The sources-mekorot tag has no wiki summary.
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3answers
976 views
Rainbow as a bad omen
There is a popular idea that seeing a rainbow is a bad sign, as if the world is deserving of a deluge (c"v) and the only reason Hashem does not do so is because of His promise. Is there any source for ...
13
votes
4answers
394 views
Gezeira of Rabbeinu Gershom text
Does anyone know where I can find the actual text of the Gezeira of Rabbeinu Gershom? It keeps popping up in my learning, but only as being referenced, I would like to read that actual text.
11
votes
4answers
845 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 ...
7
votes
2answers
187 views
What is the source for Pardes?
What is the source for expounding the torah according to remez, derush and sod (along with 'pshat' the group can be referred to by the acronym PaRDeS)?
These forms of hermeneutics are not found in ...
6
votes
2answers
300 views
A Convert taking on customs of ashkanazim or sephardim
When someone converts is there any determining factor on what minhagim (customs) they will take upon themselves in terms of Ashkanazim or Sephardim? Should it be dependent on the Beis Din they ...
4
votes
3answers
195 views
What's the deal with all the washings?
Sometimes we wash with a cup, sometimes not; sometimes we wash twice, sometimes thrice; and not everyone agrees on method or pattern in all cases. Who says which ways we are supposed to wash, in ...
15
votes
1answer
309 views
Blessing the Children on Friday Night
I have noticed that many families (including my own) have the custom for the father to bless all the children on Friday night before kiddush.
When and where did this custom originate, and by whom, ...
13
votes
3answers
237 views
Halachic Source for Women-Only Mikvaoth?
Some (actually many) Mikvaoth are designated for women's use only, generally for reasons of cleanliness.
Is there Halachic literature supporting (or urging) this?
(This question is not asking for ...
11
votes
1answer
208 views
Lechem Mishlesh?
(Based on Tosfot Pesachim 116a and Aruch haShulchan 274:5 I assume that the man did not fall on Yom Tov and double fell on Erev Yom Tov, and that this is why we have lechem mishne on Yom Tov.)
When ...
19
votes
2answers
171 views
Matza on 14 Iyar
I have seen a custom (it seems to me primarily among Chassidim) to eat matza on 14 Iyar (known as Pesach Sheni). What is the earliest source for this custom? What are the reasons given for following ...
12
votes
2answers
296 views
How do we know that we have free will?
Where in the torah does it state that humans have, and are entitled to in perpetuity, free will?
9
votes
1answer
202 views
Embarrassing a Baal Teshuva
Be'er Hagolah at the end of Yoreh Deah 334 says that one of the things that are considered Cherem D'Rabeinu Gersom is not to embarrass a Baal Teshuva regarding his previous lifestyle.
Yet when you ...
6
votes
1answer
92 views
Explanation for couple not seeing each other before the wedding?
What is the source and reason for a couple not to see one another before the wedding?
6
votes
6answers
250 views
Tikkun Olam source
What is the source for the concept that Jews have to practice Tikkun Olam, and where in the classical Jewish sources is this concept defined? It seems people throw this term around a lot in the ...
13
votes
3answers
241 views
Is there a source for not requiring Tevilah for the first use?
I have heard (as I'm sure many others have) that one can use a utensil one time before Tevilah. At the same time, I've heard that this is a common misconception.
Is there anyone who holds that this ...
11
votes
1answer
162 views
What is the source that Parshas Parah is from the Torah?
I have read in many places that Parah could be a bliblical requirement to read.
Why is that? Zachor makes sense (as it says so in the Torah here). Why Parah?
5
votes
3answers
254 views
Source for the prohibition against Nivul Peh (foul mouth)
What is the source for the prohibition against Nivul Peh (using foul language)? Is it Biblical? Rabbinic? "Asmachta" (based on a principle derived from the Torah but ultimately not considered a ...
5
votes
1answer
124 views
Did the Terumas haDeshen write a challah recipe?
Reading this article about challah-making, I noticed the following:
Using the starter, I tried the Rich Sourdough Barches recipe from Inside the Jewish Bakery, which the authors say is adapted ...
5
votes
1answer
96 views
Women and Tefillah - per the Rav
I remember a long time ago hearing that the Rav (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903–1993)) held that women should pray three times a day.
Can anyone verify this, and what is the reason/source ...
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vote
2answers
214 views
What is the source for a woman's voice as ervah?
What is the source that a woman's (singing) voice is considered ervah?
12
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5answers
302 views
Saying “Laberiut” “God bless you” or “Gesundheit”
Is there are source for saying "Laberiut" "God bless you" "Gesundheit" or any other response to a sneeze? In other words, are there posekim who mention it in Halacha?
10
votes
2answers
271 views
Who didn't recite Kabbalas Shabbos?
In this article, R. Michael Broyde writes that:
Indeed, there have been prominent halachic authorities of the last generation who did not recite Kabbalat Shabbat.
Can anyone provide examples of ...
9
votes
2answers
287 views
Forbidden to eat while standing up?
I heard that it was preferred, or perhaps even required, to avoid eating food while standing. For example, as people often do at a cocktail party.
With the reason being that "animals eat standing up ...
7
votes
1answer
104 views
Origin of Spilling Wine by 10 Plagues
The custom among all Jews (as far as I know) is to spill a drip of wine for each of the plagues as they are mentioned in a list in the haggadah. This custom is not mentioned anywhere in the Talmud (as ...
6
votes
1answer
108 views
Where does the custom to spill of from a drink come from?
