All Questions
1
vote
1answer
143 views
Dancing on Yom Haatzmaus
One is not allowed to dance during the mourning days of s'firas haomer (Mishna B'rura 493:3). According to all major customs, Yom Haatzmaus (Israel's independence day) falls during the mourning days ...
0
votes
1answer
110 views
What are signs of a prophet mentioned in Tanach
Does the tanach provides us some guidelines to Identify a future prophet?
0
votes
4answers
689 views
Most original form of the Hebrew Bible/Tenach
Not sure if they are the same thing (the Hebrew Bible and the Tenach). I read in this link that "there are many different Jewish translations of the Hebrew Bible". This kind of confuses me because I ...
18
votes
6answers
2k views
Washing hands for eating pizza
How many slices are required to make you responsible to wash on Pizza?
61
votes
3answers
2k views
Implications of Samoa skipping a Friday
This week, the island of Samoa is switching time zones, causing it to skip from Thursday directly to Saturday. Out of simple curiosity, what implications might this have on any Jews on the island? ...
16
votes
8answers
470 views
What are the most essential Jewish websites?
What websites are essential bookmarks on a Jew's internet browser? I am thinking broadly of resources like a place to get online texts or a particularly good blog etc...
Please include links as well ...
20
votes
5answers
364 views
How can we get people to stop talking (much, loudly) during minyan?
I know that lots of minyanim have the talking problem; has anybody solved it?
I daven with a weekday shacharit minyan that has a noise problem. A couple of people are the main sources of the problem ...
17
votes
6answers
217 views
how to survive if you are hanging on to some aveiros
Is there a strategy or saying / quotation (chasidish, chazal, etc.) that addresses what to do if there are some aveiros that one is not ready to give up on but wants to feel good about doing the other ...
16
votes
3answers
357 views
When blogging/emailing/etc., do I use “God” or “G-d”?
Is there a religious problem with typing out the name: "G-o-d"?
11
votes
8answers
1k views
If Christianity is avodah zarah and Islam is not, why has the Christian world triumphed over the non-Christian, and why do Jews prefer to live among Christians and not Muslims?
The Rambam quite clearly considered Christianity to be avodah zarah. He did not feel the same way about Islam, however, going so far as to condone praying within a mosque, and many Orthodox Jewish ...
43
votes
2answers
511 views
Does “reputation scoring” make “the Torah a crown to magnify yourself with”?
I apologise in advance if this is not the place to ask this question.
Is "reputation scoring" against the spirit of Pirkei Ovos 4 (5) "Rabbi Tzaddok would say: Do not make the Torah a crown to ...
20
votes
2answers
354 views
Can a gentile break shabbos only on a Rabbinic level?
A non-Jew is forbidden from observing Shabbos. When someone is in the process of converting, we advise them to keep the entire Shabbos besides for doing one forbidden activity. A common practice is to ...
19
votes
2answers
469 views
So you ate dairy after meat. Now what?
Whatever your tradition for waiting between meat and milk, let's say you forgot you were fleishig, and now realize that you have just eaten milk within your traditional waiting period. What are you ...
18
votes
3answers
453 views
The Fanatic Badge
Here on Mi Yodeya, one can earn the "Fanatic" badge for visiting the site for 100 consecutive days.
Is it halachically possible to earn the fanatic badge in the Diaspora?
17
votes
1answer
262 views
Setting aside Shabbat to answer the President's call
In an old MSNBC news story about Jack Lew, a Shabbat-observant Jew who was just appointed to be the new White House Chief of Staff, there's a story about his getting a call from President Clinton when ...
15
votes
3answers
484 views
Moshe's age and the timeline of the exodus
Moshe was 80 when he first approached Par'o and the makos lasted a year, so he turned 81 in the Adar before the Jews left Mitzrayim. As he turned 120 in the Adar before the Jews entered Israel, the ...
15
votes
5answers
1k views
Why is Judaism not Racism?
I am only asking this question to educate myself, not because I am anti-semitic or for any other hidden agenda. I do not what to turn this forum into an ugly place. I realize this question is ...
12
votes
5answers
519 views
Minimum Age to Learn Kabbalah
How old do you have to be to learn Kabbalah?
(I think its 60 ) but it seems everyone learns it anyway (Maharal, Chassidus) is there a defense or is it just done?
11
votes
6answers
692 views
If a pig was genetically modified to chew its cud, would it be kosher?
If they were to genetically modify a pig to chew its cud, would it be kosher?
9
votes
11answers
536 views
Reliable Ask-a-Rabbi Websites
There are some times on this site where questioners will be directed to "ask their Rabbi." While it's always optimal to have such people discuss the question with their own Rabbi (and such action ...
8
votes
3answers
329 views
Why do you make a Bracha on seeing a monkey?
Why do you make the Bracha Mishaneh Habriyos on seeing a monkey?
4
votes
8answers
475 views
Things we do not do because of Danger
What are things Brought down in Halacha that we do not do because of Danger?
21
votes
2answers
1k views
Forbidden actions and the role of non-Jews
The question I am to ask is related to personal experience I've had but can be easily broadened. I am really asking for the sake of broadening my knowledge, and I apologize if any part of my question ...
