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Why do we say Pesach seder brachot both nights?
During the Pesach seder, but not during the rest of Pesach, we say b'rachot for the mitzvot of matzah and maror. (I mean the "asher kidshanu b'mitzvotav" b'rachot.) So it seems that we are only commanded in this for the night of the seder. But in…
Monica Cellio
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Citation format for G'mara
If one is citing a g'mara in a scholarly article, what is the proper publication information to use, including title, etc.? I can't seem to find reliable examples in either English or Hebrew.
This question extends (and becomes even less clear to me)…
WAF
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Why no Talmud Bavli on Zeraim or Taharot?
The common reason given as to why there is no Talmud Bavli on most of Seder Zeraim or Seder Taharot (only the tractates of Berachot and Niddah are represented) is that the Amoraim were based in Bavel (Babylonia) and lived after the time of the…
Benjy
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13
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Why Are These Double Parshiyos?
During a regular (non-leap) Jewish year, there are four instances where two of the weekly Torah portions are read together in the same week. This is because there are not enough weeks to read all of the portions separately (especially because we do…
Tzvi
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13
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Disparity between male and female pronunciation of Cholam
In many Yeshivish communities in the US, the male segment of the population vocalizes the cholam as "oi," while their female counterparts vocalize it as a long "o". How did this come about? Does the same phenomenon exist in countries other than the…
Dave
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Are all Jews really Arabs?
The Gemara (Shevuos 39a) says
כל ישראל ערבים
All of Israel are Arabs.
Is this true? I always thought that my family came from Eastern Europe. If it is true that all Jews are actually Arabs, what is the best way to leverage this fact to help…
Daniel
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13
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What does it mean for a mourner to "have a chiuv"?
I have noticed that in many synagogues, before davening, the gabbai customarily asks if anybody "has a chiuv". If there is anybody with a chiuv, he is asked to daven from the amud. The people who are considered to "have a chiuv" are aveilim and…
Daniel
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13
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Can Rashi mean eagles actually fly with their young on their wings?
Rashi brings down regarding the meaning of "I carried you on eagles' wings" (Exodus 19:4, see also Deut. 32:11) that an eagle carries its young on its back.
But, has anyone questioned the truth to this phenomenon? From what I understand, it's…
Zack
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Pirating software that has already been bought
Say, for instance, that I've previously bought a set of DVDs (for example, the workout program P90x, which contains several DVDs in a set), and that I am currently in a different country and have not brought the DVDs with me- does the fact that I've…
user11820
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Baal Teshuva Minhag
I have read that Rabbi Avraham Yosef (the son of Rav Ovadiah Yosef) paskened that a Baal Teshuva in Israel should adopt the Sephardic Minhag, regardless of family history, as their immediate ancestors did not provide a Mesorah and the named Minhag…
Ze'ev haKohen
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13
votes
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Why a burning bush?
When G-d wanted to speak to Moshe for the first time, He grabbed Moshe's attention by showing him a burning bush that wasn't being consumed by the fire. But why this? From all the possible things to impress Moshe, He chose exactly a burning bush.…
Gabriel12
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13
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Did Rabbeinu Yonah write Shaarei Teshuva in response to the burning of the Gemara?
It is widely believed that Rabbeinu Yonah played a part in having the Rambam's works burned around 1232, and that after the 1242 burning of twenty-four wagonloads of Gemaras he felt that it was a Divine punishment for the first burning. He wrote…
shir
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13
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Why isn't maakeh in the Tur?
The chapters in Shulchan Aruch generally follows those in Tur, with a couple of exceptions here and there. One of those exceptions is that SA adds a final chapter, 427, to Choshen Mishpat discuss the rules of maake (a required railing around a high…
msh210
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What is the basis that allows Rabbis to create laws?
I understand that the Torah gives instructions to obey Judges for legal cases and questions, but what is the basis that Rabbis have for creating new laws, such as for celebrating Chanukah with a bracha? I'm not asking for the basis for Chanukah…
A L
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13
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Grammar question in Vayera
I've been learning Bereshit with Rashi in school, and while reading a part of Vayera, I noticed that there were two grammatically different statements in one Pesuk.
Bereshit (18:7)
וְאֶל הַבָּקָר רָץ אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקַּח בֶּן בָּקָר רַךְ וָטוֹב…
Gabriel12
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