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1500 questions
16
votes
6 answers
Is there a good visual companion to Tanach?
I'm looking for a visual companion to Tanach, i.e. maps, charts, and timelines. So when I'm learning Sefer Yehoshua, for example, I can see maps that chart the various battles and such.
Are there any good books or online resources for something like…
Menachem
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Is oral intercourse permitted according to halacha?
What has the halacha have to say about a husband and wife sharing oral intercourse (in either direction)?
Stam Echad
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16
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1 answer
Why is meat only kosher if a Jew slaughters the animal?
According to this answer in the question "What is kosher meat?" it is said that a Jew has to slaughter an animal in order for its meat to become kosher:
This is done by Jews who are experts trained in the specifics of the laws of slaughtering,…
Kilise
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16
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5 answers
Can one go back in time to complete a minyan?
Can one go back in time in order to complete a minyan, when his past self is already one of the minyan men?
On one hand, the requirement for ten men is met.
On the other, two of these men are actually the same man (albeit from different…
Yehuda Shapira
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16
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1 answer
Is a Muslim allowed to touch a food item for purchase in a kosher bakery?
Suppose I enter a kosher bakery and want to purchase some food item from the shelves. Can I pick that thing up by my hands for purchase?
My reason is that the laws of Kashrut are very very strict, and I do not want to pollute the kosher items kept…
Engineer Ishrat Hussain
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16
votes
6 answers
Why is Soy milk considered Parve and not Milchig/Halavi?
Considering that milk is forbidden with chicken (as stated in this answer), because chicken could be confused with meat, why isn't soy milk considered milchig as well?
In Israel, chicken is considered Fleshig/Besari for all purposes, because it may…
Carmi
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16
votes
2 answers
Is hamsa allowed?
Does the Halacha allow the use of a hamsa as a good luck charm, considering that it originated as a Muslim symbol?
Dima
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16
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3 answers
Talis Gadol for Unmarried Individuals
In my minhag (and I believe it's minhag Ashkenaz), unmarried men do not wear a Talis Gadol (only a Talis Katan).
Why is this so?
yydl
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5 answers
Can you be buried in a Jewish Cemetery if you have a tattoo?
Can you be buried in a Jewish Cemetery if you have a tattoo?
I.e., is it just urban legend that you can't?
Seth
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16
votes
4 answers
B'siyata D'shmaya or Baruch Hashem
Often, at the top of written work, Jews write either ב"ה, which stands for Baruch Hashem =blessed is the Name i.e., God, or בס"ד, which stands for b'siyata d'shmaya =with Heavenly help.
What is the origin of this custom and why do some people…
Tzvi
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16
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Where did the incense-altar sweeper get his broom from?
Mishna, Tamid chapter 3, in a loose translation:
Those who merited removing the ashes from the inner altar and the candelabrum would precede. They had four tools in their hands: the basket, the pitcher, and two keys.… [They used the keys to open…
msh210
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16
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3 answers
Sefira Counting in Diaspora
Why don't we count two nights each night, if there was always a Safek (doubt) what the date is.
In other words: if we are not sure when the second night of Pesach is, why don't we carry that doubt throughout the entire duration of Sefira?
yydl
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16
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3 answers
Is it Halachically forbidden to go to Israel?
I was recently studying Berakhot 24b when I read the following statement:
'כל העולה מבבל לא"י עובר בעשה שנאמר (ירמיהו כז, כב) בבלה יובאו ושמה יהיו עד יום פקדי אותם נאם ה'
Whoever goes up from Babylon to the land of Israel commits a transgression…
Gabriel12
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16
votes
5 answers
Glow sticks on Shabbos
May one activate a glow stick on Shabbos? (In other words, is there a prohibition on activating the chemical reaction which produces the light in a glow stick?)
Curiouser
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16
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3 answers
Menstruating on Wedding Day
What happens in the case of a bride menstruating on her wedding day or her menstruation ending a few days before her wedding day and cannot go to the mikvah?
Does the rabbi refuse to perform the chuppah? What are the options?
Paula
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