Questions tagged [commentaries]
Questions related to Jewish commentaries, their meaning and their origin.
722 questions
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Was Malbim an innovator?
The Malbim - Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel(1809 – 1879) - wrote a commentary on most of Tanach. In his introduction (to Yeshayahu) he writes the assumptions with which he operates in his commentary:
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After chumashim with notes and Rashi, what's the next torah commentary I should acquire and study?
When I read the torah text (parsha or otherwise) I currently use a couple of chumashim with notes, and Rashi. I know some Hebrew but am not fluent. I'm ready to stretch beyond what I'm reading now ...
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Which masechtot don't really have Rashi?
I often hear that the printed "Rashi" commentary in certain masechtot of the Talmud Bavli (first that come to mind are Moed Katan and Nedarim) is not actually written by Rashi. Does anyone have a full ...
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Is Shadal a mainstream commentary?
Shadal (Shmuel David Luzzatto) wrote, among many other things, a commentary to the Torah.
I do not know very much about the style and approach of his commentary, but strangely, I've actually never ...
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When did G-d create darkness?
Bereshit 1:5 says:
וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים ׀ לָאוֹר֙ י֔וֹם וְלַחֹ֖שֶׁךְ קָ֣רָא לָ֑יְלָה וַֽיְהִי־עֶ֥רֶב וַֽיְהִי־בֹ֖קֶר י֥וֹם אֶחָֽד׃ (פ
And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called ...
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The case of the missing Maharsha (Sota 49, BK 82, M'nachos 64)
There was fighting among the Chashmonaim, and one group besieged the other in Jerusalem, passing animals over the wall for the korban tamid, but eventually passing a pig.
This story is recounted (in ...
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Numbering in the Mordechai
I've noticed that the Mordechai has a strange numbering system (א,ב,ג etc.) that goes through it. I thought it might just be enumerating the individual halachos l'maaseh, but I noticed that it often ...
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Rashi on Yerushalmi
Why is there no Rashi on Yerushalmi? What can I learn instead?
Is there anything that can replace it, and why was it not written?
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Which came first the Mishnah Torah or the Pirush HaMishnayos
Which sefer did the Ramabm author first, was it his Mishnah Torah (Yad HaChazaka) or his commentary to Mishnayos?
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What were the Nephilim?
Inspired by this question on Biblical Hermeneutics.
What were the Nephilim mentioned in Bereishis and in Bamidbar?
Bereishis 6:1-4
The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after ...
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Why were some of the works of Rabbi Steinsaltz banned?
Apparently some of the works of Rabbi Steinsaltz were banned. What are the specific examples that prompted the ban? Is there a list of all of his works that have been banned, as I am interested in ...
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Legend About Rashi
In the book "Rashi and Maimonides" (pg 302), I found the following (paraphrasing):
Another story has it that Rashi sat fasting for 613 days to purify himself for the task of commenting on the Torah....
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Jarchi = Rashi?
Is Rabbi Solomon Jarchi the same as Rashi? I saw Jarchi on the Internet on a Google search awhile ago, that it was Salomo son of Isaac, a French Biblical commentator and was wondering if it was the ...
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layout of the Gemara
When was the current pagination of the Gemara finalized? It seems that it was before the Vilna print, though it seems from different Acharonim (the Rama, etc.) quoting the Mordechai that the Mordechai ...
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Does Rashi's commentary on a quoted mishna reflect the true explanation?
Often the Bavli will quote a mishna from another maseches (tractate) or another part of the same maseches. Does Rashi's commentary on the Bavli's quotation of the mishna reflect his interpretation of ...
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Who was the author/compiler of the Ikkar Tosfos Yom Tov?
I've noticed when learning Mishnayos that with the more basic layouts consist of the Mishna and the commentaries of Rav Ovadia M'Bartenura and the Ikkar Tosfos Yom Tov.
It is known that Rav Yom-Tov ...
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Who is the author of the Pirush on the first four chapters of Rambam's Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah?
The first four chapters of Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah have a lengthy commentary that is titled simply "פירוש". In standard editions of the Rambam, it wraps around the text, facing the "כסף משנה" (see ...
