Questions tagged [geography]

Questions about places with Jewish connections.

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Which direction is "up" according to judaism

Does Judaism have an opinion as to which direction is "up"? So do we just follow the general consensus, for example we say north is up and south is down? Or do we have other directions?
Shababnik's user avatar
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Google Maps, Drones, and Hezek Riah

There are Halachos which restrict a one's ability to see into the yard of their neighbor*. Does the use of Google maps constitute Hezek Riah, since one can use it to see into the backyards of others? ...
Moshe's user avatar
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Where abouts in the Persian Empire did the Jews live?

The original deportations of Jews occurred in Nebuchadnezzar's era and so they would have settled in Babylon regions, but whereabouts in the Persian Empire did the Jews live? Were they dispersed much ...
Christian Gedge's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
142 views

Maps/blueprints of the interior of the Temple Mount

I am looking for resources that have maps and/or blueprints of the interior of the Temple Mount. For example, showing the various tunnel systems, stairs, gates, chambers, etc. I would even appreciate ...
bondonk's user avatar
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2 answers
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What/Where is Tarshish

Springboarding from a conversation here, is the term "Tarshish" mentioned anywhere (besides Jastrow) in connection with Bigsan and Seresh? This question is specifically looking to find a way ...
The Targum's user avatar
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Where Is The City Of Gurbaal? Is It Bozrah?

And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gurbaal, and the Mehunims.(2 Chronicles 26:7) Question- I have a question concerning the location of Gur-baal. I am ...
Servant's user avatar
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3 votes
0 answers
139 views

The kotel and the Beis HaMikdosh now

There are some floorplans of the inside of the Beis HaMikdosh, for example in the first edition of the ArtScroll gemara Yoma. However, I am looking for a (sefer) picture that describes the exact ...
Shmuel's user avatar
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what were the various locations associated with the names of the 24 divisions in Palestine after they returned from Persia?

I read that the prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi divided the four families that returned from exile in the first and second waves into 24 watches at the rebuilding of the Second Temple. ...
Richard Fraker's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
136 views

You're a Jew in Israel and it's 70 CE. Where Should You Go for the Best Existence the Next 1900 Years? [closed]

(This is a Jewish History topic, and thus hopefully won't be closed. I realize it may be somewhat subjective, but any well-reasoned argument would be helpful in showing which places and times have ...
Shalom's user avatar
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Was Shomron, the capital of North Israel, supposed to revert to its ancestral owners in Yovel?

I Kings 16:24 has a king of North Israel buying some empty-ish land and building a new city on it to serve as the capital. If I understand the laws of Yovel ("jubilee year") correctly, then ...
Shalom's user avatar
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How did Abraham end up in Ur Kasdim when Shem and Ever lived in Israel?

IIRC, it starts with Noah landing on the Ararat mountains somewhere in nowadays Turkey. Some 300 years later we hear that Shem runs a Yeshiva in Eretz Israel together with his grand-grandson Ever and ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Where does the name הגליל, The Galilee, come from?

As far as I was aware, the Galilee isn't considered a significant region of Israel in the Tanach. But when we get to the Mishna, the Galilee is mentioned everywhere. For example, https://www.sefaria....
Leiby's user avatar
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1 answer
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how could they see the fire signals so far away?

(Please include header and footer when redistributing this material.) THE DAFYOMI DISCUSSION LIST brought to you by Kollel Iyun Hadaf of Yerushalayim Rosh Kollel: Rabbi ...
yishairasowsky's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
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Where are the regions Kerutim & Hatoulim, mentioned in the Mishna as having the best wine grapes, located on a map?

I have not been able to find these locations that are mentioned in the Mishna. I came across this quote: The Mishna also (Menahot, 8, 6) points to the regions where the best wine-making grapes were ...
Jess's user avatar
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What were the names of the places to which Bney Yisrael backtracked in Bamidbar 33?

What were the names of the places to which Bney Yisrael backtracked in Bamidbar 33? In Numbers 33, the children of Israel journeyed from a total of 42 encampments. In the process, as pointed out in ...
ninamag's user avatar
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Why was Cheshbon given by the Gadites?

In Bamidbar 32:37 it says that Cheshbon was rebuilt by Reuven - seemingly, it was given to them after they reached the agreement with Moshe on the settlement of the land. In Yehoshua 13:17 it says ...
Harel13's user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
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Zohar / Facial features

Shalom all. I once read/heard that the Zohar says that when Jews move to a certain location, then those Jewish people's facial features change to look like the people that they live among. Does any ...
Mars Sojourner's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
82 views

How is it possible that Numbers 33 talks about 48 camps instead of 42?

How is it possible that Numbers 33 talks about 48 camps instead of 42? To what peshat did these mefarshim source this enumeration? Some of these mefarshim conclude that instead of 42 locations, there ...
ninamag's user avatar
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Why "Snir" in Yechezkel 27:5?

In Devarim 3:9 it says that the Tzidonim would call Mt. Chermon "Sirion" and the Amorim would call it "Snir". However, when Yechezkel laments the fall of Tzor, which is in Tzidon, ...
Harel13's user avatar
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What spot is on the other side of the World from the Beit HaMikdash?

