Questions related to how something was in the past, and how it's developed since then.
9
votes
2answers
112 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 ...
3
votes
3answers
95 views
Saying Rishonim or Achronim were “wrong”
Pepole are very careful (and rightfully so) to say when they don't understand the words of the Achronim or Rishonim to not say they are/were "wrong". But rather to say "I don't understand what he ...
3
votes
1answer
63 views
What were the original kitniyos?
I know many people (chiefly S'faradim) don't have the custom altogether of refraining from eating kitniyos on Pesach. Among those who do have such a custom, moreover, there are varying customs as to ...
9
votes
0answers
183 views
(How) was Tu B'Av observed as a matchmaking/singles-meeting event through history?
I know the Talmud describes how the fifteenth day of the month of Av (Tu b'Av) was a day of ... I'd say "matchmaking", but I think "marriage-minded-singles-meeting" is more like it:
אמר רבן שמעון ...
3
votes
1answer
104 views
Who dropped Moses from the Hagaddah?
Moses is not mentioned in the Hagaddah (with one minor exception), presumably to show that the exodus happened entirely by G-d's power and to not deify Moses.
Presumably, though, the maggid during ...
13
votes
2answers
258 views
What does “the Talmud” mean in the Talmud?
The G'mara Bavli says in Shabas 63:
אמר רב כהנא, "כד הוינא בר תמני סרי שנין, והוה גמירנא ליה לכוליה תלמודא, ולא הוה ידענא דאין מקרא יוצא מידי פשוטו..."
Rav Kahana said, "When I was 18 years ...
4
votes
1answer
67 views
How were long-running talmudic discussions actually conducted?
Eiruvin 13b records two years-long disputes between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai, and surely these are not the only long-running debates. How did that work in practice? Did they really have a single ...
2
votes
3answers
224 views
Did Chazal know about China and the Chinese? and from which of Noach's sons do they hail?
The silk road from the Far East to Asia probably operated from about 200 B.C.E although it was not a direct trading route but worked in stages; so there was no direct contact from say China to ...
2
votes
2answers
125 views
Did the Jews in the Midbar know the entire Torah?
The G'mara in Y'vamos (ד) and B'rachos (כא) records a dispute over whether laws can be deduced from the fact of two p'sukim appearing adjacent to one another in the Torah.
The Mahara"tz Chayos ...
10
votes
1answer
125 views
What happened to the Eirev Rav?
What happened to the Eirev Rav after the Jews entered Israel? They were open trouble makers in the desert, yet nothing was mentioned of them later?
Did they clean up their act? Did they die out?
14
votes
1answer
140 views
What sources, prior to the 19th century, support or refute the existence of the Council of Jamnia/Yavneh?
Multiple questions on Christianity.SE1 refer to the Council of Jamnia/Yavneh in reference to the canonization of the Bible (Tanakh). Wikipedia states:
In 1871 Heinrich Graetz, drawing on Mishnaic ...
13
votes
5answers
323 views
What is the source of the Magen Dovid (Star of David)?
What is the source of the Magen Dovid (Star of David) in Rabbinic Judaism?
When was it first used, and for what?
5
votes
1answer
112 views
Where did Rash"i's commentary leave off when he died?
Where did Rash"i's commentary leave off when died? Did he finish it? What was he working on?
7
votes
1answer
105 views
Up part of the night on Shavuos
As described by Stephanie Hegarty for the BBC, Roger Ekirch, an historian, has evidence — and is convinced — that people used to have
a first sleep which began about two hours after dusk, followed ...
0
votes
1answer
79 views
Earliest documentation of kissing
What are the earliest sources you know of that mention kissing (be it romantic, familial, kissing mezuzos/tefillin/torah etc.)? There are obvious tznius issues when it comes to people kissing other ...
14
votes
6answers
327 views
G'dolim or Rabbis Owning Pets
Are there any g'dolim (or rabbis of major influence) - past or present - who are known to have owned pets/kept animals for non-agricultural purposes?
7
votes
0answers
66 views
What is the source of Yartzeit tablet?
Who invented the Yahrtzeit tablet (panel)?
