The death tag has no wiki summary.
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42 views
The reason Aaron's two sons died
Why did Aaron's two elder sons die? I've heard that there are many reasons offered, and would appreciate knowing as many as possible.
11
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2answers
181 views
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, found here I was curious if a Jewish cemetery's operators were allowed to ...
3
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1answer
70 views
A reference to the soul of a Tzaddik like an eyelash in milk
I know that somewhere in something I have read there is a comment that someone (Yaakov avinu?) was so spiritually pure/holy that his soul did not cling to the earthly shell that was his body but came ...
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68 views
Is a Jew able to go hunting?
What is the Halacha in regard to whether or not a person can go hunting? What have Poskim said on this issue?
5
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1answer
63 views
May one say kaddish for a non-Jew?
I have read that Jews recited kaddish on behalf of Abraham Lincoln after he was assassinated. What is the halachic basis for this and has kaddish ever been said en-masse on behalf of other non-Jews?
6
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1answer
64 views
Do cremated remains contaminate with tumas mes?
If a body is cremated, do the ashes transmit tumah as do other human remains, or does cremation render the body no longer tamei?
5
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1answer
53 views
How to handle cadavers
My fiance is going to university, working towards a degree in dentistry. For about a year, she will be required to handle cadavers in the classes. First of all, is this forbidden in Torah? Secondly, ...
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What is the significance of the skull of Araunah the Yevusi?
Araunah the Yevusi sells the land upon which the beis hamikdash will eventually be built to Dovid HaMelech (II Shemuel 24:18). Subsequently his skull is found underneath the mizbeach at least twice ...
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3answers
184 views
Why was there a distinction made for women captives?
In Numbers 31, God tells the Israelites to wipe out the Midianites (and incidentally, Balaam) by killing every male. But they spared certain women (v17-18):
Now therefore kill every male among the ...
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1answer
97 views
Saying Baruch Dayan HaEmeth when you don't know the person
Is it appropriate to say "Baruch Dayan HaEmeth" when you hear of sad news about a person you don't know, or a person you have corresponded with but haven't met?
Does it make a difference if you've ...
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0answers
29 views
Why were מִישָׁאֵל and אֶלְצָפָן chosen to remove Nadav and Avihu?
There were many other people who could have been chosen to remove the dead bodies of Nadav and Avihu from the Mishkan (Vayikra 10:4). Why were מִישָׁאֵל and אֶלְצָפָן chosen for this task as opposed ...
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0answers
54 views
Can people in heaven see our world? [duplicate]
Do people who have died and are in heaven have the possibility to see our world? E.g. can my grandmother who passed away last year see me?
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6answers
352 views
Can God destroy Himself?
I was thinking about it lately.
If God can do everything, can He destroy Himself?
Is there something about this possibility in any of the holy books?
3
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1answer
84 views
Do modern Jewish cemeteries separate the “righteous” from the “wicked”?
Do modern Jewish cemeteries separate the "righteous" from the "wicked"? I have read in various sources that "we don't bury rashim near tzadikim"--that people must be buried near others of similar ...
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1answer
45 views
Resuscitation of Aged Nursing Home Patients
Recently, there was a story about an 87-year-old woman who suffered a heart attack in a nursing home. The nursing home called 911 and the dispatcher begged the nurse to do CPR on the patient until the ...
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30 views
brit-milah for dead infant [duplicate]
Recent tragedy in NY, young haredi couple killed in auto accident.
Wife pregnant with baby boy.
Doctors delivered the baby but, tragically, he also didn't survive.
Before burial, a brit milah was ...
3
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2answers
109 views
Why is a bris performed after death?
Why does an infant baby boy who dies before he can be circumcised have a circumcision performed after death? If, as the article states it is to prepare the body for the next world why is this ritual ...
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30 views
How can saying vidui for a dying person substitute for his own confession?
The Mishna at Sanhedrin 6:2 says that anyone who confesses his sins before dying has a share in the World to Come. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch at 193:13 says that when visiting a sick person who is ...
