texts: Wrapping up Tefilin to form dove's wings

texts: Gemara Shabbos 49a mentions a story about Elisha Baal Kenafayim who was saved by his Tefilin turning into dove's wings. Magen Avraham Orach Chaim 28:4 says the Minhag is to wrap the Tefilin like wings. How would you wrap your Tefilin like wings? Is this a Minhag that is still practiced?


texts: Hand gesture origin for "David Melech Yisrael" song

texts: What is the origin of the gestures for the song whose text is "David melech yisrael, chai chai v'kayam"?  (An example would be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWItJ0TF2fw.)


texts: Why on the pesach seder do we eat the matzo which represents freedom before we eat the maror which represents slavery?

texts: Why on the pesach seder do we eat the matzah which represents freedom before we eat the maror which represents slavery?


texts: What Bracha do you make on (Kasha) buckwheat?

texts: What Bracha Rishona and Bracha Achrona do you make on (Kasha) buckwheat?


texts: Is one allowed to eat a fertilized chicken egg at any time of the chick's development?

texts:
Genesis 9:4:

  אַךְ־בָּשָׂ֕ר בְּנַפְשׁ֥וֹ דָמ֖וֹ לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ׃

Sefaria.com translation:

  Only flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye
  not eat.

Rash"i commentary explains that in this verse, we learn the prohibition of  - you are not allowed to eat a live  animal - אבר מן החי

At what point would this prohibition occur regarding fertilized chicken eggs? A chicken hatches from its egg about 3 weeks after the hen lays it. Suppose that you keep the eggs in an incubator, and eventually you can see the egg bouncing around and hear the chick chirping in the egg as it is trying to break the egg shell. There is no question that there is a live chick inside. However, it is still in the egg, so it is not "alive" in the sense that it is out of its "shelled" environment in the "world". Would you be allowed to eat the egg with the live chick, then? What would be the (excuse the pun) "breaking point" at which you would be prohibited from eating the fertilized egg?


texts: What gives rabbis permission to alter the reading of a Biblical verse?

texts:
There are several places in the Talmud, where rabbis alter the reading of a Biblical verse to teach something. an example of this is:

Berakhot 64a (Sefaria):

  אמר רבי אלעזר אמר רבי חנינא תלמידי חכמים מרבים שלום בעולם שנאמר
  (ישעיהו נד, יג) וכל בניך למודי ה' ורב שלום בניך אל תקרי בניך אלא בוניך

  R. Eleazar said in the name of R. Hannina:  The disciples of the wise
  increase peace in the world; as it is said, "And all thy children
  shall be taught of the Lord ; and great shall be the peace of thy
  children" (Is. liv. 13). Read not banayik "thy children" but bonayik - thy
  builders

Granted that the verse, above, is from Isaiah and not the Torah. However, I believe that the changing of pronunciation is used in verses from the Torah, as well. (Can't locate the example at the moment.)

Aren't the words and pronunciation Masoretic and the correct pronunciation should not be changed? I understand that in Hebrew, the vowels are not written, so the concept that the rabbis are using is within the freedom that since there are no vowels, it "could" be pronounced in some other way.

Nonetheless, how do the rabbis have the permission to alter the pronunciation since that was not what was originally meant? Also, what prevents any rabbi, currently, or even a wise student to alter the pronunciation of any word from anywhere in the Bible just to accommodate his idea or teaching? Is there some leniency in using this technique with other sections of Tanac"h outside of the Torah?


texts: PTIJ: Travelling on named roads which have a Halachic status

texts:
There are many streets and roads with food and Biblically related names. Would such streets impart Kedushah, Tumah, or other Halachic statuses on the traveler?
For example, is it Assur to travel on Ives Dairy Road while Fleishig, or on Hamburger Road while Milchig (from hard cheese like Parmesan)?
Similarly, can one travel on North Bread Street or Cracker Street during Pesach? Do only Sefardim have a Heter to travel on Rice Street or Rice Road during Pesach? Must they check each crevice for Chametz?
Must one wait until Moshiach comes to be able to travel on Pork Avenue, assuming it chews its cud?
Which part of Giraffe Road may one enter and exit?
May a Rasha travel on Leviathan Street?
May a Kohen travel on Tamei Road?
May one walk on Leather Street during Yom Kippur?
Are only gentiles allowed to travel on Goy Road? Can the inverse be said about Jew Road?
Is it a violation of V'nishmartem Meod L'nafshoseichem to travel on Danger Street?
According to Halacha, can one who's Makpid Cholov Yisroel travel on Milk Road if it is maintained by gentiles? What if a Jew is always present?
Can one be Yotzei going to Gehinnom by going to Hell Street?
Can one attain Dveikus L'Hashem by living on Hashem Drive?
Did Mordechai refuse to travel on Haman Way?
Do we have a Chiyuv to destroy Amalek Street?
Is it suggested for converts to travel through Jethro's Road?

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


texts: What's the difference between לְמִינוֹ and לְמִינֵהוּ?

texts:
B'reshis 1:11–12, :25; Sh'mini 11:15–22; and R'e 14:14–15 seem to use "לְמִינוֹ" and "לְמִינֵהוּ" interchangeably, and both words are generally translated the same way (usually something like the JPS's "after its kind").

What, if anything, is the difference in meaning between these words (in these contexts)?
If there is no difference in meaning, then why is each used where it is?


texts: What should you be doing during the repetition of the Amidah?

texts:
I asked a posek once, Rabbi Schabes, if you're allowed to learn torah during the repetition of the Amidah. He said that it's prohibited to learn at this time.

What exactly should you be doing if anything at all during the repetition of the Shemona Esrei aside from reciting Amen, Baruch-Hoo-Uvaruch-Shemo, Kiddusha and Modim Derabanim in the appropriate places?

With nothing to do, it's very easy to wander away with your thoughts--making the whole repetition seem useless.


texts: Why are there people who think there is no Mitzva to actively pursue Binyan Habayis (building the Temple) Vhakravas Korbanos (and offering sacrifices) Bzman Hazeh (in this time)? What are they relying upon?


texts: What are the circumstances of the fulfillment of Ezekiel's vision of the temple?

texts: Ezekiel (Yechezkel) 40 begins a section about a vision of a temple with priests and sacrifices and feasts.  The detailed descriptions of this temple seem to indicate that a literal (as opposed to figurative) temple is being described.  Should it be identified with the one built after the Babylonian captivity?  And if not, when and under what circumstances will it be built?


texts: Why Mishnah doesn't mention Halochos of Mishloach Manot, Matanot laEvionim and the Seudah?

texts: Following my previous question on the origin of Purim Halochos, I wondered why the Mishnah doesn't mention Halochos of Mishloach Manot,  Matanot laEvionim, and the Seudah and only mentions a lot of Halachot of reading the Megillah?


texts: How does bringing Binyamin to Egypt prove that the brothers are not spies?

texts:
In Bereishit 42:19-20 Yosef says that by allowing one of them to be imprisoned and the rest returning and bringing back their other brother, this would prove that they are not spies.

I've read various Mikra'ot Gedolot commentaries, and I understand the Midrash that says that they entered via separate gates to look for Yosef. Because they didn't all enter in one gate, Yosef accused them of being spies. So, I understand how he arrives at his accusation.

But, in reading the commentaries, I'm not seeing anything that explains the connection of bringing down their other brother absolves them of the spy accusation.

In light of @robev's comment, I'm adding some extra clarification of a nuance I see in various verses. I originally concentrated on Bereishit 42:16 where Yosef says that he will test to see if what the brothers said -  namely, that they were all brothers of the same family and all they did was come to buy food - was true. If they couldn't do that, then they were spies.

However, when the brothers relay the story to Ya'akov in verse 34 they say that Yosef said, "In this way I will know that you are not spies, but you are honest people."

There's a bit of a nuance I see in this second verse. To me, it implies not just proving that they were correct in their claim, but they also had to prove that Yosef's claim that they were spies was wrong.

Thus, in providing defense to the accusation, they may have had to do both according to Yosef's demand, (in most U.S. court cases, (and perhaps, in halacha, as well) as I understand, when the defense provides proof that his claim is right, it doesn't necessarily counter the accusation, and it may not be a defense at all.) or, to my original claim, that the proof of their original claim that they were brothers of one family contradicted Yosef's claim.


texts: Why do we change the Haftarah for Simchas Torah?

texts:
Megillah 31a says the following regarding the Simchas Torah reading:

  למחר קורין וזאת הברכה ומפטירין (מלכים א ח, כב) ויעמד שלמה

  On the next day [after Shmini Atzeres] we read Vezos HaBeracha, and we read as the Haftarah from “And Shlomo stood up” (Melachim 1:8:22).

Every shul I’ve ever been to, of any nusach, reads the beginning of Sefer Yehoshua as the Simchas Torah Haftarah, a different Haftarah than the one prescribed by the Gemara. Why do we change it?

This question is asked by Tosfos, but they leave it unanswered.

  למחר קרינן וזאת הברכה ומפטירין ויעמוד שלמה - ויש מקומות שנהגו להפטיר בויהי אחרי מות משה ושיבוש הוא שהרי הש"ס אין אומר כן ויש אומרים שרב האי גאון תקן לומר ויהי אחרי מות משה אבל אינן יודעין הסברא אמאי שנה סדר הש"ס:

  Some places have the Minhag to read as the Haftarah from “And it was after Moshe’s death,” and it’s a mistake, for the Gemara doesn’t say this. Some say that Rav Hai Gaon established that we say “And it was after Moshe’s death,” but they don’t know the reason why he changed from the order of the Gemara.

So what is the answer to Tosfos’ question? Why did Rav Hai Gaon institute this Haftarah instead of the one prescribed by the Gemara?

To clarify: I am not asking why we read from Yehoshua; I am asking why we don’t read from Melachim Aleph.


texts: Kel (Melech) Chanun V'Rachum -- do you say Melech?

texts: Some siddurs have the phrase "Ki Kel Melech Chanun V'Rachum Ata" at the conclusion of Ya'aleh v'Yavo.  Some have Melech in parentheses; some don't have it at all.  Can anyone tell me something about where these variants come from, and why?


texts: Ya'akov claiming to be Esav - the Anochi versus Ani

texts:
As Yakov presents the food that he has prepared for Yitzchok in order to receive the blessings, he says: אָנֹכִי עֵשָׂו בְּכֹרֶךָ - Genesis 27:19.
Rashi comments that what Yakov was really saying was: "I am the one" [who is bringing the food to you], [and] Eisav [is] your first born, thus separating the statement of Ya'akov of anochi, I, from Esav bichorecha, Esav is your firstborn (in response to Yitzchak’s query of his identity).
I liked the interpretation and I found an explanation on the matter:

The problem: From where did Rashi derive this interpretation? What led
Rashi away from the more simpler and obvious interpretation that Yakov
was saying "I am Eisav your first born" in order to trick Yitzchok so
he may receive the brochos.
The solution : The Taamim (cantillations) are divided into two groups.
One that warrants a pause after them and another that lead intos and
connects the current word to the following word. The Taam on the word
"Anochi" is a Pashta which is a cantillation or Taam that places a
pause or comma after it. The following two words "Eisav Bechorecha"
Eisav your firstborn, is punctuated with the Taam of Zakef Koton a
Taam that joins the two words together as if there is no pause between
them.
In essence the Taam divides these words into two statements. The words
following the punctuation of the Taam are saying I am, followed by an
independent statement "Eisav your first born" with a comma or pause
after the word I. The words Eisav your first born are also according
to the Taam to be read as a statement on it's own. Therefore Rashi,
following the Taam, understood Yakov to be saying two statements "
Anochi" I am, meaning: I have brought the food, and a second statement
that "Eisav Bechorecha" Eisav is your first born.

