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1500 questions
29
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12 answers
PTIJ: What is the Torah preferred brand of cell phone?
I have heard of Kosher phones. What do the classic sources (preferably Rishonim or earlier) say about the preferred type and brand of cell phone?
This question is Purim Torah and is not intended to be taken completely seriously. See the Purim Torah…
Yishai
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29
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3 answers
Why is it permissible to flush a toilet on Shabbat?
I have been reluctant to ask this question on this website because it sounds so ridiculous, but as Hillel said in Avot 2:6 "one who is bashful cannot learn" so here goes...
Why is it permissible to flush a toilet on Shabbat?
This question asks it…
Mike
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29
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2 answers
Voting in a church?
Are you allowed to vote inside a church? (Answers supplying sources would be preferred, as always.)
Gershon Gold
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29
votes
2 answers
Matza on 14 Iyar
I have seen a custom (it seems to me primarily among Chassidim) to eat matza on 14 Iyar (known as Pesach Sheni). What is the earliest source for this custom? What are the reasons given for following it?
As an aside, I always found this custom odd,…
Double AA
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29
votes
5 answers
Female praying in masculine language
When women daven (pray), even by ourselves, it is convention to daven with male-gendered words ("modeh" vs "moda" as one of many examples). Why is this; are there sources that say we should be doing otherwise? If so, when did this tradition get…
morah hochman
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29
votes
3 answers
Why can't electricity be manipulated on Shabbat?
Why can't we use and change electricity on Shabbat and YomTov? By this I mean why can't we turn lights on and off?
I've heard Rabbis say that its because you can't complete a circuit on Shabbat, and that's what you'd be doing by turning the light…
wizlog
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29
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5 answers
How Is It That Rabbis Have Copies of Their Own Responsa?
(I could use some help with tagging.)
There are many seforim out there that are the compiled letters or teshuvos of this or that Rabbi. Those that come to mind are "Igros Moshe", from R' Moshe Feinstein, and "Igros Kodesh" from the Lubavitcher…
HodofHod
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29
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2 answers
Why don't people bentch on a kos nowadays?
Bentching with a kos (recite Grace after Meals with a cup of wine) was clearly a popular thing to do in the times of the gemara. Additionally many Ashkenazi rishonim (Rosh, Ri, and many other Tosafists) felt is was obligatory with the Tur (OC 182)…
Double AA
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29
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5 answers
Does artificial meat grown in a petri dish have the halachic status of meat?
Scientists are developing means of growing artificial meat in a petri dish. Does such 'meat' have the halachic status of meat?
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/11/us-science-meat-f-idUSTRE7AA30020111111
ChaimKut
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4 answers
Why Yehoshua **Bin** Nun and not Yehoshua **Ben** Nun
The Torah refers to Yehoshua as Yehoshua Bin Nun. (See here for an example).
Why Bin Nun and not Ben Nun?
Are there any places in Tanach where he is referred to as Ben Nun?
Is there anyone else in Tanach who is referred to as Bin instead of Ben?
Menachem
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28
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16 answers
Reliable Ask-a-Rabbi Websites
There are some times on this site where questioners will be directed to "ask their Rabbi." While it's always optimal to have such people discuss the question with their own Rabbi (and such action should be stressed), there are times when people…
yydl
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28
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5 answers
Am I allowed to give my kid a non-Hebrew (non-Jewish?) name?
I'd seen some poster that said it's horribly wrong to ever give your kid a non-Jewish/non-Hebrew name. Is that the norm?
Shalom
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28
votes
4 answers
What does Judaism think about homosexuality?
Is being gay a sin? Can one be a Jew and a gay person at the same time? How does the Jewish community think about gays?
Graviton
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Is Rashi really pshat?
If Rashi on Tanach is a purely pshat oriented commentary, as professed several times, why do many of his comments originate from midrashim that most other "pshat" meforshim dismiss as "derech drash"? [For examples, see Ramban (Gen. 21:17), Ibn Ezra…
jake
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28
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1 answer
Did Jews in Arab countries ever rely on Islamic calls to prayer?
It just occurred to me that Jews in Arab/Islamic countries would most likely have heard the adhan call the populace to prayer five times a day.
Upon looking at an Islamic time-table and doing some research about their various schools and methods of…
user3342