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1500 questions
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Is the Torah in the public domain? (If not, what license is it?)
The public domain is, put simply, a collection of works that can be used by anyone, that are not copyrighted.
Is the Torah in the public domain? If not, how can we be printing and copyrighting it? And, if not, what license is it under?
From my…
Scimonster
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Is a diamond (♦) part of a moderator's name?
Assuming that moderators are on-topic; how are they called up for an aliyah? Is the diamond mentioned?
It's been discussed before elsewhere on the network, though with an appalling lack of Jewish sources.
What do Jewish sources have to say about…
MTL
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16
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Could stones cut with a high powered laser be used to build the Beit Hamikdash?
If Solomon's builders had access to lasers powerful enough to cut through stone, could he have used that instead of the Shamir?
Stones for an altar or for the Beit Hamikdash were not allowed to be cut with metal implements. I know the Talmud goes…
Echad-Ani-Yodeya
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Does the Zodiac really have influence on our lives?
Ancient thought, even among the rabbis of the Talmud, was that the Zodiac controlled certain Earthly events. In Hebrew, the signs of the Zodiac are מזלות, now known as "luck".
For example, in Shabbat 129b:
בתלתא בשבתא מאי טעמא לא? משום דקיימא ליה…
Scimonster
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16
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4 answers
Can conversion be revoked?
In a recent case the Israeli Rabbinical Court has revoked someone's conversion to Judaism on the grounds that they were deceptive. This decision was
"...Based on the fact that she completely changed her lifestyle shortly after her conversion, with…
bondonk
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16
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May a Katan (minor) perform Melachah ("work") on Shabbath?
In my experience, I've noticed that many people take for granted that if one needs a Melachah to be performed on Shabbath, one may have a minor, especially one under the age of 3, perform what is needed (eg., turning off a light left on in a bedroom…
Seth J
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16
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3 answers
Why did Avraham argue with G-d about Sodom but not about his son's sacrifice?
Are there any Mefarshim who commented on why Avraham chose to advocate on behalf of Sodom when G-d tells him that the city will be destroyed, but chose to remain silent and just accept the decree when he was told to sacrifice his son?
Ilanysong
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Creating a crowd-sourced database of non-dairy OU-D products
Several questions/answers on this site have pointed out that the OU-D hechsher does not always mean that the product is actually dairy. (But that it is, in reality, "OU-DE" [dairy equipment]. See here and here, for example.)
According to this…
Y e z
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16
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Can a Christian "Grace" invalidate food?
Suppose there's a communal meal in a secular workplace, at which some of the food is reliably kosher. Now suppose that right before anyone takes any food, one of the participants, to general assent, says grace, including a line like "We consecrate…
Isaac Moses
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Can the Jewish people have a king while in exile?
Assuming a time where appointing a Jewish king is possible, if a proper Jewish king was anointed would he continue to retain the status of king if the Jewish people were exiled from the land of Israel?
user6641
16
votes
4 answers
Can a yefas toar be Jewish?
I realize that when the torah discusses אשת יפת תואר it specifies
כִּי-תֵצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה, עַל-אֹיְבֶיךָ (Devarim 21:10).
When you go out (of the land of Israel) to wage war on your enemies (this implies not your own kin)
But I would still like…
user6641
16
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1 answer
Definition of mini-skirt in Yabia Omer YD 6:14
In Yabia Omer YD 6:14, Rav Ovadia Yosef ruled that it is preferable for a woman to wear women's pants than to wear a "mini-skirt" (חצאית-מיני). He writes that a full skirt is preferable to both.
In the beginning of the responsum (וברור..."") he…
Double AA
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fish before meat - why?
To the best of my knowledge eating fish after meat has the same Halacha as eating meat after fish. You are supposed to eat a cracker and take a drink to separate between them. Why is it most common for people to eat fish at the Shabbos Seuda first…
Gershon Gold
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After the first plague, where did Paro's magicians get water to turn to blood?
Sh'mot chapter 7 describes the first plague, with the Nile and all other water turning to blood (except the Israelites' water). Paro's magicians then turn water into blood, which convinces Paro that it's just a trick so he hardens his heart. The…
Monica Cellio
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16
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Why not count 50 days of the omer instead of 49?
The verse in Vayikra (23:16) says:
עד ממחרת השבת השביעית תספרו חמישים יום
even unto the morrow after the seventh week shall ye number fifty days (OJPS, emphasis added)
In my experience the omer is only counted for 49 days. Is that accurate? In…
DanF
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