But afterwards - after I read this, and also about the difference between ani and anochi see here - I came across verse 24 in which Ya'akov answers the words  אַתָּה זֶה בְּנִי עֵשָׂו with  אָנִי.
What I would like to know is, if we follow Rashi's comment, how one should explain this?; whether or not Ya'akov consciously weighs his words in Genesis 27:19 or whether he just twice claims to be Esau.


texts:
How many halachot are detailed in the Mishneh Torah?

To clarify, I am interested in the counting of the author's (i.e. if the Mishneh Torah details two rules under one halacha that counts as one and not two).


texts:
How do sefardim pronounce the tzerei?
Is it "eh" as in elephant or "ay" as in play?


texts:
It is my understanding that one is forbidden to go onto the Har Habayit ("Temple Mount") while s/he is Tamei.

However, if one is only over Har Habayit but not physically on the ground (e.g. flying in an Airplane or Helicopter), does that fall into the same categorical prohibition? Or does one have to be physically on the ground?


texts: How does the blessing that concludes Hallel start?

texts:
There seem to be two different opening expressions with for the blessing that concludes Hallel:

יְהַלְלוּךָ ה' אֱלהֵינוּ על כָּל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ -
O L-rd our G-d You shall be praised for all your works and

יְהַלְלוּךָ ה' אֱלהֵינוּ כָּל מַעֲשֶׂיךָ -
All thy works shall praise thee, O L-rd our G-d.

Is one version preferable and how did they originate?


texts: Does a detached binding of a sefer get stacked in the same position?

texts:
See Stacking Seforim -- the linked answer.
It says that a chumash goes on top of a Nach. (See the other answer for a dissenting view.)

According to that view... what about a loose binding? Say, the bound cover on a chumash falls off. If, for whatever reason, it is still kept with the chumash, should it be placed with it in stacking as well, or does it have no kedusah whatsoever and should go on the bottom?
What about if it's totally loose, not even around the chumash?


texts:
A mezuzah must be attached on the upper third of the doorway.
How does one determine the height of the doorway when affixing a mezuzah on an archway? Till the very top, or only till the end of the straight doorposts?

Is a garden archway except from mezuzah?


texts: Levi does not want to wash Kohen's hands

texts: Suppose there is only one Levi in Shul and he does not want to leave the Shul to wash the Kohain's hands since he will lose the Amein's during the time he is out of the Shul. Should the Levi be compelled to go wash the Kohain? (sources)


texts:
I'm an Israeli Jew living in Israel. I often give "sky tours" where I show children and adults different stars and a view through a powerful binocular at objects of interest.

Recently a young boy asked a naive question at a sky tour:

  Is it true that the first three stars that we see at night are Avraham, Izhak, and Yaacov?

I answered him that depending on the time of year the first three stars that he see will not always be the same stars, and that he should direct religious questions to his father. He seemed to accept this.

Then when myself and other people started to point at stars (with our fingers, a laser pointer, and the binocular) this same inquisitive lad started telling us that in Judaism it is forbidden to point at stars. Being Ashkanazi I had never heard this, but other children were familiar with the tradition. I explained to them that the rule probably has root in the differentiation between our religion and that of the Greeks, who believed that the stars represented their false deities. Because I am not pointing to explain a false deity but rather to explain a scientific concept, the pointing should be acceptable. This explanation was not accepted so I again suggested to the young man to consult his father on the issue.

In the great Jewish tradition, I've now told a story and here follow the questions:

What is the basis of the tradition (minhag) to not point at stars?
Assuming that this is not a Mizvah from above, did the wise man who made the rule explain why?
Considering that I regularly give sky tours to the devout and also to those who do not express their relationship with their creator on a daily basis, how might I better anticipate and cater to the unique traditions of our people? Simply "not pointing" will not work, I probably do more pointing than talking.
Should I warn groups that I point at stars before we start, at the same time that I ask them to disable cellphones and other sources of light?
Are there any resources for specifically Jewish tales and observations of the stars?

I would actually love to give the tours a more Jewish angle, especially considering the heavy Arab influence in the stars' names due to their research on the topic (before Abu Hamid al-Ghazali, anyway). Being sensitive to Jewish traditions is therefore very important, however I stress that the tours should remain a scientific exercise and not a religious exercise. Surely Judaism has a place for that.


texts:
It says in Vayikra Perek 17 Pasuk 13 (Parshas Achrei-Mos):

  "וְאִישׁ אִישׁ מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמִן הַגֵּר הַגָּר בְּתוֹכָם אֲשֶׁר יָצוּד צֵיד חַיָּה אוֹ עוֹף אֲשֶׁר יֵאָכֵל וְשָׁפַךְ אֶת דָּמוֹ וְכִסָּהוּ בֶּעָפָר"

  And any man of the children of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them, who traps a quarry of a wild animal or bird that may be eaten, and sheds its blood, he shall cover it [the blood] with dust.

Rashi says there (See also Sifsei Chachamim):

  אשר יצוד: אין לי אלא ציד, אווזין ותרנגולין מנין, תלמוד לומר ציד, מכל מקום. אם כן למה נאמר אשר יצוד, שלא יאכל בשר אלא בהזמנה הזאת

  Who traps: [Had the verse stated only this phrase,] we would know only [that this law applies to] creatures that require trapping. But how would we know [that the law includes also] geese and roosters, [which do not require trapping]? Scripture, therefore, adds [the word] צֵיד -a quarry, meaning in any way [even if not trapped]. But if so, why is it stated, “who traps”? [To teach us] that one should not eat flesh except with this preparation, [meaning, that just as one does not go out to trap every day, neither should one eat meat regularly at all his meals, as if he had to go out and trap it]. — [Torath Kohanim 17:111; Chul. 84a]

While I don't think this Rashi is accepted "halacha l'maseh" however still, according to this what would be a possible "heter" (why is it permissible) for people now a days to eat meat or poultry on a regular basis? Or is the answer only going to be since we see this Rashi is not accepted l'halacha that we don't need to come up with a reason why one is allowed to eat lots of meat now a days.

(Text and Translation from Chabad.org)


texts: I'm looking for new non standard tunes for zemiros. For example i really like the dror yikra sang to simon and garfunkels scarborough fair (if you're interested i found someone has it up on youtube here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea1m-HDZ6xM). I would really like to find more zemiros that have good tunes put to them. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!


texts: Is it permitted for a male to have a female therapist?

texts:
It is forbidden to be secluded with another woman (excluding a woman that it is permitted e.g. wife, mother, grandmother etc.). This is known as yichud.
It is permitted though, provided the area is not fully secluded and e.g. the door is open / door not locked, people can come and go, and there is potential for someone to enter. Or if the woman's husband is in town.
However these allowances only apply when the relationship with the woman is not Libo Gas Bah, meaning the relationship between the man and the woman is not comfortable and intimate. See Shulchan Aruch Even HaEzer (כב-ח):

אשה שבעלה בעיר אין חוששין להתייחד עמה מפני שאימת בעלה עליה ואם היה זה
גס בה כגון שגדלה עמו או שהיא קרובתו או אם קינא לה בעלה עם זה לא יתייחד
עמה אע״פ שבעלה בעיר:
A woman whose husband is in town - there is no concern for yichud. However, if she is "Gas Bah", i.e. you grew up with her, or she is a relative... it is forbidden to be secluded with her even if her husband is in town.

Therefore, is a male allowed to have a female therapist? Assuming the office is frequented by many  people, and the door is not locked. Is the relationship between patient and therapist intimate? The reason to assume so is that the set up of the relationship between therapist and patient is one of having intimate conversations, where private details are told over and nothing is considered too taboo. Is this included within the definition of Libo Gas Bah?
Assuming it is, does it matter that the intimate conversations are one sided from patient to therapist, is that considered the definition of Libo Gas Bah, or it's only considered such when it is a mutual give and take between man and woman? Does the fact that the relationship which, although deals with the personal aspects of the patient, is really in essence a business relationship?


texts: Rav Eytan Feiner mentioned in a shiur that the tree used to hang Haman was the Eitz HaDaas, based on a Midrash. Where is this Midrash located? (I found Esther Rabba 9:2 which discusses it, but can't find the precise mention of what Rav Feiner was saying.)


texts: Taanis bechorim when unable to attend a siyum

texts:
This year, due to coronavirus related isolation measures, the probability is that a bechor would be unable to attend an actual siyum on erev pesach.

Can a bechor see a siyum online or must he fast on erev pesach?


texts: Do a husband and a wife need to have the same Rabbi (Posek) or can they have their own Rabbis?


texts: translation of the Shulchan Aruch online

texts: I'm looking for a translation of the entire shulchan aruch online. Do you know of any website that might have one?


texts: Is a father mevatel the Mitzva of Pidyon Haben by keeping the 5 silver coins?

texts:
During the Pidyon Haben ceremony the Kohen asks the father מה בעית טפי ליתן לי בנך בכורך... או לפדותו בעד חמש סלעים. A free translation of this is
-what would you rather do, give me your first born or redeem him for 5 coins?-

If the father chooses to keep the coins over his son, is he mevatel the Mitzvah of redeeming his Bechor? Meaning, are there 2 parts to this Mitzvah - a)keeping the coins or b)redeeming his son and as long as he picks one of them he is Mekayam his Mitzvah, or is the Mitzvah to actually redeem him from the Kohen and if this was not done he loses the Mitzvah. If we say he lost the Mitzvah can he rectify it by redeeming his child at a later point?


texts: What happened to the Teva after the flood?

texts:
Is there any mention of this in any texts?

Side question: if the צהר was in fact a precious stone, what happened to that after the flood?


texts:
1)Who do we know to refer to as a "Gadol?"

2)How do we determine who is a "Gadol?"

For example, how did we determine that Rav Elyashiv is a Gadol?

A Gadol HaDor is known as one of the most respected people in Judaism and who's words are taken very seriously.


texts: What are the ramifications of nailing my sleeveless sweater to the wall?

texts:
I took my sleeveless sweater and nailed it into the wall. It's set in there pretty darn good.
So I'm just wondering, are there any ramifications now that it is a vest kavua?

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


texts: Is it forbidden to help idolaters become righteous Noahides?

texts:
I heard from a Rabbi who cited Rambam that it is forbidden to help idolaters do teshuvah.

Does that mean it is forbidden to persuade them that they follow fake religions and that Judaism is the only true religion so that they become righteous Noahides?

