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8
votes
1answer
80 views
Why is it considered respectful to capitalize G-d and its derivatives/pronouns?
I recognize that in English proper nouns are supposed to be capitalized, especially in the case where a proper noun is also a common noun (e.g. the mall vs. the Mall), but only when referring to G-d ...
1
vote
2answers
173 views
Ish Yehudi - where else?
Where else in Tanach are there the words "Ish Yehudi" besides Megilas Esther?
5
votes
3answers
103 views
The Tur's word counts for Shemoneh Esreh
I have often seen the Tur cited as giving exact word counts for each blessing of the Shemoneh Esreh. The arguments I have seen for being careful to adhere to the word counts include that this would ...
5
votes
3answers
914 views
What is the meaning of יוֹם (yowm) in Bereshit?
I've heard conflicting reports of how the creation days , יוֹם (yowm), in Bereshit are interpreted in the Jewish community. How do actual Hebrew scholars define day in Bereshit? six 24 hour periods or ...
7
votes
2answers
126 views
What does the aramaic “pon” mean?
Once in a while, Onkelos will throw in the word pon (פּוֹן) that doesn't directly translate from the Hebrew.
Avimelech to Yitzchak: k'z'eir pon shachiv d'm'yached b'ama (Toldos 26:10)
Lavan to ...
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?
4
votes
2answers
104 views
When and why does the Gemoro say “vehilchoso”?
Sometimes, after the Talmud records a disagreement, it concludes by saying that the Halacha is like one side of the debate (“vehilchoso”). See e.g. ...
4
votes
4answers
159 views
Why do we call praying, Davening?
Why do we call praying Davening? What is the source of this word? Where did this originate?
1
vote
4answers
155 views
Please clarify Mishlei 24:21 regarding mingling with dualists
Mishlei 24:21 "My son, fear the Lord and the king; do not mingle with dualists" source
(1) please define "dualist" from the perspective of Judaism. If it is "someone who believes/practices dualism" ...
7
votes
3answers
205 views
Is there a hebrew term for Jahrzeit?
The term "Yahrtzeit" presumably comes from the German word Jahrzeit. ("Jahr" meaning "year" and "zeit" meaning "time".) Is there a hebrew word or phrase (or spelling) for the concept of a yahrtzeit?
...
5
votes
2answers
146 views
What is the meaning of Davar Shebakedusha?
How does something become a Davar Shebakedusha? What is the criteria?
This question was inspired by the discussion over here. People half-standing for אלקינו in zimun
17
votes
4answers
331 views
How does one explain God to little kids?
As I understand it, the ability to understand abstract concepts develops gradually in kids and is certainly not all there when they first start having conversations. This comes into play when kids ...
6
votes
1answer
130 views
Who are these “aliens” in Isaiah 56?
I was reading through this passage in Isaiah 56:
4 For thus saith the LORD concerning the eunuchs that keep My
sabbaths, and choose the things that please Me, and hold fast by My
covenant. 5 ...
7
votes
6answers
210 views
4
votes
2answers
220 views
Etymology of the word “Kvater”
What is the etymology of the word "Kvater"? Kvater is what we call the person that carries the baby boy into a Bris.
11
votes
2answers
146 views
Does the term “ארץ ישראל” ever appear in Tanach?
Do these words ever appear together as one phrase in Tanach?
6
votes
5answers
227 views
Why is fear of Hashem known as Yiras Shamayim?
When people discuss the fear of Hashem it is called Yiras Shamayim. Why is it called Yiras Shamayim? Should it not be called Yiras Hashem?
9
votes
1answer
90 views
Bes El or Bes Kel?
There is at least one city mentioned in Tanach named Bes El, written as two words; that name currently belongs to a city in Israel and a number of synagogues and Reform temples. Does that "El" have ...
2
votes
1answer
218 views
Etymology of the word “Vasikin”
What is the etymology of the word Vasikin? Also is Vasikin Hebrew or Aramaic?
8
votes
1answer
193 views
“Don't say 'lehavdil' between one Jew and another.”
