The mitzvah tag has no wiki summary.
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Contemporary rabbinic views on social pressure to get people to do Mitzvoth
Background
While on vacation recently, I was walking down the street with a newly acquainted co-traveler, when we were approached by a young Lubavitch Yeshivah student encouraging Jewish men to lay ...
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1answer
113 views
Convert that had children prior to conversion
If a fellow converted (his children remained gentiles) and prior to his conversion he had children - has he fulfilled the Mitzva of Peru U'Revu? (sources)
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3answers
124 views
What is the source for the mitzvah of kiruv?
Is kiruv a mitzvah?
Is it biblical or rabbinic?
Is there any reason it should supersede other mitzvot?
what are the sources in chazal and halacha relating to kiruv?
related: Kiruv and halachik ...
10
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2answers
642 views
Does Judaism consider virginity to be a virtue?
Wikipedia outlines the attitudes of various cultures towards virginity including:
Judaism
In Judaism, sex is not considered to be sinful. Though premarital sex is disapproved, there is no ...
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4answers
851 views
If masturbation is so bad, why is it not in list of 613 Mitzvos?
If masturbation is, as stated in the Shulchan Oruch (Even HaEzer 23:1), "the worst sin in the Torah", then why is it not listed in any of the various lists of 613 Mitzvos and why is there no verse in ...
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1answer
89 views
Matzah the entire week
Is it the Vilna Gaon who maintains that it is a mitzvah to eat matzah (to eat matzah, in addition to abstaining from chametz) every day and night during the week of Passover, or somebody else? The ...
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0answers
96 views
Matzah Shemurah on the 8th day of Pesaḥ (in the Diaspora)
According to those who hold that there is a Kiyyum Mitzvath 'Aseh DeOraitha (a fulfillment of a positive Biblical commandment) every time one eats a KeZayith (olive size's worth) of Matzah on Pesaḥ, ...
11
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2answers
142 views
Is there a model of reconciliation in the Tanach?
Monica asked an excellent question about how to correct someone who posts something objectionable on a public forum. I was struck by the suggestion that the usual course of action was "to take the ...
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2answers
147 views
Why are most mitzvas impossible to keep?
Nowadays, one can only keep so many Mitzvos (271). That is less than half of the commandments of the Torah. I don't know if there is any statistic regarding how many Psukim discuss currently relevant ...
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3answers
217 views
How is “החודש הזה לכם” the first mitzva?
The following question came up in this week's Parshat Hashavua' Chat:
Rashi, at the beginning of his commentary to the Torah:
אמר רבי יצחק: לא היה צריך להתחיל [את] התורה אלא (שמות יב ב) מהחודש ...
6
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1answer
132 views
No mitzvah to wear tefillin every day?
I heard that the Bet HaLevi and the Peri Megadim hold that there is no Mitzva for a person to don Tefilin everyday. Can someone source these opinions and explain exactly what they are meaning to say?
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4answers
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1answer
87 views
Is the Mitzva of Tzitzit on the Gevra or the Cheftza?
Is the Mitzva of Tzitzit an obligation on the clothing or on the person?
5
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2answers
145 views
Mitzvos on Mount Sinai?
Was Moshe Rabbeinu obligated in mitzvos during the two periods of 40 days that he spent on Mount Sinai? Did he keep mitzvos (whether obligated to or not) during that time?
I ask because the Torah ...
6
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2answers
99 views
Which mitzvos exempt which mitzvos?
There is a general rule in Halacha that someone occupied with a mitzva isn't obligated to interrupt themselves to do another mitzva. This is known as " עוסק במצוה פטור מן המצוה".
My question is, what ...
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5answers
157 views
“עם לבן גרתי”? Really? “עם לבן ברתי” maybe
Rashi brings a gematria at the beginning of Parshas Vayishlach:
גרתי בגימטריא תרי"ג, כלומר, עם לבן הרשע גרתי, ותרי"ג מצות שמרתי, ולא למדתי ממעשיו הרעים
Now, if one takes this literally, it is ...
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2answers
659 views
Why does the Rambam (Maimonides) equate all sex outside marriage as prostitution?
Shalom told me about it in his answer to this question:
What does adultery mean in the 7th commandment?
That Si'naf in 7 commandments means only having sex with someone else' wife. However, judaism ...
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3answers
169 views
Mitzvah of living in Eretz Yisrael
What halachic sources exist affirming the post-destruction mitzvah of individuals to live in Eretz Yisrael, and what is the nature (obligatory, meritorious) of the mitzvah? This question does not ...
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6answers
303 views
What justifications are there for not moving to Eretz Yisrael?
The Gemara in many places is clear that there is some level of mitzvah to live in Israel. This is also the accepted consensus among the rishonim. In the past, it was very difficult to move to Israel, ...
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3answers
429 views
How many of the 613 Mitzvos are we able to do currently?
There are many Mitzvos we can not do in today's generation. For example there are no Korbonos, no slaves, etc.
Per the Chofetz Chaim, there are 77 positive Mitzvos and 194 negative Mitzvos which can ...
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3answers
186 views
The Mitzva of Peru U'Revu (Reproduction) - when does it start?
The first commandment in the Torah is Peru U'Revu, the commandment to "be fruitful and multiply" (Bereshit 1:28).
When does the obligation to fulfill this commandment begin?
Does the Mitzva of Peru ...
