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1500 questions
15
votes
2 answers
Do our sources address "strategic loan defaults"?
In the most recent episode of NPR's Planet Money Podcast, they interviewed a real estate lawyer in Arizona who talked about the large numbers of her clients who have been asking for advice about doing a "strategic default" from their mortgages.…
Isaac Moses
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15
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2 answers
Would Adam and Chava have been permitted the tree of knowledge if they'd waited?
I've long been somewhat troubled by the episode with the tree in the garden, because it seems like it was necessary for man to acquire knowledge (how else could we enter a covenant and accept the yoke of torah?), yet Adam and Chava clearly disobeyed…
Monica Cellio
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15
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3 answers
Why do plastic bags and not fuselages protect against impurity?
In a picture on this article, we see a kohen who has enclosed himself in a plastic bag so as to avoid becoming impure as a result of flying over a cemetery. Why is it that a pressurized fuselage does not protect against this impurity, but a plastic…
Publius
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15
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1 answer
הוא is he? Or is it?
The third-person feminine pronoun in Hebrew is היא, "hee." But in most instances in the Torah, the word is spelled הוא, with a vav rather than a yud as the middle letter. How does this make sense grammatically? The vav is apparently unpronounced, as…
Dave
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15
votes
5 answers
What attitudes toward Jesus are acceptable for a Jew?
What attitudes toward Jesus are acceptable for a Jew? I understand that idolatry, or embracing the mainstream Christian perception of Jesus as divine, is absolutely out of the question. Furthermore, there are strong textual and cultural reasons that…
SAH
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15
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1 answer
Why aren't any of the main American brands of chewing gum kosher?
These days, you walk into any American supermarket, you can find kosher chocolate bars, kosher jelly beans, kosher all sorts of stuff. I understand why the gummy worms aren't kosher, they contain gelatin, and most gelatin isn't kosher.
But what…
Shalom
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15
votes
5 answers
Permissibility of images of celestial bodies
There is precedent in halachah that one may not create images of celestial bodies such as the moon and stars; see here for background. This is derived in the Gemara from the pasuk "Do not make [images of that which is] with me."
EDITS FOLLOW
Given…
yitznewton
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15
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3 answers
How big did Mordechai get, and was it only in the king's palace?
According to the Megillah (9:4), Mordechai grew to a very large size whenever he was in the king's palace (כִּי־גָדוֹל מָרְדֳּכַי בְּבֵית הַמֶּלֶךְ ... כִּי־הָאִישׁ מָרְדֳּכַי, הוֹלֵךְ וְגָדוֹל).
How large did Mordechai grow, and did he return to…
HodofHod
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15
votes
4 answers
Is there a Chief Rabbi of the United States?
Is there currently or has there ever been historically a Chief Rabbi of the United States? If not, why not?
user2110
15
votes
4 answers
Yaakov Kissing Rachel
In Parashat Vayetzeh, Yaakov goes to Lavan's house, but prior to his arrival he meets up with Rachel. Shockingly, the Pasuk says that he kissed her and cried (29:11). How exactly are we to understand this episode? Do we not say that the Avot kept…
AEML
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15
votes
3 answers
Yearning for Moshiach while the Temples stood
Did we (the Jewish people) yearn for the complete Redemption (with the Techias HaMasim, etc) like we do today, at the time the either Temple was standing? It can't be that we just assumed "This is it" even with all of the miracles, simply because…
chaimp
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15
votes
3 answers
What is the halachic status of things in outer space?
Is everything in outer space hefker? For example if a private person lands on the moon or an asteroid can he be koneh it? Do you retain the rights to something that you send into space?
user1668
15
votes
1 answer
Halachic justification to not pray the amidah before zman t'filah?
Some Chassidic courts are not makpid (careful) to daven the morning Amidah before z'man tefilah, although this seems to be a clear halacha. Are there any opinions they are relying on? I was once told in passing that there is a shitta (in the…
Shraga
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votes
10 answers
Does God love non-Jews?
I've read the topic of whether or not God discriminates between Jews and non-Jews, but does God love non-Jews? Does it say anywhere that He does love non-Jews. I don't believe that God hates non-Jews or that Jews should hate non-Jews. I ask because…
Malka S
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15
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3 answers
וינוחו בה\בו\בם ישראל in Shabbat shemoneh esrei -- why the change?
I've noticed that the Friday night shemoneh esrei (nusach Ashkenaz) uses the line "בה", shacharit and musaf use "בו", and mincha uses "בם" in the phrase "וינוחו _ ישראל מקדשי שמך..."
What is the reason for this variation?
Eli Lansey
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