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1500 questions
18
votes
5 answers
Fish eaten with milk?
Is there any halachik problem with eating fish and milk together? (A classic example is a bagel with lox and cream cheese)
N123
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18
votes
4 answers
Proper recitation of Hamakom Yenachem
Is the proper phrase to console a mourner always the plural המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים or should it be changed depending on whom it is said to (singluar, feminine, etc.)?
user1552
18
votes
4 answers
Chatzi LaHashem
I've been having this discussion with my friends and family about the Halacha of dividing Yom Tov into Chatzi LaHashem (half of the day devoted to prayer and learning) and Chatzi Lachem (half of the day devoted to eating, drinking, etc.). Do you…
Rodney Feinerman
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18
votes
2 answers
What Blessing Does One Make on a Solar Eclipse?
What Blessing Does One Make on a Solar Eclipse? I will be in Nevada next week and would like to make a blessing over the May 21 Solar Eclipse. Thanks!
Pesach David
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18
votes
3 answers
What happens if the non-Jew the chometz was sold to dies?
I can't imagine it has never come up before:
Someone sells their chometz before Pesach to a non-Jew. On Pesach the non-Jew dies. What happens now?
yydl
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18
votes
3 answers
Inviting a non-observant Jew on Shabbat or Yom Tov
Can I invite a Jew for a meal on Shabbat or Yom Tov if I know they will drive to my house?
zaq
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18
votes
4 answers
Why aren't Purim and Channuka considered a violation of לֹא תֹסִפוּ?
It says in Devarim 4:2:
לֹא תֹסִפוּ עַל הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם וְלֹא תִגְרְעוּ מִמֶּנּוּ לִשְׁמֹר אֶת מִצְוֹת יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּה אֶתְכֶם
Translated:
Do not add to the word which I command you, nor…
Ephraim
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18
votes
2 answers
How do you pray for a sick baby who has not yet been named?
Is it possible to say a Mi SheBerach for a sick baby who has not yet been named? If so, how is it done?
And if one cannot say a Mi SheBerach, is there another prayer that can be said?
What if there are twins? Would all twins have to be prayed for in…
Martha F.
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18
votes
3 answers
Insults in the gemarah
Why do tanaim and amoraim use disparaging terms (bavlai tipshai, for instance) or insults when talking with one another. If there is something positive to be learned from this behavior why is it no longer employed?
I have heard many attempts to…
none
- 3,948
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18
votes
3 answers
Why did Achashveirosh take Esther if she was already married?
According to the opinion that Queen Esther was married to Mordechai.
Achashveirosh was looking for unmarried girls (Esther 2:2–4). Why did he take a married woman? Especially considering that Queen Esther was not looking to get married, why didn't…
Am Haaretz Gamur Mideoraysa
- 2,652
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18
votes
3 answers
First-Temple-Era names of the Hebrew months?
The Chumash refers to the months simply as "the first", "the second", and so on. Today we know them by their Babylonian names (Nisan, Iyar ...) Occasionally the Prophets from the First-Temple Era use older Hebrew (?) names, such as "Ziv."
Do we have…
Shalom
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18
votes
5 answers
Why do Jewish people sway while praying?
Is there a reason that people sway back and forth while praying?
I saw a lot of people pray like this, but I'm too shy to ask them why do they do this.
KingBabar
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18
votes
7 answers
How did the moon shrink?
The Bavli, Chulin 60:2, says (in my own loose translation):
Rabbi Shim'on ben Pazi noted a contradiction: [B'reshis 1:16] says, "God made the two big luminaries" and "the big luminary… and the small luminary".
The moon said to God: "Master of the…
msh210
- 73,729
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- 359
18
votes
2 answers
Whispering prayers?
Can one whisper t'fila (prayer)? I'm thinking of obligatory t'filos like sh'mone esre and "Sh'ma".
I know one can speak t'fila quietly, even very quietly; in fact, sh'mone esre is said quietly. I'm not asking about loudness versus quietness but…
msh210
- 73,729
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- 359
18
votes
3 answers
2 Sifrei Torah for close readings
This morning we read Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1 - 24:18) and the special reading of Parashat Shekalim (Exodus 30:11-16). The custom everywhere I have ever seen is to remove two Sifrei Torah from the ark for the two readings and to wrap up the…
Double AA
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