Jewish philosophy as well as Jewish perspectives - i.e. not only formal philosophy. NOT for questions about Jewish practice unless there's a philosophical component.
43
votes
2answers
508 views
Does “reputation scoring” make “the Torah a crown to magnify yourself with”?
I apologise in advance if this is not the place to ask this question.
Is "reputation scoring" against the spirit of Pirkei Ovos 4 (5) "Rabbi Tzaddok would say: Do not make the Torah a crown to ...
15
votes
8answers
792 views
Why are angelic icons not prominent in Judaism?
I learned that the song Shalom Aleichem is all about welcoming the Shabbat angels, and clearly angels are celebrated in Judaism. However I've noticed that images of angels are not very widespread in ...
15
votes
2answers
391 views
Why does the Hebrew alphabet not have letters representing vowels?
(Re-asking this question in a way more suited to SE.)
The Hebrew alphabet is actually an abjad rather than a "true" Western-style alphabet, in that every letter represents a consonant, and vowels, if ...
14
votes
8answers
371 views
How do I get myself to yearn for moshiach if I'm comfortable in the diaspora?
Intellectually I know that we're supposed to yearn for the coming of the mashiach and the in-gathering in Eretz Yisrael. I know that one of the Rambam's 13 principles calls for this. We pray for ...
14
votes
4answers
299 views
Why is Sha'ar Ha'Yichud of Chovos Ha'Levavos so “controversial”?
I have heard that Sha'ar Ha'Yichud of Chovos Ha'Levavos is controversial, and that one needs a rebbe in order to learn it. What does the author say that is so difficult to understand?
14
votes
1answer
231 views
Who is Moshiach?
How do I know that someone is Moshiach? Will I just know? Are there requirements? If someone tells me that he is the Moshiach, is he to be believed. It would seem seem strange to say so.
14
votes
1answer
152 views
What Happens to People Who Don't Have a Portion in Olam Haba?
The last perek of Sanhedrin lists some people who have no share in Olam Haba. Other people who forfeit their share are discussed in the answers to this question: No Olam Habah for these?
My question ...
13
votes
5answers
660 views
Is there “Torah Inerrancy”?
Is there Torah inerrancy?
In other words, does the Torah contain no factual errors: the Noah flood did occur, Garden of Eden did exist, Adam and Eve did live there and were subsequently expelled, etc ...
13
votes
8answers
406 views
How does “eilu v'eilu” work out with an absolute truth?
I'm under the impression that religious Judaism believes in absolute truths. That being the case, how does the concept of "eilu v'eilu divrei elokim chaim" (Eruvin 13b) work out? When two scholars ...
13
votes
7answers
291 views
“I never saw a tzaddik be abandoned…” - how do we understand this?
At the end of bentching we say that "I was young, and I also became old, and I never saw a righteous person be abandoned, and his children asking for bread".
How do we reconcile that with the ...
12
votes
6answers
730 views
How do we know that God exists?
Simple enough question, and very much related to the topic.
According to the sources, on what basis should people believe that there's a God?
12
votes
6answers
346 views
Being a light to the nations - what does it mean?
I'm working on this as my project for a yeshiva program, and I'd like some input
What does the concept actually mean? It's only mentioned briefly in most of our scripture and commentary.
Are there ...
12
votes
5answers
401 views
Why is there so much stuff?
If the point of all of creation is for the Jewish people to accept and carry out the torah [I realize this is not axiomatic and may be a point of contention - see Shabbat 88a] what is the need for the ...
12
votes
2answers
296 views
How do we know that we have free will?
Where in the torah does it state that humans have, and are entitled to in perpetuity, free will?
12
votes
1answer
854 views
Why does the Jewish calendar HAVE to end?
It seems to be common knowledge that on or around the year 6,000 of the Jewish calendar "everything" (left intentionally vague) will come to an end and there will be a 1,000 year 'Shabbos'. I'm ...
11
votes
7answers
948 views
How does Judaism deal with God and paradoxes?
How does Judaism deal with paradoxes relating to the omnipotence of God?
