Questions tagged [age]

age (oldness/youngness) of a person

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How old was Menashe when he was Yosef's assistant?

According to the midrash Yoseph appoints Menashe over grain logs, has him subdue both Shimon and Yehudah on two separate occasions, and even sends them after his brothers to "retrieve" his ...
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Child marriage in Halacha

Are there any contemporary halachic authorities who say that despite the Jewish age of maturity is 13 (bar mitzvah) for boys and 12 (bat mitzvah) for girls that child marriage (under the secular age ...
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Why was Adam created age 20? [duplicate]

The Midrash says Adam and Chava were created age 20. Why so? Looking mainly for an answer as to why they weren't made babies and raised like we are (rather than asking what's special about 20?). Happy ...
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What was the minimum age to receive the death penalty?

When it was a possibility, what was the minimum age to receive the death penalty? Was it 13?
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Are any other characters in the Bible, like Ahaziah, attributed the age of an era (explanation below)?

There is an apparent contradiction between 2 Kings 8:26 and 2 Chronicles 2:22 because the former says that Ahaziah was 22 when he became king while the other says that he was 42. This has inspired the ...
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Do we have any idea how old Ishmael's daughter, Mahalath, was when she married Esau?

Esau married Mahalath after learning that his father had told Jacob not to marry an Canaanitess. Jacob's flight to Padan-Aram took place when he was 77¹, so Esau was probably in the ballpark of 80 ...
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Was Joshua young or not?

Exodus 33:11 calls Joshua moses' "young aide," while Numbers 11:28 says that he had been 'Moses' aide since youth.' Which is it? Can a נער have ministered to someone מבחריו?
Marcy Powell's user avatar
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Is there an age difference limit for marriages in halakha?

What is the biggest age gap permitted by halakha between a man and a girl/woman for them to get married?
mil's user avatar
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When did life span decrease?

Are there any sources that state that the lengthy life span that Noah was privileged with would no longer be given to later generations? To elaborate, just as there are sources that state that ...
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How old was the Prophet Eliyahu when he was taken to Paradise?

How old was Eliyahu when he was taken to Paradise?
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At what age is a judge too old for the Sanhedrin?

A man who is advanced in years ... must not be appointed member of any Sanhedrin, since he is required to be compassionate. Hil. Sanhedrin 2.2 This is based on several Mishnaic (Horayot 1.4) and ...
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Was the Tree of Knowledge less than or equal to 3 years of growth?

Was the Tree of Knowledge less than or equal to 3 years of growth in Bereishit 2:17? We learn in Vayikra 19:23 about the age of forbidden Trees : "When you enter the land and plant any tree for ...
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Did Shem's physical body (or) Shem's teachings remain alive 600 years?

Did Shem's physical body (or) Shem's teachings remain alive 600 years? What is the correct understanding of וַֽיְחִי־שֵׁ֗ם אַֽחֲרֵי֙ הֽוֹלִיד֣וֹ אֶת־אַרְפַּכְשָׁ֔ד חֲמֵ֥שׁ מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיּ֥וֹלֶד ...
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What is a child held responsible for?

Related is a animal more responsible then a child? if yes why? Tangentially, to a statement made in this question: At what age is a Ben Noach responsible to perform his "mitzvot"? A child ...
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Is there a prohibition against young boys being taught by women?

Isn't there a prohibition against young boys being taught by women? I swore I saw it in the tamud/midrash/tanakh/Torah but I can't seem to find it anymore.
Alex's user avatar
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How old was Pharoah's daughter (Exodus/Shemoth) when she took in Moshe?

In 1st Chronicles 4:18 it mentions a man by the name of Mered taken Pharoah's daughter Bithiah to wife. While researching who exactly these individuals were, the consensus states that this Bithiah ...
יהודה's user avatar
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What age was Avraham's name change?

As we know Avraham was changed from Avram. Does anyone know how old Avraham was when he got his name change?
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How did Noah react to being childless?

Rashi to Genesis 5:32 reads: אמר רבי יודן מה טעם כל הדורות הולידו למאה שנה וזה לחמש מאות אמר הקב״ה אם רשעים הם יאבדו במים ורע לצדיק זה ואם צדיקים הם אטריח עליו לעשות תיבות הרבה כבש את מעיינו ולא ...
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At what age is a Ben Noach responsible to perform his "mitzvot"? [duplicate]

Jews are responsible for mitzvah performance at age 12 - girls and 13 for boys. (There is, as I understand, Rabbinical discussion regarding some specific mitzvot that they may be responsible when they ...
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What age should be a Goy to be spared and how it is determined?

