Most Popular
1500 questions
14
votes
3 answers
Must a Divorced Man Wear a Tallis While Davening?
According to a common custom among Ashkenazim, a man only starts wearing a tallis while davening after he gets married. Does a divorced man continue to wear a tallis when davening? Or could/should he stop wearing the tallis, so as not to give the…
JJLL
- 1,584
- 8
- 15
14
votes
1 answer
Can I do the Hoashanas service if praying alone?
If one is not able to make it to a minyan one day during sukkos, can he still say or do any of the day's Hoshanas services? Would it be different on Hoshanah Rabbah because of the additions?
RCW
- 6,748
- 1
- 24
- 35
14
votes
9 answers
When is the latest time you can daven minchah bedieved?
If you realized that you didn't yet daven minchah and it's past shekiyah, when is the latest that you can begin praying the Amidah? I'm looking for different people's cutoffs.
Ani Yodea
- 13,125
- 2
- 28
- 82
14
votes
5 answers
In light of modern science, why is bee honey still kosher?
My understanding of why bee honey is kosher is because the talmud says that the honey is not a by-product of the bees. They simply store the nectar in their body to transfer it and then expel it, turning it into honey. Since it's not a by-product of…
robev
- 19,863
- 3
- 45
- 96
14
votes
4 answers
In the Bible, why did robbers bother tunneling into houses to rob them?
Exodus 22:1 speaks about the robber who was found "tunnelling in" to someone's house (vis-a-vis self-defense). Is that just a figure of speech, or did they actually go to that much trouble? (What were houses like back then?) I'd say try the door…
Shalom
- 132,602
- 8
- 193
- 489
14
votes
4 answers
What is the halachic status of adult conjoined twins?
It is rare but possible for conjoined twins to remain alive and healthy into adulthood, such as is the case with Abby and Brittany Hensel. They have distinct sets of heads, hearts, and lungs. They have two arms and legs and a shared reproductive…
Premundane
- 4,501
- 19
- 40
14
votes
4 answers
What is the original meaning of the word "hevel"?
I am not religious myself, but lately I have found myself somewhat attracted to Ecclesiastes. Reading about it, I am fascinated about what seems to be endless meanings and interpretations of the word hevel. Wikipedia states, for example that the…
pzkpfw
- 248
- 1
- 2
- 6
14
votes
3 answers
"שליט״א" only for certain people
Living people sometimes have "שליט״א" added after their respective names. This means, roughly, "may he live a good, long life". That seems like a nice blessing for anyone; yet, in my experience, only great people (rabbis and the like) and forebears…
msh210
- 73,729
- 12
- 120
- 359
14
votes
3 answers
Gentile living with a Jewish flatmate
I've been talking with someone about possibly moving in to a room in her house later in the year. Her kitchen is kosher and her house is shomer Shabbos, but since I'm used to spending Shabbos in Jewish homes and also I mostly buy raw non-animal…
Annelise
- 1,960
- 13
- 23
14
votes
2 answers
Daf yomi on Tisha b'Av
There is a strong tradition (maybe halakha?) to not engage in most learning on Tisha b'Av (with a few exceptions). Many of us learn daily and I understand that we generally suspend our learning for that one day (or choose to learn a permitted…
Charles Koppelman
- 6,926
- 1
- 23
- 57
14
votes
1 answer
Can non-Jews utilize the princple of bittul berov?
The concept of bittul berov means that in certain cases, if some non-kosher food gets mixed up in as much kosher food of the same type such that nobody knows which piece is the non-kosher part, the non-kosher bit becomes nullified, making everything…
Daniel
- 24,888
- 3
- 48
- 148
14
votes
1 answer
What is the source of the expression המבין יבין?
The Forward writer Philologos in his most recent column claimed that the earliest uses of the expression והמבין יבין are found in the Ra'avad and in the Radak. Based on the fact that both these individuals lived in (late 12th century) Provence, he…
wfb
- 14,504
- 43
- 76
14
votes
10 answers
If Hashem doesn't change, how does prayer work?
If Hashem is perfect and unchanging, how can we pray to Him to have mercy on us? Doesn't that imply a change?
I've heard it implied that the way this works is that the prayer itself has the effect of attracting the Midah of mercy to ourselves, but…
Shraga
- 2,160
- 12
- 26
14
votes
2 answers
Must one pray with a minyan?
People wrote on this site that there is no requirement for a man to pray with a minyan as a general rule. I took this to mean that one need not attend a minyan he knows meets regularly, instead praying alone. This surprised me: indeed, it…
msh210
- 73,729
- 12
- 120
- 359
14
votes
3 answers
May a Jewish cemetery refuse a body?
Based on a recent news item wherein cemeteries have been refusing to inter the body of one of the (alleged) Boston bombers, I am curious whether a Jewish cemetery's operators are allowed to refuse to bury a Jew's body that is brought to them, and if…
user2110