Fred

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1h	comment	What decree is Tosafos on Sukkah 46b speaking of, is regarding shmini atzeret and the sfak yom? @smu The esrog is muktza machmas mitzva, so on Shmini Atzeres you wouldn't be able to use if for its primary purpose (i.e. eating it). Tosafos discusses the decree upon esrog on account of sukka on 10b, in the context of the muktza edible fruits hanging as sukka decorations.
13h	answered	What decree is Tosafos on Sukkah 46b speaking of, is regarding shmini atzeret and the sfak yom?
1d	comment	Pesik Reshe & Melacha She'en Sarich LeGufa ... but that was not performed for the same type of purpose as that m'lacha was performed in the mishkan. For example, digging a hole to get dirt rather than to create a furrow would be eina t'zricha l'gufa but still nicha leih. This is an oversimplification of the topic, so hopefully someone will post a proper, thorough answer.
1d	comment	Pesik Reshe & Melacha She'en Sarich LeGufa According to Tosafos (Shabbos 103a, s.v. lo tz'richa), there is no difference between פסיק רישא דלא ניחא ליה and פסיק רישא דלא איכפת ליה. Rashi's position is less clear. See here for a brief overview of opinions. Regardless, p'sik reisha involves an incidental but unavoidable m'lacha that occurs as a result of an activity, while m'lacha she'eina tz'richa l'gufa involves a non-incidental m'lacha which is the basis for an activity...
1d	comment	Quail or fish in B'midbar 11:31? @Kovesh It is conceivable, but I would expect that an identification as fish would have been more obvious if that was the case. Anyway, the Talmud identifies it as a type of bird (Yoma 75b).
1d	comment	Quail or fish in B'midbar 11:31? Interesting question, but is wind more likely to carry fish or, say, birds and locusts?
1d	comment	why was technology withheld for so long from man +1 for all that sourcing!
1d	comment	Was Rambam affected by Islam? In the Rambam's own words:וכן אלו הישמעאלים היום... טעותם וטפשותם בדברים אחרים היא שאי אפשר לאומרו בכתב מפני פושעי ורשעי ישראל. Doesn't sound like a big fan.
1d	comment	food containers - why is hechser needed? I wish the Star-K would be more clear regarding the permissibility eating foods kept in those plastic items. As it stands, they leave it up to the reader to interpret what they mean by saying that it's a "problem" to be solved.
1d	comment	Sofek in Bircas HaTorah — why not say all of the brachas? I haven't seen a source to that effect, but I'm reasoning as follows: Even assuming it is not a problem of אין עושין מצוות חבילות חבילות, and even assuming that it fits the biblical criteria for כי שם השם אקרא (both assumptions are questionable), the first b'racha was designed to function as a birkas hamitzva and someone would be deviating from the מטבע שטבעו חז"ל if he also used it as the b'racha for כי שם השם אקרא. As such, one could not l'chatchila be yotzei d'oraisa from the first b'racha, and it is possible that חז"ל were mafkia the b'racha from functioning even b'dieved for that purpose.
2d	comment	Grammatical function of Emet te'amim? טעמי המקרא בכ״א ספרים ובספרי אמ״ת by R' Mordechai Breuer is a book that covers this topic thoroughly.
2d	comment	Does an unnecessary brocho pesucha on Hallel necessitate a brocho siyuma? @eykanal Whether there are opinions that say to recite a b'racha might be a relevant factor. You don't have to get into a debate about a particular case, but you should stipulate an assumption one way or the other regarding whether there are opinions both ways regarding reciting a b'racha ab initio.
2d	comment	Does an unnecessary brocho pesucha on Hallel necessitate a brocho siyuma? @SethJ ..Like the b'rachos of p'sukei d'zimra, leining, or m'gilla, for instance (though each might have idiosyncratic issues).
2d	comment	Was Rambam affected by Islam? What do you mean by affected? Are you asking if the Rambam's environment provided a context and backdrop for the development of his worldview, or are you asking if he adopted (directly or in modified form) any ideas from Islam? If the former, I echo @DoubleAA 's above rhetorical question: Did he live in a bubble? Even a great person views the world through his own prism (to some degree, even if slight), an אספקלריא שאינה מאירה.
2d	comment	Does an unnecessary brocho pesucha on Hallel necessitate a brocho siyuma? Are you specifically interested in cases where there are different opinions regarding whether the blessings should be recited to begin with?
May 20	comment	Does torah study refine one's character? @R.S. It's hard to know that for certain, but anyway that's not my main point. My main point is that if someone learns Torah without planning to apply it, how can you expect him to absorb Torah values into his behavior? The Yerushalmi quoted in my answer is relevant to this type of Torah learning.
May 20	comment	Does torah study refine one's character? @R.S. There are different categories of lo lishmah - some are acceptable and even appropriate stepping stones that can ultimately lead to lishmah (P'sachim 50b). Studying in hopes of receiving a reward (which is acceptable, if not per-se ideal) is not the same as studying with no intention of fulfilling the Torah (which is improper) or studying with the intent to misuse Torah knowledge (which is considered poisonous to the soul).
May 19	comment	Talking in shul You seem to be confusing talking in a synagogue in general with talking during parts of the prayers where it is forbidden to interrupt with talking. Under certain circumstances, there are different opinions about the former. The latter seems to be the topic of interest to you though, right?
May 19	comment	Talking in shul Related answer: judaism.stackexchange.com/a/16285
May 19	comment	why was technology withheld for so long from man Your answer would be improved if you were to include a source from before 1840 that interpreted the Zohar this way.