect to our Rabbis than they did in the past?


texts: Certain explanations of the Beur HaGr"a start with the word "Likut". Does that mean that those explanations were collected from other places the Gr"a wrote other than the Shulchan Aruch? If not what does it mean?


texts: Watching the movie "The Ten Commandments"

texts: Is the movie "The Ten Commandments" a good movie if someone is looking for a basic idea of what happened to the Jews in Egypt and in their departure from Egypt. Is it based only on the Old Testament or does it rely on ideas in midrashim as well as the Talmud?


texts: Can I wear tzitzit without having a kipa on my head?

texts: I'm not in a religious school and can't wear my kipa there; but, I would like to wear my tzitzit (tallit katan). Is it permitted to wear tzitzit (tallit katan) without wearing a kipa?


texts:
The prohibition to embarrass another and its sources are discussed here and at more length here, with the stipulation that the mitzvah--and related issues of onaat devarim--apply to men and women in all times and places. However, would these technically apply to the issue of embarrassing non-Jews, too? (I have little question about what is right, or what would be a better demonstration of middos, but I am wondering about Torah law.)

Motivation: Have had the temptation to say some snide things online about a certain politician, and I don't mean Bernie Sanders.


texts: Does anyone know what the Tefillin Cover says?

texts:
(Image source)

I'm just curious and I want to know what it means.


texts:
When Zelophead's daughter's demand inheritance on their father's behalf, they state:

...לָמָּה יִגָּרַע שֵׁם-אָבִינוּ מִתּוֹךְ מִשְׁפַּחְתּוֹ, כִּי אֵין לוֹ בֵּן.
Why is our father's name Yggr amongst his family, for he has no son...

Yggr is one of Odin's many names, and Odin had at least 2 sons, Thor and Baldr, and as many as 4 if you accept the גירסא that includes Víðarr and Váli.
Given that, why is Yggr used as an epithet for someone with no sons in Jewish Tradition when he did in fact have sons?

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


texts: was paroh the same paroh during the 210 years

texts: Was Paroh at the start the same as the one when it says "there arose a new king" (Exodus 1: 8)? How many parohs were there during the 210 years.


texts: Did the Tsalot HaAron in Shemot 25:14 refer to the sidewalls (left & right of Keruvim)?

texts:
Did the צַלְעֹ֣ת הָאָרֹ֑ן Tsalot HaAron in Shemot 25:14 refer to the sidewalls (left & right of Keruvim)?

HaKohanim הַכֹּהֲנִים֙ The-Priests in Devarim 31:9 (Deuteronomy 31:9) were required to carry HaAron הָאָרֹ֑ן (The-Ark) by lifting the poles kept in the rings attached to צַלְעֹ֣ת הָאָרֹ֑ן Tsalot HaAron [Shemot 25:14]. The צַלְעֹ֣ת Tsalot (side walls) refers to the “Length” of HaAron הָאָרֹ֑ן The-Ark, at the left & right of the Keruvim (not behind them). - Correct? -

4 Kohathite shoulders support the 4 corners of HaAron. The poles of HaAron would be parallel along the 2.5 cubits Length. The pole (left of the Keruv) rests on the right-shoulders of Kohathites (standing to the left of the Keruv). The pole (right of the Keruv) rests on the left-shoulders of the Kohathites (standing to the right of the Keruv). - Correct?

HaAron was traditionally carried on the shoulders of Benei Qehat בְנֵ֥י קְהָ֖ת the Sons of Kohath (Kohathites) stated וְלִבְנֵ֥י קְהָ֖ת לֹ֣א נָתָ֑ן כִּֽי־עֲבֹדַ֤ת הַקֹּ֙דֶשׁ֙ עֲלֵהֶ֔ם בַּכָּתֵ֖ף יִשָּֽׂאוּ in Numbers / Bamidbar 7:9. - If the Sons of Qehat & HaKohanim were approaching you with HaAron (without the blue wool cloth covering), you would see a Keruv's back bowing to דְבַר־יְ֠הֹוָה the Word of YHVH. - Correct?


texts:
In the book of Iyov chapter 4 starting in verse 12 Eliphaz seems to make a claim that he has had some sort of prophetic vision.

ואלי דבר יגנב ותקח אזני שמץ מנהו
יגבשעפים מחזינות לילה בנפל תרדמה על־אנשים דפחד קראני ורעדה ורב עצמותי הפחיד
טוורוח על־פני יחלף תסמר שערת בשרי יעמד ולא־אכיר מראהו תמונה לנגד עיני דממה וקול אשמע
A word came to me in stealth; My ear caught a whisper of it. In thought-filled visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, Fear and trembling came upon me, Causing all my bones to quake with fright. A wind passed by me, Making the hair of my flesh bristle. It halted; its appearance was strange to me; A form loomed before my eyes; I heard a murmur, a voice,

I would like to know if any sources consider this to have been an actual prophetic experience and that the words he recounts from verse 17-21 are to be treated as prophecy


texts:
This question is not about the anatomical validity of the claim (I got tired)!

The Shu"A Yo"D 40:1 rules (based probably on the Gm in Hulin 45b and Rashb"a):

  "הַלֵּב יֵשׁ לוֹ ג' חֲלָלִים" - there are 3 cavities of the heart (checking for Treyfah).

