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.
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1answer
111 views
How was the Shaalos Utshuvos Min Hashamayim allowed to do what he did?
The Shut Min Hashamayim was written by a Rishon in the time of Tosfos. He used to ask questions from Shamayim (Heaven) in a Sheilas Chalom (Dream Question) and write the answers down. Many of those ...
7
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4answers
274 views
Dreams in Judaism?
What does Judaism have to say about dreams and do have any legitimacy?
Are they in any way binding, or are they assumed to be just products of an overactive imagination?
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 ...
7
votes
4answers
166 views
If the odds are against you in life (Bais Shammai's opinion), why did G-d bother?
I'm asking this question only because I recall hearing an answer, but unfortunately I don't remember the answer, or from which rabbi. Help me please?
Mesilas Yesharim says G-d made creation out of ...
7
votes
3answers
334 views
How do you know what is God's will in a particular situation?
After reading this superb article by the great Rabbi Noah Weinberg I'm left pondering point number 5 "Make your will God's will".
I understand that this does not mean that whatever you personally ...
7
votes
2answers
190 views
Why does God care so much about Details
Kizayis, Kebeitzah, Toich Kedai Achilas Pras, Zman Kriyas Shemah
Why is god so into details what are their significance(e.x why does god care if I daven after Zman Kriyas Shemah)?
7
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3answers
227 views
Why did God create the mentally ill/ severely handicapped?
Why did God create people who are mentally ill or severely handicapped? They are not able to serve him in the same capacity and their lives seem to be full of difficulty and anguish. Why would God do ...
7
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2answers
126 views
Talking to objects and Avoda Zara
This question inspired by This question here at programmers.se
There is a concept in some programing circles called "Rubber Ducking", where one expresses a problem to a rubber ducky and through that ...
7
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2answers
161 views
Can our deceased relatives observe us?
People often say (e.g. at s'machot and other such events) things like "Grandpa Chaim would have loved to be here today, but we know he is smiling down on us from shamayim"
Is this really a ...
7
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2answers
128 views
Why do different people have different levels of mitzvah obligation?
If the point of giving us mitzvot is to allow us to earn a reward in olam haba and to perfect creation (there's all of Jewish philosophy boiled down into 102 characters), why wouldn't all Jewish ...
7
votes
1answer
128 views
Free will a prerequisite for punishment?
I read that the angel Metat was subjected to 60 pulsei de-nura (Aramaic: פולסא דנורא "lashes of fire"). I have been taught that angels do not have free will. Did this angel act from free will or did ...
7
votes
3answers
378 views
Zeh klal gadol batorah - really?
In the Talmud Yerushalmi, Nedarim 9:4
ואהבת לרעך כמוך: אמר רבי עקיבא זה כלל גדול בתורה:
"You shall love your fellow as yourself. Said Rabbi Akiva: This is a great principle in the Torah."
...
7
votes
3answers
204 views
Is Ferberization okay?
Is there anything objectionable (in terms of halacha, hashkafa and middos) to using the Ferber method for training an infant to fall asleep on its own? There is an element of cruelty, and the ultimate ...
7
votes
1answer
120 views
Fasting for non Religious Reasons?
I was recently asked to fast as a part of a multi-faith community fast as spiritual preparation for doing voter engagement work (I work for a multi-faith, multi-ethnic community organization.)
Here ...
7
votes
1answer
125 views
Why did Hashem create the world?
Some opinion say that Hashem created the world to bestow goodness on man (and couldn't just place him in the Garden of Eden because it would be "bread of shame" - that man would get things for free).
...
7
votes
2answers
113 views
Yearning for Moshiach while the Temples stood
Did we (the Jewish people) yearn for the complete Redemption (with the Techias HaMasim, etc) like we do today, at the time the either Temple was standing? It can't be that we just assumed "This is ...
7
votes
3answers
125 views
Can you pray something that isn't true or (at least) that the petitioner doesn't believe to be true?
In the Aruch HaShulchan OH 581:4, he writes regarding the selichos we recite before Rosh HaShanah:
האחת: דאלו שאינם מתענים, ובהסליחה מוזכר לשון "תענית" או "צום" – לא יאמרו זה, דלא ליהוי כדובר שקרים. ...