I have a few Christian friends, and I'd like to send them videos which disprove Christianity and prove Torah's validity.


texts: How does one request a haskama (approbation)?

texts:
Are there any rules or or general best-practices for requesting an approbation (הסכמה/haskama)? Can an approbation that was sent based on an incomplete manuscript still be used if changes are made to the work later on? What are some of the guidelines related to haskomot?

Please provide answers based on sources or personal experience not "it seems to me..."


texts: "Motzi Matzah" or "Motzi and Matzah" (separately)? Passover Seder

texts: In some haggadot, I have seen the numbers of sections as being 14, with Motzi Matzah being combined, and in other haggadot, I have seen 15 with them separated. What is the reason behind each side?


texts:
I read the following on Yerushalmi Online:

  Rav said: As soon as man goes forth from Halachic to Scripture study
  he no longer has peace. And Shmuel said: It means one who leaves
  Talmud for Mishnah. And Rav Yochanan said: Even from Talmud to Talmud.
  Rashi explains, from Talmud to Talmud: from Talmud Yerushalmi to
  Talmud Bavli, since the former one is deeper. Talmud Bavli, Chagigah,
  10a Rashi Chagigah 10a, d.h from Talmud to Talmud

Do I understand this correctly to discourage one from reading or studying Torah/Scripture, but rather to study rabbinic writings instead?

How does that square with Psalm 1:

א  אַשְׁרֵי הָאִישׁ--    אֲשֶׁר לֹא הָלַךְ, בַּעֲצַת רְשָׁעִים;
וּבְדֶרֶךְ חַטָּאִים, לֹא עָמָד,    וּבְמוֹשַׁב לֵצִים, לֹא יָשָׁב.     1 Happy is the man that hath not walked in the counsel of the wicked, {N}
nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seat of the scornful.

ב  כִּי אִם בְּתוֹרַת יְהוָה, חֶפְצוֹ;    וּבְתוֹרָתוֹ יֶהְגֶּה, יוֹמָם וָלָיְלָה.

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD;
and in His law doth he meditate day and night.

ג  וְהָיָה--    כְּעֵץ, שָׁתוּל עַל-פַּלְגֵי-מָיִם:
אֲשֶׁר פִּרְיוֹ, יִתֵּן בְּעִתּוֹ--וְעָלֵהוּ לֹא-יִבּוֹל;    וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר-יַעֲשֶׂה יַצְלִיחַ.   3 And he shall be like a tree planted by streams of water, {N}
that bringeth forth its fruit in its season, and whose leaf doth not wither; and in whatsoever he doeth he shall prosper.
ד  לֹא-כֵן הָרְשָׁעִים:    כִּי אִם-כַּמֹּץ, אֲשֶׁר-תִּדְּפֶנּוּ רוּחַ.     4 Not so the wicked; but they are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
ה  עַל-כֵּן, לֹא-יָקֻמוּ רְשָׁעִים--בַּמִּשְׁפָּט;    וְחַטָּאִים, בַּעֲדַת צַדִּיקִים.     5 Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
ו  כִּי-יוֹדֵעַ יְהוָה, דֶּרֶךְ צַדִּיקִים;    וְדֶרֶךְ רְשָׁעִים תֹּאבֵד.  6 For the LORD regardeth the way of the righteous; but the way of the wicked shall perish. {P}


texts:
Was wondering whether anyone has seen a write-up of/knows off-hand the amount of daf of aggadeta in the Talmud Bavli (for argument's sake, let's take the Daf Yomi count of 2711.)
Thanks!


texts: Can one make a siyum mesechta if it was learned in English translation?

texts: If someone has some trouble with Aramaic and learned parts of a mesechta in English translation (for example with an Artscroll Gemara), can he still make a siyum?


texts: What is the number of most amount of lessons Gersonides presents at once in his Tanach commentary? I find these lessons very interesting and would like to where the biggest cluster of them is to be found.


texts: Why was Shmitta specifically chosen to teach that the intricacies of all mitzvot were given at Har Sinai?

texts:
(related to "Ma Inyan Shmitta Eitzel Har Sinai" but not the same)

Parshas B'Har starts off saying Hashem spoke to Moshe on Har Sinai and instructed Moshe about the mitzvah of Shmitta.
Rashi (s.v. "בהר סיני" ) asks:

?בהר סיני. מָה עִנְיַן שְׁמִטָּה אֵצֶל הַר סִינַי? וַהֲלֹא כָל הַמִּצְוֹת נֶאֶמְרוּ מִסִּינַי
What does the topic of Shmitta have to to do with Har Sinai? Weren't all the mitzvot given on Sinai?

Rashi (quoting the Toras Kohanim) answers saying that just as the general rules, specificities, and minute details about Shmitta were given on Har Sinai, so too all of the other mitzvot with their general rules, specificities, and their minute details were given on Har Sinai.
Question:
As Rashi himself states, every mitzvah has general rules, specificities, and minute details.
The Torah could've used any mitzvah-- Shabbos, Nedarim, Tefillin, Sha'atnez, Kosher, etc-- to teach us the same concept- why was Shmitta specifically chosen to teach us this?


texts: Moshe Rabbainu & Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai

texts:
Does anybody know the source of the story where Moshe Rabbainu was in shomayim to receive the Torah, but the Malachim didn't want the soul of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai to descend to give the hidden parts of the Torah.

I have seen sources regarding the fight between Malachim and Moshe in regard to what is in it, but I could not find the one with Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. There is definitely a source. I just can not seem to remember where it is.


texts: Do Jews believe Christianity alters Torah according to Melachim uMilchamot - Chapter 11/4. Isn't it the same old testament Jews and Christians believe in, how would it be altered?


texts: Nail polish chatzitzah and mikveh immersion

texts: If someone has a little, almost imperceptible, leftover nail polish, would it be considered a chatzitzah with regard to mikveh immersion? If so, why?


texts: Is it permitted to call the police on Shabbos if you come across a dead person?

texts:
Violating the Shabbos in a case a life threatening situation is a mitzvah (Yoma 84)

However what if one comes across a dead person on Shabbos. Normally one would report this to the police. However on Shabbos where the person is already dead. May one call the police and notify them?


texts: If two people simultaneously do the same thing for each other, instead of each one doing it for himself, is that considered gemilus chesed?

texts:
If two people simultaneously do the same thing for each other, instead of each one doing it for himself, is that considered Gemilus chesed?

For example, if each of two people, need a chair to sit at the table, and they make an agreement between themselves that each one should carry a chair over to the table for the other person instead of each carrying a chair for himself, is this chesed?

It would seem that since one is not saving the other person any work at all, since he has to do the same thing for his friend he gained nothing form what his friend did for him, so where's the chessed.

On the other hand, the bottom line is that right now each has a chair due to the other person's work, and If the other had not done it he would have to have done it for himself, so each did a chessed for the other, regardless of the fact that his friend also did it?

[Note: I understand that there might be an advantage in doing things this way, in order to get oneself used to doing things for others. If one does something for someone even when he doesn't need him to, it will strengthen his character and positive relationship to others. But my question is, is this just an exercise in chesed character training, or is it actually considered a mitzvah of chessed?]


texts: Trying to find a quote of the Cheshek Shlomo

texts:
I'm trying to find the source of a quote I saw. I was reading an article about test tube beef and came across the following:

  [Rabbi Menachem] Genack noted another source for viewing cultured meat as parve: A 19th century Vilna-born scholar known as the Heshek Shlomo, wrote that the meat of an animal conjured up in a magical incantation could be considered parve. It may not be too much of a stretch, then, to apply the same logic to modern genetic wizardry.

Some more googling led me to a fuller citation:

  Cheshek Shlomo (end Y”D 98, s.v. v’da).

and eventually a mention by Shlomo Stencil who called it a "manuscript on the shulchan aruch"

  מכתב יד על שו"ע

The Heshek Shlomo is Rabbi Shlomo HaKohen (1828–1905). He wrote a talmud commentary called Heshek Shlomo, and also a few volumes of shut. (He was also an editor for the Vilna Shas). I can't find a work of his that is a commentary on the Shulchan aruch. He is quoted by the Mateh Yehonatan in the Vilna SA, but I can't find the content referenced above in Siman 98.

Does anyone know where this book is? Was it given a different name? Was his commentary included in another compendium? Is there a second Heshek Shlomo? Does anyone know where this book/source is?


texts: What is the first year for which there exists a record of it being dated according to the currently used system that starts counting from creation?


texts: Stealing from a non-Jew is worse than stealing from a Jew

texts:
Rav Shimon Schwab zt"l (in an audio shiur titled "Jews in Golus - How High A Profile") quoted a tosefta in perek hagozel which says that to steal from a non-Jew is worse than stealing from a Jew for he doesn't have a kaparah (chance at atonement) ever, if the he dies before doing teshuva.

Does anyone know where this tosefta is located?


texts:
If one took off his tzitzis while going for a run, playing football or doing exercise,
will he need to make a new bracha when putting it on again?


texts:
A friend requests that you take a jar of Coffee to Israel and you happily oblige. On the way to your destination the jar cracks, so you just buy a replacement. Later you find out that the can contained a diamond and you were used as a Shipping service. Do you have to pay for the lost diamond?

(sources please)


texts: Who were the "girls" that fasted with Esther?

texts:
Esther 4:16 says:

גם אני ונערותי אצום כן
Me and my "girls" will also fast

Who were these "girls", and Why did she make these girls fast? Were they Jewish (converted, perhaps)? I assume that they were appointed by the king, and, I guess the king would check in on things, no? So, if they were Jewish at the end, wouldn't the king know about this, or did they become faithful to Esther moreso than to Ahashverush?


texts:
I heard from someone that medicine does not require a berachah.

What is the source for this?


texts: Is there a halachic requirement to teach your child to read Hebrew?

texts: Is it a mitzva to teach one's child to read Hebrew?  If so, it is d'orita or d'rabbanon?


texts: May one choose the recipient of his/her organ donation?

texts: I have decided to donate a kidney. I know that with organizations like Renewal you can choose to donate to someone specifically. I was wondering if it is mutar to browse potential recipients and see whose situation seems most dire - ie a parent with young children, or someone who is contributing greatly to society like a doctor or something. Even asking the question seems much more horrible than it did in my head, and gives me much pause. But is it considered a violation of ein dochin nefesh mipnei nefesh? Furthermore, if it is not, would there be an inyan to give to someone in your town because "irecha kodmin"? Thank you.


texts: Are there any respected rabbis who say that the Avot did not follow all of the laws of the Torah before it was given?

texts: I am disturbed by the oft-repeated claim that Abraham, Issac, and Jacob followed all the details of Torah before it was given to us at Sinai. I suspect that it is a case of later generations projecting their own ideals back onto their ancestors. I realize that today this is generally an unpopular opinion among Orthodox Jews, but I would like to know: are there any respected rabbis over the years who have doubted this concept?


texts: Is there anything wrong with correcting your Rabbi in front of other people?

texts: If your Rabbi tells you something about Torah and you know that he is incorrect, and this has happened in the past and the Rabbi admitted his mistake, are you then allowed to correct the Rabbi if a third person is present?


texts: What is the source for playing dreidel on Chanuka?

texts: Is there any truth to the story that the game of dreidel played on Chanuka evolved from a similar game that Jewish children played to hide their learning of Torah from the Greeks? What is the earliest sources for this claim? And what is the earliest sources for the concept of playing dreidel on Chanuka?


texts: Ceremony to take a woman as a concubine (pilegesh)?

texts:
This question sparked a lively discussion and debate on this rather sensitive issue.

