The death tag has no wiki summary.
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35 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.
10
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2answers
164 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 bombersfound here I was curious if a Jewish cemetery's operators were allowed to ...
9
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1answer
188 views
Is it a sin to escape the death penalty?
If someone is sentenced to death by a Jewish court and is being held prisoner until the sentence can be carried out, if he escapes, is that a sin for him?
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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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.
5
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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
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
62 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?
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1answer
63 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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0answers
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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 ...
8
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3answers
183 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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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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64 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 ...
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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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2answers
129 views
7
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2answers
270 views
What are the characteristics of Sheol?
The Wikipedia article on Sheol is very unclear as to what it is and combined with the Christian understanding: quoting the New Testament in several places.
Who goes to Sheol once they die (Jews ...
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6answers
351 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?
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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?
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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0answers
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 ...
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2answers
108 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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2answers
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Is it inappropriate to say Baruch Dayan Haemes on a Ben Noach? Why or why not?
Is it inappropriate to say Baruch Dayan Haemes on a Ben Noach? What about someone who may have been an oved avoda zarah? Someone who is definitely such?
I'm asking because I've seen such discussion ...
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0answers
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, ...
2
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1answer
106 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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2answers
103 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
95 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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2answers
95 views
Yosef Bones out of Egypt
What Happened to Yosef Bones when the Took them out of Egypt ot actually when the Found 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 ...
3
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4answers
418 views
Non-Jews (Gentiles) in Olam Haba (Jewish Afterlife)?
Are there non-Jews in Olam Haba, either in Gehenom (Hell) or Gan Eden (Heaven)?
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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
113 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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0answers
79 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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0answers
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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3answers
191 views
Must EMTs and others rend Kriyah each time they see a patient die?
I was looking at Yoreh De'ah 40:5 (יו"ד סימן ש"מ ס"ק ה) and Moed Katan 25b (כה עמוד ב), which require Kriyah (garment-rending) for all who are there at the time of death. It would seem to me that an ...
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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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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
285 views
How to Tear Kriyah
What is the proper procedure for tearing Kriyah (e.g. for Aveilus* or visiting the Kosel)?
* May we never have to do so
5
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1answer
75 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
138 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
175 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, ...
6
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1answer
295 views
What are the halachot of suicide?
It used to be that a person who committed suicide was buried in a separate part of the cemetery and the relatives did not sit shiva (see Shulchan Aruch YD 345). We no longer do these things and we ...
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1answer
69 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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4answers
1k views
Can you be buried in a Jewish Cemetery if you have a tattoo?
Can you be buried in a Jewish Cemetery if you have a tattoo?
I.e., is it just urban legend that you can't?
3
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1answer
64 views
Who killed Shaul?
Ⅰ Sh'muel 31:3–5:
וַתִּכְבַּד הַמִּלְחָמָה אֶל שָׁאוּל…. וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל לְנֹשֵׂא כֵלָיו שְׁלֹף חַרְבְּךָ וְדָקְרֵנִי בָהּ… וְלֹא אָבָה נֹשֵׂא כֵלָיו כִּי יָרֵא מְאֹד וַיִּקַּח שָׁאוּל אֶת ...
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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 ...
5
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1answer
80 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 ...