7
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0answers
87 views
Do not separate yourself from the community: what exactly is the community?
Hillel teaches in Pirke Avot (2:4): do not separate yourself from the community. I'm not a historian, but I have the impression that at the time he was writing, towns tended to have one (Jewish) ...
7
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0answers
84 views
Punishment in this World or in the World To Come
It says that (in general) Hashem lets a righteous person suffer in this world to cleanse him from sins (so he will have no more sins in the World to Come), while Hashem lets a wicked person prosper in ...
6
votes
5answers
345 views
Do we believe in Heaven and Hell?
In yeshiva I was always told about gan eden and gehinnom, and how the good go to one place while the bad go to the other. However, in popular culture, Jews are always said to not believe in Hell (and ...
6
votes
6answers
250 views
Tikkun Olam source
What is the source for the concept that Jews have to practice Tikkun Olam, and where in the classical Jewish sources is this concept defined? It seems people throw this term around a lot in the ...
6
votes
2answers
578 views
The meaning of Tzadik
I am having difficulty in understand the meaning of Tzadik. Maimonides says "One whose merit surpasses his iniquity is a tzadik". I have trouble in understanding this sentence. Can someone explain the ...
6
votes
4answers
104 views
What is the purpose of t'chias hamasim?
Given the following: (note please feel free to argue with any of these premises, but please also cite a source)
t'chias hamasim will only occur for the righteous
the righteous who are currently dead ...
6
votes
4answers
157 views
Commemorating Death
What are some sources about when it is appropriate - if ever - to celebrate the death of an enemy?
My question is inspired by last night's news of the death of Osama Bin Laden, naturally, as well as ...
6
votes
3answers
132 views
Good inclination or evil inclination in the womb?
The Posuk says:
ויתרוצצו הבנים בקרבה (בראשית כה, כב)
To which Rashi comments:
כשהיתה עוברת על פתחי תורה של שם ועבר יעקב רץ ומפרכס לצאת, וכשהיתה עוברת על פתחי עבודה זרה עשיו מפרכס לצאת
...
6
votes
1answer
223 views
Should a Jew who doesn't believe in G-d observe the commandments?
In an earlier question, I asked if it was a commandment to believe in G-d. As with so many areas, there were differing opinions. Some of the respondents claimed that there would be no point in being ...
6
votes
3answers
187 views
Is the enemy of my enemy my friend? If so, which one?
I guess this is a two-part question. Are there any sources that support this common maxim? And if so, are there any sources that provide guidance on which enemy we now befriend?
If one enemy ...
6
votes
2answers
101 views
What is the reason for שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום?
What is the reason for שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום?
Why must it been done in that form of twice reading the verse and once reading the תרגום?
The Gemara in ברכות דף ח states that one who does שנים מקרא ...
6
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3answers
156 views
What is the Yetzer Harah?
What is the meaning of the "Yetzer Harah" - יצר הרע? How does it compare to the סטן?
6
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2answers
209 views
Does the end justify the means
Is the phrase "The ends justify the means" a concept favored in Judaism? For instance, can one lie in order to get others to perform a Mitzvah?
6
votes
2answers
169 views
No Olam Habah for these?
At the end of Gemorah (Tractate) Sanhedrin, there is discussion of people who are not Zocheh to get into Olam Haba (Gan Eden). Is there a comprehensive list somewhere of people mentioned throughout ...
6
votes
2answers
113 views
The original Mesilas Yesharim
Mesilas Yesharim is a digest version of a previous work by the Ramchal. This work is an ongoing conversation between a wise man and a pious man (Thank you chanoch for the correction). I don't recall ...
6
votes
2answers
99 views
Why bother with n'vi'im?
I was asked the following question recently and, incapable of doing it justice on my own, am seeking a cogent printed answer to give the questioner.
If God wishes to express an unequivocal directive ...
6
votes
2answers
117 views
Is diversity a Jewish value?