One piece of the original question was:

  What ceremony / ritual must be performed (if any) to formally designate a woman as a specific man's pilegesh?
  What ceremony / ritual must be performed (if any) if/when the couple wants to dissolve the pilegesh relationship?

No one ever provided an answer.  I am looking for one of two things:

Evidence that a specific ritual is used to acquire a pilegesh
Evidence that no specific ritual is required to acquire a pilegesh

Also, if the ritual includes a written document, what is written into this document?

(There seemed to be general agreement over here that a pilegesh does not receive a ketubah).


texts: What is the difference between "baruch" and "mevorach" regarding G-d?

texts:
There is a phrase said just prior to the Shacharit Amidah that says:

תהילות לאל עליון ברוך הוא ומבורך

What is the difference in meaning between ברוך and ומבורך. Don't both mean "blessed"?

I realize that there is similar language in ברכו. However, I understand that phrasing better as there, ברכו is a verb and b/c the word is המבורך with a definite article in front, it appears to turn that into a noun which means "the one that is (should be?) blessed.

The phrase that I cited doesn't seem to have quite the same meaning as ברכו from what I can tell.


texts: It says in SA OC Siman 472 that one should hurry to start the Seder in order that the children shouldn't fall asleep. If the person doesn't have any children is there still a reason to hurry to start the Seder?


texts:
According to this, the French Iggeret of Rav Sherira Gaon is considered more authentic. Based on this premise, the Mishnah was not written down by Rabbi Judah but continued to be transmitted orally.
So my question is, when was the Mishnah finally penned and by whom?


texts: How do you explain tzniut to a little girl?

texts: Some Jewish schools have attire guidelines starting in first grade. What is the best way to explain the concept of tzniut to a very young (say first grade) girl without explaining sexuality? Please cite sources.


texts: How was Rabbi Yochanan allowed to walk with his son's bone?

texts:
It says in Brachos 5B that R' Yochanan used to show people his tenth son's bone (all of his children passed away, and he used to carry a bone of his tenth child).

How was he allowed to not bury this bone?


texts: Lighting your sons menorah(chanukiya) by mistake

texts:
What should one do in a case where one sets his menorah up with oil and his son's menorah with candles, but after he said the brachos he lit his son's menorah? Should he light his menorah and extinguish his son's menorah, or should he leave it and let his son light his menorah?

Two factors that I thought of to be considered:

1) hidur mitzvah of using oil, so maybe he should light his and extinguish his son's, or maybe not since some poskim hold candles are lchatchilah.

2) bizyon to the mitzvah. If one would light their menorah and extinguish their son's menorah it may be a bizyon.

What would be the best way to act in such a scenario?


texts: Does Devarim 11:10 make some indirect reference to the shaduf irrigation system?

texts:
The end of the verse in Devarim 11:10 says "...You watered the green garden with your foot." (rough translation.)

My brother, an anthropology professor who studied Biblical history, explained to me, somewhat the method of the shaduf. He explained that in the Mideast, most of the crops were laid on "terraces" (much as it still is, today.) Water was poured on the top terrace and to get the water to go to the lower terraces, the farmer would kick away (using his foot) some dirt to create a tunnel so that the water would drain downward to the next terrace level.

My brother, and I, were curious if the usage of the term "watering with your foot" in this verse might be a reference to this irrigation method. Do any  commentators mention this?


texts: Why does Rashi say תנין is a snake, not a croc?

texts:
Rashi on Shemot 7:10:

   "ויהי לתנין" - נחש

The pasuk:

  וַיָּבֹ֨א מֹשֶׁ֤ה וְאַהֲרֹן֙ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֔ה וַיַּ֣עַשׂוּ כֵ֔ן כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר צִוָּ֣ה יְהוָ֑ה וַיַּשְׁלֵ֨ךְ אַהֲרֹ֜ן אֶת־מַטֵּ֗הוּ לִפְנֵ֥י פַרְעֹ֛ה וְלִפְנֵ֥י עֲבָדָ֖יו וַיְהִ֥י לְתַנִּֽין׃

Why does Rashi translate תנין as נחש, a snake? In modern Hebrew, a תנין is a crocodile.

I know that you can't really bring a proof from MIH on BH, but there is an existing word for "snake" (נחש).

Is it possible that Rashi simply didn't know about crocodiles? According to Wikipedia, Crocodiles apparently aren't too common in France:


texts: Why don't we thank God for making us men/women?

texts:
In the brachos we say every morning, men thank God for "not making them a woman" (and women thank God for "creating them according to their needs").

Why don't both men and women just thank God for making them the gender that they are? Why do men thank God for not making them women, as opposed to thanking God for making them men? Further, why do women have an entirely separate bracha? Why don't they thank God for making them women?


texts: Pronunciation of Vowel Under Last Consonant

texts:
A nagging grammar/pronunciation/BIBLE issue/question:

This concerns a final vowel in a word such ruach/רוּחַ (spirit). WHY am I taught to say ruach not rucha? It seems to me with the "rule" that final vowels such as these being pronounced before the consonant instead of after makes dipthongs in Biblical Hebrew, I have never yet seen a rational explanation given for this rule. I wonder if there are any ancient transliterations of the Hebrew Bible into other languages that may shed some light on this.


texts:
Vayikra 15:30, "And the kohen shall make one into a sin offering and one into a burnt offering, and the kohen shall effect atonement for her, before the Lord, from the uncleanness of her discharge."

What sin?


texts: What's worse: eating a cheeseburger or eating pork?

texts:
Both eating a non-kosher cheeseburger and pork are assur, but suppose one is stuck on a desert island and has only these two options (the bun has already been eaten).

What should one do? Is eating one of these worse than the other?


texts: What was/is the leviathan as described in Tanach and Rabbinic literature?

texts: Today the Hebrew word "leviathan" is translated as a whale.  But the leviathan of the Tanach seems to be some kind of sea creature.  See Job 41:1-34.  Tehillim 74 there is an implication that G-d served the meat of the leviathan to the Jews in the Midbar.  Isaiah 27:1 describes it as a "tortuous serpent" that G-d will "punish." The Gemara in Bava Basra 74b says that G-d will serve the meat of the leviathan to the righteous.  What is the prevailing opinion that best describes the leviathan, taking in these and other treatments of the creature in our texts?


texts: Does the remarriage delay apply even in the case of yibbum?

texts: If a woman is widowed or divorced, she must wait long enough before remarrying to firmly establish the paternity of a child who might be forthcoming (Daily Halacha cites SA Even Ha'ezer 13).  The purpose of yibbum, though, is for the brother to father a child in the name of his deceased brother (Devarim 25:6).  In that case, the paternity question might not be relevant -- either the child she is carrying is the deceased's or it is the yibbum's but as if it were the deceased's -- does it matter which?  There might be other reasons to need to know (in modern times, medical history for example), but in terms of halacha, does the yibbum still wait 92 days or may they marry sooner?


texts: Is there anyone (like a Shoteh or Choleh) Patur from getting married & or having Children?


texts: Legal status of one sentenced to death until execution?

texts:
What's the legal status of one who's sentenced to death by a court (say smoked on Shabbos) from the moment of the verdict till the actual death:

What're his economical rights (his property, estate, debts, etc)?
What are his Mitzvas obligations - is he still commanded to keep all the Mitzvos till dead?


texts: Time for last meal if Tisha B’Av is on Sunday

texts:
If Tisha B’Av is coming on Sunday,
when or what time is the last meal for Shabbat?


texts: Are there really such thing as sheidim? If so, what are they? Please include sources.


texts: Source that a Jewish girl is forbidden to have relations with a non Jew

texts:
I see that it is forbidden for a Jewish girl to get married to a non-Jew (E"H 16.1) but why is she forbidden to have relations with him without marriage?

Source please.

(I guess the source might be that she becomes a zona)


texts: Has a gadol be'Torah ever drastically changed his type of avodas Hashem?

texts:
I know that my question is a bit broad and maybe abstract but I'm not sure how to phrase it better. I'm looking for any change in avodah. It can be a change in which group of Jews he associated with (as a modern example Charedi/National Religious/ etc.) or Chassidish/Litvish/etc.
I'm just looking for a major shift by a "giant" talmid chacham.


texts: What does it mean to pray for the speedy reconstruction (תובב״א) of a city other than Jerusalem?

texts:
I'm used to seeing the acronym תובב״א ("may it be rebuilt & reestablished speedily in our days, Amen") after Jerusalem, which I presume is a prayer for the building of the Third Temple.

But recently I saw it used referring to Tzfat (Safed).

How old/prevalent is such usage?
What exactly are we praying for? In what ways do we hope Tzfat will be built more in the future than it is currently?


texts: Why Wait for Moshiach according to the Rambam

texts: The Rambam in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah says God has no joy or sadness. If so, why do we wait for moshiach? For G-d's glory? G-d does not need anything from us.


texts:
I am working on a chart to split up shas among the members of my shul.

How many Blatt (double-sided pages) are in each chapter of Shas? If you have a spreadsheet with the pertinent information, that would be great!


texts:
Inspired by this question.

It seems to be a common minhag to have a special trope for the end of a chapter when leining the megillot.  I have seen this done in my shul, have done it myself, and also heard on various recordings, e.g. Rav Chaim Fessel for all five, and Rabbi Jeremy Wieder for Esther and Kohelet.  (Interestingly, Rabbi Wieder only does this trope at the end of Ruth and Shir haShirim, but not at individual chapter breaks, and he doesn't do it at all for Eicha.)

My understanding is that the origin of the chapter breaks is Christian, and that there's no Jewish source for them, see e.g. Wikipedia. If this is correct, why do those who do an end of chapter trope mark these chapter breaks? If this is incorrect, where are the chapter breaks mentioned in Jewish sources?


texts: Why are the Keilim of the Mishkan broken up?

texts:
In Shemos 25:1-27:21 (all of Terumah and the very beginning of Tetzaveh), the Pesukim describe the vessels of the Mishkan, the structure of the Mishkan, and the oil of the Menorah.

In Shemos 28:1-29:46 (the bulk of Tetzaveh), the Pesukim describe the clothing of the Kohanim and the process to consecrate them.

In 30:1-31:11 (Shevi’i of Tetzaveh and Rishon of Ki Sisa), the Pesukim return to the topic of Mishkan vessels and function.

Why are they broken up this way? Why isn’t the middle passage about the Kohanim either at the beginning or at the end, instead of breaking up the Mishkan into two parts?


texts: Why is there no Rashi on Maseches Nedarim, Nazir, most of Bava Basra etc?

texts:
A similar question asked "Which masechtot don't really have Rashi?" which proceeded to list the Masechtot (Nedarim, Nazir, Moed Kattan) & parts of Shas (most of Bava Basra, last 4 daf of Makkos) that don't have Rashi's commentary.