Are there any scriptural sources for that?
Can this be linked to the assertion that the heart is the dwelling of emotions (see "heart-labeled-the-seat-of-emotion"? If yes, how?


texts: Can one be a Kohen without being Jewish?

texts: I know that being Jewish is passed down maternally; however being a Kohen is passed down paternally. I was wondering in a theoretical situation, if a Kohen father were to have a child with a non-Jewish mother, what is the status of the child? I assume he wouldn't be Jewish, but is he still a Kohen? If he were to convert to Judaism, would he be considered a Kohen Jew, or would he be treated the same way as a Jew who didn't have a Kohen father?


texts: Halachic extension of the Giving of the Torah and marriage analogy

texts:
The sages frequently liken the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai to a chuppah (wedding ceremony), where Hashem is symbolized by the chosson (groom) and the Knesses Yisroel is symbolized by the kallah (bride).

In a similar analogy, the Sages liken the construction of the Golden Calf to adultery under the wedding canopy. In similar spirit, a midrash quoted by Rav Moshe Shapiro, brings that the 2nd commandment on the First Tablet (prohibition of idolatry) corresponds to the 2nd commandment on the Second Tablet (prohibition of adultery).

In this spirit, if we were to continue the analogy, there is a halacha that a woman who cheats on her husband becomes prohibited both to the husband and to the one she cheated with, and her husband must give her a divorce. If that is so, why didn't Hashem have to divorce us, G-d forbid?

I thought to answer following the Maharal in the introduction to Ohr Chadash where he writes that one of the reasons Hashem forced us to accept the Torah was to "tie His hands behind His back" so-to-speak -- since a rapist who rapes a girl, if she desires, must marry her and he can never divorce her again.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work in our case. The rapist has a lo taaseh (negative commandment) not to divorce and an oseh (positive commandment) to divorce, and it appears, if a wife were to cheat on a rapist, he has an obligation to give her a divorce.

Is there ability to halachically extend/justify this analogy?
Thank you very much.


texts:
Are they spread all round the nations? If so, how will they still be Jewish, surely they will have assimilated so many generations later? Or are they spread within the Jewish nation?

I learnt in the Talmud in Bava Basra 115b which states that Abaye says "we have a tradition saying no Shevet will ever get extinct". If so, where are these tribes?  It's always disturbed me.


texts: Is reading Toldos Yesh"u on Nittle-Nacht minhag? Who keeps it?

texts:
Toldos Yesh"u is a medevil polemical Hebrew text or related texts that describe a story of Yesh"u ha Notsri. It is not cerain when first written but scholars guess anywhere from 500 to 1000 CE. I want to know if this text was read on Nittel Nacht.

The tradition of not studying Torah or Mishneh on Nittel is well established:

Chasam Sofer 7:31; Makor Chaim of Chavos Yair 155; So was the custom of many Jewish communities including: Rav Yonason Eibashitz, Rav Yaakov Emden that so is custom of all Geonim, Rav Yisrael Salanter, Maharsha, Maharam Schick and others. See Nitei Gavriel Chanukah p. 385

Because Toldos is NOT Torah or Mishneh Torah or anything passed from the sages one assumes it ok to be read and indeed I suspect it seemed fitting at that time of the year. But I want to know for sure if this is a real minhag. To me it seems like no Torah study on Nittel is a real Minhag and reading Toldos came in response. But please prove to me this is a real custom or was. All I can find are Christian source quoted here http://thetorah.com/nittel-nacht-an-inverted-christmas-with-toledot-yeshu/

"A similar description appears about half a century earlier in the writings of Johannes Pfefferkorn (1469-1523),[3] and a few decades later, in those of Julius Conrad Otto (1562-1607)[4] and Samuel Friederich Brentz (converted in 1601),[5] all Jewish converts to Christianity. All three cases add that on Christmas Eve, Jews were accustomed to publically relate the story of Jesus, that is to say, they read the popular Jewish narrative Toledot Yeshu (“Life of Jesus”), also familiar as Ma‘aseh Toleh (“The Tale of the Hanged One”).
Former Jews attacking Judaism are the ones supplying this info, so I think it should be questioned.

Source:
 Ora Limor, “Judaism Examines Christianity: The Polemic of Nestor the Priest and Toledot Yeshu” (Hebrew), Pe‘amim 75 (1998): p. 116.

There is one Jewish author which theorizes in perhaps what is only only a suggestion: "Sarit Kattan Gribetz suggests that Toledot Yeshu was cast in the same literary mold as the Scroll of Esther, and like it, was publicly read on particular occasions, such as Purim and Christmas Eve."

Source:
Sarit Kattan Gribetz, “Hanged and Crucified: The Book of Esther and Toledot Yeshu,” in Toledot Yeshu (“The Life of Jesus”) Revisited: A Princeton Conference, eds. P. Schäfer, M. Meerson and Y. Deutsch (Tübingen, 2011), p. 176. For a similar claim, see Herbert W. Basser, “The Acts of Jesus,” in The Frank Talmage Memorial Volume, ed. B. Walfish, vol. 1 (Haifa, 1993), p. 276.


texts:
Some verses seem to indicate that God was seen. In Exodus 33:11

So the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks
to his friend. When Moses returned to the camp, his servant Joshua,
the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.

, in Judges 13:22

So Manoah said to his wife, “We will certainly die, for we have seen God.”

, in Genesis 17:1

Now when Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am God Almighty; Walk before Me, and be
blameless.

Then, there's Exodus 33:20

He further said, “You cannot see My face, for mankind shall not see Me
and live!”

which seem to indicate the opposite.
So, the question is, has anyone seen God?


texts: When Did Sukkot Lose Its Status As "THE" Hag?

texts:
In the Torah it seems like a few of the Hagim get some special status as being particularly significant. Pesah gets a lot of attention and a lot of rituals, Rosh Hashannah seems barely worth mentioning, and Yom Kippur seems much more tied into the temple than to a synagogue service. But Sukkot is a Hag that seems like it's rather important as it's one of the Shalosh Regalim, and as the Tankah continues it is referred to as "THE" Hag. Not only that, in the end times it's the one hag that the entire world will celebrate.