אִם־לֹא תַשְׁלִים עִמָּךְ וְעָשְׂתָה עִמְּךָ מִלְחָמָה וְצַרְתָּ עָלֶיהָּ׃ וּנְתָנָהּ ה"א בְּיָדֶךָ וְהִכִּיתָ אֶת־כָּל־זְכוּרָהּ לְפִי־חָרֶב׃ רַק הַנָּשִׁים וְהַטַּף וְהַבְּהֵמָה וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר ...
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Did any 100 y.o. Exodus survivors enter the Promised Land?

IIRC the decree of dying in the desert was limited for those aged 20-60 at the Exodus. Of those who were 60 at that time and 100 at the entering of the Land, did they all die in the decree, or did ...
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Yichud when raising a child

I once heard that when you start raising a child while the child is still under the age of 2, there is less concerns about Yichud later on. I have not found any source for this and was wondering if ...
Moses Davidowitz's user avatar
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Do fathers revoke all their daughters' vows right before they turn 12.5?

Nedarim 10:4, dealing with a case where a father has used his authority to marry off his 12-12.5 year old daughter through eirusin and is now finishing the marriage through nisuin, says: דֶּרֶךְ ...
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Has the age of accountability always been 13 for boys and 12 for girls?

When was the bar-bas-bat-mitzvah celebration at that age recognised, or was it historically older, such as at age 20? I understand that a boy is a minor (katan-child) before his 13th birthday, and a ...
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How old were the Sages in Megillah 27b-28a?

The Gemara, starting in Megillah 27b, starts describing various situations where different sages were asked how they merited to reach a long life. Presumably, this was because, at the time they were ...
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How old was Vashti in the Megillah?

We’ve previously discussed how old Esther, Mordechai, Haman, and Achashveirosh were at the time of the Megillah. How old was Vashti when she was summoned to Achashveirosh?
DonielF's user avatar
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1 answer
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What is the greatest age difference between a married couple in Tanach?

In many instances, we know the ages of personalities in Tanach and when they got married. In some cases, we aren't given enough information within the text and in some of those instances, the ...
Chaim's user avatar
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How old was Achashverosh in the Megillah?

I'm on a bit of a quest to contextualize the story of Purim by getting a better sense of the ages of the main characters. So far, with Mi Yodeya's help, I've explored the age of Esther, and I have ...
Chaim's user avatar
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How old was Haman in the Megillah?

I'm on a bit of a quest to contextualize the story of Purim by getting a better sense of the ages of the main characters. So far, with Mi Yodeya's help, I've explored the age of Esther, and I have ...
Chaim's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
394 views

How old was Mordechai in the Megillah?

I have been trying to calculate Mordechai's age, and according to my estimates he must have been around 100, if not older, when the Purim saga begins. Are there any textual sources which provide the ...
Chaim's user avatar
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5 votes
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What happens when you turn 100?

The Mishna says: A hundred-year-old is as if he were dead, passed away and ceased connection with the world. [Avot 5:25] At first blush this seems callous and disrespectful. What is the teaching ...
Maurice Mizrahi's user avatar
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How could a month-old at the time of the half-shekel donation have been through the sea?

The commentary of Haamek Davar to the first few verses of Ki Sisa (Exodus 30:11–16) explains that they refer to two different obligatory donations. Each was half a shekel per person, and each served ...
msh210's user avatar
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Why is Benjamin referred to as a youth?