Do we know why we don't have Rashi's commentary for these Masechtot? (I know he "died" a few times in Shas)

Were they not written? Did we lose them at some point? Something else?


texts: I have been made aware of the proper  (original?) pronunciation of some of the Hebrew letters from an old Sephardic Jew. For example the ashkenazic "suf" should be pronounced with a "th" as in the word "thick". Would there be problem with changing the pronunciations I use during davening? Does it matter if I switch back and forth - at least until I get used to it?


texts: Blessing on Shabbat candle lighting for men

texts: Should a man say the blessing then light the shabbos candles or light the candles first then say the blessing?


texts: School closing - At what point must the parents be told?

texts: Yeshiva A or Bais Yaakov A has serious financial problems. They are doing all they can to stay viable, however unless a big donor steps forward they will be forced to close. If the school tells the parents how critical the situation is, that alone will make the parents look for other schools, and by the additional loss of tuition the school will for sure close. Yet if they do not tell the parents the situation and continue to try to find the big donor they need, they may be forced to close right before school starts and thus the parents may be stuck without a school for their children. What is the responsibility of the school towards the parents Halachically? How open do they have to be with the financial situation they are in?


texts:
If a person passes away in one place but [some] relatives live in another place in which, due to time zone differences, it is already the next day (or still the previous), do those relatives establish the yahrzeit based on the date in the place where the person died, or where they live (and where the person will be buried -- assuming that the yahrzeit is based on death, not interment)?

Is it possible that different relatives would mark different days as the yahrzeit or do they all accept one date regardless of where they live?


texts: Can I wear a T-shirt with a 5 sided pentagram on it? It's usually associated with Wiccans/Satan so it's seems like there might be some kind of issur here, though I can't think of one.


texts: "HaRachaman hu yevarech es avi mori..." - Questions

texts:
There is a part in the third bracha in bentching which goes like this:

  הרחמן הוא יברך את אבי מורי בעל הבית הזה ואת אמי מורתי בעלת הבית הזה אותם
  ואת ביתם ואת זרעם ואת כל אשר להם אותנו ואת כל אשר לנו

  May the Merciful One bless my father, my teacher, the mast of this house, and my mother, my teacher, the mistress of this house; them, their household, their children, and all that is theirs; us, and all that is ours.

(From the Kehot Annotated Bentcher)

I have seen in other bentchers (for example, ArtScroll) where they have this part they seperate it off and include instructions about when you're in your own home, or when you're just alone, or when you're at a friend's home, and the above text is only said when you're in your parents' home.

But in the Nusach Ari bentcher, the one I quoted from Kehot, there are not alternate instructions. The text that is usually deemed "for when you're in your parents' home" is just put in the text of the bracha as if it is supposed to be said every time you bentch!

Is this section supposed to be said every time, even when you're not in your parents' home? Or is this just a big oversight on Kehot's part? (I must note it's like this in their siddur too.)

Additionally, if it is just a big oversight, when you're bentching, when you just skip this part, what should you say instead according to the Chabad nusach?


texts: Self-defense (in a case of one's capital, not a capital case)

texts:
There is a well known rule that if A is threatening B's life, B may kill A, if necessary, to prevent that.

Is there any such rule in non-capital cases? Specifically:

If A is threatening B with physical injury, can B injure A to prevent it?
If A is threatening B with monetary harm, can B financially injure A to prevent it?

If so, then:

Does B's injury of A have to be proportionate to what A would have otherwise done? For example, if A is seeking to inflict $100's worth of damage on B's possessions, can B, to prevent that, inflict $100's worth of damage on A's? $100.25's worth? $1,000,000's worth? Likewise, if A is seeking to damage B's person to a certain degree (monetary degree in terms of nezek, or to some degree as defined by some other standard), can B damage A to the same degree? to a higher degree?
Would B have any liability to A thereafter (in bes din)?

Of course, for practical guidance in any specific case, each person should consult his rabbi; this question is about general rules.


texts:
Who knows twenty-seven?
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: Earliest sources for the hot-rock method of hagalah

texts:
What is the earliest source explaining how to do hagalah? What is the earliest place we see detailed instructions for the hot rock method as opposed to the clay/dough method?

To elaborate:

If you have a pot which is too big to fit into another pot, how do you do hagalah? Mishne Torah says, build up the rim with some clay or dough and boil water in it. But today people will fill it with boiling water, then throw a heated rock in. So I would like to find the earliest mention of doing it this second way


texts: Source for teaching that God judges non-Jews with a lower standard

texts: I remember reading a Haftorah which I think was from one of the 12 minor prophets -- I'm not sure -- in which God tells the Jewish people something to the effect that His standard for judging the non-Jew will be considerably lower than for the Jew.  Does anyone recall that Haftorah?


texts:
I was reading a translation of Josephus many years ago that mentioned the tzitz (the crown of the high priest with Qdosh Yisrael engraved on it). The commentary to this Josephus said that the tzitz was written in Paleo Hebrew and this had been confirmed because the tzitz had only gotten lost much later after the destruction of the temple and so people had written descriptions of it.

Unfortunately I don't have access to this Josephus anymore, and I have tried googling to find out when the tzitz was lost and where it was being kept but I can't find any information. Does anyone here have any knowledge? Obviously if the tzitz was written in Paleo it would have religious significance.


texts:
Many times in shaas we find Amoraim saying כדאמרי אינשי or היינו דאמרי אינשי. Usually its brought as a proof for something said but once in a while it is used as a question והא אמרי אינשי.

Are the baalei shaas quoting anyone in particular? Were these just folk sayings? Should the colloquial expressions really play such an important part in deciding halacha, either to prove or disprove it?


texts: Was Hakhel performed in separation of men and women?

texts:
Mitzvat Hakhel requires the presence of men, women, and children in the Azara (135x135 Ama incl. 4 Lishachot), with a tremendous density (for 600K grown-up men it's around 4M people per 4,000 sq.m.), as the Mishnah in Avot testifies "עמדו צפופים" and a Torah portion (Kodesh) is read in public.

The only separation of men and women in the Azara in the Temple I recall is mentioned in Mishnah Midos 2,5 and Succah 51b and, seemingly, was only instituted in the Second Templesource needed:

  מאי תיקון גדול? אמר ר' אלעזר כאותה ששנינו (משנה מידות ב, ה): חלקה היתה בראשונה והקיפוה גזוזטרא, והתקינו שיהיו נשים יושבות מלמעלה ואנשים מלמטה.

Is such a separation mentioned anywhere about Hakhel?


texts: Permitted to detach grape juice bottle from plastic thing on Shabbos

texts: Kedem grape juice sometimes comes in a pack of 2 large bottles that are connected by a plastic thing.  Would it be permitted on Shabbos to detach one bottle from the plastic thing?   Here is a picture.


texts: How can the contradiction between Daniel 1:21 and 10:1 regarding the year of Cyrus be resolved?

texts:
In Daniel 1:21 it says

וַיְהִי דָּנִיֵּאל עַד־שְׁנַת אַחַת לְכוֹרֶשׁ הַמֶּלֶךְ׃
Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.

Yet in chapter 10 pasuk 1 it says

בִּשְׁנַת שָׁלוֹשׁ לְכוֹרֶשׁ מֶלֶךְ פָּרַס
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia

The dating contradicts each other since the first mention states that Daniel was there (in Babylon, Rashi) until the 1st year while the second pasuk states he was there in the 3rd year as well (see further pasuk 4 for corroboration of his location) . No traditional commentaries I have seen address this issue. How can this contradiction be resolved?


texts: The main reason for the second day Yom Tov is because in the times of the Beis Hamikdash when we decided to declare months based on the seeing the new moon there where certain places that the messengers of Beis Din would not get to, Hence they held two days because of a Safek and today people who live outside of Eretz Yisroel continue to keep two days even when we are in Ertez Yisroel Because of Minhag Avosenu Byodanu.With that said Why on Shavous where we know that Shavous is 50 days after Pesach why have the second day,as even if the Messenger would not have come on time we would have known based on the counting of days from Pesach?


texts:
According to my Artscroll Chumash, it appears that parshat Ki Tisa can not be the scheduled Shabbat reading on Shabbat Shekalim (I assume this because the potential maftir and haftarah readings listed on page 515 include only the regular reading and the reading in the case of Parshat Parah). I assume that this is a certainty now that we have a fixed calendar. But I wonder if it was ever possible for Ki Tisa to coincide with Shabbat Shekalim.

If so, would there be a maftir for Shekalim (which is normally from the beginning of Ki Tisa) or would we have discharged our Shekalim obligation through the regular Torah reading of the exact same portion?


texts: This is obviously just for research sake. But what does halacha say about using profanity. Is it forbidden. Can it be used in times of emphasis and where is the line drawn for what is considered profanity.


texts: How did our forefathers bake the dough they took out of Egypt? Would it qualify as matzo now?

texts:
Shmos 12 (39) says:

  “They baked the dough that they had taken out of Egypt as unleavened
  cakes, for it had not leavened, for they were driven out of Egypt, and
  they could not tarry, and also, they had not made provisions for
  themselves.”

Q1: How practically did our forefathers bake the dough? Did they improvise ovens and fuel or did they bake it on their backs in the sun as Targum Yonoson suggests?

Q2: Was the product of the baking halachic matzo as we understand it?

Since posing the questions I found at Yeshiva.co

  Clearly one may not bake the matzot (for the the mitzva of eating matza) in the heat of the sun. If one did
  so, then even if the heat was very strong and it seems clear that the
  dough did not ferment, nevertheless one cannot use this matza to
  fulfill the mitzva of eating matza, for matza has been called "bread
  of poverty" in the Torah, and what is baked in the sun is not properly
  called bread (Shulchan Arukh Harav 461, 6).


texts:
I see that some names have the word "Rav" in the name, names like Rav Yitzchak Meir Morgenstern and Rav Berg.

I don't know much about Judaism. I want to know what is the meaning of "Rav".


texts: Sanhedrin 6:6 - Halacha or common practice?

texts:
The Mishna in Sanhedrin 6:6 speaks about after a Sanhedrin kills a someone who is liable the death penalty:

והקרובים באים ושואלין בשלום הדיינים. ובשלום העדים. כלומר שאין בלבנו עליכם כלום. שדין אמת דנתם.
The relatives (of the deceased) would come and ask about the well-being of the Judges and the well-being of the the witnesses, meaning (the witnesses are saying) "that there is nothing in our hearts against you, for you delivered true judgement"

Is this statement of the Mishna a requirement for the family to abide to? Or was that the practice of the time?


texts: Is Asenath, the wife of Joseph, the illegitimate daughter of Dinah?

texts:
In Bresheit 34:1-2 "Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had born to Yakov, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her."

Bresheit 41:45 " ...and he (Pharaoh)gave him (Yosef)as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On..."

I was taught that there is a commentary which states that Asenath was the illegitimate daughter of Dinah when she was violated in Shechem.

Poti-Pherah was emasculated and unable to produce offspring, so he took Dinah as a daughter who happened to be with child (Asenath).

Can anyone verify this and cite the commentary where this can be found?


texts: Can Mitochondrial DNA testing be used to confirm Jewishness?

texts:
A friend of mine is having difficulty obtaining documents confirming the jewishness of their maternal line and thus they cannot confirm they are jewish.

