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Was Darius Jewish?
Darius the Second (the son of Queen Ester and Achashveirosh) was at first glance Jewish, as he was the son of a Jew. On the other hand,the Gemara Rosh Hashana implies that he wasn't Jewish.
What was ...
13
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3answers
298 views
Why doesn't Tefilat Geshem have a verse referring to Miriam?
The "Tefilat Geshem" ("Prayer for Rain") recited on Shemini 'Atzeret contains six verses. Each verse refers to a different person (except the last, which refers to a nation) and makes various ...
11
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2answers
171 views
Is there a chief Rabbi of the United States?
Is there currently or has there ever been historically a chief Rabbi of the United States? If not, why not?
11
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1answer
162 views
Understanding “The Bruriah Incident”
Masecheth 'Avodah Zarah (18b) cryptically mentions "מעשה דברוריה" - "The Beruriah Incident" - as a reason R' Meir fled to Bavel. Rashi (ad loc) explains that R' Meir was teasing his wife (the noted ...
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3answers
347 views
Does anyone in Tanach ever get divorced?
Does anyone in Tanach ever get divorced? Not merely separated but fully divorced.
10
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3answers
155 views
Jarchi = Rashi?
Is Rabbi Solomon Jarchi the same as Rashi? I saw Jarchi on the Internet on a Google search awhile ago, that it was Salomo son of Isaac, a French Biblical commentator and was wondering if it was the ...
10
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2answers
185 views
Could someone who has committed a heinous crime convert to Judaism?
Is there any reason that someone who has committed horrible sins in the past (for example, mass murder) could not become a Jew? Assume, of course, that the sinner/criminal is willing to do teshuvah ...
9
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1answer
120 views
Why was Rabbi Yitzchok Alfasi known as the Rif - rather than the Ria? (הרי"ף - רבי יצחק אלפסי)
Rabbi Yitzchok Alfasi was known as the Rif. The Roshei Teivos of his name is רי"א, and as far as I know there is no other historic figure known as the רי"א. Then why was he known as the Rif?
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2answers
120 views
Looking for information on the Savoraim
I am looking for more information on the Savoraim such as a list of who they were, what they wrote outside of comments/amendments in the talmud, meaning do they have responsa, ethical or halachik ...
8
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1answer
187 views
Eldad HaDani's Lasting Influence - Is there any?
Eldad HaDani is (apparently) considered today to have been a fraud. According to this Wikipedia article, he was a traveler who told stories of his place of origin, which he claimed was a sovereign ...
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2answers
92 views
Who was the קדוש מרדוש?
Today, in a shiur, I heard someone quote an opinion of the "קדוש מרדוש" (pronounced "Kadosh Meradoosh", I think). The Bet Yosef in E"HE 35 seems to quote the מרדכי who quotes him, so apparently he's a ...
8
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1answer
59 views
What is the genealogy of Judah ben Bava?
Is Judah ben Bava, noted for continuing the tradition of ordination, the son of Bava ben Buta, the Rabbi who was spared by Herod?
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3answers
186 views
Bimei Matisyahu ben Yochanan Kohen Godol
In "Al Hanisim" we say "Bimei Matisyahu ben Yochanan Kohen Godol", "in the days of Matisyahu the son of Yochanan the Kohen Gadol (=high priest)".
Who was the Kohen Godol: Matisyahu or Yochnan?
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2answers
75 views
R' Yehoshua Ben Levi — A Tanna or an Amorah?
I had always assumed that R' Yehoshua Ben Levi was an Amorah. However, we know he is quoted in the mishnah in Avos (Perek 6 Mishnah 2. Which is really a braisa, not a mishnah, but still a Tannaic ...
7
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2answers
123 views
Who was Yehoshua Bin Nun's father?
Who was Yehoshua Bin Nun's father? Obviously his name was "Nun". Who was he exactly? What do we know about him (and from what sources)?
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2answers
161 views
What historical figures have been identified as 'Amalek?