Zecharia 14: 16

  טז  וְהָיָה, כָּל-הַנּוֹתָר מִכָּל-הַגּוֹיִם, הַבָּאִים,
  עַל-יְרוּשָׁלִָם; וְעָלוּ מִדֵּי שָׁנָה בְשָׁנָה, לְהִשְׁתַּחֲוֺת
  לְמֶלֶךְ יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת, וְלָחֹג, אֶת-חַג הַסֻּכּוֹת.    16 And it shall
  come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came
  against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King,
  the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.

Even in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah there seems to be a special status given, like how the entire Torah was read to the people throughout the 7 days

Nehemiah 8

  יז  וַיַּעֲשׂוּ כָל-הַקָּהָל הַשָּׁבִים מִן-הַשְּׁבִי סֻכּוֹת,
  וַיֵּשְׁבוּ בַסֻּכּוֹת--כִּי לֹא-עָשׂוּ מִימֵי יֵשׁוּעַ בִּן-נוּן כֵּן
  בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, עַד הַיּוֹם הַהוּא; וַתְּהִי שִׂמְחָה, גְּדוֹלָה
  מְאֹד.    17 And all the congregation of them that were come back out of
  the captivity made booths, and dwelt in the booths; for since the days
  of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel
  done so. And there was very great gladness. יח  וַיִּקְרָא בְּסֵפֶר
  תּוֹרַת הָאֱלֹהִים, יוֹם בְּיוֹם--מִן-הַיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן, עַד הַיּוֹם
  הָאַחֲרוֹן; וַיַּעֲשׂוּ-חָג שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי
  עֲצֶרֶת כַּמִּשְׁפָּט.  {פ}   18 Also day by day, from the first day
  unto the last day, he read in the book of the Law of God. And they
  kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn
  assembly, according unto the ordinance. {P}

So my question is...What happened to the status of Sukkot? We seem to have lost any connection to the reading of the entire Torah, and now have "Simhat Torah" which is the finishing of the reading of the Torah...but this only happens because now we have two days of Hag. So that seems accidental rather than purposeful.

Also most Jews seem to clock out of Sukkot altogether, it's like they are too exhausted from Yom Kippur to give sukkot any thought. And the Jews who manage to make it to sukkot often celebrate it in a much diminished form, no longer sleeping/dwelling in the Sukkah and instead viewing it as a place that one is merely required to snack in. The Talmud also talks about the great parties and antics that would happen during sukkot, and all that seems to not exist anymore as well. We have Selihot festivals, special hazzanim for the "High Holydays," ans a litany of other stuff that we don't have for Sukkot. Heck, there aren't even very many sukkot specific songs, whereas there are all sorts of special songs and melodies for every other hag.

So my question is, when did Sukkot lose its status among religious Jewry to the point that it seems like the least of the Holydays.


texts:
A boy of Sefardic descent who is in the Dorm of a Yeshiva, does he light himself or does he rely on his parents lighting?

Is there a machlokes among the Sefardic Poskim themselves of what to do?

If they rely on parents then:

Does any one have a real experience with this question and what did they or the Sefardic student involve do ( I have a feeling they would light without a Bracha just not to seem like an outcast,at least if they where in Ashkenazi Yeshiva)?

Do different time Zones student in America versus parents in Israel or vice versa make a difference??


texts: Is it appropriately Jewish to use Psalms as a form of talisman?

texts:
While wandering around Israel, I noticed a group of youths asking the public to recite a psalm for the soldiers. Ok, I recited a Psalm.

I assumed these prayers were fulfilling what I saw as the traditional role, meditation, asking for individual and collective guidance, and asking and hoping for providential action which makes the world more right. But the folks were rather insistent on certain bureaucratic details, for instance that I recite a psalm that had not been read, and in clarifying why, in discussions, I slowly began to understand that they considered the action of reciting all the psalms, once completed, to directly lead to divine intervention. They believe that if they recite the prayers properly, the bombs and missiles will get stopped.

I was freaked out by this, as this sort of supernatural-magic kind of religion seemed to me to have been put to rest at least by the medieval era by Maimonides and others, perhaps earlier. But in later discussions with an ultra-orthodox fellow, I was pointed to a bunch of Rabbinical commentary, which I skimmed, which in an elliptical style he claimed gives support to the idea of Psalm-magic. The commentary was in flowery Hebrew, and it was pretty vague.

It was not clear to me that this was a part of contemporary Judaism. I am aware that the actions of prayer are supposed to be meaningful, but I had assumed that the mechanism of prayer was neither considered a quid-pro-quo, nor supernatural magic stemming from precisely completing a precise ritual, but providential actions and individual and collective guidance stemming from a common faith.

So what gives? Is this type of Psalm-magic universally considered part of Judaism?


texts: What is the relationship between the letters samekh and sin?  Did they ever have distinct sounds?  Why do they exist as separate letters?


texts: Should driving be permitted on Yom Tov for a choleh she-ein bo sakanah?

texts:
Since hav'arah (i.e. sparking a new fire) is only de-rabbanan on yom tov (according to some opinions), should there be more halakhic leeway for driving to obtain medical care on a holiday (not on Shabbath)?