Mitochondrial DNA is only passed down the maternal line, so I'm lead to think this test might be an alternative to documents.

This means that if the mitochondrial DNA can be identified as having come uniquely from a Jewish woman, then every woman in that maternal line from then on can be defined as Jewish (from mother to daughter).


texts: Does ישב בשער־המלך imply some sort of royal position

texts: In Esther 2:19 Mordechai is described as  ישב בשער־המלך sitting at the gate of the king. I recall learning that this implied that Mordechai held some sort of royal/official government position. I would like to know if this is true and if so what the source is for this idea.


texts:
Tosfos in מסכת גיטין (Tosfos 20A "אי''... Tosfos 24A "כל הגט") keeps on repeating the concept of using a Sefer Torah for גירושין...
Tosfos uses phrases such as...  "ספר תורה דלא איכתוב לשם גירושין כלל פסול"
 regarding a גט סתם.
What does Tosfos mean when he says a "Sefer Torah" not written לשם גירושין? A גט as far as I know consists of a טופס and תורף. How could one use a Sefer Torah/פרשה as a גט? Is there an alternative to the typical template of the classical גט?


texts: Origin of exemption on covering hair for unmarried women

texts:
I've studied tons of various Poskim and websites discussing aspects of covering hair for women so I am familiar with the practical Halachot.

If I'm right, the default state is that all women (married and not, young and not) are obligated to cover their hair (as שער באשה ערוה - Brochos 24a, see Shu"A EH 21:2) but unmarried are Rabbinically exempt and allowed not to (I'm aware that some argue):

  "לא תלכנה בנות ישראל פרועות ראש בשוק אחת פנויה ואחת אשת איש:"
  Jewish women may not go with uncovered head in the marketplace, whether married or not."

Practically ALL the Poskim agree on the fact that בתולות are not obligated but I failed to trace it to the original source. Please help me find one - where did it start?


texts: Presumably Briskers generally daven nusach Ashkenaz.  Is there a particular siddur associated with Brisk, perhaps with haskomos from Brisker roshei yeshivos?


texts: May a non-Jew or a person who is in the conversion process don tefillin? If not, what are the reasons that they cannot?


texts: What font were the earliest Hebrew texts written in?

texts:
I am wondering what style and what script the original or the earlier/earliest Hebrew scriptures were written in. For example, the earliest Greek scriptures were likely written in the Uncial font (style = Uncial, script = Greek). Likewise I am wondering what it would've been like for the Torah. "Hebrew" script seems to be a relatively modern development. I also have learned that the original texts would've been penned without diacritical marks, and without punctuation of any kind (no titles, spaces, periods, etc.). Not sure if they marked the end of sentences/paragraphs/verses. But in terms of font, I am wondering what they used.

Was it the Samaritan Script "Samaritan is a direct descendant of the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, which was a variety of the Phoenician alphabet in which large parts of the Hebrew Bible were originally penned."? Or was it the Paleo-Hebrew Alphabet "the script used in the historic kingdoms of Israel and Judah by Israelites"?

Wikipedia also states:

  The present Jewish "square-script" Hebrew aleph beit abjad evolved from the Aramaic. Samaritans (population fewer than 1000) use a P-H abjad derivative, known as the Samaritan alphabet.

So maybe, was it Aramaic script "The ancient Aramaic alphabet was adapted from the Phoenician alphabet and became a distinct script by the 8th century BC. It was used to write the Aramaic language and had displaced the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, itself a derivative of the Phoenician alphabet, for the writing of Hebrew."?

Wikipedia also says:

  The earliest inscriptions in the Aramaic language use the Phoenician alphabet.[2] Over time, the alphabet developed into the form shown below. Aramaic gradually became the lingua franca throughout the Middle East, with the script at first complementing and then displacing Assyrian cuneiform, as the predominant writing system.

So I'm a little confused. It seems to go, in terms of script. Phoenician -> Paleo-Hebrew -> (Hebrew, Samaritan, Aramaic). Something like that. So Hebrew script, what did it evolve from? Was it Aramaic, Phoenician, or Paleo-Hebrew? I'm assuming it was directly from Paleo-Hebrew.

So this would mean the font should be Paleo Hebrew. Wikipedia also says:

  By the 5th century BCE (with the Hebrew Jews exiled in the diaspora) P-H was subsumed by the Imperial Aramaic abjad with little remnant -- the Aramaic sharing a common protolanguage with a simpler font.

Not sure what it would've been for certain though.

Or could all of the scripts been written in "Early Semitic", with pictographs? At least the Torah? Or could it have been Phoenician? It seems Paleo-Hebrew and Phoenician look pretty much exactly the same. Even if we dont have any of it recorded in history, do you think the Torah would've been written down in Phoenician, or Aramaic, or Proto Hebrew?

Wikipedia also states:

  According to one Jewish tradition,[6] however, the block script seen today in Hebrew Torah Scrolls, known as Kthav Ashurith, was the original Hebrew script carved into the Ten Commandments.[7] According to this opinion, the Ktav Ashurith was lost over time, as the masses used Paleo-Hebrew and its cousins, known as Kthav Ivri, for day to day writing, just as Jews today use a non block script for everyday writing.

Would a Torah in Proto Sinaitic have ever existed?

As of my research, it seems either it was Proto Sinaitic or Phoenician which are the earliest candidates for first capturing the Torah. Also, here is a collection of Hebrew-related ancient fonts.

This site says:

  Prior to the Babylonian captivity, the Jews used an alphabet very similar to what is found in the Torah scrolls of the Samaritans. However, during the Babylonian captivity, the Jews adopted the Aramaic square script. While paleo-Hebrew continued to be used by the Jews into the first century A.D. on a limited basis, it was the Aramaic square script that was most predominately used to write Hebrew and this is the script used in most scrolls found in the Dead Sea caves.


texts: Why didn't they send messengers for Rosh Chodesh Shevat?

texts:
The mishnah in Rosh Hashana 1:3 lists the months when they would send messengers to notify people which day Rosh Chodesh was:

Nisan because of Pesach
Av because of Tisha Be'av
Elul because of Rosh Hashana
Tishrei because of Yom Kippur and Sukkos
Kislev because of Chanuka
Adar because of Purim
When the Beis Hamikdash was standing: Iyar because of Pesach Sheini

Why weren't messengers also sent for Rosh Chodesh Shevat so that people knew the boundary between the maaser crops for fruit trees?  If they didn't know the correct date by Tu Bishvat, I assume they had to maintain three separate piles of fruit until the Adar messengers came: definitely last year, definitely this year, and a small pile of doubtful fruits that ripened on the day that might be Tu Bishvat.


texts: Why did Rashi choose Hebrew over Aramaic?

texts:
Rashi chose a form of Medieval Hebrew to write his commentaries, which facilitates the life of many students, as the Aramaic content in his writing is very low compared to the Gemara or contemporary liturgical poems. In the introduction of Mishneh Torah Rambam discusses the issue that Jews of his age were not excelling in Aramaic (see paragraphs 36, 40, 41), which might have been Rashi's concern too.

Did Rashi write about his motivations for choosing Hebrew in a similar way?


texts:
I'm only familiar with Judaism through chabad so I may not know how it is in other communities, but from what I've heard and seen, it seems that other sects and flavors of Judaism shun Chabad because of Chabad's zealousness with everything Moshiach.

But in the daily prayers, including in the amidah, we ask a few times for Moshiach; the Rambam says it is one of the 13 principals of faith, that we await his coming every day; and we don't have the holy temple, we are missing so many commandments that only can done there, and the holy presence of God which dwells there.

Shouldn't all Jews be begging God and making special programs and events (in MetLife stadium) for bringing Moshiach?

God told Moshe to make a Mishkan so his presence can be here among us on Earth, and then we had the Beis Hamikdash. So it's definitely something very critical for serving God.


texts: How many times does the word Tzitzit appear in Tanach?

texts:
I am looking for the word Tzitzit in Tanach (spelled any which way, but the word as it relates to tassels/strings.)
I so far have the obvious 3 from the third passage of Shema. So my count is at 3.
I am not looking for the word as it appears in the fourth pasuk here, because according to the translation it means a very different word.
Further, I checked the concordance here, and could not find the word Tzitzit as spelled in Bamidbar, linked above.
Any help would be appreciated!


texts: To pass אעביר (Exo 33:19), what does it mean?

texts:
Exodus 33:19 reads: " אני אעביר כל־טובי על־פניך ", I know it's often translated somewhat like this: "I will make all My goodness pass before thee (before thy face)", but I noticed it's root ע - ב - ר can also mean something like 'to transfer' or 'to pass something'. And because it states that it is על־פניך, I wondered if HaShem foretold Moshe here that He would cause 'His Goodness, His Kawod, Something of His Essence, His Light' to transfer upon or over his face. As Moshe asked HaShem to reveal his כבוד, and later on one reads that the face of Moshe shone (Exodus 34:29-30).

Any commentaries or explanations which explain אעביר in such manner?

P.s. I noticed the same word occures in Ezekiel 14:15 and Zechariah 13:2.


texts: Dictionaries of Mishnaic/Rabbinic Hebrew

texts:
Do dictionaries exist that focus on the vocabulary of Rabbinic/Mishnaic Hebrew, including idioms? Ideally, I am hoping that a dictionary exists that includes Rabbinic/Mishnaic Hebrew as well as the Hebrew of Tanakh. I often come across words in Rabbinic texts that are not found in Tanakh, or have a different meaning in Tanakh, and likewise do not exist or have a different connotation in Modern Hebrew. This makes translation difficult when I currently only have access to Tanakh concordances and Modern Hebrew dictionaries.
I would be grateful if someone could recommend what options might exist, including dictionaries that translate the terms into Modern Hebrew as well as those that translate into English.


texts:
The Mishna in Rosh Hashono 4 (4) says that originally in the Beis Hamikdosh, evidence of the new moon (of Tishrei) was accepted all the day of the 30th of Elul (which was made holy as a Yom Tov). On one occasion, the witnesses came late and the the Leviim did not say the correct psalm for the afternoon sacrifice. After that event, it was instituted that witnesses would be accepted only up to the time of the afternoon sacrifice and if the witnesses came later, that day and the following day would be treated as Yom Tov.

It seems to me from the Mishna that they did not offer a Korban Mussaf on the 30th of Elul. Is that right?

We observe some two-day Roshei Chodoshim. Are they modelled on the observance described in the above Mishna?

If so, why do we pray Mussaf on the first day of Rosh Chodesh?

(This is different to the observance of 2-day yomim tovim. The second day was originally instituted because of a doubt and remains as a minhag of our forefathers. We do not know on which day the YT fell and so we have all the observances of the YT for both days. But here, the original practice was not to bring a korban Musaf on the first day.)


texts: The "two-state solution" for Israel in Orthodox Judaism

texts:
There is a commonly cited machloket between Chabad and many other chassidim (particularly Satmar) in regards to the validity of the State of Israel. There are also a panoply of views among non-chassidim, however if asked, I would be hard-put to find a source for them.