For example: Can God create a rock that he himself cannot lift?
11
votes
5answers
568 views
May one love a non-Jew?
May one love a non-Jew? Not romantically in the sense of marriage, but rather in the sense that one loves a friend or family. May a Jew love his Gentile father, for example? May a baal teshuvah ...
11
votes
7answers
450 views
Answering Atheist about Torah miracles
How do we explain our belief in the story of Yonah living in a Fish, the Splitting of a sea, and all the other fantastic Miracles described in the Torah to a person who was not brought up religious; ...
11
votes
4answers
615 views
“If God had not delivered us from Egypt we would still be slaves”? Really?
One part of the Pesach seder that has always bothered me is saying that if God had not taken us out of Mitzrayim at that time we would still be slaves today. This seems lacking in faith in God; ...
11
votes
6answers
487 views
Reconciling the evidence for the Uncertainty Principle with belief in an omniscient G-d
One of the foundations of modern quantum mechanics is the Uncertainty Principle. This principle is not an assumption, but rather is derived from assumptions made with regard to the structure of ...
11
votes
4answers
5k views
11
votes
4answers
311 views
Is belief in a G-d a commandment?
I am studying to convert to Judaism and one of the questions I was asked was about the Ten Commandments. I remember reading at that time that there was debate about the division of the statements ...
11
votes
2answers
180 views
What is “emunas chachomim”?
My daughter came home from school with a textbook response for what "emunas chachomim" is. I disagreed strongly with what was written in the book, so I'm not even going to say what they said. ...
11
votes
4answers
212 views
Did hardening Paro's heart mean he wasn't really responsible?
As a child I often wondered how, if God kept hardening Paro's heart after each plague, it could really be Paro's fault. It sounds like God was setting him up to fail, and while that's God's ...
11
votes
3answers
371 views
What has the Holocaust taught us as a people?
The Holocaust was one of the most horrific and important events in our history. What have rabbis said are lessons we should take from it?
I am looking for lessons that should apply to all Jews, ...
11
votes
4answers
243 views
Voting for a person that will not uphold Torah values
It is well known that Rabbi Avigdor Miller Zatzal strongly condemned those that voted for candidates that would not uphold Torah values. Yet there were many Gedolim that had no problem voting for such ...
11
votes
3answers
129 views
What are Rambam's “עיקרים”?
Rambam, in his Commentary to the Mishna (Sanhedrin 10), enumerates 13 "עיקרים" or "יסודות", which he holds are the core "principles" that every Jew is expected to believe. (Summary in English.)
But ...
11
votes
3answers
218 views
Do people have an effect on the mood of God?
If a person commits idolatry or fornication he is sinful. Not only that, but the curse of Hashem is with that person. On the other hand, if a person does a lot of mitswots (commandments) and believes ...
11
votes
2answers
220 views
Is it heresy to follow secular dating on the destruction of the first Temple?
There is a discrepancy between rabbinic and secular sources regarding when the first Temple was destroyed -- a difference of some 165 years or so, which are called the "Missing Years."
My question is ...
11
votes
8answers
1k views
If Christianity is avodah zarah and Islam is not, why has the Christian world triumphed over the non-Christian, and why do Jews prefer to live among Christians and not Muslims?
The Rambam quite clearly considered Christianity to be avodah zarah. He did not feel the same way about Islam, however, going so far as to condone praying within a mosque, and many Orthodox Jewish ...
10
votes
7answers
398 views
Why did G-d not stop the holocaust?
Why did G-d not stop the holocaust? Is there anything written to explain why He would not have stopped it? or why He would have allowed it?
10
votes
3answers
250 views
Why in judaism - when discussing the Torah - do I see a lot of answers referring to writings of different Rabbis?
Sorry for the simpleness of this question. I've been trying to study the Torah as much as possible. I do not know Hebrew (though I'd truly like to and would appreciate any advice on how to get ...
10
votes
5answers
340 views
Existence of Heaven and Hell
I heard from a Jewish colleague that the concept of Heaven and Hell were not originally part of Judaism. I couldn't find references to these concepts in the Old Testament. So
Were these part of ...