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3answers
151 views
Petur (exemption) - Does intent matter?
Does one's intent factor into one's ability to rely upon an exemption in Halachah?
For example on Sukkoth, if I have no Sukkah and no intention of building a Sukkah (let's say at work, for one ...
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2answers
162 views
Eating outside of a Sukkah - Negative or Positive commandment?
On Sukkoth we are required to dwell in a Sukkah, which is generally minimally defined as at least eating our meals (which in turn is generally minimally defined as grain-based products) inside the ...
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4answers
614 views
Why are women exempt from (many) time-bound mitzvot?
I have heard two reasons for women being exempt from time-bound mitzvot and both seem problematic, so either there are additional explanations or I am not properly understanding these two:
Women ...
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4answers
716 views
Is there a list of Mitzvot and their corresponding body parts?
The Talmud (Makkot 23B)and the Zohar (1:170B - unverified English translation here) say that the 248 positive commandments correspond to the 248 limbs of the human body. (The Mishna (Ohalot 1:8) lists ...
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2answers
109 views
Fulfilled the Mitzvah of writing a Sefer Torah then lost the Sefer
Suppose a person had a Sefer Torah written in order to fulfill the Mitzvah (Devarim 31:19) and then the Torah got lost, has he still fulfilled his mitzvah, or is he required to write another one?
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3answers
218 views
Do people have an effect on the mood of God?
If a person commits idolatry or fornication he is sinful. Not only that, but the curse of Hashem is with that person. On the other hand, if a person does a lot of mitswots (commandments) and believes ...
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1answer
39 views
What is the connection between joy and divine love in Rambam's mitzva #3?
Ramba"m lists love of God as the third positive commandment in his Book of Commandments. It includes the following line, which somehow relates the comprehension of God with joy and the ultimate ...
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Why isn't there a single, centralized Sanhedrin today?
It seems that many mitzvot in the Torah are opened to interpretation in some way, potentially subject to ruling by the Sanhedrin. And some mitzvot (examples below) seem to require the presence of the ...
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Which mitzvah is repeated the most times in the Chumash?
I have learned that not mixing milk and meat is mentioned 3 times in the chumash, and because of this we learn 3 different laws.
I also found out today that the law "not to follow the ways of the ...
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3answers
170 views
Asei Doche Lo Sasei vs. Mitzvah Habaah Beaveirah
These are two concepts in Judaism:
עשה דוחה לא תעשה - that if there is a Mitzvah Asei in the Torah, and a Mitzvas Lo Sasei, we say that the Asei overrides the Lo Sasei, and one should do it.
For ...
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1answer
205 views
Is modesty a positive or negative commandment?
Given that:
There are two types of Mitzvoth (commandments), 'Aseh and Lo Ta'aseh (positive and negative; ie., "Thou Shalt" and "Thou Shalt Not").
a. Positive commandments, with some exceptions can ...
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3answers
173 views
Why the specific commandments in the Aseret haDibrot
What is HKBH trying to teach us by his choice of commandments that make up the Aseret haDibrot
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2answers
125 views
Visiting Israel: A Mitzvah?
Is visiting Israel a Mitzvah? (visiting as opposed to living)
Just some points I would hope an answer to cover:
Was it a mitzvah back then?
Is it still a mitzvah nowadays?
Does the mitzvah apply ...
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2answers
178 views
connection of obligation to keep mitzvos and sexual maturity
Does anybody know why a boy is obligated to keep mitzvos after he gains sexual maturity (13 years old)? How is the possibility of fathering children connected to that?
Thanks.
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3answers
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Why offer the Nations mitzvos from the Torah that are already in the Noahide Laws?
When Hashem went around offering the Torah to the other nations each asked what is written therein to each nation He told them of the commandment representing their weak point or vice, hence they ...
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3answers
101 views
Mitzvos on which the only b'racha is birkas “Shehechiyanu”
I saw in the name of the Or Zaru'a and others that one does not make a b'racha before writing a sefer Torah even though it is a positive mitzva with an action associated because (among other reasons) ...
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1answer
96 views
Negative commandments that only apply to women?
Are there any mitzvos lo sa'aseh that only apply to women?
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2answers
93 views
Sell the shirt off his back for Menorah, but not for anything else?
Halacha brings that one who has no money for Chanukah Lights must sell the shirt off his back to acquire them why is this the case versus almost all other Mitzvos which require up to a fifth of his ...
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3answers
132 views
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6answers
449 views
Avot keeping Mitzvot
How are we to understand the tradition that the patriarchs kept all of the mitzvot in the Torah (see for example the last mishna in Kidushin, Rashi Bereshit 32:5, etc.) in light of the many obvious ...
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2answers
217 views
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2answers
80 views
Oleh Regel Today
Is there a Mitzvah to be Oleh Regel in today's days (meaning when there is no Beis Hamikdash)?
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1answer
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Women and Birchas Hatorah
Why do women have to say Birchas Hatorah they are not commanded to learn Torah as men are?
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102 views
Punishment for mitzvos asey?
Are you punished from Hashem if you don't do a mitzvah asey (brachos, davening, asher yatzar, etc.)?
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Why are there no special mitzvahs of Shavuos
Why is there no Mitzvas Hayom on Shavuos (For example, on Sukkos there is a commandment of shaking the Lulav, on Rosh Hashanh one must blow the Shofar, on Purim one must read the Meggilah, on Chanukah ...
