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2
votes
1answer
76 views

Why don't we count sefirah without shem u'malkhut

Our current practice is that if you forget to count one day of the omer (morning and night), it is still incumbent upon you to count, but you can't say a bracha. As far as I understand, the reason ...
1
vote
0answers
52 views

What is the Halachic difference if people are kosher or not?

The Ramban derives that people are kosher from the gemara in Kerisos (21a i think) That since the rabbis said that human milk is kosher using concept that anything that comes from kosher animal is ...
10
votes
3answers
102 views

Why is there a difference of opinion about whether modern magic is prohibited or permitted?

I'm an amateur magician. All of the Ashkenazi rabbis that I've talked to said that as long as my audience knows that I am just doing tricks and not real magic, the Torah allows me to perform magic ...
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 ...
4
votes
0answers
37 views

What were the arguments for and against man's creation?

Eiruvin 13b records a debate in which Beit Shammai says it would have been better for man not to have been created, while Beit Hillel says it's better that we were. What were the specific arguments ...
3
votes
0answers
41 views

What did Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai argue about for three years?

Eiruvin 13b records a dispute between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai that went on for three years, after which a bat kol (voice from heaven) intervened. The point of bringing this story here in the ...
4
votes
0answers
53 views

Following the stringencies of different opinions

There is a tangential discussion in 'Eruvin, Daf 6b-7a about whether or not we can take the stringencies of two conflicting opinions. The Gemara seems adamant that we cannot, though there are examples ...
1
vote
1answer
110 views

Starting the Seder after Sheki'ah (sunset)?

In my experience, there is a lot of emphasis on waiting until after Tzeith HaKochavim (the stars come out), which is seen as definitely after nightfall, to start the Seder. The reason is that we want ...
-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
4
votes
4answers
338 views

Why don't we just follow the shittah of Moshe Rabeinu?

My question can apply to virtually all mitzvos where there is a disagreement in the standard way to fulfill them. If one reads the hakdama (introduction) to the Rambam's peirush mishnayos (commentary ...
2
votes
1answer
77 views

If the Oral Torah is Divine, why are there arguments? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: Why don’t we just follow the shittah of Moshe Rabeinu? If the Oral Torah is Divine, how are there arguments in the Mishnah and Gemara? (I have heard this question asked ...
1
vote
3answers
199 views

Authenticity and authority of Oral tradition

Is there a methodology used in Judaism to authenticate traditions (that it orginated from person to whom it is attributed) and deem it halacha or a correct position? For example, Muslims have what ...
4
votes
1answer
67 views

Why are disputes in pairs?

The final paragraph of this answer: We do have the tools to derive from the Torah what those Halachos are (Moshe Rabeinu taught them to us), but these rules are very general in nature and ...
4
votes
2answers
78 views

When can you turn a dispute into a safek?

In this answer, I proposed that since there is a machlokes rishonim on a certain issue, it counts as a safek (doubt), although the Shulchan Aruch rules strictly. DoubleAA commented, saying that he ...