At first glance, this could not have been common before 150 years ago, as there is no room to place candles where the electric lights go.
Who invented ...
11
votes
1answer
223 views
Origin of the term Yoshke?
I have often heard Jews refer to Jesus as "Yoshke". Is the origin of that appellation based on halachic issues regarding mentioning names of foreign deities, or some other Jewish law or custom? When ...
9
votes
2answers
167 views
Did the Rosh (Rabbeinu Asher) describe the culture clash moving from medieval Germany to Spain?
Rabbi Asher (the "Rosh") moved from medieval Germany to Spain. I know he describes some different halachic practices that were done in Spain (e.g. linen tzitzis); but does he describe the difference ...
4
votes
1answer
74 views
Were condemned prisoners drugged prior to execution?
According to this unsubstantiated Wikipedia entry, criminals condemned to death by Beith Din were drugged and rendered senseless prior to being executed.
Is this factually correct (either ...
0
votes
2answers
72 views
What are the earliest sources of Oral Law irrespective of Jewish denomination like Kariate Samaritan etc
I read Oral laws were forbidden to be written down by MOses and then due to a threat people started to write it down , Hence curious to know which is the first manuscript on Oral law , most probably ...
5
votes
0answers
51 views
Are there any ancient Jewish dances?
From what I've seen most (orthodox) Jewish dancing consists of people running or walking in a circle, sometimes with exciting variations such as foot stomping. Are there any records of ancient ...
5
votes
3answers
157 views
Sadducees and Karaites - same beliefs?
Did the Karaites and the Sadducees believe in the same "Judaism"?
11
votes
4answers
613 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; ...
1
vote
0answers
25 views
What were Bar Kochba's sins?
In his answer to the question Is there any evidence that Rabbi Akiva's students fought with Bar Kochba, Jake cites Y.T. Taanis 4:5 and M.R. Eicha 2:4 as sources for the position that Bar Kochba was ...
4
votes
0answers
37 views
“Secular” studies in the Rhineland academies of the 11th-13th centuries
This is perhaps a fairly specific question, and I don't know if it belongs here or on the History stack exchange, but I would like to know more about the Rhineland academies that were headed by people ...
1
vote
4answers
139 views
Biblical significance of face veil
I read here about certain Jewish sects prescribing face veil. A related question about the rule was asked here, and i was asked to ask a separate question on Biblical history of the same.
Was such a ...
8
votes
2answers
105 views
How were girls educated during the Talmudic era?
According to the Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society's article on Judaism:
Owing to the primacy of ritual in traditional Judaism, instruction of children focused on the ...
8
votes
1answer
137 views
Origin of Haggadah Section Titles (Kadesh Urchatz, etc.)
What is the historical origin of the section titles of the Haggadah?
(Inspired by discussion in comments on this answer to the question: Translation of haggadah section titles)
1
vote
1answer
69 views
How and exactly when was the Torah canonized and by whom
I had read in the bible that Prophet Moses received the 10 commandments on a tablet and there was also some other revelations which were not nailed on the tablet which constitute the Torah. Hence I ...
5
votes
2answers
201 views
What Jewish References Exist of the Rise of Islam and Muhammad?
The Quran records interactions between Muhammad and Jews, and according to historical accounts, he lived in places with Jewish communities, in addition to conquering some.
The earliest Torah source ...
-4
votes
1answer
87 views
Which nation in this prophecy of Haggai will shake nations and will be given peace(שָׁלוֹם) [closed]
The following verse in the Torah prophesizes about a nation which will be given "peace" and coming of a praised being:
and I will shake all nations, and the choicest(חֶמְדַּת ) things of all ...
5
votes
2answers
81 views
At what point was it recommended to have a separate kosher certifier (mashgiach) for local Jewish businesses?
If I understand correctly, you can generally walk into an observant Jew's house (upon invitation) and if he says the food is kosher, you assume the food is kosher. Now if the same fellow has a kosher ...
10
votes
5answers
297 views
The authenticity of rabbinic literature
I am studying the history of various branches of Judaism. I understand the position of rabbinic Judaism that parts of the laws were oral and not written. But this alone would not justify the ...