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1answer
57 views
How does the tree of life work?
There were two special trees in Gan Eden. In the case of the tree of knowledge of good and bad, we know that eating from it once produced a permanent effect. Was this true for the tree of life too, ...
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65 views
Could the destroyer in Egypt discriminate?
In Rashi's comment to Shemos 12:22 we read
ואתם לא תצאו וגו': מגיד שמאחר שנתנה רשות למשחית לחבל אינו מבחין בין צדיק לרשע
…once permission has been given to the משחית (destroyer) to ...
3
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2answers
104 views
If Sarah's Death is a “Merit” for Cheshvan, Why Isn't Moshe's Death a “Merit” for Adar?
When I was young(er) I used to listen to to Toravision's Purim Story tape. (Yeah, I know, I'm dating myself.) It's a great tape, and the older I've gotten, the more it's amazed me how close the tape ...
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1answer
108 views
Postmortem organ donation in halacha
I know we generally accord respect to our dead, which includes not mangling their bodies. On the other hand, obviously saving lives is more important than, well, almost anything, including respect for ...
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1answer
96 views
What does a tahara accomplish for a dead person?
What does a tahara, the process of washing and dressing a dead person, accomplish spiritually for the meis?
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1answer
55 views
Onain saying Kadish for parent's Yahrzheit
An Onain is not obligated to do Mitzvos Asei. An Onain does not Daven, nor make Brachos. Suppose a person is an Onain, and that day is his father's or mother's Yahrzheit, does he say Kaddish for them? ...
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3answers
128 views
What sages were known to have revived the dead?
The Talmud speaks of several rabbis who successfully appealed to G-d to revive a deceased colleague or some other individual. As I recall, one revived rabbi asked to be return to the world of the ...
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2answers
124 views
Why does the Torah not record the passing of Leah?
The Torah records the passing of all the patriarchs and matriarchs:
Sarah - Bereishis 23:1-2
Avraham - Bereishis 25:8-9
Rochel - Bereishis 35:19
Yitzchak - Bereishis 35:29
Then Rivkah is not ...
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2answers
83 views
Why is Yosef's age at death given twice?
At the end of Genesis, Yosef dies at the age of 110 years. 50:22–26:
וַיֵּשֶׁב יוֹסֵף בְּמִצְרַיִם הוּא וּבֵית אָבִיו וַיְחִי יוֹסֵף מֵאָה וָעֶשֶׂר שָׁנִים. וַיַּרְא יוֹסֵף לְאֶפְרַיִם ...
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1answer
114 views
Why is giluey arayos one of the big 3?
I get why murder and idol worship are things you have to give your life up for. But why is giluy arayos - sexual sin so fundamental as to require a person to give up one's life? I'm looking for a ...
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80 views
Why do we wish someone “long life” on the occasion of the anniversary of the death of relative?
Why do we wish someone “long life” on the occasion of the anniversary of the death of relative?
I can understand this wish directly after the death when I have heard that a person should consider ...
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55 views
Should I rend k'riyah if I witness the death of a non-relative? If so, what's the procedure?
In "Must EMTs and others rend Kriyah each time they see a patient die?", Chalutznahal cites Yoreh De'ah 40:5, which says that when I witness a fellow Jew die, I must rend my shirt out of sadness. And ...
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2answers
133 views
When did Leah die?
Leah died some time before Jacob (according to Genesis 49:31) but we are not told exactly when. Please cite a source as to exactly when Leah died.
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2answers
135 views
Does one make a blessing if preparing to die al kiddush Hashem?
If one is reasonably sure that he is about to die al kiddush Hashem does he make a blessing before fulfilling this mitzvah? What would the nusach (text) of this blessing be?
Note: I realize that even ...
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1answer
77 views
Whence is the idea that the deceased is a meilitz yosher?
At funerals I have often heard it said that the deceased should be a meilitz yosher (one who relates rectitude). Where does this idea come from?
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1answer
140 views
When is Avraham Avinu's Yahrzeit?