In today's Parashat Hashavu'a Chat, I used the qualification "lehavdil" (*) to apply to a pun that jokingly and innocuously related the actions of Datan and Aviram to those of a community member here.
...
4
votes
1answer
83 views
List of titles before different Rabbis
It is customary to put many honorific titles before most modern day Rabbis (I've even seen seforim that write Harav Hagaon etc. etc. So-And-So). Many times one sees long lines of adjactives praising ...
2
votes
0answers
52 views
Nedarim on Questions and Answers
Let's say someone was asked "are you going to shul tomorrow?" and the other person answers "yes." Does that count as a Neder?
BTW Rav Mutzafi says that Nedarim are only on Mitzvot, Torah etc.
2
votes
2answers
148 views
Gedole HaDor: who and how
1)Who do we know to refer to as a "Gadol?"
2)How do we determine who is a "Gadol?"
For example, how did we determine that Rav Elyashiv is a Gadol?
A Gadol HaDor is known as one of the most ...
4
votes
1answer
333 views
What do the names Pesil, Pesa, and Pesha mean?
What is the meaning and source of the name Pesil or Pesa or Pesha?
10
votes
38answers
1k views
words often mispronounced [closed]
What are some words commonly mispronounced? (Not by elision/reduction (like ה׳→אדְני) or assimilation (like תזכרו→תשׂכרו), but rather words that are pronounced wrong ...
5
votes
3answers
368 views
חַס וְשָׁלוֹם: why and for what
What is saying חַס וְשָׁלוֹם (chas v'shalom) supposed to accomplish? Does it do so, or is it just a waste of breath?
Based on the answers given to my previous question about this phrase, it seems ...
2
votes
2answers
207 views
Variant vowelizations in Selichot
The repeated paragraph in Selichot that introduces the Thirteen Attributes includes the phrase "increasingly grants pardon to careless sinners and foregiveness to willful ones" (Artscroll Siddur ...
7
votes
2answers
86 views
When did Ben Teshuva become Baal Teshuva?
Rabbeinu Yonah in Bava Basra 39a talks about someone who does Teshuva and calls him a Ben Teshuva. What is the earliest reference in history to the words Baal Teshuva? And why did it change from Ben ...
4
votes
0answers
53 views
How did the Parshiyot get their names [duplicate]
and what are the names' significance?
Thanks
Naomi
Duplicate of:
Where are the rules for naming parshiyot explained?
5
votes
4answers
271 views
Talmudic Terminology
There are a number of English language works which to one degree or another discuss Talmudic terminology, i.e. the wider implication of certain phrases commonly used in the Gemara. Can anybody suggest ...
11
votes
2answers
144 views
Calling a Jew a “guru”?
Is it appropriate to use the term "guru" to refer to an expert in matters of Judaism or Jewish law on the assumption that it will be understood as the second definition here, or is it inappropriate no ...
4
votes
4answers
611 views
5
votes
1answer
70 views
Zmirot vs Pizmoniim
How is it that Ashkenaz and Sfardiim have different names for the same exact thing.
Do both Zmira and Pizmon mean the same thing? What are the origination of people calling them either one?
I know ...
10
votes
1answer
58 views
Description of what Yaakov's sons plundered from Shechem
Gen. 34:28-29 describes how Yaakov's sons plundered the city of Shechem after wiping out its (adult male) inhabitants:
אֶת-צֹאנָם וְאֶת-בְּקָרָם וְאֶת-חֲמֹרֵיהֶם וְאֵת אֲשֶׁר בָּעִיר וְאֶת אֲשֶׁר ...
4
votes
6answers
119 views
Al Hamichyah - Wide land?
In the Brocho after eating grains which are not bread we say:
על ארץ חמדה טובה ורחבה
Translated very loosely as: On the Land (ISRAEL) that is desirable good and WIDE.
Now, anyone with a ...
12
votes
1answer
84 views
Shmuel running and walking
My sixth grade students asked me today:
In Shmuel Aleph Perek Gimel Shmuel becomes a Navi. It says in vs. 5 that Shmuel ran to Eli. In vs. 6 and 8 is says that he went to Eli. Why the difference?