Adolf Hitler is often said to have been 'Amalek. I've heard it said not only figuratively but literally (how one could know that is a mystery to me).
What other historical figures are associated with ...
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1answer
85 views
Why does the Gemara often mention that certain Amoraim were asleep?
I've noticed that in the Gemara you often see a pattern where two people are discussing an issue in front of an Amorah (e.g R' Yirmiyah) while he was asleep. After their discussion he wakes up and ...
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1answer
8k views
How many children did King Solomon have?
King Solomon [1 Kings 11 (4)] “had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines;”
How many children did he have? Three. The question is referred to at ...
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1answer
438 views
How did the Ten Martyrs actually die?
On Yom Kippur and Tisha B'av we read about the Ten Martyrs who were gathered and killed by Emperor Hadrian to atone for the Sale of Yosef HaTzadik.
In addition to the idea that the Ten Martyrs didn't ...
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2answers
168 views
How historically accurate is Josephus?
How accurate is the writing of Josephus? Can we rely on any of his writings to establish authentic Jewish practices or in areas of halacha?
6
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2answers
96 views
What financial arrangement did Rambam have with his jeweler brother?
I was taught in yeshiva that as a young man, Rambam just studied Torah and was supported by his brother, who was a jewel merchant. Then his brother died at sea, so Rambam became a physician.
Recently ...
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2answers
121 views
Changing someone else's name
In parshas Shlach Moshe changes Yehoshua's name.
Does this mean his name really changed? IE was he called up to the torah as Yehoshua? Were his kids "ben Yehoshua"?
Are there any other examples in ...
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1answer
40 views
Do Chazal discuss Mishael and Eltzaphan
Do chazal provide any information on מִישָׁאֵל and אֶלְצָפָן the levite cousins of Aron and Moshe who removed Nadav and Avihu from the mishkan (Vayikra 10:4)? I'm looking for any sources that discuss ...
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5answers
424 views
Mordechai - Religious Leader or Political figure?
I'm looking to gather some more background, context, sources and opinions, regarding Mordechai's religiousness, or lack thereof.
This was the topic of a recent comment thread on Was Darius ...
5
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3answers
124 views
List of people in Tanach
Can I find anywhere a comprehensive list of every single person that is mentioned in Tanach. Including somewhat "biographical" information, who they were, family, what they did, how they fit into ...
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2answers
127 views
Was Rav Hai Gaon a kabbalist?
In a recent conversation a friend indicated that Rav Hai Gaon was a well known kabbalist, while another friend pointed to his teshuva [teshuvas ha'geonim 115] to indicate that he was not [and ...
5
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1answer
58 views
Was Ruth beautiful?
The Tanach seems to make a big deal out of the beauty of certain women, including Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Esther, but no mention of is made regarding Ruth's appearance. This seems particularly odd ...
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2answers
113 views
Did Shlomo Molcho actually declare himself a messiah?
I know this is widely claimed, but is there a historical source that can confirm that Shlomo Molcho considered himself a messiah (as opposed to merely predicting a keitz and generating a messianic ...
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2answers
325 views
What was the main subject of controversy between the Rabbis and Yeshu (Jesus)? [closed]
Jesus and his followers were seen as a separate sect among the Jews during the time he lived on earth. When did the Jews or Rabbis decided to declare him as an impostor, and why? What was the main ...
5
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1answer
80 views
Who was R' Jacob Pidanki?
Every once in a while the Judaica Press English translations (such as this one) will quote R' Jacob Pidanki in their commentary anthology.
Who was R' Jacob Pidanki? Where did he live? What ...
5
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1answer
132 views
What attitudes toward Jesus are acceptable for a Jew?
What attitudes toward Jesus are acceptable for a Jew? I understand that idolatry, or embracing the mainstream Christian perception of Jesus as divine, is absolutely out of the question. Furthermore, ...
5
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1answer
120 views
Ben Drosai - what was his Zechus?