Do any notable rabbanim take a middle road and support a two-state solution between The State of Israel (not the land) and the Palestinians? If so, what is their halachic basis?


texts: Mezzuzahs- putting them up, and saying brachot

texts: Is there an "issur" regarding not putting up a mezuzzah?  Is there such thing as having 30 days until the issue kicks in?  Also, can you say the bracha each time you put one up?  Or, if two different people hang them up, can they each say the bracha?


texts: Is it permitted to use a thermochromic cup on Shabbos?

texts:
A novelty cup, see for example here, appears black when cold. When hot liquid is poured into it, the black changes to white and the previously concealed writing (underneath, so to speak) becomes visible.

Is it allowed to use this cup on Shabbos? You might think that the text has been "written" insofar as it could not be read before the hot liquid was placed in the cup.

If not, in what way is it different to photochromic prescription sunglasses which are allowed
see "Halachically Speaking" page 8.


texts: PTIJ: Where did Haman stay after the Bnai Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael

texts:
We see in the Torah that Haman (המן) came to Bnai Yisrael every morning in the desert. We also see that Haman stopped coming as soon as they entered Eretz Yisrael. Where was he from the time they entered Eretz Yisrael until he joined Achashveirosh?

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


texts: Ratio between gentile vs jewish persons for jews to consider

texts:
I am interested to know, according to written law, if there is something like a ratio or relativization to consider between people of the tribe and gentiles that a Jew is bound to. Is there's such a thing, generally, as a rule in Judaism along the lines of "One Jew is worth N gentiles"?
Some examples of dilemmas in which such a rule might apply:

For a group-project in university i have been asked by 3 gentiles to join there group. After this i was asked by 2 Jewish persons (secular like me) to join their group. I am quite good in the subject and i know my participation would be helpful for each group.
Considering that there doesn't exist any strong relationship with any of the persons involved, is there an obligation for me to prefer the people with the same culture (religion)?

Imagine I can save a gentile by risking my life with a chance of dying at 51%. Shall i, according to written law, do it? your answer can consider a floating variable other than 51. (Let's assume that I don't know anything about the righteousness of the gentile.)

Imagine 2 boats, 1 with 10 people of the tribe and 1 with 20 gentiles. My ship has 20 places to rescue people but because of fuel, I can only make it to save one boat. Which shall happen according to law? (Again, assume that I don't know anything about the qualities of any of the people involved other than their religious affiliation.)

Please consider that this are hypothetical cases. In such situations our heart will tell us without a doubt what to do, but for the purpose of this exercise only reason and law can be considered.


texts: Blowing the shofar in an "older" large shul

texts:
Mishnah Rosh Hashanna 3:7 says:

  One who blows into a pit or a cistern or a jug, if he heard the sound
  of the shofar, he has fulfilled his obligation, but if he hears the
  echo, he has not fulfilled his obligation.

This rule of not fulfilling the mitzvah of hearing the shofar if one hears an echo is not unique to blowing in a pit, but any place that may have an echo.

The shul I grew up in was (is) an "older" shul with high ceilings and it definitely produced a huge echo. This was wonderful in terms of hearing the chazzan. But, I'm curious if such large shuls like this or those that have special "acoustic paneling" that both produce large echoes would be problematic for most of the congregants on Rosh Hashanna. Not everyone can sit close to where the shofar blower is when the shul is crowded.

Is there a "measurement" or "distance point" that someone or other criteria in such shuls where one would not fulfill his obligation because he is hearing an echo? Or, can we assume that any place within the confines of the shul would be fine and people are most likely hearing the actual shofar sound, and the echo is "negligible"?


texts:
The Talmud in Eruvin 13b concludes that it were better for a man not to have been created than to have been created.

How can we understand this given that God is absolutely benevolent.
Wouldn't it make more sense for a  benevolent God to create a world where it is better for man to be created?


texts:
I went to the store on Friday, two days before Purim, to buy ingredients for hamantashen.  The problem was, there were too many flavors of filling: strawberry, blueberry, apricot, and many more.  I wasn't sure which one to buy.
Then I noticed that there was a can of mon filling.  I know that there are a lot of special halachot related to mon, for instance that you can't leave it overnight unless that night is Shabbos.  But the can had a hechsher and it was on sale in a Jewish store, so I knew all those halachot were followed and it would be ok to serve on Purim night, Motzaei Shabbos.
I thought, "Great!  Now I can just buy that, and the hamantashen will taste like whatever I want!"  (As long as it's not cucumber, melon, leek, onion, or garlic, but who ever heard of hamantashen in those flavors anyway.)  (Rashi Bamidbar 11:5)
But it didn't work!  I had in mind that the hamantashen should taste like several different flavors, but their taste always stayed the same.  I didn't like the taste much, but I had to eat them all before morning anyway to avoid the issur of leaving mon until the morning.
What did I do wrong?  Why didn't they taste like whatever I wanted?

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


texts:
Rashi says

  What does the subject of Shemittah have with Mount Sinai? Were not all the commandments stated from Sinai? However, [this teaches us that] just as with Shemittah, its general principles and its finer details were all stated from Sinai, likewise, all of them were stated-their general principles [together with] their finer details-from Sinai.

Yet, in all other mitzvos (Shabbos, for example), one who violates a Tolda of an Aveira has still Biblically violated that Aveira. However, one who violates a Tolda of Shmitta did not.

What does Rashi mean?


texts:
In describing the layout of B'nei Yisra'el's camp in the wilderness, the Torah records four groups (called d'galim) comprising 3 tribes each, and lists them in order, dictating a diagram of how they traveled. After finishing with the lead tribe in each group the Torah introduces the next tribe using the formula

וְהַחוֹנִם עָלָיו מַטֵּה X
And camping adjacent to [tribe Y] was tribe X

The preposition that the Torah uses for "adjacent" is "עָלָיו", which could be misinterpreted as its more standard meaning, "upon". Thus, Unkelus translates the phrase unambiguously as

ודי שרן סמיכין עלוהי שבטא דX
And those who camped adjacent to it were tribe X

This is the translation three out of four times this formula appears (in Num. 2:5,12, and 27). The fourth time, when a slightly different phrasing is used (in 2:20), leaving out the verb, Unkelus follows suit, literally translating

ודסמיכין עלוהי שבטא דX
And those adjacent to it were tribe X

Only this time does Rash"i comment, seemingly to explain the meaning of "עליו", by quoting Unkelus. His comment reads in full:

ועליו - כתרגומו ודסמיכין עלוהי
"And upon it" - Like its translation [by Unkelus]: "and those adjacent to it"

Rash"i is assuming we were able to figure out the meaning of this word the other three times either on our own or with the help of Unkelus, but this time not. Why is this? What is he uniquely adding to our understanding of this pasuk?


texts: How can one eat non-certified kosher Israeli produce?

texts: In Israel, there are many stores that are not certified kosher that sell produce grown in Israel. What is the procedure for taking teruma and maaser, and is there anything else a buyer would need to keep in mind?


texts: Why do we cut the tzitzit out of a tallit for a dead person?

texts: I have seen that when one of our community elder died and when they put on tallit they cut out the tzitzit part and let him put only the garment. Why is this done to a dead person? Is there a source for this and a good reason ?


texts: Based on Talmud Bavli Megillah 30a - 30b, how can we have a break betwen Parshiot Zachor and Parah?

texts:
According to what it says in the Talmud, the 3rd of the 4 Shabbatot is Parah, and the Talmud says that this 3rd Shabbat is the one immediately after Purim.

In most years this is true. However, this year, when Pesach falls on Shabbat, and in a year when Pesach falls on Sunday, the Shabbat after Purim is a "break". How / Why did this occur? Is this in contradiction of what the Talmud says?


texts: Rabbi Chanina would don his talis gadol on erev Shabbos (Mas. Shabbos 25b, Rambam Hilchos Shabbos 30:2). While this has been practiced by individuals, is it today the practice of any particular segments of Jewry to wear their taleisim for Friday night prayers (and, perhaps, meals)?


texts: Where is there a discussion about it being okay to put non-kosher animal products into one's human body?

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Where can one find the earliest rabbinic discussion about it being okay to put non-kosher animal products into one's human body, as long as it is not in a digestive manner?

I would like my question to be not under the idea of saving a life, but simply asking a question, where does such a discussion take place.

It appears there is no Torah law that prohibits the injection of non-kosher elements into one's blood stream. True (I think), but where is this discussed by the rabbis?

Here is an example of what I mean, one can hear rabbis say that (as we all know), it is forbidden for a Jew to eat non-kosher food, and that (not everyone knows, it appears) a Jew can inject or bring-into-the-body elements (such as insulin, etc.) derived from non-kosher animals, even from pigs.

Reminder: I am not asking about pikuach nefesh situations.


texts:
Possible Duplicate:
  Fish Tank Menorahs

I think this is a familiar question, but since I don't have an answer, I'll ask it here. Since the halacha is that Hadlaka Oseh Mitzva (the conditions at the time of lighting need to be adequate), how can one put a menora (chanukiah) in a glass box outdoors to protect it from blowing out? At the actual time of lighting, i.e. before the box was closed, the candles were not in a position to last the required half hour b/c of the wind. Only once you close the glass will they be OK - but Hadlaka Oseh Mitzva so it should be too late.I was told that many achronim deal with this question. I would be happy if someone could bring links to sources or atleast sumamrise the various opinions.


texts: Of course there is a set order in the Siddur, but is there a hierarchy in ברכות השחר? If, for example, someone did not wash his hands or use the bathroom when he woke up, can he say Elokai Neshamah or ברכות התורה?


texts: Is there a kosher way to get a permanent image on the skin?

texts: Based on these excellent questions it appears that writing with ink permanently on the skin is forbidden and that there is no question of maras ayin for non permanent tattoos. Is there a way to make a permanent image on the skin that does not violate halacha?


texts: Is indirect "benefit" (Hana'ah) also forbidden?

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Some things are forbidden via halacha in local terms, such as eating, but some things are so forbidden that we may not derive hana'ah, benefit from them in any way. Chameitz She'avar alav HaPesach, leaven that we retainined in our possession over Passover, is such a category -- in fact, this site says that one may not even return chameitz items purchased on Pesach for a refund as that constitutes benefit.

Benefit, though, confuses. me. I know from learning parts of Masechet Sukkah (Schottenstein 31b2, note 19, referencing R"H 28a), that one does not derive benefit simply by fulfilling a mitzvah (that is, the status of having been mekayem the mitzvah is not inherently benefit), so I assume that one's burning the leftover chameitz, though he might gain spiritually by being yotzei an obligation, is not "hana'ah". Daf 35a(3) note 24 references Masechet Shabbat 25a-b which says that one may derive more physical and practical benefit from the burning of T'rumah which has become tamei, like using the fire as fuel in an oven. But I do not see that there is a blanket issur of hana'ah for said T'rumah.

Where there is such a law, like by forbidden chameitz, can one derive similar secondary benefit through the destruction of the leaven? Does fulfilling the obligation to burn it and then using the flame to create warmth in a house, or run an oven in which other food is cooked, or to dry clothes etc. constitute a forbidden benefit in the same way that a direct benefit (reselling it, feeding it to one's animals etc.) does?


texts: What subjects did talmud censoring involve and how far back does it go?