Why or why not? Please cite your sources.


texts: Why didn't Joshua take Prisoners When conquering Israel?

texts:
Why didn't Joshua take prisoners when conquering Israel? In Joshua chapter 10 it lists a number of nations that they conquer and kill. In verse 35 it states:

  [they] destroyed every soul that was in [Eglon] it that day (Artscroll)

Why was it required to kill everyone though?


texts: Why is fem. description used to refer to days of Mashiach?

texts: Near the end of the Uva Letzion prayer, there is a phrase that refers to ימות המשיח. This sounds like a feminine ending. Shouldn't the phrase be ימי המשיח as the word יום is masculine?


texts:
I don't know if anyone has seen the Lipa Schmeltzer music video for Abi M'leibt, but I remember that when it first came out, many people on various forums were furious at the blatant bal tashchis that it contained. Spoiler: A carton of eggs gets smashed when  some groceries are thrown to the ground, and he throws out a cup of coffee that had "spoiled" milk in it.

My question is, is this really bal tashchis? I mean, he did throw out perfectly good food, but he did it for a reason - the music video; (which, I imagine, was beneficial to him and/or HASC (he made it for HASC's benefit concert)). So he did in fact use it for something, even if not the purpose originally intended.

Does this fall in the category of bal tashchis?
What about the other things they do in filmmaking? Blowing things up (which is not always special effects), smashing things, breaking things...

Is it considered bal tashchis to use things for a purpose other than the one they were made for?
What if that purpose is for entertainment only?


texts: Halacha of not being obligated to spend more than a fifth of one's money on a mitzvah

texts: It is brought down in halacha (Orach Chaim 656) that a person is not obligated to spend more than 20% of his money on performing a positive mitzvah.  Is the 20% calculated according to his total bank account, or is it calculated like ma'aser kesafim is, according to his yearly income.  For example, if a certain mitzvah would cost more than 20% of the man's income for that year, but it would be less than 20% of his total bank account that he has saved up from forever, would he be obligated to perform that mitzvah?


texts: Different flour:oil ratios in the mincha sacrifices -- how did the dough stay together?

texts:
If I understand correctly, different animal sacrifices had different amounts of flour & oil to be brought with them:

Measured in (eiphas of flour / hins of oil):

bull: 0.6
ram: 0.6
sheep: 0.4

Has anyone ever checked if these different ratios still hold together?


texts: If someone gets sick during a meal, assuming they are not incapacitated as a result, should they still Bentch, or do we say that they did not gain any nourishment and it's like they didn't eat (or at least like they didn't eat enough to constitute a meal)?


texts: Keeping your Tzitzis out as a segulah for shemiras einayim - Mishnah Berurah?

texts: I've heard that there is a Mishnah Berurah that says that keeping one's Tzitzis  out is a Segulah (protection or virtue) for Shemiras Einayim (to protect once eyes, i.e., not to look at prohibited things). Does anyone have the source for it?


texts: When the Bais Hamikdash stood, on Yom Kipper the kohen gadol read from the torah facing the people and on Sukos the king read from the torah facing the people, why does our Bima face the Aron? If krias hatorah mimics matan torah (Shaarei Eefraim 376,10) shouldn't we face the people not the aron? What does the Bima represent that it faces the aron and not the people?  Don't say the mizba'ach then it would need to face North (right of the aron).


texts: Is Shushan Purim observed (in theory) in Shush, Iran?

texts:
Shushan, Achashveirosh's capital, is identified with the modern Iranian archaeological site of Susa. A city, Shush, has been established nearby.

In modern-day Shush, (if any Jews lived there), what day would Purim be celebrated on?

Ancient Susa had a wall since before the time of Yehoshua (according to Wikipedia), so that's not a problem.

The real question is, i suppose, is the modern city close enough to the ancient one to be considered the same?
I do know that in T'verya, even though the ancient city had a wall, the modern city (for the most part) does not celebrate Shushan Purim, because it isn't really so close. As for those who do, Rabbi Daniel Sperber says that it is a minhag ta'ut, a mistaken custom.


texts:
Looking at the basis for our covenant with G-d, I noticed G-d said to Avraham (Bereshit 17:1): “Walk before Me”, which is sometimes understood to mean: “Serve Me”. And also (Bereshit 17:9): “You shall keep My covenant”.

Afterwards G-d Himself says regards this in
Bereshit 26:5 that Avraham obeyed the Voice of the Almighty and indeed kept it.

I noticed some similarities looking at the story of Mount Sinai. First G-d says (Shemot 19:5): “If you will obey My voice” and “keep My covenant”.

The people response was: “All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient (i.e. we will obey and keep).”

Secondly I noticed G-d saying (Bereshit 17:7): “I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to thy G-d and to thy seed after thee.”

While in Shemot 6:7 G-d promises that He will take them as His own people and that He will be their G-d.

Many more similarities can be found.

These covenants seems to be based on two principals. From G-ds side He makes certain promises, from the human side commitment and obedience is being asked. It all starts with acknowledging G-d, and accepting Him as G-d, but once we do this, it seems one needs to show obedience (we make ourselves avadim,  to be His servants, and He promises to be our G-d).

With obedience to seem to be such a big part of our covenant/relationship with G-d, why isn’t it the first commandment to be found after getring to know G-d?

Isn’t serving G-d the biggest Mitzvah of them all? One that covers all other commandmens, one that enconpasses the entire  range of what’s being asked of us? Ofcourse obedience and service is asked and commanded many times, but are there any commentaries which teach that serving G-d is the basis/main item for our entire covenantial relationship?


texts:
This question may be of a broad nature, but I just want to know that what are are prophecies for the messiah?