10
votes
2answers
161 views
Non-belief in Torah's divinity - Wickedness or Ignorance?
If a Jew breaks halacha because he honestly does not believe that the Torah is G-d's law or that he is obligated it follow it, is his nonconformance with the law considered wickedness or ignorance? ...
10
votes
2answers
91 views
Why didn't the Tur discuss traditional Jewish philosophy?
Of all classical works of Halacha, only the Rambam has a section dedicated "Hilchos Deos". For example, he begins with the most fundamental Jewish belief, the belief in one G-d, that G-d is the ...
10
votes
4answers
197 views
Reconciling Nature with Continuous Creation
I have always understood that when God created the universe, he subjected it to a natural order and process under which the universe can function. The laws of nature are those that govern the ...
10
votes
3answers
221 views
Jewish concept of angels
Judaism does not believe in the free will of angels. What is the scriptural evidence for that and since when has such belief been held within the Jewish community?
9
votes
3answers
239 views
Difference between jewish and zionist?
I was in Israel last summer (Rehovot) visiting a close friend and his wife. In one of our very long conversations with them she said, "I would say I am not jewish, but I am a zionist". ...
9
votes
7answers
321 views
Any primary sources that all Jewish males should l'chatchila stay in learning forever?
Does anyone know of any specific sources in Chazal or Rishonim (or even earlier achronim) that indicate that l'chatchila all Jewish males should learn full time forever? I know that this is the ...
9
votes
2answers
248 views
“bad impression” vs “Judge your friend favorably”
There are two commonly known halachic concepts. "Marit Ayin", a bad impression, and "Dan Lekaf Zechut", "Judging favorably". Here is a nice article on the concept of Marit Ayin and it briefly talks ...
9
votes
1answer
157 views
Does someone who dies very young have a soulmate?
As discussed in this question, the Talmud tells us that 40 days before someone is born, a heavenly voice calls out "This person is destined for so-and-so".
Not sure if anyone can answer this, but ...
9
votes
1answer
157 views
“Wedding anniversary” in Jewish thought.
Does the concept of "wedding anniversary" specifically enter Jewish thought or is it to be thought of as another of the many occasions for giving thanks to HKB"H?
8
votes
6answers
467 views
does one have to take a Midrash/Aggadah literally?
Does one have to take a Midrash/Aggadah literally?
8
votes
3answers
976 views
Rainbow as a bad omen
There is a popular idea that seeing a rainbow is a bad sign, as if the world is deserving of a deluge (c"v) and the only reason Hashem does not do so is because of His promise. Is there any source for ...
8
votes
2answers
228 views
Different types of Nevuah
What are the differences between the "typical" navi's prophecy, Moshe Rabbeinu's prophecy, and Bil'am HaRasha's prophecy?
(Answers with sources [and preferably links to sources] only please!)
8
votes
1answer
144 views
Eilu V'Eilu - Until Where?
Many times rabbis disagree on things in both hashkafa and Halacha. Usually, even when disagreeing, they will view the others' opinion as valid, even if they themselves would not rely on it. This is ...
8
votes
2answers
227 views
Moreh Nevuchim: To learn or not to learn?
I have come across many people who believe that it is inappropriate to learn Moreh Nevuchim especially at a younger inexperienced age. However, it seems that many important issues are discussed in the ...
8
votes
2answers
333 views
Which 20th-century Rosh Yeshiva studied under the mysterious Monsieur Chouchani?
Monsieur Chouchani was a mysterious figure who travelled around post-World War II and taught several great Jewish thinkers, including Emmanuel Levinas z"l and [yibadel l'chayim] Elie Wiesel.
...
8
votes
1answer
94 views
Animals vs. plants: kashrus
Why did God make all plants, but only some animals, kosher? Sources, please.
8
votes
2answers
159 views
Stipulations based on “correct” halacha vs. “לא בשמים היא”
It is my understanding that halacha is determined by individual p'sak. That is, there is no divine body of halacha which we are trying to determine with poskim issuing their p'sak based on what they ...
