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"One who learns Halachos every day is a Ben Olam Haba" (Babylonian Talmud Niddah 73a)

If a Jew reads the halachic questions and answers on this forum everyday, does that guarantee he or she will gain automatic entrance into the (pleasant) Afterlife?

Isaac Moses
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Jake
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    dupe? http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/13102/759 – Double AA Sep 07 '14 at 08:19
  • @DoubleAA I searched for other Q's before submitting this one. I want to know specifically about fulfilling the Tanna D'Bei Eliyahu quoted in the gemara cited above. (The one that appears in many siddurim after Shabbat Mussaf.) – Jake Sep 07 '14 at 09:01
  • I assume that it depends what you're reading on this site. Some stuff here is halachah, some isn't. Btw, in some siddurim it's every day, not just shabbos – user613 Sep 07 '14 at 10:19
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    Depends on your reputation (in many senses)! – Avrohom Yitzchok Sep 07 '14 at 10:43
  • @Jake Can you explain why you think an answer to that question would not answer this one? If it fulfills the mitzvoh of learning Torah why wouldn't it fulfill the Tanna D'Bei Eliyahu you quoted? – Double AA Sep 07 '14 at 18:36
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    @DoubleAA Leaning a blatt gemara is Talmud Torah, but it isn't a source of halacha l'maaseh. The above quote teaches that one who learns halachos every day, not one who learns Torah every day. – Jake Sep 08 '14 at 07:04
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    MiYodeya?............ – Gershon Gold Sep 08 '14 at 13:49
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    @Jake, this question would be a great deal more answerable if you would edit in why you suspect that this may or may not be the case (including the content of you most recent comment). It seems that this question is much more about what "Halachos" leans in this context than about anything particular about Mi Yodeya. – Isaac Moses Sep 08 '14 at 18:31
  • whenever you hear such quotes about olam haba there's always a catch. rambam also says if one merely walks four cubits in israel he enters olam haba. perhaps here it means that you also fulfill the halacha you learned – ray Nov 17 '16 at 22:23

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The Gemara is stating that learning halachos everyday makes him a בן עולם הבא. Would he commit actions that disallow him from עולם הבא, that will not be the case.

Moshe
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    Welcome to Mi Yodeya. Thanks for the answer. Answers (and questions) are usually better if they list their sources. Is this something you saw, heard, thought of yourself? Consider editing that in. – mevaqesh Jul 20 '16 at 23:34
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From Wikipedia's definition of "halacha":

Orthodox Jews maintain halakha is derived from the divine law of the Torah (Bible), rabbinical laws, rabbinical decrees and customs combined. As such it should be adhered to as an unalterable authority. They also believe there are traditional formulas that date back to Moses on how the divine law may be interpreted – see above, "Rules by which early Jewish law was derived". While Conservative Jews have varied views regarding the origin of the Torah and its authority today, and believe it can be continuously reinterpreted. Their view of halakha has given rise to substantial differences in approach as well as result.

In relating this definition to attempting a fair answer to your question, I am making some assumptions which may be incorrect, but here goes:

  • The fact that you cited the Gemarrah and the tone of your question leads me to sense that you are seeking the "Orthodox" viewpoint
  • Mi Yodeya does state in its overall philosophy as well as answers to many questions, CYLOR, "We are not rabbis" and other similar disclaimers.

Note that Mi Yodeya seems to imply that only views from an Orthodox rabbi are "valid" for your own personal purposes. I read some question on meta that asks about accepting non-Orthodox viewpoints, and I couldn't quite glean a conclusion about how the moderators deal with them. So, you may want to follow with a related question on meta.

In summary, since Mi Yodeya is making a disclaimer that we are not people dictating or deciding halacha, then, I would say the answer to your question is "no". You can learn a lot of Torah ideas from this site, and, perhaps get your Olam Haba points for learning Torah, but, I don't think, specifically for leaning "halachot", based on the above definition and Orthodox view of halacha.

With that, I suggest both CYLOR as well as CYFMYM (Contact your friendly Mi Yodeya Moderator.)

DanF
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    How do you know that WP's definition of "halacha" is the one this particular statement in the Gemara had in mind? – Isaac Moses Sep 09 '14 at 17:05