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Textual parallel between Eve and Cain, why?
In Bereishit 3:16, Eve is cursed:
אֶֽל־הָאִשָּׁ֣ה אָמַ֗ר הַרְבָּ֤ה אַרְבֶּה֙ עִצְּבוֹנֵ֣ךְ וְהֵֽרֹנֵ֔ךְ בְּעֶ֖צֶב תֵּֽלְדִ֣י בָנִ֑ים וְאֶל־אִישֵׁךְ֙ תְּשׁ֣וּקָתֵ֔ךְ וְה֖וּא יִמְשׇׁל־בָּֽךְ׃
And to ...
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New heaven and earth?
Yeshayahu 65:17 (66:22):
"כִּי־הִנְנִי בוֹרֵא שָׁמַיִם חֲדָשִׁים וָאָרֶץ חֲדָשָׁה וְלֹא תִזָּכַרְנָה הָרִאשֹׁנוֹת וְלֹא תַעֲלֶינָה עַל־לֵב׃ "
writes about a new heaven and earth. Although I’m not ...
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Difference between El and Eloah
El(אל) and Eloah(אלוה) are both singular forms (nouns), but its אל thats being used to form the plural Elim (אלים), and אלוה thats being used to form the plural Elohim (אלוה׳ם). Both singular forms ...
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What are some non-allegorical commentaries on Song of Solomon?
I'd like to find some good commentaries, preferably very old, on Song of Solomon that aren't focused on allegorical interpretations of it. What are some top titles in this area?
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Why did Ralbag's commentary to Leviticus take so much longer than the other books of the Torah?
At the end of each book in his Commentary to the Torah, Ralbag gives us the date he completed it.
At the end of the book of Genesis he tells us that it was completed in October of 1329:
והנה היתה ...
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Who invented the Mikraot Gedolot?
Whose idea was the Mikraot Gedolot and when was it first published? Mikraot Gedolot is a Humash with a collection of commentaries very popular in Jewish circles today.
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Dibur HaMatchil: Where did it come from
When reading Rashi, each comment on the pasukkim is split up by DiBur Hamatchil (quotes from the pasuk to let you know what Rashi is commenting on).
Are these original to Rashi, or were they added?
On ...
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Rule of first occurrence?
Searching online I came across a nice article which wrote: link
It is a teaching of Chassidic thought (the only source I have for this
is Shlomo Carlebach!) that the first occurrence of a certain ...
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Following the Biur Halacha
As far as I know, the most accepted Posek around the entire non-Chassidic Ashkenazi world is the Mishna Berura (and of course the Rama). He wrote the sections to his commentary to the Code of Jewish ...
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Establishing the relative order of Rashi's commentaries
In learning Masekhet Ketubot, I encountered Rashi's definition of בי שמשי on daf 103a. There, since the passage is clearly referring to twilight on erev shabbat in particular, Rashi explains why so ...
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Have any Jewish commentaries been written on the Septuagint?
While a number of Jewish commentaries have been written on Targum Onkelos, Targum Yonasan, Targum Pseudo-Yonasan, and Targum Yerushalmi (see the list in the Targum section at Parshablog, for example), ...
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Taking pictures for one’s husband
Would Jewish law prohibit or limit the types of pictures a wife could send to her husband in private? Assume that the means of sending the pictures would be secure and no one else would be able to see ...
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Sforno on the Nachash
The Sforno on Bereishis 3:1 explains that the Nachash, snake, is not an actual snake but is rather the Satan/Yetzer Harah. With that in mind, what does the Sforno do with the curse Hashem gives the ...
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How come Metzudat Tzion never did a perush of difficult words in the chumash?
Why did the author of Metzudat Tzion never write an explanation of difficult words in the chumash, as he did for most of the Nach? There are hard words in the chumash that require explanation even for ...
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Who wrote Ikar Siftei Chachamim?
Siftei Chachamim (שפתי חכמים) is a super-commentary on Rashi's commentary on the Torah, written by the 17th-Century CE Polish scholar Shabbethai Bass. It tends to be included in Mikraot Gedolot ...
