Questions tagged [violence]

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13 votes
2 answers
1k views

Self-defense in a street fight?

I was in a situation where someone basically approached me indicating he was going to fight me, squared up with me, stared me down etc. pushed me twice, and then I thought to myself, "If he raises a ...
warz3's user avatar
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10 votes
3 answers
665 views

Are a father and son allowed to learn martial arts together?

Can a father and son take karate or kung-fu lessons together if part of the training involves sparring? Is there a problem with the son hitting the father?
Shraga's user avatar
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9 votes
3 answers
438 views

Issurei arayos worse than rape

Why does the Torah treat forbidden relationships, even when consensual, more seriously, from our perspective, than it treats rape?
Yahu's user avatar
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8 votes
2 answers
502 views

Gun control in Judaism

In light of recent terrible acts committed that involved guns. What is the Torah perspective on gun control. Are there any Torah sources which discuss gun control from a halachic/hashkafic point of ...
Shoel U'Meishiv's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
322 views

Can a teen threaten or attack one parent, who is beating or is about to beat the other?

This is relevant in many dysfunctional Jewish homes. Suppose one parent is beating or about to beat the other, and the child has an opportunity to intervene by threatening violence to the abusive ...
Aule's user avatar
  • 595
5 votes
1 answer
316 views

Cutting up the concubine of Gibeah

I've been learning Prophets on the Shabbat, and honestly, I was quite disturbed by the violent fate of the concubine of Gibeah. But even worse, the poor woman was cut up into 12 pieces by a Levite ...
Kazi bácsi's user avatar
  • 7,609
5 votes
1 answer
562 views

May a Jew be a professional boxer?

Are there any halachic problems with a Jew being a professional boxer?
user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
286 views

Why bother with forcing the Get?

According to the discussion here as elaborated in the link, a forced Get as a Halachic matter (the opinion paskened in Shulchan Aruch), is simply that the Chachamim retroactively revoke the Kiddushin. ...
Yishai's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
941 views

Talmud passage relevant to #metoo

At the Seder table, my sister told me about a passage in the Talmud advocating that women go to the toilet together, lest they be raped. I was wondering if anyone had the exact location?
razumny's user avatar
  • 139
2 votes
1 answer
255 views

Aggadah Of Great Bird Destroying Towns

I once heard about Jewish aggada telling about big bird throwing huge eggs made of steel which were destroying towns. Does anyone knows if there such aggada exists and what the source for it is?
Boris's user avatar
  • 329
2 votes
3 answers
303 views

Is there an halachic basis for allowing attacks that may or even will result in civilian casualties? [duplicate]

I’d learned at some point that you cannot kill someone who isn’t directly threatening a life even under threat of death from someone else (along with abandoning God and adultery) and that you should ...
rudolfovic's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
1k views

How to teach the Purim story to children?

As a parent raising a small child, I find it difficult explaining the story of Megillat Esther. Are there any methods (rabbinic precedence or otherwise) of explaining to a young child the violent ...
Aryeh's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
187 views

Are gentiles prohibited from striking another gentile?

Is a gentile forbidden from striking another gentile? For example: If a gentile finds himself faced with an individual (who is likewise a gentile) who repeatedly intimidates, insults and/or otherwise ...
ag415's user avatar
  • 395
1 vote
2 answers
447 views

Torture in Jewish Law Used Against the Enemy

Does Halacha allow Jews to commit physical or psychological torture against their enemies when necessary (e.g. in a time of war, to get vital information from them, etc.) and to what extent is it ...
Emet v'Shalom's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
332 views

Understanding the beating of students

As mentioned in a previous question, the Shulkhan Aruch, O''C 551:18 writes: צריך ליזהר מי"ז בתמוז עד ט' באב שלא לילך יחידי מד' שעות עד ט' שעות (משום שבהם קטב מרירי שולט) ; ולא יכו התלמידים בימים ...
Aryeh's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
216 views

Why is hitting children Halachically allowed?

Corporal punishment for children is was a as a prescription for effective Torah learning, as it says : "He who spares the rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him early." ...
Al Berko's user avatar
  • 25.9k
1 vote
1 answer
145 views

Why must woman protecting her husband have her hand cut, no pity?

"If two men get into a fight with each other, and the wife of one comes up to save her husband from his antagonist and puts out her hand and seizes him by his genitals, you shall cut off her hand;...
Al Berko's user avatar
  • 25.9k
0 votes
2 answers
365 views

Does the Talmud say anything about non-violence?

Ben Shapiro, an Orthodox Jew from america, is pro guns. And because he is Jewish, I wondered how violence is treated in judaism (with cites/quotes please). Because in Christianity, everything at the ...
watchme's user avatar
  • 125
0 votes
1 answer
89 views

What did King David do to the people of Ammon after he captures the city in Shmuel 2 at the end of Chapter 12

What does this actually mean? Was it that King David put them to work or he literally tortured them? where it says: 31. And the people that were therein he brought forth and he put them under saws, ...
TheTribeOfJudah's user avatar
0 votes
2 answers
416 views

Why do we kill a navi sheker?

Why does the Torah command us to kill a navi sheker (false prophet)? Shouldn't we attempt to find help for the fellow by directing him to seek psychiatric help?
Mark A.'s user avatar
  • 5,081
-1 votes
1 answer
464 views

How do we explain how God told jews to treat Egyptian, Amalekites, and Nearby Nations that Simply Refuse to do Labors

Egyptians were pretty bad. They killed Jewish boys. It's as bad as the Chinese one-child policy. But God told Jews not to abhor the Egyptian. The Amalekites are evil too. But they did not have non-...
user4951's user avatar
  • 4,343
-2 votes
1 answer
209 views

halachic justifications for extrajudicial actions

In the jewish law it is allowed to eliminate enemies which threatens to kill him. Are there any other cases where it is allowed to perform violent extrajudicial actions? What happens with spiritual ...
David Michael Gang's user avatar
-3 votes
2 answers
217 views

What constrains Judaism from developing into violent fanaticism?

When we discuss the religions that spun off Judaism, we attribute their vicious behavior like Crusades and Jihad to the fact that they "altered the sacred tradition", misunderstood or ...
Al Berko's user avatar
  • 25.9k