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1500 questions
48
votes
12 answers
How do I get myself to yearn for moshiach if I'm comfortable in the diaspora?
Intellectually I know that we're supposed to yearn for the coming of the mashiach and the in-gathering in Eretz Yisrael. I know that one of the Rambam's 13 principles calls for this. We pray for this multiple times per day.
In my head I know all…
Monica Cellio
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48
votes
5 answers
Rejecting others' friend requests on Facebook
Inspired by this question:
If one receives a friend request on Facebook, especially from another Jew, is it permissible to reject them?
On the one hand, "חברים כל ישראל" - "All Jews are friends"; but on the other hand, it is non-beneficial to be…
jake
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47
votes
7 answers
May I use my neighbor's Wi-Fi without asking permission?
My neighbor has never set up password protection on his wireless router. If I wanted, I could wirelessly connect to his high-speed Internet service.
May I use his Internet service without asking him for permission? Or is this considered stealing?
N123
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46
votes
13 answers
PTIJ: Haman was Basar b’Chalav, so how could we eat him?
Esther 3:5 says, “וימלא המן חמה” Haman was filled with butter. This would presumably make his flesh basar b’chalav, but Shemos 16:35 clearly says “ובני ישראל אכלו את־המן” the Children of Israel ate Haman; how was this allowed?
This question is…
J. C. Salomon
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45
votes
5 answers
Which alphabet were the original Torah scrolls in?
I've assumed that the Torah scrolls we read today as the same that Moses wrote. I always assumed it's been the same alphabet.
However lately I came across documents explaining the evolution of the Hebrew alphabet, and how it evolved from the…
Nathan H
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44
votes
4 answers
Should one ask a non-Jew attending synagogue to wear a yarmulke?
It says in Divrei HaRav (by R. Hershel Schachter, p143) that when they asked R. Aharon Kotler whether a non-Jewish secular studies teacher in a yeshiva should be asked to wear a yarmulke, he said he should be told specifically not to wear a…
Curiouser
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44
votes
1 answer
Setting aside Shabbat to answer the President's call
In an old MSNBC news story about Jack Lew, a Shabbat-observant Jew who was just appointed to be the new White House Chief of Staff, there's a story about his getting a call from President Clinton when Lew was his budget director. It says:
Lew later…
Isaac Moses
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42
votes
4 answers
In a leap year, is the extra month Adar I or Adar II?
I'm implementing support for the Hebrew calendar in Noda Time, my date/time library for .NET. I think I'm mostly there aside from text support (although beta testers would be very welcome!) but one aspect still puzzles me.
The Wikipedia Hebrew…
Jon Skeet
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42
votes
5 answers
Ethics in video games: idol worship
Background
I sometimes play a certain computer role-playing game (RPG). In this game, my character (whom I might name after myself but who does not otherwise resemble me) fights mythological creatures and collects handy items. In the end, I aim to…
unforgettableidSupportsMonica
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42
votes
27 answers
Experience-based advice for focusing and slowing down prayers?
I tend to daven (pray) without sufficient focus and very quickly. In particular, I find that most of the time that I'm praying, my mind is on things other than the words that I'm saying. And, not that comparison with others is ideal in this realm,…
Isaac Moses
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42
votes
8 answers
Is there a problem with Triangle K? If so, what?
I want to know what the OU's or any other Orthodox kashrut agency's problem is with Triangle K. I have read about the Ralbag family which founded and runs the Triangle K and they are clearly Orthodox. If so, what is the problem with their hashgacha?…
Mark
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42
votes
7 answers
Is one allowed to smoke Marijuana?
Not taking into account Dina D'malchusa, what are the Halachic problems with smoking marijuana? Is it allowed?
ertert3terte
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41
votes
8 answers
Is it permissible to erase the name of G-d from an E-reader?
Most people seem to be lenient about shemos on digital screens in general (though Bar-Ilan does avoid displaying the Tetragrammaton.) The letters on the screen are just light, there is nothing really written there. But what about on a E-reader,…
Ariel K
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41
votes
13 answers
Bereishit vs. science
How does Judaism deal with the differences between scientific evidence of the beginning of the world and the account(s) in Bereishit?
Bas613
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40
votes
3 answers
Why does my bottle of Kosher grape juice say that it's 'for sacramental purposes only'?
I recently noticed that the bottle of Kedem Kosher grape juice that I purchased has a notice on the label which reads 'FOR SACRAMENTAL PURPOSES ONLY'.
I assume this means that it's being sold to be used only for Kiddush, Havdalah or the Four Cups…
Joel K
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