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Origin for making giyur?
A friend of mine asked me from when a Non-Jew was allowed to make giyur (conversion); and on which Biblical verses it was based upon. I guess he wanted to know more about it's origin. So that's why I'...
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The 62 Years of Darius/Cyrus, and the 62 Weeks of Daniel
Has ancient or medieval Jewish tradition, spanning from the Talmud to the Shulchan Aruch, ever connected these two passages from the Book of Daniel ?
Daniel 5:30-6:1 That very night, Belshazzar, the ...
user18041
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Beit Av v.s. Mishpechah
In Joshua 2:12-13(Mechon Mamre translation) the Torah reads:
12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the LORD, since I have
dealt kindly with you, that ye also will deal kindly with my father'...
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What ancient sources discuss the meaning of Psalm 22?
Many Christians believe Psalm 22 refers to Jesus of Nazareth. How have Jews historically understood Psalm 22 and interpreted it?
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Metzudat Tzion on the Torah
Was there a Metzudat Tzion written on the Torah? If so, does anyone know if it is available online or for sale?
I always loved this commentary as it explained the hard words on the Nach.
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Where does the Maharsha mention the Bermuda Triangle?
Someone once told me that the Maharsha talks about Bermuda Triangle in meseches berachos.
Does anyone know where the Maharsha speaks about it?
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Who were the "girls" that fasted with Esther?
Esther 4:16 says:
גם אני ונערותי אצום כן
Me and my "girls" will also fast
Who were these "girls", and Why did she make these girls fast? Were they Jewish (converted, perhaps)? I ...
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Interpreting Song of Songs
Is there any rabbinic commentary/interpretation on Shir HaShirim (the Song of Songs) that emphasizes the holiness of love between a man and a woman?
At least from what I've encountered along the ...
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Is there a commentary on tehillim that maps perakim to episodes in David's life?
Sometimes it's fairly easy to tell when David is writing about a particular event such as
לדוד בשנותו את טעמו לפני אבימלך
At other times it's less obvious, but you get a 'lightbulb moment' when ...
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Brevity of the Rishonim
I have heard about Rashi that he measured his words very meticulously and that consequently every word he chose to write in his commentary is important for understanding his view. There are even ...
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Do any Geonim or Rishonim adopt/incorporate teachings from Philo?
Do any early commentators from the geonim or rishonim periods cite any teachings from Philo Judeas by name?
user5092
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Looking for Passages of harsh criticism in the Shakh
Notwithstanding the fact that the Shakh includes a passage in the introduction to his Nequdat Kesef, claiming that his objections to other scholars are meant only respectfully, I have heard it said ...
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Looking for an easy to read chassidic commentary on the Torah
I'm looking for an easy to read chassidic comentary on the Torah. I'm looking for a single commentary. Iwas considering to buy Imrei Noam by the Dzikov rebbe, but I'm not sure if it is easy to read.
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What are some of the old commentaries prior to 1 BCE of the Torah?
I believe that there would be commentaries of the Torah older than 1 BCE and that can shed significant light on what the message of God is in terms of its authoritativeness.
Israelites have a glorious ...
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Why will the Galilee be destroyed? - Sanhedrin 97a
The Gemara teaches us that in the generation when Moshiach comes, the Galilee will be destroyed (Sanhedrin 97a):
During the generation that the son of David comes, the hall of the assembly of the ...
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English Tanakh with as much commentary as possible
I am looking for a Tanakh Sefer (or set) which has as much commentary as possible. I’m basically looking for one place where I can study without opening a thousand other seforim.
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Shellac Kosher, but Carmine for example isn’t how come?
Could someone explain to me on which basis/principle products like shellac are allowed to use (according to kashrut)? While products like Cochineal, Carmine, Carminic acid (E120) aren’t, because the ...
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Why add pain and travail to the birthing process?
After Adam and Chava went against the Will of HaShem, HaShem seems to give them some repercussions for their deeds. But why was it that HaShem said to Chava: 'I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy ...
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