Since  Christianity claims that Jesus fulfilled 44 prophecies, I am interested to know what are the predictions?

There may be many from Rabbis, but I am interested in the ones from Tanakh.


texts: Why does fruit juice, when mixed with flour, not count as chametz, since it contains water?

texts: How can mixing flour with fruit juice be permitted on Passover, since all fruit juice, even pure juice directly squeezed from fruit always contains water?. Water, H2O, is simply a chemical component of fruit juice, as it is also of wine, milk and honey. Only oil could possibly be water-free. In substances like milk and wine there is always a large amount of water. This water is not added in any way, but part of the very definition of these substances. So to my knowledge such a mixture would be chametz.


texts: Tur CM 123:16: "שאין לך מציל ממון חבירו"

texts:
I'm struggling with one particular phrase in the Tur (CM 123:16). Most of it is clear until we get to:

  אבל אם התובע במדינה זו והנתבע במדינה אחרת הרי זה עושה מצוה שאין לך
  מציל ממון חבירו גדול מזה שאם אי אתה אומר כך כל אחד יטול ממון חבירו
  וילך למדינת הים:

I've got as far as: But if the plaintiff is in this country and the defendant is in a different country, behold one does a mitzvah... and there I'm lost. I think it's the phrase "שאין לך מציל ממון חבירו" that's foxing me. Looking for it in similar texts (eg Radak to Genesis 14:20) reveals it's something to do with a 'finder's fee' but this doesn't assist much.

Can anyone help?


texts: Is there any issue with chametz sold to a non-Jew being visible during pesach? For example, if I sell my whiskey, can I keep the whiskey in a glass enclosure in the living room where it could be seen?


texts: When and how often would someone say Kiddush Levana (Blessing for the moon) if he were on another planet?

texts:
This M.Y. answer says that there are differing views as to whether someone is exempt from mitzvoth while in space.

If we were to follow the opinion that one is obligated, should a person on Jupiter be saying Kiddush Levana for each of its 62 known moons ? What if more than one moon is visible?

Or, is Kiddush Levana only done regarding Earth's moon? Does it need to be visible to the naked eye, or what if one on Jupiter viewed Earth's moon in a telescope or it just appears as a "star"?

My question would apply to any planet that had multiple moons.


texts: A menorah should preferably be within 10 tefachim from the ground (though higher than 3 tefachim). Are these ten tefachim measured to the base of the menorah, or to its top, or to the actual level of the flame (e.g., if glass inserts are used)?


texts:
I heard if it rains on the second (or first?) day of Shavuos, it will rain at some point during each of the next 40 (?) days.

It definitely has rained a decent amount, but is this a real thing? and if so what is the source for it?


texts: Are there Torah Moocs (Massive Online Open Courses)?

texts:
In the past couple years MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses) have become more and more popular and well known.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/04/education/edlife/massive-open-online-courses-are-multiplying-at-a-rapid-pace.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

Coursera, Udacity and Edx are the main providers. Does anyone know if these providers or another smaller provider or university offers Judaic Studies courses? The potential for teaching torah on a high level to a large audience is exciting.


texts: How to adjust the knot on tefillin shel rosh? (double daled)

texts:
Sometimes the knot on the tefillin shel rosh needs to be adjusted, either due to growth, haircut, or borrowing a pair of tefillin.

How is that knot adjusted?
What piece of the retzuah (strap) should be pulled, in which direction? How would you make it bigger or smaller?

  This question is about the double daled knot. For the single daled knot, see this question.


texts: the A"H in C"M 263:2 says that mitzvas asei of hashavas aveidah(hasheiv teshiveim) applies only once you pick the object up, however in C:M 259:1 he says it starts once you see the object


texts:
Exodus 12:3-6 says:

3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a] for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.

These verses seem to conflict with how Exodus 12:21 says that the Passover Lamb was chosen and slaughtered on the same day (which was the night of the death of all firstborn Egyptians).

21 Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go at once and select the animals for your families and slaughter the Passover lamb.

Verse 21 seems to say that the lambs are being chosen on the same day they are killed, while verses 3-6 say that the lamb is selected four days prior to their slaughter.

Is there any way to reconcile these differences?


texts: Why are people going back to paskining like the Rambam?

texts:
I have heard personally (and seen in chat) people (who are not Teimanim [for whom there is a tradition to rule like the Rambam]) ruling like the Rambam. I have heard that he has the authentic tradition, etc.

Why are people going back to the Rambam over, say, the Mordechai, the Tur, the Rif, R"i Megash, Tosfos, etc?

The Rif and the R"i Megash were before the Rambam and the Tosfos were contemporaries.

Moreover, the Mordechai and Tur quoted earlier poskim, some of whom lived around the same time as the Rambam. Yet, I have never heard of anyone following exclusively the Mordechai.

I have heard (DoubleAA IIRC) say that it's possible that it's because the Rambam wrote on Kol Hatorah Kula. But that doesn't seem to be a good reason. People rule like the Mishna Brura, Chayey Adam, Kitzur over, say, the Aruch Hashulchan even though the Aruch Hashulchan covers more ground.

Why are there people who exclusively follow the Rambam?


texts: Does one need to perform a delayed brit milah at the first possible time?

texts: If a baby is sick on the 8th day, the brit is pushed off until the baby is healthy. Once the mohel and doctor determine that the baby is healthy, does the brit need to be performed right away (on that day), or can it be scheduled to happen a few days later?


texts: Is a Jew allowed to marry a non-observant Jew?

texts:
Is a Jew allowed to marry another Jew who is generally unconcerned with observing Judaism?