Gemara Shabbos 20a and in other locations mentions
כמאכל
בן דרוסאי
Rashi explains that Ben Drosai was a thief who ate his food when it was only cooked 1/3. Did Ben Drosai have some sort of Zechus ...
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0answers
88 views
What is the lineage of Yona ben Amitai?
The gemarah (Yerushalmi succa 5:1) and midrash (yalkut shimoni Yona, remez 550) indicate that the prophet Yona ben Amitai descended from Zevulun (father) and Asher (mother). However other sources ...
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6answers
219 views
Which Biblical and Talmudic personalities visited Heaven and returned to earth?
In the Haftorah to Parashas Yisro, Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6, we read of Isaiah's prophetic vision where he visited Heaven. What Biblical and Talmudic personalities are said to have visited heaven and ...
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3answers
158 views
Is Absalom considered a “ben sorrer umoreh”?
Is Absalom considered a ben sorrer umoreh (devarim 21:18, bal haturim) for his rebellion? I thought there where never any cases of ben sorrer umoreh.
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1answer
92 views
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96 views
Pronunciation of חשמונאי
A friend today told me that the word חשמונאי traditionally pronounced "Chashmonai" should really be pronounced "Chashmunai" with the vav being read as a shuruk vowel instead of a cholom.
Is this ...
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1answer
161 views
Was Pharoh's daughter named Basya or Bisya?
Was Pharoh's daughter named Basya or Bisya? Sources please!
4
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1answer
65 views
Is Pinchas of Balak/Pinchas same Pinchas as Shoftim?
Is the Pinchas from the generation that left Egypt the same as the Pinchas mentioned in Shoftim 20?
Pinchas's zealotry earns him an eternal priesthood because of going above the letter of the law ...
4
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1answer
76 views
What became of Moshe's sons and their descendants?
After Yisro brings Tzipora and Moshe's sons back to him at Exodus 18:2-5, they are not mentioned by name again in the Torah. Divrei Hayamim (Chronicles I 23:14 et seq.) lists their male descendants ...
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0answers
177 views
Naming after the Patriarchs/Matriarchs and Biblical heroes
Nowadays it is very common for Jews to name their children after the Patriarchs, Matriarchs, and Biblical heroes.
But it doesn't seem (to me) as though this was very common until well into the period ...
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2answers
421 views
How many Maccabees were there and what were their names?
How many Maccabees were there and what were their names?
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1answer
109 views
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1answer
224 views
Source of appellation “Shimshon HaGibor”
I've heard it claimed that the expression "Shimshon HaGibor" (Samson the Mighty) [as a descriptive of Shimshon in Tanach] was invented by the Zionists, to promote their "strong Jew" narrative. Is this ...
3
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2answers
51 views
Are there any ma'amrei chazal on תּוֹלָע בֶּן-פּוּאָה?
תּוֹלָע בֶּן-פּוּאָה was the shofet from Yissachar (Shoftim 10:1-2). I have not been able to find any information on him anywhere. Do chazal or any later commentators mention anything about him?
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Is IshBoshet, Saul's son, his real original name?
Boshet means shameful or abomination.
Did his parents name him that?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ish-bosheth
In short, the question is whether that's his original name.
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1answer
153 views
Who was R' Avin Nagara
The Gemara (Bab. Shab. 23b) relates a story about one R' Avin Nagara ("The Carpenter").
Was he a Rabbi? Or was this merely an honorary title given to him because of his great children (as related in ...
2
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1answer
134 views
Ben Petura - The Nazarene?
The Gemara in Bava Metzia 62a talks about two people in the desert and who gets the water first. I heard that the character Ben Petura is the Nazarene; can anyone confirm or deny this with a source?
...
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2answers
130 views
Achashverosh — was he or wasn't he?
I'm looking to gather some more background, context, sources and opinions, regarding Achashverosh's Jewishness, or lack thereof.
This was inspired by a recent similar question, and, in fact, much of ...