I had a lubavitcher classmate in high school who used to spill off from his cup whenever he would drink anything. He claimed it was a minhag.
What is the reason/source for this practice?
5
votes
2answers
217 views
Is there a source that the Messiah can die and return?
Is there a source in Judaism that indicates that Moshiach (Ben David, not Ben Yosef) will die before having fulfilled his role and then return to posthumously achieve it?
4
votes
3answers
165 views
Connecting Shas and Halacha
What resources are available to trace the connections from the Gemara to the Halachic codifications and the reverse? For example, how can someone learning Daf Yomi find the related Halachic rulings ...
4
votes
1answer
112 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 ...
3
votes
4answers
126 views
Looking for Toldos Yeshu (1705 version). Does anyone have?
I'm researching the story that the Christian Apostle Simon -- later Saint Peter -- was actually a Jewish plant who was instructed by the rabbis to change Christian observances and beliefs to make it ...
3
votes
1answer
110 views
Kashrus Explained
A close friend of mine asked me to fire this question at the mi.yodeya community so here goes:
"I came across this rather interesting rendition of "kashrus Explained", not sure who authored it, but I ...
2
votes
2answers
233 views
Source that martyrs don't feel pain?
A lot of people have told me (and I seem to remember seeing so myself) there is a view in the Rishonim that someone who is killed Al Kiddush Hashem (for the sanctification of G-d's name, ie., ...
11
votes
1answer
133 views
Where Rashi uses a Russian word in Nach?
I heard that Rashi uses a Russian word where he deals with the building of the Beis Hamikdash by King Shlomo. I also heard that he uses a Polish word.
Does anyone know where it is?
10
votes
2answers
115 views
Source for kissing an aron
I've seen people kiss an aron kodesh (cabinet holding Torah scrolls) when they approach it and, if they were standing near it, before they leave it. Does this have any written source; or, are there ...
9
votes
2answers
78 views
Tehilim divided into five sections?
According to Wikipedia, Jewish tradition divides the book of Tehilim into five sections (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150). This is unsourced there; the references at the bottom of the page ...
9
votes
1answer
158 views
Dipping fingers in Havdalah Wine
What is the source or origin of the custom to dip one's fingers in the wine poured over the candle to extinguish it at the conclusion of Havdalah?
As a side note, and a reason I'm tagging it this ...
8
votes
4answers
469 views
High School Math in the Talmud
I'm currently tutoring someone in math that has an atitude of "what's the point of all this... why would I ever need this..." (which is typical of many high-schoolers). To try to pique his interest, I ...
8
votes
1answer
143 views
Singing part of kidush with the leader
Some people, although listening to another's kidush (Friday night), sing part of it along with him: specifically (in my experience), the lines starting "ki vanu vacharta" when recited with this tune. ...
8
votes
1answer
122 views
“m'nora” on Chanuka
My kid came home from school one day insisting that the thing we light on Chanuka is not a m'nora but a chanukiya. I replied that that's the word most Israelis use now but that m'nora is a perfectly ...
8
votes
3answers
194 views
“Baruch shekivanti…”
There is a phrase of self-compliment people use when they find that they have independently arrived at the same conclusion as someone great. It begins with the words "ברוך שכיוונתי", translated ...
7
votes
5answers
162 views
Meforashim and Poskim on Mas. 'Avodah Zarah and forming a curriculum
A friend and I have decided to start learning Mas. 'Avodah Zarah. Our goal, however, is not to just pick a random Masechta of Gemara and learn it with the commentaries on the Daf. Our actual goal is ...
7
votes
1answer
190 views
Where does our blessing for daughters come from?
In many Jewish homes on Shabbat, the head of the household would bless his sons to be like Ephraim and Menasheh but would bless his daughters to be like the matriarchs . What is the source, if any, ...
7
votes
3answers
344 views
Basic laws, why is milk with meat not kosher?
I've recently read (again) the verse "לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו", meaning, "Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk".
How did anyone get from that, to "Don't eat meat with milk at all"? I've always ...
7
votes
2answers
198 views
Fulltext search across sources: Gemara, Zohars, Rishonim and Aharonim
I know about Hebrewbooks.org for searching for sources in books, but the problem is you have to get to let's say every Masechta to look for a phrase. Is there a program (doesn't have to be free) that ...
7
votes
1answer
151 views
What is the origin of the custom to kiss a Mezuzah?
What is the source or origin of the custom to kiss a Mezuzah?
7
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3answers
131 views
7
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2answers
165 views
The Split Between Sefardim and Ashkenazim
How did this split happen historically and halachically before Shulchan Aruch, and why is not like having two Torahs? Where is the source for the split?
6
votes
2answers
149 views
what are the origins of the requirement for a minyan?
From what is the requirement for ten adult Jewish males for certain prayers derived?
I kind of assumed this may be in some way related to Abraham's struggle to find the righteous males in the cities ...
6
votes
1answer
116 views
Jews were on 49th level of Tumah. Says who?
There is a well known idea that when the Jews left Egypt during the Exodus, they were on the "forty-ninth level of tumah". Many explanations are given for this and it is expounded upon at length by a ...
6
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0answers
76 views
Source for Categorization of Matter
What is the source for the idea that all matter is either domem (lifeless), tzomeach (plant), chai (animal), or medaber (speaker)?
I sometimes find this quoted places (in articles and divrei Torah), ...
6
votes
2answers
140 views
Rubbing the Havdalah wine
Is there any source for the practice of not only dipping one's fingers into the Havdalah wine that was used to extinguish the fire and rubbing the eyes with it, but also spreading it around onto other ...