On one hand, the first Jew's observance could be negatively affected by the second Jew's non-observance, and there could be other complications in the marriage if there are differing observance levels. On the other hand, marrying another Jew ensures that the non-observant Jew won't marry a non-Jew and produce non-Jewish or assimilated Jewish descendants.


texts: How Could Jezebel, the Worshipper of Baal, be the Mother of Two Kings of Israel?

texts: Jezebel was not Jewish by birth (Kings 1:16:31), nor do the verses say she converted. How did her two sons become kings of Israel and why didn't anybody like Elijah or Elisha (and later on especially Ezra) comment on this apparent abomination?


texts:
I have a plata--an electric warming tray that does not have knobs or adjustments. I can leave it plugged in throughout Shabbat. I want to use it correctly when I have guests and to up my observance.

Can I use it to reheat solid food from the refrigerator on Shabbat? Do I need to put an empty cooking tray between the plata and the food container? I can move the food to the plata on Shabbat morning, right?

Any other issues with using the plata? Should I not stir the food while on the plata or does that issue not apply?

I can't reheat soup or other liquids on the plata, right?


texts: Do we need to make Birkas Mein Shalosh after havdalah?

texts:
I know that the minimum amount of wine to be drunk for havdalah is only a cheekful (m’lo lugmav). But realistically, often the person reciting havdalah will drink the whole--or almost the whole--cup of wine, which is usually larger than the strict definition of a revi'it as 3-3.3 ounces.*   So, is a birkas mein shalosh required afterward?

*(See also here for a comment stating that one must actually drink a full r'viis in order to avoid the shaylo in question.)


texts: Elisha cursed Gechazi with permanent Tzaares for all his generations. Is this the root of modern day Psoriasis? note the similarity in sound of illness...


texts: How much time does it generally take to get Semicha?

texts:
What is the average amount of time that it takes to get Yoreh Yoreh Smicha?
Yadin Yadin?

And in Israel to pass each of the Rabannut tests? To get "Rav Shchuna"? "Rav Ir"?

I understand that it depends on the particular person, but I'd like to get a sense of the range.


texts: Drinking on Purim OTHER THAN at the required "Festive Meal" (Seudas Mitzvah)

texts:
A source from this question quotes the Rema that one should be "joyous" on the night of Purim as well as the day.  That citation doesn't explicity address getting intoxicated.

This site quotes many sources which link the mitzvah of intoxication on Purim directly to the seudas mitzvah.

Is there any obligation to get drunk on Purim, when NOT in the middle of the seudas mitzvah?

Indeed, is one even allowed to get drunk on the other hours of Purim, if there is no mitzvah to drink outside of the obligatory Festive Meal?


texts: Is murder allowed for someone who is stealing?

texts:
Under how I have interpreted United States laws I believe murder is allowed if someone is stealing in certain circumstances.  It is used as an act of protection and self-defense.

Is this allowed under Judaism?  If so what logic is used?  Defensive wars doesn't meet the same criteria.


texts:
Bereishis 3:22 writes: וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֱלֹהִים, הֵן הָאָדָם הָיָה כְּאַחַד מִמֶּנּוּ, לָדַעַת, טוֹב וָרָע; וְעַתָּה פֶּן-יִשְׁלַח יָדוֹ, וְלָקַח גַּם מֵעֵץ הַחַיִּים, וְאָכַל, וָחַי לְעֹלָם

The bolded words make it seem like Hashem is referring to multiple people/beings for man is now "one of us". Who is this group Hashem refers to?


texts: Is a prophylactic procedure sufficient cause to necessitate “bensching gomel”

texts:
The Gem Brochos 54b says

ארבעה צריכין להודות:יורדי הים, הולכי מדברות ומי שהיה חולה ונתרפא ומי שהיה חבוש בבית האסורים

Four types of people have to give thanks … sick people who were healed

Medical practice includes prophylactic procedures.  (See the results of  this Google search). Surgery, for example, can be instituted to remove a potential threat to the patient's health even though the patient exhibits no symptoms now.

Is there discussion in the poskim whether a  prophylactic procedure on a patient without symptoms is sufficient cause to necessitate “bensching gomel” = Blessing of Thanksgiving ?


texts: How are sorcery or witchcraft viewed in Judaism and Jewish Mysticism?

texts:
How are sorcery or witchcraft viewed in Judaism? I have heard that it has something to do with Kabbalah. Please correct me if I am wrong. Also Solomon (may peace and blessings be upon him) is falsely accused of having exercised control over demons and genies in his reign with the help of sorcery.

According to David Livingston, author of The Dying God, the Kabbalah is a system of magic and sorcery developed by Jews during their exile in Babylon.


texts: Why do we say that Hashem chose us if He offered to the Torah to all the other nations first?

texts: According to Midrash Sifri (Deuteronomy 343), Hashem first went around to all the nations and offered them the Torah before offering it to Bnei Yisroel.   So why do we say in Kiddush and Birchas HaTorah that "Hashem Has Chosen Us From All of The Nations" when it would seem that we are the actually last option, and weren't initially chosen?


texts: A couple years ago, I chanced upon a site for creating a tzuras hadaf layout on the Gemara. The website used a custom markup (using tags) to create the layout, and it was a community project that anyone could contribute to. Now I'm looking for it and I can't find it. Does anyone know the name of the site?


texts:
If one were to arrange fridge magnets of letters to spell G-d's name, what are the halachic ramifications of rearranging them (erasing)?

If the magnets were small dots, rather than letters, but were arranged closely so that it still displayed G-d's name, what difference is there to the above?

