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1500 questions
14
votes
7 answers
Is it required to stand during Kaddish?
I've noticed that there are varying minhagim among people whether to stand during Kaddish or not. Is there any actual halacha regarding this and whether it's required?
Naftuli Kay
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14
votes
2 answers
What's the halachic advantage of double (or triple) wrapping food?
I've heard of both double and triple wrapping when it comes to shielding a food item in an oven with regards to Kashrus.
What exactly does double or triple wrapping accomplish that one wrapping can't? Why is there a need for more?
yydl
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14
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3 answers
Why didn't women complain about not being able to bring the Pesach?
During the first year in the desert, some men were tamei and complained that they couldn't bring the Pesach. This resulted in the mitzvah of Pesach Sheni.
Men and women are equally obligated to bring the Pesach. And a significant fraction of the…
Heshy
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14
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1 answer
Is the obligation for Gentiles to establish a system of courts communal or individual?
One of the seven laws of Noah for gentiles is to set up a system of courts.
Is the obligation to set up a system of courts a communal obligation on Gentile communities, or does every single Gentile have an individual obligation to make a specific…
Robert Columbia
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14
votes
7 answers
Nefesh, neshama and ruach as words for "soul"
All three words can mean something like "soul", e.g., neshama in גלגול נשמות, and ruach in וַתְּחִי רוּחַ יַעֲקֹב אֲבִיהֶם (Bereshit 45:27). So, what is the difference?
Lev
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14
votes
5 answers
Why did Rashi create a new letter system for his commentaries?
I had heard that he created his own lettering system so that his words would be easily distinguishable from the actual words of the Torah. Is this just hearsay or speculation? If so, is there any reason given for why?
Naftuli Kay
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14
votes
2 answers
Dreamed vs. Dreaming a Dream
Posting for another friend.
When does Lashon Hakodesh (throughout Tanach) use "ויחלם" (and he dreamed") by itself and when is "ויחלם חלום" ("and he dreamed a dream") used?
It seems that most of the time in Tanach, the double usage is found, and if…
רבות מחשבות
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14
votes
5 answers
Learning Hebrew on my own?
I am trying to learn Hebrew on my own. I currently am not in a position to be attending Hebrew classes, and I tend not to do so well in a classroom environment. I wish to learn biblical Hebrew primarily; I don't have an immediate interest to learn…
ARKBAN
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14
votes
1 answer
"Die, but don't transgress": what about torture?
There is a principle in Jewish law that there are three transgressions that should not be committed, even on pain of death: murder, "sexual immorality" (a reference, presumably, to the sorts of prohibitions that one finds in Leviticus 18) and the…
Shimon bM
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14
votes
3 answers
Eldad HaDani's Lasting Influence - Is there any?
Eldad HaDani is (apparently) considered today to have been a fraud. According to this Wikipedia article, he was a traveler who told stories of his place of origin, which he claimed was a sovereign Jewish state comprised of descendants of four of the…
Seth J
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14
votes
4 answers
If Eliyahu is Pinchas and Pinchas is a Cohen how was he in the Room when he did Revival of the Dead?
In Melochim there is a famous occurance of the Eliyahu Hanavi reviving the Dead Child of Ovadiah's Hanavi's widow's child who some say was Yonah Hanavi. If Eliyahu was a Cohen how was he allowed to be in the room with him or carry him up to the…
Chalutzhanal
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14
votes
1 answer
What did a "don't-issue-rulings" semicha (ordination) look like?
Again from the biography of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein found in Igrot Moshe Volume 8 (emphasis added):
Many approached [him] for ordination, and he was not difficult on them. Some ordinations were anticipatory, in the hope the student would later be fit…
Shalom
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14
votes
2 answers
Does an improperly slaughtered animal render the Shochet impure?
In Vayikra 11:39 it says:
לט. וְכִי יָמוּת מִן הַבְּהֵמָה אֲשֶׁר הִיא לָכֶם לְאָכְלָה הַנֹּגֵעַ בְּנִבְלָתָהּ יִטְמָא עַד הָעָרֶב:
39) If an animal that you [normally] eat, dies, one who touches its carcass shall be unclean until evening.
If a…
Menachem
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14
votes
3 answers
Asei Doche Lo Sasei vs. Mitzvah Habaah Beaveirah
These are two concepts in Judaism:
עשה דוחה לא תעשה - that if there is a Mitzvah Asei in the Torah, and a Mitzvas Lo Sasei, we say that the Asei overrides the Lo Sasei, and one should do it.
For example: Attaching woolen Tzitzis to a Linen…
yydl
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14
votes
3 answers
What does cantillation do to prayer's status?
I recall seeing recommendations, in multiple Halachic discussions, that someone who's reciting a Scripturally-derived prayer alone that normally requires a minyan, e.g. the 13 Attributes of Mercy, one should say it with the trop. Apparently, this…
Isaac Moses
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