-2
votes
2answers
55 views
Rabbis giving conflicting opinions?
Are there any examples in the history of Rabbis giving conflicting opinions on the same issue
5
votes
3answers
106 views
What are some of the old commentaries prior to 1 BCE of the Torah?
I believe that there would be commentaries of the Torah older than 1 BCE and that can shed significant light on what the message of God is in terms of its authoritativeness.
Israelites have a glorious ...
-6
votes
2answers
81 views
What are the behaviors which will cause the covenant between Bnei Yisrael and God to be broken? [closed]
What are the abominations that Bnei Yisrael should desist from, which would cause it to break the covenant of God. And has the covenant been broken in the past?
2
votes
0answers
68 views
How could different pronunciations arise when we are obligated to pronounce the Shema precisely?
If one does not pronounce the Shema correctly, one has not fulfilled their obligation (שולחן ערוך או"ח סימן סב). If so, then how could different pronunciations of the Hebrew words arise? Shouldn't at ...
13
votes
2answers
190 views
How were judges appointed in the times of the Bais Hamikdash?
In the times of the Bais Hamikdash, were judges appointed by the king, or were they elected by the people? And was the system different based on which size court (i.e., courts comprised of 3, 23, or ...
4
votes
2answers
286 views
What's the “ORegon 7-1222” on R' Moshe Feinstein's letterhead? [closed]
The English part of of R' Moshe Feinstein's letterhead reads as follows:
RABBI MOSES FEINSTEIN
455 F.D.R. DRIVE
New York, N.Y. 10002
__
ORegon 7-1222
See for instance this letter, this ...
1
vote
1answer
87 views
Toynbee's description of Jews as a “fossil” — what was the Orthodox response?
In the 1950s historian Arnold Toynbee made the argument that Jews and Judaism did not fit into any definition of nation, race, or religion. We were not a nation because we lived for centuries without ...
12
votes
7answers
379 views
About what were rabbis ahead of the times?
I have heard claims that experts in the world of Torah were significantly ahead of their counterparts in the world of natural science (or mathematics, or psychology, or…) in that they knew X ...
5
votes
0answers
45 views
What is the status of the “minor tractates”?
There is a collection of "minor tractates" some of which contain material not found in other works of torah sh'baal peh (the oral law). What is the origin of these tractates? Who wrote/compiled them? ...
5
votes
1answer
117 views
Which of Moshe Chaim Luzzatto's works influenced Chassidut, Mussar, and Haskalah?
In Dovid Cohen (known as Rav Ha-Nazir)'s Wikipedia page, the following idea is attributed to him:
He saw in Moses Hayyim Luzzatto the harbinger of this redemption, pointing out that the three ...
3
votes
3answers
219 views
Why do we venerate previous generations?
In understanding torah sh'baal peh, as well as halacha we generally work under the presumption that earlier generations were correct and/or knew more than later generations. For example many a talmud ...
4
votes
1answer
101 views
Historical account of Jewish worship via the graves of saints and Prophets
Are there any examples in the Jewish history of Jewish people falling into worshiping the dead saints and prophets in their tombs ?
Also, does building Tomb and concrete structures over the graves ...
2
votes
0answers
79 views
Sitting or Standing for Kaddish - historical divergence between Conservative and Orthodox minhag
At most (maybe even all?) Conservative synagogues, the congregation remains seated during every kaddish (except mourner's kaddish, and then only mourners rise). At Ashkenazic Orthodox synagogues, the ...
8
votes
1answer
180 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 ...
1
vote
1answer
121 views
Breakdown of Yirmiyahu's 70 year prophecy
Can someone supply a good breakdown of Yirmiyahu's 70 year prophecy, and the misinterpretations of the prophecy? This is what I've learned in the past:
Yirmiyahu made a prophecy that 70 years after ...
5
votes
4answers
232 views
Why was the Gemara written in Aramaic?
The Gemara (the Bavli and Yerushalmi) are the fundamental texts that we possess of the Oral law. Why were they written in Aramaic?
At first glance, Ravina and R' Ashi probably knew that this will be ...
