Questions related to how something was in the past, and how it's developed since then.
7
votes
3answers
183 views
Masada - heroic martyrdom or immoral murder/suicide?
Was the mass coordinated mutual killing at Masada (for lack of a better term) an act of heroic martyrdom or immoral murder and suicide?
While it is unknown for certain what exactly transpired, ...
6
votes
1answer
123 views
Sefer Milhamot Hashem - from Bamidbar 21:14
Does anyone know of any discussion of the the "sefer Milkhamot Hashem" mentioned in Bamidbar 21:14? Someone had asked me about the content of the book and I had no idea of what to answer him.
4
votes
1answer
122 views
Source for story of Rashi, the King, and the Four Horsemen
There is a story (you can read the details here) about Rashi telling a King that he will conquer Yerushalaim for 3 days and return with 3 horses and 3 riders. The King returned with 4, but as they ...
5
votes
1answer
64 views
When did people stop getting Tazra'as?
At what point in history did Tzra'as stop happening? Was it sudden or gradual? Do we have any sources that suggest that it could still occur today?
17
votes
2answers
268 views
What kind of kippah is this?
This photo of my great great grandfather was taken around 1900. He's a Lubavitch Jew from Belarus. His name is Zalman Malkin. He is from Liozna. The story of his life is here:
...
5
votes
3answers
154 views
multiple versions for Baruch She'amar
Being that Baruch She'amar fell from the sky (as said in the Baeir Heiteiv Orach Chaim 51:1), how is it that the Rambam (seder tefilos kal hashna) has a different version than what we have in our ...
6
votes
2answers
286 views
The value of the daily study of Chitas (Chumash, Tehilim, Tanya)?
What's the value of learning "Chitas" compared to any other daily Torah study?
Side question: If it's so important, why was it introduced only recently?
7
votes
2answers
617 views
Who is the last prophet in Judaism?
Who is the last person regarded as a true prophet in Judaism? What was his time frame?
7
votes
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 ...
5
votes
1answer
110 views
When did “Zal” give way to “Zatzal”?
Inspired by this answer and it's comments.
Early on, it was standard to refer to great Rabbis who had passed away with the appellation "Zal" - "zichrono/ah livracha "May his/her/their memory be a ...
3
votes
0answers
58 views
The history behind the composition and inclusion of V'lo N'tato
I'm curious about the composition and inclusion in the shabbat shacharit of the paragraph beginning ולא נתתו (v'lo n'tato). I understand the talmudic basis for the underlying idea, and how it fits in ...
3
votes
1answer
228 views
How did a virgin decide upon her marriage in Israel 2000 years ago?
About 2000 years ago in Israel, was a virgin free to choose her future husband (or even to decide whether to marry or not marry at all) or she was absolutely submitted to the will of her father?
9
votes
2answers
299 views
Was Judaism ever a proselytizing religion?
It is often asserted that up until the time of Constantine or so, Judaism was an actively proselytizing religion. This can be contrasted with the common practice today of rejecting potential converts ...
5
votes
2answers
148 views
Were the Cities of Refuge ever built?
Are there any sources saying that the ערי מקלט were really built? I heard once that it was too hard to built the all the roads to them so they were never actually constructed. I know in Yehoshua ...
2
votes
0answers
91 views
Does the cherem that the Vilna Gaon put on certain sectors of Chassidus still apply?
It is known that the Vilna Gaon put 2 sectors of Chassidus in Cherem. I am wondering who has permitted them now seeing as we non-Chassidim don't make borders between them and ourselves.
6
votes
1answer
118 views
Depiction of the Menorah, the *Shulchan* and *Kadosh HaKadoshim* on ancient coins?
On some rare ancient coins of Matityah Antigonus, there are depictions of what seem to be the Menorah and the Shulchan (one obverse die even seems to show the Lechem HaPanim).
This coin has an ...
11
votes
2answers
523 views
What is the red string all about?
Where did the concept of wearing a red string come from? I have heard different opinions ranging from "you should definitely wear it" to "its forbidden like idol worship" - who is right?
5
votes
1answer
214 views
First year counted from creation
What is the first year for which there exists a record of it being dated according to the currently used system that starts counting from creation?
11
votes
3answers
119 views
Who is the voice of Tosafoth?
Tosafoth were the sons-in-law, grandchildren, and students of Rashi (and their students), and "they" wrote a commentary on the Talmud that is often at odds with Rashi's earlier commentary. Sometimes ...
1
vote
1answer
140 views
where was the ark of the covenant during the time of the judges?
After Joshua, during the time of the judges, where was the ark located? In Judges 18 it seems that the people did not have a central place of worship.
2
votes
1answer
61 views
Reconciling the Torah and history regarding the Jews' response to reward and punishment
How do we reconcile the Torah's viewpoint that punishments make Jews better with what we see that punishments push Jews away (and rewards make Jews better)?
The Gemara says that Mashiach will come ...
11
votes
2answers
223 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 ...
12
votes
3answers
286 views
When/where did the practice of “recycling” names begin?
Perhaps this had never bothered anyone in the past, but for someone like myself who delves into genealogy, the fact that there are family naming patterns is a great boon. Of course, we can go only so ...
0
votes
0answers
102 views
With which sister was Dr. Shmuel Soloveitchik closest? [closed]
I know a student of Dr. Shmuel Soloveitchik (the chemist, brother of Rabbis Joseph Dov and Aharon) who said he'd often describe conversations with (and advice from) his sister.