We hear a lot about the value of diversity these days, especially in academic settings. What about in hashkafa? Does "shivim panim l'Torah" teach that diversity is to be valued, and to what degree? ...
6
votes
8answers
336 views
do we really have free choice?
I was told Hashem created us with free will; so we can make a choice to do good or evil, right? Well, Hashem knows what we are going to do in 10 minutes. So do we really have free will? Hashem can see ...
6
votes
1answer
73 views
Why does the 5th verse of “Yigdal”, not mention prayer as does the 5th principle of faith of the Rambam?
The piyyut, “Yigdal”, seems to put the 13 principles of faith of the Rambam in poetic form.
With number 5, the author of Yigdal seems to have made a slightly different point to the Rambam by leaving ...
6
votes
1answer
134 views
Jewish views on patriotism/nationalism
I heard a lecture in which a rabbi espoused very. negative views against nationalism in a July 4th speech. What are Jewish sources that counter his claim, that is, sources in which the Rabbis/great ...
6
votes
1answer
121 views
Da' Mah LeHashiv vs. teaching Torah to non-Jews
Is the paradigm of Da' Mah LeHashiv limited to heretical Jews, and that of the restriction on teaching Torah to non-Jews limited only to non-Jews (excluding heretical Jews), such that there is never ...
6
votes
1answer
77 views
Was divrei kabalah practiced before the nevi'im?
The Nevi'im sometimes got prophecies and wrote them down in Nevi'im or Kesuvim, and from those prophecies, we learn divrei kabalah. We learn things like oneg, mimtzo cheftzecha, and daber davar on ...
6
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1answer
598 views
Is there any difference between Jewish G-d and Muslim G-d? [closed]
Do Jews and Muslims worship the same G-d? If so, do they understand G-d the same way? As a related point, is there any linguistic or theological connection between "Allah" and "Eloha" (or "Elohim")? ...
6
votes
0answers
51 views
What is the correct kavanah when going to war?
I am specifically talking about going to war that is a mitzvah such as the wars fought while conquering Eretz Yisroel in the beginning of the Neviim and the mitzvah we have and will fulfill of ...
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votes
6answers
183 views
Resources for learning about the foundations of Judaism
I recently met an intelligent Soviet immigrant interested in learning more about Judaism. He would like to start with understanding the basics. Such as:
How do we understand G-d?
What are the ...
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3answers
137 views
How can people effectively bless when blessing is God's domain?
How do people have the power to bless? Yitzchak's blessings for his sons pretty much came true, and similarly later when Yaakov blesses his children and earlier (in the inverse) Noach curses Canaan. ...
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3answers
147 views
5
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3answers
455 views
Do Jews think that all the unbelievers would go to hell someday?
I wonder whether Judaism teaches that those unbelievers or those who are Jews but nevertheless lead a sinful life would go to hell someday when judgement time comes.
5
votes
2answers
178 views
Image of God: Equality and Discrimination
I have heard from many unreliable sources that the Torah's description of mankind as being "in the Image of God" implies some level of equal standing of all humans and therefore the expectation ...
5
votes
3answers
255 views
Why does Judaism require more orthodoxy than other religions?
Why is Judaism comprised of so many precise stringencies in comparison to other religions?
Why is conversion to Judaism so strict and difficult?
5
votes
3answers
157 views
Why do we say God will be one when we also say He already is?
Aleinu ends with the phrase "on that day God will be one and His name will be one". While we could interpret this to mean that "on that day everybody else will agree with us on this", the plain ...
5
votes
3answers
262 views
Why a human Messiah?
I understand that Mashiach is going to be a human. What is the source for this, and are there any explanations why it must be so? Can't G-d Himself redeem us?
5
votes
1answer
119 views
Nothing new under the sun, except for women chasing men?
I noticed that in Yermiyahu 31:21, it says .
עַד-מָתַי תִּתְחַמָּקִין, הַבַּת הַשּׁוֹבֵבָה: כִּי-בָרָא יְהוָה
חֲדָשָׁה בָּאָרֶץ, נְקֵבָה תְּסוֹבֵב גָּבֶר.
"...and Gd will create a new ...