I have no sources to provide to this question. Rather I am asking simply. On what day was Avraham Avinu nifter? (pass away.) Do we know at all?
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1answer
176 views
How did they use to count years in the time of Abraham? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Rationalist Position on Bible Ancients' Long Lives
The bible states that Abraham has lived for 175 years, Yishmael lived for 137 years, and so on and so forth.
Now, ...
1
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1answer
70 views
What are the halachos following a miscarriage? [closed]
I was told that if the miscarried fetus was a boy it is given a bris milah. Why is this so? What are the other halachos related to a miscarriage? Do we differentiate between a baby that dies within 30 ...
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2answers
171 views
Wearing a deceased's shoes
A friend of mine asked me if a deceased's shoes should be disposed of, and if so - why.
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1answer
81 views
Death of two of Aharon's sons
On Yom Kippur we read Parshas Acharei Mos, which discusses the death of two of Aharon's sons. Medrash Vayikra Rabba 20:6 says that they died as they were drunk on wine (Shetuyei Yayin). How were they ...
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2answers
139 views
Killing insects on Yom Tov
Is one allowed to kill an insect on Yom Tov that is "bothering" them (causing some sort of tzar)?
(I'm inclined to think, based on the Halachic concept of "m'toch", that since we are allowed to shecht ...
1
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1answer
43 views
Was Tevi a slave at death or not?
The gemarah (bava kama 74b) indicates that Rebbi Gamliel's slave, Tevi was given his freedom after his master blinded him in one eye. However, the gemarah elsewhere (Brachos 16b) indicates that Rebbi ...
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1answer
38 views
Why did those on the ship ignore what Yona told them?
If those on the ship asked (Yonah 1:11) and Yonah answered (1:12) as far as how to save them, why did they ignore his suggestion (1:13)?
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3answers
171 views
Have not gone to parents grave in seven years
A friend recently mentioned that she has not gone to her parents grave in over ten years due to its distance and when she wanted to go she was told by a Rabbi that if she has not been there for over ...
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0answers
90 views
Kaddish for non-blood relatives
Does one say kaddish for a non-blood relative such as (chas v'shalom) a daughter-in-law? I know that a husband says kaddish when the parent of his wife passes away, but my understanding is that this ...
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169 views
How long does one say Kaddish for a sibling?
There is discussion here about saying Kaddish for parents and also some discussion on Kaddish for a sister. One place on the Chabad website states that Kaddish should be said for 30 days for a sibling ...
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Cryonics in Judaism
I was recently reading an article about cryogenics, there are around 200 bodies frozen in cryogenics labs around the world, and in the article they said that in the near future they may be able to ...
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1answer
88 views
Is “You Shall Choose Life” ever interpreted literally?
Inspired by Did people ever place actual physical stumbling blocks before the blind?
In Devarim 30:19, we are told by G-d to "choose life":
This day, I call upon the heaven and the earth as ...
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0answers
152 views
Does Kiddushin 81b imply that one opinion allows for suicide if that is the only way to keep from sinning?
The Gemoro in Kiddushin 81b brings down the following (shortened version of the) story:
Rabbi Chiya Bar Ashi used to say 'May God save me from the Yetzer
Hora'! When his wife overheard him she ...
4
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2answers
133 views
How to reconcile conflicting statements on martyrs feeling pain
According to the Maharam M'Rotenberg (explained in this answer) martyrs don't feel the pain of death. How then can we understand these following medrashim?
When R' Chanina ben Tradyoin was being ...
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2answers
233 views
Source that martyrs don't feel pain?
A lot of people have told me (and I seem to remember seeing so myself) there is a view in the Rishonim that someone who is killed Al Kiddush Hashem (for the sanctification of G-d's name, ie., ...
3
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1answer
83 views
Why was Shimshon viewed positively?
There is no indication in the text that the Jews were aware that Shimshon was secretly waging a one-man war against the Plishtim. From outward appearances it would seem that a former shofet of the ...