(I ...
6
votes
3answers
149 views
What is the difference between a Kohen Gadol and a Kohen Rosh?
What is the difference between a Kohen Gadol and a Kohen Rosh?
Both titles are used in Tanakh, sometimes even to refer to the same person. For example:
Kohen HaRosh is mentioned in Ezra 7:5, Chron. I ...
5
votes
2answers
100 views
Shirei zimra in Yishtabach
At the end of Yishtabach, Hashem is referred to as הבוחר בשירי זמרה. This is usually translated as "who chooses songs of praise." However, as far as I am aware zimra means song, not praise. So how can ...
7
votes
3answers
474 views
Hakaras hatov vs. hoda'a
It seems that there are two terms that could be broadly translated as "gratitude", which each express different aspects of the concept. הכרת הטוב denotes recognition, while הודאה has strong echoes of ...
3
votes
2answers
155 views
What is the earliest source that mentions Gematria?
What is the earliest source that mentions Gematria?
4
votes
2answers
96 views
Why did Eisav say “red” twice?
Genesis 25:30 says:
... הַלְעִיטֵנִי נָא מִן הָאָדֹם הָאָדֹם הַזֶּה ...
... "Pour into [me] some of this red, red [pottage] ..."
Why did Eisav feel the need to say "red" twice?
5
votes
1answer
92 views
What is “חצות האמצעי”?
While researching an answer to this question I stumbled across the term "חצות האמצעי".
What does it mean? Does it refer to halachic midday, i.e. halfway between netz hachama and shkias hachama, or ...
3
votes
2answers
77 views
איש אחד What does the Echad refer to and where else in the Tanch is it found?
In Shmuel Aleph Perek Aleph Elkana is refered to as Ish Echad before his name is given. The Midrash, according to Meam Loez, says that the Echad means Singular or Special. I was wondering where else ...
5
votes
6answers
2k views
Online glossary of Talmudic terms
Is there an online glossary anywhere that explains important Talmudic terms, with similar scope to the Practical Talmud Dictionary? I'm more interested in an Aramaic-English resource, but ...
7
votes
2answers
165 views
Why do many (most?) people call the upcoming holiday “Peysach”?
In some Ashkenazic dialects, lots of words in which the first syllable is accented and the vowel is segol are pronounced as though they had a tzeirei. Examples include "meylech," "tzeydek," and ...
3
votes
1answer
59 views
How many times in Na"Kh is the land called Eretz Cna'an?
The other side of the coin of this question (or, if you prefer, this question), might be, how often, or how many times, does the term Eretz Cna'an appear in Na"Kh after the land was given to Benei ...
3
votes
2answers
103 views
cities that start with ה־
There are a good number of cities referred to in Y'hoshua, of course, and a sizable percentage (I'm guesstimating about 5%) of them start with ה־ (most famously הָעַי, I think).What ...
4
votes
1answer
53 views
Why do we say “Shmini Atzeres Hachag Hazeh”?
On all Yomim Tovim we say "Chag Hassukos Hazeh" or "Chag Hamatzos Hazeh" but on Shmini Atzeres/Simchas Torah we say "Shmini Atzeres Hachag Hazeh" going in a different order. Why do we change the order ...
6
votes
2answers
74 views
What is the difference between Genaiva and Gezaila
The Torah or Talmud uses two terms for a thief -- the "Gonif", (which is the more familiar term) and the "Gazlin", and two corresponding terms for robbery "Genaiva" and "Gezaila". What is the ...
2
votes
3answers
110 views
difference between תולעים and רמה
In Beshalach 16:20:
וְלֹא שָׁמְעוּ אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיּוֹתִרוּ אֲנָשִׁים מִמֶּנּוּ עַד בֹּקֶר וַיָּרֻם תּוֹלָעִים וַיִּבְאַשׁ וַיִּקְצֹף עֲלֵהֶם מֹשֶׁה:
A few Pesukim later in 16:24:
...