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I'm aware of censoring of the name Yeshu, in the soncino printing of the talmud where they replaced it with "sinners of israel" in Gittin 57a.

I'm interested what other subjects or names were censored.

And also, i'm interested if there is any censoring, that we are aware of, prior to the Soncino printing, as i'm interested in how far back the censoring goes.


texts: Why so many vocalized shvas in Siddur Tehillat Hashem?

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I prayed using a Siddur Tehillat Hashem the other day, and I noticed that many more shvas were marked with an asterisk above, indicating that they should be vocalized, than I'd expect. In particular, there were many cases in which a shva following an unaccented "short vowel" and not under a letter with a dagesh got an asterisk.

One example, which I confirmed is not marked for vocalization in the Artscroll Siddur (for example), is the last word of the second verse of Psalms 104 (AKA "Barechi Nafshi"): כַּיְרִיעָֽה, which would be pronounced like "kayeriy'a" according to Tehillat Hashem and like "kayriy'a" according to Artscroll.

Where does this distinction come from?


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In ancient times, Jews living in Israel ululated if I am not mistaken. Is this practiced by Ashkenazi or Sephardic Jews today? Which other Jewish communities ululate? Ethiopians, Mizrahis, etc?

Are there any notable rulings or commentaries regarding ululation? Would it be considered immodest of a woman if she ululated in a public gathering such as a wedding or funeral?
Is it prohibited for a man to do this?


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There are many things I don't understand about Joseph's food policy in Parashat Vayigash

Why did the Egyptians have to buy food during the famine, given that they had been taxed during the 7 years of plenty with the express purpose of storing grain for the famine years?

Why did Joseph force them to sell their money, their animals, and finally themselves as slaves when they were starving?

Why did he disperse them through Egypt (that kind of policy is why the Assyrians were so hated)?

This policy seems very cruel to the people of Egypt, and very much out of character for Joseph haTzadik.


texts:
What is the actual story behind the Ashkenazi way of pronunciation? I am uncertain as to whether Ashkenazim consider their form of pronunciation older than Sephardi, just an alternative, or... Any help greatly appreciated!

The question, in summary: is there historical evidence to support that either Ashkenazi or Sephardi pronunciation is more related to the form of Hebrew Moshe used?


texts: Were there specific locusts in reserve for the 8th plague?

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Hashem's instructions to Moshe to bring the locusts reads as follows:

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֶל משֶׁה נְטֵה יָדְךָ עַל אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בָּאַרְבֶּה וכו
And Hashem said to Moses, "stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts..."

The vowel under the ב of בארבה is a qamatz, which is in place of the definitive article ה.  (See here for more about that.)  This indicates that there were some specific locusts that were being referred to by this verse (i.e. send the locusts as opposed to send locusts).
I think Rashi is addressing his point with his comment to this word,

בארבה: בשביל מכת הארבה
For the locusts: for the plague of locusts

thus making the definitive article referring to the plague, as opposed to the locusts.
However, I am wondering if there is any other approach to this in the commentaries.  Does anyone explain that there were some specific, otherwise known, locusts that were involved in this plague?


texts: Is it true that a certain book of the Tanach was rewritten because it was lost?

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I remember being told that a certain book in the Tanach had to be rewritten after it was lost during the Kings period. Is it considered true? If it is, are there mekorot/academic sources for this?

I tried searching, but my google searches didn't come up with anything.


texts: Why did God change His method of judgement towards people after the generation of Noach? (Rash"i on Br. 18:25)

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Rashi on Genesis 18:25 (excerpt):

  חלילה לך

   יאמרו כך הוא אמנתו, שוטף הכל, צדיקים ורשעים, כך עשית לדור המבול ולדור הפלגה:

My translation:

People will say that this is your method (of punishment) - that you combine everyone - the righteous with the wicked. This is what you did to the generation of the flood and the generation of dispersion (following Noach).

I'm not sure of Rashi's source for this explanation, here. However, given that this is correct, it seems that God's judgement method towards humanity was much stricter until Avraham came. It seems that God exhibited more of his merciful attribute afterwards. Why was the judgement more severe then, and less severe afterwards?


texts: Authenticity and authority of Oral tradition

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Is there a methodology used in Judaism to authenticate traditions (that it orginated from person to whom it is attributed) and deem it halacha or a correct position? For example, Muslims have what they call 'Hadeeth Science' which they use to authenticate hadiths (sayings of their prophet which were transmitted orally and then later recorded).

I've been reading this article which quotes a  lot from Shammai and Hillel, and I have no idea of knowing which traditions are accepted as authentic and which aren't (Link).
I have also read on another website, negative statements, particularly towards non-Jews (Link) attributed to Hillel and others. How do I know what's authentic and what isn't or what is halacha?


texts: Have any Jewish commentaries been written on the Septuagint?

texts: While a number of Jewish commentaries have been written on Targum Onkelos, Targum Yonasan, Targum Pseudo-Yonasan, and Targum Yerushalmi (see the list in the Targum section at Parshablog, for example), have there been any Jewish commentaries authored on the Targum Shiv'im, (a.k.a. the LXX or Septuagint)?  If so, where can I find them (or, if only one has been written, where can I find it)?


texts: Why the opening of Avot does not introduce the whole Mishnah?

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“Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in justice, raise many disciples and make a fence around the Torah.” Avot 1:1

I'm aware of the fact that the Mishnaic tractates had originally no order, but they were eventually structured into SHAS as we know it today. I'd expect this Mishnah to be the opening sentence of the whole work as it explains the origin and the authority of the whole Mishnah. Yet it is buried amidst Sanhedrin.
In addition, I don't see a prohibition of duplicating this Mishna, so it could appear both at the beginning of Berachot AND Avot to assert that both Halachah and ethics were given at Sinai.
Why isn't this Mishna used as the introduction to the whole Oral Torah?


texts: Is it permissible for a Kohen to marry a giyores (convert)?


texts:
Many religiously observant men I've met, irrespective of their 'edah (cultural persuasion, e.g. Ashkenazi, Sefaradi, Teimani), have shaken my hand more loosely than secular or Gentile men (who generally tend toward a firmer handshake in my experience).

Is there a halakhic/hashqafic reasoning/source behind this?

Social/comedic sources giving anecdotal evidence to the trend:

"What kind of handshake do you give?" (Frum Satire)
"What's in a (Jewish) Handshake?" (The Muqata)


texts: I'm interested in learning the Italian system for the ta'amei hamikra, either for Torah and/or Haftarah (preference to Haftarah as the Italian melodies are very beautiful). This website has tons of recordings, with davening as well. But does anyone know of a resource where the trope themselves are demonstrated? I'm especially concerned because in the recordings, there often seems to be little differentiation between the various trope.


texts: How to convince your Jewish athiest friend to become shomer mitzvot?

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If one has a friend who's and atheist--someone who believes in evolution, big bang, etc--what methods can you use to convince him to abandon his old ways and start keeping some of the mitzvot?

Bible codes can be chalked up to coincidence. Proofs from the laws of the kashrut can be said to be generalized and not conclusively proven. Predictions prophesied can be retorted by saying that if you look for something in such a vast collection of texts anything could be found. If you try to suggest torah lectures for them to watch, they will say that they don't have an hour to listen to nonsense.

Granted atheism can be used as a device to rationalize not following the Torah or God, can any method in particular penetrate this particular mindset?


texts:
What is meant in Bamidbar 12:8 when the verse reads: "and the similitude of the LORD doth he behold" -  וּתְמֻנַת יְהוָה, יַבִּיט

I would like to know what the words 'similtude of the Lord' really mean; because HaShem can't be pictured in any form, although we can perceive Him, we can't see Him, like He said in Devarim 4.


texts: What is the Hebrew text for this prayer?

texts:
According to the Wikipedia article about the Christian "Lord's Prayer,"

  A blessing said by some Jewish communities after the evening Shema includes a phrase quite similar to the opening of the Lord's Prayer: "Our God in heaven, hallow thy name, and establish thy kingdom forever, and rule over us for ever and ever. Amen."

What is the Hebrew text for this phrase?


texts: Are Muslims also promised the Land of Israel?

texts: God promised Avraham that his descendants would be given the Land of Israel (Genesis 15:18-21). Since Ishmael is one of Avraham's descendants, and if Ishmael is the ancestor of Muslisms, do Muslims also have a claim to the Land of Israel?


texts: What are the main opinions regarding hitbodedut? I strongly recall being taught we're not supposed to bother Hashem more than three times a day, though I can't find an actual prohibition anywhere.


texts:
Why is a dried fig specifically the quantity one must carry to be liable on Shabbos? I would have thought the size of something functional - an olive, egg, or even a barley corn - would be the prohibited measurement.

  Rambam Shabbos (18:1) - הַמּוֹצִיא דָּבָר מֵרְשׁוּת הַיָּחִיד
  לִרְשׁוּת הרבִּים אוֹ מֵרְשׁוּת הָרַבִּים לִרְשׁוּת הַיָּחִיד אֵינוֹ
  חַיָּב עַד שֶׁיּוֹצִיא מִמֶּנּוּ שִׁעוּר שֶׁמּוֹעִיל כְּלוּם. וְאֵלּוּ
  הֵן שִׁעוּרֵי הַהוֹצָאָה. הַמּוֹצִיא אָכְלֵי אָדָם כִּגְרוֹגֶרֶת.
  וּמִצְטָרְפִין זֶה עִם זֶה. וְהוּא שֶׁיִּהְיֶה כִּגְרוֹגֶרֶת מִן
  הָאֹכֶל עַצְמוֹ חוּץ מִן הַקְּלִפִּים וְהַגַּרְעִינִין וְהָעֵקְצִין
  וְהַסֻּבִּין וְהַמֻּרְסָן: One who transports something from a private
  domain to a public domain or from a public domain to a private domain
  is only liable when he transports a [requisite] amount that is useful
  for something. And these are the [requisite] amounts for transporting:
  [Regarding] one who transports human food, it is like a dried
  fig-bulk. And [different foods] combine with one another. And that is
  when there is a dried fig-bulk from the food itself, besides the
  peels, the pits, the stems, the bran and the coarse bran.


texts: Why does the Torah not include jail as punishment?

texts: The Torah does not include jail as punishment for transgressions.  Death, flogging, fines, shunning, yes, but not jail.  Do our sources comment on that?  Where?


texts: The custom is that the gabbai announces the time of the Molad during the course of "Bircas HaChodesh" on Shabbos Mevorchim. What is the purpose of this? The molad is anyhow not directly connected to the Rosh Chodesh of any month except Tishrei (which, ironically, has no Bircas HaChodesh at all!).


texts: There seems to be some misunderstanding/machlokes (disagreement) on how you should wear your tzitzis - with the strings sticking out or tucked in. What's the proper way?


texts: Moving Sefer Torah with Tallis (source?)

texts: Often times, when someone will move a Sefer Torah from one place to another, on top of what the Sefer Torah is already normally covered with, he will put an additional covering of a Tallis-Gadol. Where does this minhag come from? What is the reason for it?