In several places, parsha vayigash refers to Benjamin as a youth (na-ar). But he must have been close to 30 years old since Joseph was at that time already in Egypt for about 20 years. Why is ...
Yehuda W's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
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Getting something that requires you to be over 18 when you’re not

Are there any sources that would constitute the following as stealing/gezel: If one buys a product that the website requires one to be 18 years or older to purchase and is underage? So let’s say you ...
Anonymous111122's user avatar
6 votes
0 answers
565 views

How old were Rochel and Leah when they got married to Yaakov? [duplicate]

To my recollection I have never seen an answer to this or have known anything regarding Rochel and Leah's ages at marriage. Are they known?
Avi's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
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Hundred like seventy and seventy like five

Rashi says on Bereshit 25:7 (Sefaria) מאה שנה ושבעים שנה וחמש שנים A HUNDRED AND SEVENTY FIVE YEARS — (lit, a hundred years, and seventy years and five years) — at the age of one hundred years he ...
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With B”H more people living to over 70, are there implications for the mitzvah of מפני שיבה תקום והדרת פני זקן

There is a mitzvah to get up for a person aged over 70. The link on the word “mitzvah” goes to Halchipedia. The first footnote relates to the age 70 and reads: S”A YD 244:1 writes that it is a ...
Avrohom Yitzchok's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
53 views

Why are Avraham (and Sarah), Yehoshua and David set apart?

Avraham's advanced age is referred to as "zaken ba bayamim" in Ber. 24:1. His age (along with Sarah) is similarly labeled in Ber. 18:11. Yehoshua is called the same way in Yeh. 13:1 and 23:1, while ...
rosends's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Are those below age 20 forgiven more easily?

Are those who are below 20, forgiven by Hashem more easily than others? The Gemmorah in Shabbat 89b says: "דל עשרין דלא ענשת עלייהו" - Subtract the first twenty years of his life. [One is not ...
Anonymous111122's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
3k views

Who was older, Miriam or Aaron?

Do we have any sources addressing which of Moshe Rabbeinu's older siblings, Miriam and Aaron, was older?
SAH's user avatar
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Age of the universe [duplicate]

Do contemporary Orthodox (Litvish, Chassidish, & Sephardi) Rabbi’s still believe that the world was created 5,779 yrs ago or do they agree with Aryeh Kaplan that perhaps 5779 is just the birth of ...
Lages's user avatar
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Are Jews below age 20 judged the same as those above 20 on Rosh Hashanah? [duplicate]

Are Jews below 20 judged differently then Jews above age 20? I know there is a question posted on this site whether or not punishment starts in shamayim below age 20, but I want to know specifically ...
Anonymous111122's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
122 views

מפני שיבה תקום - How standing up means honoring?

This question is not about the cultural norms, but about the Tanachic sources for that. The Gemmorah in Kiddushin 32b discusses the subject of honoring the elders. It questions the definition of an ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
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Is there any significance to the age at which Methuselah died?

Bresheit 5:27 records the death of Methuselah as 969 years. His is the longest lifespan recorded in the Torah. Is there any meaning for his death at such an age, or is there significance to the ...
B A Malinowski's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
241 views

What is the minimum age for a cohen gadol?

What is the minimum age for a cohen gadol? I understand that a kohen gadol is a position that is inherited (halacha 20 here), what age must one be to be able to be a kohen gadol? Halacha 15 here ...
hazoriz's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
159 views

If somebody is over 60 and does an aveirah for which the punishment is misah biyedei shamayim, what happens?

I was learning today's Tanya (יג תמוז, beginning of אגרת התשובה פרק ד) I have a question based on the following part: כשעבר עבירה שחייבים עליה כרת, הי׳ מת ממש קודם חמשים שנה A violator of a sin ...
Don't Know's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
99 views

Which rabbinic or mishnaic source is quoted as having stated that men are to be married at nineteen and fathers at twenty-four?

I've seen someone quote a certain Jewish text here and there in my readings on the internet where it says something along the likes of, 'eight for the Torah, thirteen for the study, nineteen for ...
Uriah Blacke's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
226 views

How old was Shaul when he became king?

Shaul had Yonatan and Michal who were around Dovid's age. So how old is Shaul? I could not find any meforesh that said anything about it. asking on a Jewish perspective. Thanks!
Ailuropoda melanoleuca's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
103 views

The father has the obligation of chinuch until what age

Until what age is the obligation on the father to train his children to do Mitzvot? I see contradictory sources please clarify, or bring more accepted sources No limit. http://halachipedia.com/...
hazoriz's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
368 views

How old was Avraham when Nimrod threw him into the fire in Ur Kasdim?

Rashi, the Midrash Rabbah, and many others mention the story of Avraham being thrown into a fiery furnace by Nimrod for refusing to worship Avoda Zara and being miraculously saved. I've spent a while ...
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