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13
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5 answers
What's "chelek Eloak mimaal"?
I have frequently heard the human (or only the Jewish?) soul referred to as "חלק אלוק ממעל", literally "portion/section/piece/allotment of God (from) above".
What does this mean?
Who's the first to refer to the soul thus? Citation, please, if…
msh210
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What game is the Rama in 338:5 (טשי"ך) referring to?
In the English Mishna Brurah they translate טשי"ך as chess. The Mishna Brurah brings the Marah Sasson who forbids it because there is no chachma. It is also mentioned in the Rama that it makes noise, and as far as I know chess does not involve…
sam
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13
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Lashon Hara about yourself
Is it asur to speak lashon hara about yourself? The only source have that it is asur is a story about thr Hafes Haim on a train. I'm not sure if that's a sufficient source to assume that it's asur.
I've read the Kisur Hilchot Lashon Hara before and…
Hacham Gabriel
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13
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3 answers
What's the reason for the opinion that one must wash their hands thrice before eating bread?
Some sects of Ashkenazim (mostly Litvish) wash their hands only twice, while some Sephardim and some Hasidim wash three times.
Based on this answer I know that the first splash gets rid of the impurity. The second splash gets rid of the impure water…
Ani Yodea
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13
votes
5 answers
Is it permitted to shoot an air gun on shabbos?
Is it ok to shoot an air gun (also known as a "BB gun") to knock over cups on Shabbos?
I can't think of any reason to prohibit it.
Desert Star
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41 answers
Meya - mi yodeya?
Who knows one hundred?
Please cite/link your sources, if possible. At some point in the future, subject to holiday and user activity delay, I will:
Upvote all interesting answers.
Accept the best answer.
Go on to the next number.
Isaac Moses
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13
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2 answers
Why do we not say selichot on Tisha B'Av?
Every fast day on the Jewish calendar has its set of selichot that are said. The one exception to this is Tisha B'Av. This seems counter-intuitive to me because Tisha B'Av is the day when we mourn the destruction of the first and second Temples,…
Daniel
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13
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What is meant by the 974 "worlds" that were "created and destroyed"?
Midrash Tehillim 90:13 says that God created and destroyed 974 worlds before this one. What exactly does that mean?
I've heard it used in defense of a modern understanding of evolution and cosmology but don't really get why God would create a…
A L
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1 answer
How do I do the car-door-sukkah trick?
I know in theory, people on the road don't need to eat in a sukkah; at the same time, you're not supposed to go put yourself in that situation on purpose. ("Let's go take a chol hamoed trip -- oops we're travelling, no need for sukkah.")
I heard in…
Shalom
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2 answers
why does the chazzan stand for the entire davening?
From what I have seen, other than tachanun (nefilat apayim) the chazzan stands for the entire davening. Why is this so? Why not sit for things like krias shema?
not-allowed to change my name
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13
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1 answer
Sheva Brachos when getting divorced
If for whatever reason it was decided that a couple would get married then right away get divorced after the week of Sheva Brachos (believe it or not this happens!) Can they indeed still make Sheva Brachos during the week after the Chassanah? Is…
Yehoshua
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13
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5 answers
Should the Christian cross be seen as an idol?
As Christianity is Avodah Zarah, is a Christian cross which people kiss, pay respect to, and face toward when praying, considered to be an idol?
Here is a brief excerpt from a scholarly Christian source which sheds more light into their form of…
knowit
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Are males with older sisters "firstborn" for the purposes of the Fast of the Firstborn?
Assuming you follow the tradition that only first-born males are obligated to fast the day before Passover, do the males who have an older sister count as first-born or not?
Wikipedia doesn't seem to address that specific question, nor does Chabad…
DD1
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Ta'amei Mikra and the Torah Scroll
I have heard that a haftorah klaf (scroll) is still considered kosher and usable if the Ta'amei Mikra have been written on it. Yet I've always been told that this is not true for a Torah scroll. Why the difference?
Ben F.
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Do men on the women's side count toward a minyan?
If men are on the women's side of the shul during davening when there are no women there, do they count toward the minyan, or are they considered separate? Does it matter if the women's area is right next to the men's side, up on a balcony, or…
Daniel
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