19
votes
1answer
238 views
Pronouncing Hashem's name in a song
Some people are very careful to say Hashem or Elokim when singing a song with one of G-d's names in it so as not to use His name in vain (related question), but I have also been told this is ...
16
votes
2answers
392 views
Is a Jew allowed to participate on Christianity.SE?
I was browsing meta.Christianity.SE recently when I noticed a question with a rather obvious (and good) answer that had not been posted. I was about to go ahead and answer it when I realized there ...
15
votes
4answers
366 views
How does an outsider know how to dress for a particular Orthodox community?
Standards of dress (at least for women) aren't nearly as consistent within Orthodoxy as we might wish. Wearing exactly the same halachically-correct clothing I have been under-dressed in some places ...
15
votes
1answer
310 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, ...
14
votes
3answers
309 views
Is ad-blocker software permissible?
Kalashnikover_Rebbe at hashkafah.com asks:
Isn't blocking ads stealing??? The people put them on the sites for a reason....
He elaborates:
On one hand the argument can be made that [forum ...
13
votes
2answers
218 views
Why is practical kabbalah not considered kishuf?
To preface I know next to nothing about so called 'practical kabbalah'. But from the few things I have read about, things like face or palm reading, making a golem (essentially an android) or any ...
13
votes
6answers
352 views
Height of a mezuzah and children:
If a child cannot reach the upper third of the doorway and he is the primary occupant of said room, may the mezuzah be affixed lower than the upper third?
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 ...
13
votes
3answers
229 views
Did courts ever execute?
The laws of capital crimes elucidated in Sanhedrin and elsewhere make conviction very unlikely. Makkot 1:10 famously tells us that a court that executes once in seven years is bloodthirsty, R. ...
12
votes
4answers
608 views
What is the machlokes between the Gra and Ba'al HaTanya?
What is the famous argument between the Vilna Gaon and the Ba'al HaTanya in understanding the Sod HaTzimtzum? And what are some ma'areh mekomos in their works where this Machlokes is seen?
12
votes
4answers
531 views
Why do people frequently change tunes toward the end of Lecha Dodi?
Frequently, perhaps even most of the time, I've noticed that the chazan (prayer leader) for Kabalat Shabbat switches tunes for the last four verses of Lecha Dodi. Is there any reason for this, or are ...
11
votes
11answers
1k views
How can I curb my sexual desire?
I am looking for the best and most practical suggestion as to what a man can do to curb his yetzer hara (evil inclination) for sexual desire. Please provide sources for why your answer should be ...
11
votes
5answers
570 views
May one love a non-Jew?
May one love a non-Jew? Not romantically in the sense of marriage, but rather in the sense that one loves a friend or family. May a Jew love his Gentile father, for example? May a baal teshuvah ...
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 ...
11
votes
3answers
441 views
Where can I find examples of R. Yishmael's 13 talmudic rules?
We read Rabbi Yishmael's 13 principles of interpreting torah in the shacharit service and many of the explanations seem fairly straightforward, but I am not a very advanced student and I find I don't ...
11
votes
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 ...
11
votes
5answers
299 views
The authenticity of rabbinic literature
I am studying the history of various branches of Judaism. I understand the position of rabbinic Judaism that parts of the laws were oral and not written. But this alone would not justify the ...
9
votes
1answer
173 views
What determines the sorts of cases in which one can deliberately not know the facts?
Halacha depends on the facts of a situation. Generally, when one cannot know the exact facts, he is expected to assume that they are as usual (rov), or as they were when last checked (chazaka). When ...
9
votes
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 ...
9
votes
2answers
217 views
Shliach Mitzva money
Many people give their friends money to give to Tzedakah when they are traveling. The reason they do this is that it says "Shluchei Mitzva Ainom Nizakim". If someone is travelling to Eretz Yisroel ...
9
votes
7answers
322 views
Any primary sources that all Jewish males should l'chatchila stay in learning forever?
Does anyone know of any specific sources in Chazal or Rishonim (or even earlier achronim) that indicate that l'chatchila all Jewish males should learn full time forever? I know that this is the ...
8
votes
0answers
133 views
Inhaling prayers?
Elsewhere I ask whether it's sufficient to pray in a whisper. See there, please, for a description of whispering and how it differs from speaking quietly.
Answers to that question indicate that ...
8
votes
4answers
521 views
How Do I Know If it's a Hebrew Leap Year?
How can I tell if a given year is a Hebrew Leap Year? The simpler, the better.
[Assuming we are using a fixed calendar, not like the "olden days".]
8
votes
1answer
323 views
Married woman covering hair
Is it strictly necessary for a married woman to keep her hair covered in the following situations? If not, how important is it?
1) When alone in the house
2) When alone (or with husband) in the ...
7
votes
2answers
574 views
Who is the last prophet in Judaism?
Who is the last person regarded as a true prophet in Judaism? What was his time frame?
7
votes
2answers
190 views
Why does God care so much about Details
Kizayis, Kebeitzah, Toich Kedai Achilas Pras, Zman Kriyas Shemah
Why is god so into details what are their significance(e.x why does god care if I daven after Zman Kriyas Shemah)?
7
votes
5answers
324 views
Rationalist Position on Bible Ancients' Long Lives
How would a rationalist interpret the long lives of the ancient people enumerated in the Bible, from Methuselah on down? Virtually no person lives more than 120 years today, even with the assistance ...