Shmuel Soloveitchik ...
9
votes
3answers
230 views
Praying at Amukah = Finding a mate. Since when?
Many people, I'm sure, have heard of the famous segulah for finding one's soulmate: praying at the grave of Yonasan ben Uziel in Amukah, Israel.
I'm not asking if this works, or why it would work, or ...
9
votes
1answer
140 views
Names of the books of Tanakh
When did the books of Tanakh get their canonical names? I understand that Five Books of the Torah were named after the first words in them, and that most of Navi was named after their authors, but ...
2
votes
1answer
65 views
Qumran - Proof or Genizah for Errors?
This comment, and the ensuing thread, quoted below, reminded me of a question that I thought of a long time ago. What, exactly, is buried in Qumran? Were the items there actually used and put there ...
8
votes
1answer
136 views
Temple mount: wall around court of the gentiles?
In looking of these two models of the temple mount,
Alec Garrad model and Israel Museum model, they differ on one major point. In the Garrad model there is another wall on the temple mount that I ...
14
votes
3answers
213 views
Was it ever the norm for children to get married?
The Gemara describes many Halachos that apply when someone gets married at very young ages, many under 12, and even a few for the age of 3. There are stories of people who did get married at such ages ...
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 ...
8
votes
2answers
262 views
Why was Chassidus controversial?
When Chassidus came about, it was very controversial. The Vilna Gaon even put Chassidim in cherem. What were the reasons for the controversy? And why is there peace and mutual respect today between ...
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 ...
11
votes
1answer
211 views
Did people ever place actual physical stumbling blocks before the blind?
I know that the prohibition against placing stumbling blocks before the blind has been understood to be a prohibition against misleading or causing people to sin, but the simple meaning of the text is ...
7
votes
1answer
106 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 ...
1
vote
4answers
305 views
Why do we count years from the date of Creation?
Why do we count years from the date of Creation? I intend two sub-questions here, of which the second is far more interesting, so please answer it:
Whence did this tradition originate?
Why do we ...
13
votes
2answers
195 views
How old is the custom to eat dairy on Shavuos?
I don't think I've ever seen a rationalization for this custom in works earlier than those of the Acharonim. I've never seen any Rishonim even mention it; certainly not earlier authors.
What's the ...
14
votes
2answers
382 views
What was wrong with the word Talmud?
The Wikipedia article on The Talmud says:
and Pope Pius IV commanded, in 1565, that the Talmud be deprived of its very name. The convention of referring to the work as "Shas" (shishah sidre ...
2
votes
1answer
43 views
When was the Sifre redacted?
When was the redaction of the Sifre (midrash halakha on Bamidbar and Devarim)? I would like to know in context with Mishna, Tosefta, and other Tannaitic literature. Please source your answers.
6
votes
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?
5
votes
3answers
162 views
Sadducees and Karaites - same beliefs?
Did the Karaites and the Sadducees believe in the same "Judaism"?
6
votes
0answers
139 views
Chad Gadya: The price of a kid goat
Was the fair market value of a kid goat really two zuzim? This piyyut is of course allegorical, but, if the value given is highly inaccurate, is the discrepancy in value symbolic beyond the symbolism ...
11
votes
2answers
287 views
Was there a GOLEM?
was there really a golem made in Prague that was alive and interacted with other people?
I heard that this story was nothing more than a made up tale in a children's book. Does anyone know the real ...
7
votes
2answers
145 views
Speaking Yiddish vs. the host language at home
I understand that, before World War Ⅱ, the Jews of Hungary and Germany mostly spoke Hungarian and German, respectively, amongst themselves (at home), whereas the Jews of Poland mostly spoke Yiddish ...
4
votes
1answer
73 views
Were Maftir Honors in 19th Century different from today?
I received a travel-diary for a man who was born in Huncovce (also known as Hunsdorf, once a famous yeshiva town, second only to Pressburg), Slovakia. He was born in 1851, presumably had some Torah ...
7
votes
0answers
98 views
How were coins that were destined for the Dead Sea managed?
A mishna on Meila 11a talks about money that a nazarite set aside for his offerings; if he died before completing the term and had set money aside specifically for the sin-offering, those coins are ...
5
votes
2answers
243 views
What is the Real Alter Rebbe Ksav?
There is a tradition that the Alter Rebbe (R' Shneur Zalman of Liadi) innovated a new Ksav (not the one in the Shulchan Aruch Harav) and taught it to sofrim who passed it on from teacher to student.
...
1
vote
3answers
169 views
Is it true that there was a time when Jews believed in the existence of several Gods instead of just One?
Is it true that there was a time when Jews believed in the existence of several Gods instead of just One? Somebody told me that there was a time when they even worshiped different Gods - even after ...
2
votes
0answers
42 views
When did the Ashkenazi custom to NOT bake matza on Pesach start?
Historically, when did the Ashkenazi custom to not bake matza on Pesach start? I am specifically interested in when this custom arose, rather than the reasons/opions pro/against.
3
votes
2answers
62 views
When did the Ashkenazi custom to bake matza on erev Pesach afternoon start?
Historically, when did the Ashkenazi custom to bake matza on erev Pesach afternoon start? I am specifically interested in when this custom arose, rather than the reasons/opions pro/against.
1
vote
0answers
29 views
History of Chevra Kadisha's in New York City
I am interested in knowing about the Chevra Kadisha's in NYC, Brooklyn, etc. When they were started and by who? Under whose auspices? Any other information.