The former can be likened to writing letters on small pieces of paper, before sticking them down together, and the latter can be likened to the atoms that make up normal handwriting, or a dot matrix printer.

(This question is similar in nature to e-ink.)


texts: Why is Pesach called זמן חירותנו, when we did not have the Torah yet?

texts:
Our sages tell us, "there is no free man except one that involves himself in Torah learning" (see Avos 6:2).

If that's the case, why is Pesach called זמן חירותנו, a time of our freedom, when we did not have the Torah yet?


texts: Is one obligated to do some kind of Jewish outreach today

texts:
Considering the high assimilation / intermarriage rates today, is there an obligation to try to do some kind of outreach according to one's ability (either personally such as shabbat guests or monetarily, i.e. donating to kiruv organizations)

Perhaps from the verse "lo ta'amod al dam re'echa" (Leviticus 19:16) or some other source.


texts: Where does the Mishna Berurah talk about hishtadlus for parnassah?

texts: I remember the Mishna Berurah (I think it was in the shaar hatziun or the ber halacha) writing that in order to determine how much a person should work for their livelihood they should do a thought experiment. Specifically, they should imagine that they are required to support somebody else and determine how much work would be necessary. Whatever conclusion you come up with as to what is necessary for the other person's livelihood, that should be how much you work for yourself. Does anybody know where he writes about this?


texts: Can you become "more tamei"? If not, why do we worry about it today?

texts: Without the temple and access to the ritual of the red heifer, we're all tamei (ritually impure) today with no way to fix it.  Yet we work to avoid situations that would make us tamei (e.g. kohanim still don't go near most dead, aside from close relatives).  Why is this?  Can one become "more" tamei with each exposure?  Or does it not have anything to do with our state but, rather, is about not developing bad habits that will be hard to break when we do have a third temple?


texts: Was "correcting" left-handed children something traditionally done by Jews?

texts:
In many societies, efforts are made to "convert" children who are naturally left-handed to using their right hands. As I understand it, modern neurology strongly frowns upon this practice.

I recall stories of my (Polish) great-grandmother insisting on her grandchildren writing with their right hands; how much of that was Jewish, vs. Polish, vs. superstitious?

Was it more, less, or equally prevalent in Jewish societies vs. their hosts?

There are plenty of halachic discussions about left-handed people (with regards to all sorts of mitzvahs that specify a hand); at any point did our sources discuss this "correcting" practice?


texts:
In the Shaar Yichud of Chovos Halevavos, one of the premises for proving that God exists is that there cannot be an infinite chain of cause/effect hence there must be one Cause which had no previous cause (i.e. God)

Does anyone know the logic behind this? why can't there be an infinite chain of cause/effect?


texts:
The Midrash (Vayikra Rabba 30:12) says Hadasim refer to Jews who have good deeds but lack Torah:
וַעֲנַף עֵץ עָבֹת, אֵלּוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל, מָה הֲדַס יֵשׁ בּוֹ רֵיחַ וְאֵין בּוֹ טַעַם, כָּךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשׁ בָּהֶם שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּהֶם מַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים וְאֵין בָּהֶם תּוֹרָה
yet the Gemara (Sanhedrin 93a) says Hadasim refer to the righteous:

כיון שנסתכל בחנניה מישאל ועזריה נתקררה דעתו שנאמר (זכריה א, ח) והוא
עומד בין ההדסים אשר במצולה ואין הדסים אלא צדיקים שנאמר (אסתר ב, ז)
ויהי אומן את הדסה - Once He looked at Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah He was placated, as
it is stated: “And he stood among the myrtle bushes [hadassim] that
were in the depths [bametzula].” And hadassim is referring to no one
but the righteous, as it is stated: “And he raised Hadassah, that is
Esther, his uncle’s daughter” (Esther 2:7). Hadassah is an appellation
for the righteous Esther.

How do we reconcile these two definitions of Hadasim according to Chazal?


texts:
Who knows thirty-one?
Please cite/link your sources, if possible. After about one business day, I will:

Upvote all interesting answers.

Accept the best answer.

Go on to the next number.


texts: Birkat hamazon w/ cup of wine Vs. Prohibition on wine during shavua shechal bo

texts:
For one whose custom is to drink wine (or grape juice) after reciting Birkat Ha-Mazon and to refrain from eating wine during shavua she-chal bo Tisha b'Av:

Does the requirement to use a cup trump the prohibition of not consuming wine, or should one continue to bentch al ha-kos?


texts:
The word Moadim (מועדים), Moadei (מועדי) or singular Mo'ed (מועד) is most often translated as a appointed (fixed) time (or season).

From the visual look of it these words seem to have a connection with the word for 'witness' ed (עד). My question is how the word mo'ed got it's meaning of 'a appointed, designated, or fixed time' when looking at this possible connection (even though they may not be related or connected at all).

Can one expand the meaning of Mo'ed to something like a time to bear witness (give testimony)?

P.s. it also reminded me of the Ohel description in Bamidbar 17 אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד in comparingson to the Ohel mentioned a few verses later: אֹהֶל, הָעֵדֻת often translated as the Tent of meeting and the Tent of testimony.


texts:
The Sanhedrin is in place.

There is a plague going round and only one doctor has the skills to cure it. Unfortunately, this doctor is a wanton desecrator of Shabbos and has violated it in the presence of witnesses with warnings etc.

If he is executed, there will be nobody to save people from the plague.

Must the doctor not be executed due to pikuach nefesh?

