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14
votes
2answers
898 views
Abbreviations before/after names
What are the more common abbreviations one might see printed before or after a person's name, and what do they mean? Please include honorifics (R'=Rabbi) as well as memorial - or prayerful - suffixes ...
11
votes
4answers
227 views
Why was Torah sheBal Peh not allowed to be Written?
The Gemara states that it is forbidden to write down the Oral Torah [1]:
דרש רבי יהודה בר נחמני מתורגמניה דרבי
שמעון בן לקיש, כתיב: +שמות ל"ד+ כתוב
לך את הדברים האלה, וכתיב: +שמות ל"ד+
כי ...
10
votes
2answers
181 views
Reading secular books on shabbat?
Which prominent halakhic authorities permit (or forbid) the reading of secular books, magazines, and newspapers from Friday evening until Saturday nightfall? Why? Is it uvda dechol? What if it is ...
11
votes
2answers
236 views
Stacking Seforim
From the things I heard in yeshiva category:
Are we allowed to place less revered seforim on top of more revered seforim? I believe that the consensus is that you are only allowed to stacks seforim ...
5
votes
5answers
778 views
Good Place Online For Cheap Seforim
Any one know where to get cheap seforim online? I mean real seforim.....not digital ones.
7
votes
4answers
344 views
Good books for non-Jews who are interested in understanding Judaism, especially branches of Orthodox judaism
I have found that the first thing to do when you want to learn something about a subject, is to start with the idea that you know absolutely nothing. I understand, for example, that Judaism has ...
5
votes
1answer
147 views
Why can people write Torah sheBal Peh nowadays?
This is a follow up to: Why was Torah sheBal Peh not allowed to be Written?.
The Gemara in Temurah (14b) states that one may not write Torah sheBal Peh. It then states an exception that was made so ...
7
votes
5answers
222 views
Learning History on Shabbos
Is there a Halachic problem to read and or learn the topic of History on Shabbos for enjoyment purposes? and why?
4
votes
1answer
93 views
Changing “shlit”a“s to ”za“l”s?
The name of living Torah scholar mentioned or quoted in another's book is often followed by an abbreviation of blessing such as שליט"א or נר"ו. The name of a past scholar, no longer living, is ...
3
votes
2answers
100 views
Learning Hebrew
If I have a decent Hebrew knowledge, but not great, what books (i.e. dictionaries, lexicons, etc.) should I have at hand when I'm learning a sefer, such as the Mishneh Torah?
10
votes
2answers
160 views
Can a book with ancient text really be copyright?
Pick up your local chumash, siddur or gemara. Open it to the front page. There it is, the dreaded ©.
But to me that seems quite odd. Can the text of the actual davening or talmud really be ...
9
votes
3answers
320 views
How Kabbalistically accurate is the golem-making procedure described in “Niflaos Maharal”?
There's been plenty of discussion about the historic authenticity of "Niflaos Maharal", a book that appeared in the early 1900s describing how the Maharal made a Golem to defend the Jews against blood ...
7
votes
2answers
206 views
Fulltext search across sources: Gemara, Zohars, Rishonim and Aharonim
I know about Hebrewbooks.org for searching for sources in books, but the problem is you have to get to let's say every Masechta to look for a phrase. Is there a program (doesn't have to be free) that ...
6
votes
2answers
127 views
How to pronounce the name of the sefer “Bnei Yso(s)cher”
How does one pronounce the name of the sefer בני יששכר ?
I've heard people pronounce both sins -- so it is Ysoscher. (There is also a common custom to pronounce the name יששכר with both sins the ...
5
votes
2answers
204 views
What Mikraos Gedolos has the most meforshim?
What sefer (prob Mikraos Gedolos) has the most meforshim in it?
4
votes
0answers
47 views
Publisher prohibiting purchaser from sharing
Tradition articles are downloadable from the Tradition Online website, which prohibits further distribution of the materials. On each download page there is the following warning:
It is strictly ...
4
votes
1answer
124 views
Closing abbreviation ושכמ"ה
Every [anonymous] question asked in the responsum Torah Lishmah ends with an address to the answerer and the abbreviation ושכמ"ה (e.g.). The Otzar Rashei Teivos had only one entry for this ...
3
votes
3answers
141 views
What are the major ancient literature on Judaic mysticism and spiritual development?
What are the major ancient literature on Judaic mysticism and spiritual development? By ancient I mean B.C.E.
I also would appreciate if you can also provide links to online English translations if ...
3
votes
1answer
97 views
Source of Dzikov customs
Does anyone know of a book of minhagim (practices) or a sidur (prayer book) of the chasidim of Dzikov (דזיקוב, sometimes דז׳יקוב)? (Or anything that would show their minhagim.)
Hebrewbooks.org ...
0
votes
1answer
91 views
Reading foreign literature: perspectives and experiences
I'd like to hear how people make their decisions about reading, watching, and listening to materials that express non-Jewish ideas and imagery... both in your study and in your entertainment.
There ...
