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votes
7 answers
Why did Rivka consult Shem, and not Avraham or Yitzchok?
The Posuk says (Gen. 25:22) regarding Rivka:
וַיִּתְרֹצֲצוּ הַבָּנִים בְּקִרְבָּהּ וַתֹּאמֶר אִם כֵּן לָמָּה זֶּה אָנֹכִי וַתֵּלֶךְ לִדְרֹשׁ אֶת יְ־הֹוָ־ה
Translated as: And the children struggled within her, and she said, "If [it be] so, why am I…
simchastorah
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17
votes
2 answers
How does Orthodox Judaism view the Book of Jubillees
How is the Book of Jubilees regarded by Orthodox Jewry (I'm not asking if we believe it existed, but if we hold any of the information in it to be accurate).
Is it ever quoted by any of the commentators? Do they ever discuss it?
This Jewish…
Menachem
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17
votes
2 answers
Why are the descendants of Rav Pappah mentioned in the text of the Siyum for a tractate of Talmud?
Who are the descendants of Rav Pappah mentioned in the text of the Siyum for a tractate of Talmud, and why are they so important that we mention them all by name? Why don't we mention any other great rabbis from that era?
Shmuel
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17
votes
6 answers
Was King David also a Navi?
Is there any suggestion in the scripture (even implicitly) that King David might have been also a Navi?
Kaveh
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17
votes
1 answer
Why are these tractates, "Yeshivish Mesechtos"?
There is a cycle of tractates in the Talmud that are learned in Yeshiva each year. This is an exclusive list, where only a small number of volumes are covered in the curriculum.
There must be some reason for the choices on the list, and why other…
yydl
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17
votes
4 answers
Can someone who lives in Israel visit Eilat?
Can someone who lives in "Halachic" Eretz Israel visit a part of Israel that is not part of its Halachic borders? For example, IIRC, people in Eilat keep two days of Yom Tov. Does that mean that a person from Tel Aviv would be forbidden from…
ertert3terte
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17
votes
5 answers
Why are parshat Noach and parshat Toldot named that way?
I was taught that the parshiyot are named for the first significant word (or, rarely, phrase) in the parsha, and obviously names have to be unique. This week's parsha begins "eileh toldot Noach" and is named "Noach". Later we'll get one that…
Monica Cellio
- 56,645
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17
votes
2 answers
Can a book with ancient text really be copyright?
Pick up your local chumash, siddur or gemara. Open it to the front page. There it is, the dreaded ©.
But to me that seems quite odd. Can the text of the actual davening or talmud really be copyrighted? If anything it perhaps should be copyrighted by…
yydl
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17
votes
6 answers
Are there examples in Tanach of 3 or more parties having an ongoing conversation?
From what I have seen in reading Tanach every conversation is between two parties and two parties only. Sometimes those parties consist of 1 person and other times of several people for example "And his brothers said..." but in all of those latter…
rikitikitembo
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17
votes
2 answers
Why is it ok to use tap water/toilets on Shabbos? Considering the source of the water pressure
Why is it ok to use tap water/toilets on Shabbos? Considering the source of the water pressure.
The water pressure that enables the water to flow out of the tap has to come from somewhere. It is almost always mechanically enhanced.
New York City…
geoffc
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17
votes
7 answers
Understanding the reasoning of the woman who agreed with King Solomon to "cut the baby in half"
There's a famous story in I Kings 3:16-28 about Shlomo Hamelech.
Two women who had just given birth around the same time appeared before him; one baby had died and one was alive and the women were arguing about who's baby was the live one.
Shlomo…
alicht
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17
votes
3 answers
Is the Mitzvah of Tzedakah fulfilled in a fraud?
If someone gives Tzedakah to a person or fund, without knowing that that person or fund is deceiving them, is the Mitzvah still fulfilled?
And a very practical application: If maaser money was used, and the fraud is later made public, does that…
yydl
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17
votes
1 answer
What does this pointing hand symbol mean?
I've seen in the Shulchan Aruch the hand symbol ( ☜ ) appearing quite a few times.
What does it do? Does it reference to mforshim on the side?
ertert3terte
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17
votes
5 answers
What's a good website for asking questions about Jewish life and learning and getting crowd-sourced answers?
What's a good website for asking questions about Jewish life and learning and getting crowd-sourced answers?
Isaac Moses
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16
votes
2 answers
Does the Holy Ark weigh 4 tons?
I did some calculations, based on the following measures:
The Aron was 2.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 Amahs
The gold was 2.5cm thick (a finger) for the ark and 10cm thick (a Tefah) for the Kapores, at 19.3 g/cm3
The wooden ark was of the same dimensions 10cm…
Al Berko
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