Is someone's indispensability a consideration?


texts: Is there still a mesora on how to write the Torah in Greek?

texts: Do we still have a mesora for the translation of the Torah into Greek, and if so, is this the LXX/Septuagint commonly used by Gentiles? Do we still have a mesorah for any other seforim into Greek?


texts:
At Boi Veshalom (in Lecha Dodi), we turn around to greet the Shabbos queen. Firstly, to which direction are we supposed to turn? Is it towards the door of the synagogue, always to the rear of the synagogue, or towards the west?

Second, I've noticed that many bow at the last words of the stanza. How should this bowing be performed (at which words and towards which sides?)?


texts: Can one use Chanukkah lights/candles for a mitzvah?

texts:
One is generally not allowed to benefit from the light of the Channukah candles (see discussion here) but does that include using the light to perform a mitzvah?

Note: I'm pretty sure that this is discussed by the Ba'al Hameor and/or Ramban in Melchemes H', if anyone wants to look it up


texts: Tangentially related to this question - Which tzitzit do I kiss? - Which part of the tzitzit is to be seen/kissed?  Many have the custom to kiss the tzitzit when reciting the 3rd paragraph of the shema upon reaching the word tzitzit.  Others have the practice to look at them when reciting the words “o’re-etem oto” (and I suppose there are those who do both).  But the question is which part of the tzitzit does one kiss or look at - the knots or the strings?  Is one part or the other the essence of the mitzvah and the other just an embellishment or are both really just 2 halves of the same coin?


texts: Story of a Great Rabbi who becomes an Apikores

texts:
The following story appears in the Talmud ( I think ), but I don't know where:

There was a Rabbi who saw a man and his son come along, and the father sent his son up a tree to do shiluach haKen.  The son falls from the tree and dies, and the Rabbi becomes an apikores, iirc citing that the son died after performing two mitzvot whose reward is lengthening of days.  The son of this Rabbi, who is also a Rabbi comes and says his father didn't know the principle that there is only reward in olam haba.

Where does this story appear?


texts: Learning one mesechta l'ilui Nishmas for two people

texts:
It is customary to learn mishnayos in order to elevate the soul of the deceased. Can one learn one tractate of Mishna and have in mind two deceased people l'ilui nishmasom, or can you only have in mind one mesechta per person?

I know this will not be mentioned in the classical poskim since I looked, but I am sure there are contemporary poskim who address this question. Has anyone seen anyone who addresses this?


texts:
How often must a worker in a spice store say "Borei Minei B'Samim"?Pretty simple question.

I assume that once per day? Or is he exempt because he is expose to it constantly and this is part of his job? He has no intention to specifically smell spices, because he works there. In a sense, perhaps, after a while, he becomes "immune" to the smell. Maybe, then, he is exempt?


texts:
How do we know that our purpose is not to be bad? Surely evil men have, by extension, caused some good. And even without that idea, we have no use what our purpose is on this earth -- how do we know that us being bad isn't part of the divine plan?

Or, put another way, how can it be both that God wants us to follow His will, and also evil/bad people be part of the divine plan?

Are there any sources that discuss this idea?


texts: Where can this quote be found in Rambam: "Do not consider it proof just because it is written in books, for a liar who will deceive with his tongue will not hesitate to do the same with his pen."?


texts: Are there any statements in ancient Jewish literature that refer to the dead as being like angels?


texts: Is a convert considered a real Jew if not keeping kosher?

texts:
If a person converts to Judaism is he/she considered a real Jew if he/she doesn’t keep kosher?

I’m concerned because my mother converted properly and in accordance with Jewish law, but she never kept kosher.


texts:
A big health problem today is not losing weight. Can we find a verse in the Torah or maybe a Rabbi in the Talmud talking about this problem?

They must have had weight problems back then.


texts: Looking for a good version of Maimonides Introduction to his Commentary on the Mishna available online

texts:
I while ago, I read through most of an English translation Rambam's Introduction to his Commentary on the Mishnah. I think it was an earlier edition of this one, but I'm not sure.

I'm looking for a good online version of the hebrew (either in download format or straight text).

I found this, but I don't know anything about its accuracy.

Some of the things I would prefer include:

Lots of references and sources
Clear and easy to read
If I have a choice, I would prefer something I can download (e.g. pdf).

I guess I'm looking for something close what is printed in the Hakdamot volume of the Rambam Leam.


texts: I just observed an on-line remote funeral service for my cousin. As part of the service, the Rabbi took out a bag of sand which he said was specially flown in from Jerusalem. He spread the sand in the grave. He said it is believed that when the Messiah comes, all of those who are buried in Jerusalem will arise in good shape. If you are not buried in Jerusalem, you will have to roll over there and will not arrive in good shape. In the 1st century, therefore, someone came up with the idea that if you are buried with some sand from Jerusalem, then all will be well when the Messiah comes. Can anyone shed some light on this practice?


texts: Did any of the gentile prophets receive a divine message to be directed to the Jews?

texts:
Was Bilaam a prophet to both the Jews and the gentiles ?
According to the site member "Baby Seal":

Bilaam's prophecy (Num 23, 24), contained much pertaining to Israel, and may have been his only prophetic experience (Nahmanides on Num 22:31).

Yet some other posters believe that gentile prophets weren't sent to the Jews at all and that their prophecies were directed only to the nations of the world.
Did any of the gentile prophets receive a divine message to be directed to the Jews, besides the gentiles?


texts: For a cold dessert, I often like to freeze a cup of grape juice and then eat it with a spoon like an Italian ice.  What is the appropriate bracha to say before and after eating this delicacy?