If an axis goes through the world, where is the spot exactly opposite Har HaBayit where the axis comes out? Is it in the middle of the Ocean? Should there be anything special expected about this point?...
הראל's user avatar
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1 vote
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Who are the Sinnites? [duplicate]

In Modern Hebrew, china is refered to as סין(Sin). There are three mentions of סין throughout tanach: ויסעו מאלים ויבאו כל עדת בני ישראל אל מדבר סין אשר בין אילים ובין סיני, בחמשה עשר יום לחדש השני ...
Sam's user avatar
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Legal minyan in Stamford Hill

As of October 2020 the UK government has established strict laws and very specific guidelines for the currently ongoing holiday. It would seem that we have to keep these regulations, especially since ...
Adám's user avatar
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5 votes
1 answer
176 views

Source for the boundaries of Egypt

The Rambam codified the triplicate biblical injunction not to dwell permanently in the Land of Egypt as follows: וּמֻתָּר לִשְׁכֹּן בְּכָל הָעוֹלָם חוּץ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם. מִן הַיָּם הַגָּדוֹל וְעַד ...
Maurice Mizrahi's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
108 views

What is the mountain of the Amorite?

Moshe discusses in Devarim how the people were supposed to approach the Mountain of the Amorite and conquer the land. Then, after Where is this mountain geographically? Does it have any special ...
Daniel Kagan's user avatar
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6 votes
0 answers
112 views

What is the halachic boundary of modern day Jerusalem in regards to Purim

I would like to know what the halachic boundaries of Jerusalem are today in terms of where one would be obligated in the mitzvot of Shushan Purim.
rikitikitembo's user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
352 views

How does the law of prayer direction apply to a spherical Earth?

A Beraita is cited in Berachot 30a as follows: ת"ר סומא ומי שאינו יכול לכוין את הרוחות יכוין לבו כנגד אביו שבשמים שנא' והתפללו אל ה' היה עומד בח"ל יכוין את לבו כנגד ארץ ישראל שנא' והתפללו אליך דרך ...
Alex's user avatar
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0 answers
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Geographical importance of Me'arat Hamachpela for Adam

Does anybody mention the geographical importance of the Me'ara being situated about 40KM South of Jerusalem? As it preceded Hebron as a city, why did Adam choose this site specifically for his ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
405 views

Orientation of Kahati's map of the Beis Hamikdash

R' Kahati's map of the Beis Hamikdash - that is printed just before the beginning of Meseches Midos - has South at the top and North at the bottom. I have always found this a little confusing, being ...
gordon613's user avatar
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4 votes
0 answers
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Maps that can aid the locations of the cities referenced in Masechet Gittin?

I’m currently learning Masechet Gittin and would like to know where I can find maps of the cities referenced in the first daf or so that can assist me. Cities like heger, rekem, kfar lud, etc is what ...
Yaakov Pinchas's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
305 views

Did the Talmudic rabbis know about America?

Is there any evidence in the ancient Sources that the Talmudic rabbis were aware of the existence of America?
Maurice Mizrahi's user avatar
-4 votes
1 answer
147 views

Why did G-d create everything important off-center?

I hope not to argue that the Heliocentric view is true as is our current understanding of [our position in] the Universe, the Earth is rotating around the Sun, that is rotating around the center of ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
66 views

How the areas of the tribes were possibly equally valued?

I base my question solely on the WIKI of the division of the Land of Israel between the 9.5 tribes (the final division by Yehoshua). I'm not a big of a geographer, but I live in Israel, and I know ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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2 votes
0 answers
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Are the borders of Eretz Israel going to be the same in regard to the Torah when moshiach comes? [closed]

I have read before an opinion that they are not going to be the same borders, I am hoping for some backup information.
Elchanan Campan's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
92 views

Is Mt Hermon located within the biblical boundaries of the Holy Land?

According to interpreters, Is Mt Hermon located within the biblical boundaries of the Holy Land?
Al Berko's user avatar
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-2 votes
1 answer
159 views

Gr"A stating that Africa is [at] the South Pole

(Saw it today at the Kolel in Mikraot Gedolot, sorry can't find it online, please help). At the beginning of Divrei Hayamim, Pirush HaGr"a explains various nations coming out of Noah's sons and ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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5 votes
2 answers
262 views

Is the Bnei Brak of the Hagada and Megila the same as modern-day Bnei Brak?

The Pesach Hagada mentions the story of five rabbis in Bnei Brak It happened once [on Pesach] that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon were ...
mbloch's user avatar
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6 votes
0 answers
102 views

The application of the dispute about the borders of Babylon

The Talmud (Kiddushin 71b) discusses the differences in the lineage of people from different places in the vicinity of Bavel (Babylon) by analogy of health. Bavel is healthy (has a good lineage), ...
b a's user avatar
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-2 votes
2 answers
201 views

Is there a spiritual significance to the fact one of the most heavily Jewish neighborhoods in NYC is "Crown" Heights? [closed]

This may seem like a strange question but I was curious if there was any religious significance to this. Possibly, Jews following the opinion of a Rabbi who saw the name as signifying a place of ...
user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
178 views

Modern Directions to Sambatyon River

A Rav recently mentioned a sefer was written by an American Rav in the 1930s called Kol Mevaser which provided exact directions to find the Sambatyon River. (The map began in Tibet and carefully ...
NJM's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
96 views

What's the difference between ציון and ירושלים?

What's the difference between ציון and ירושלים? Initially I thought that they are just synonyms but after reading some phrases in the bible I doubt whether it's correct or not. The phrases that ...
The Glacier's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
158 views

Was Africa destined for the Europeans - descendants of Yefet?

A little follow-up to my previous question: There are two interesting Targumim suggesting that Africa was oroginally destined for the descendants of Yefet (Gen 10,2): תרגום ירושלמי, בראשית י׳:ב׳: ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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2 votes
3 answers
286 views

Dividing the world for the sons of Noah

Rashi (Gen 12,6) mentions that Noah divided the world between his sons and that Israel was given to Shem and his descendants: והכנעני אז בארץ. הָיָה הוֹלֵךְ וְכוֹבֵשׁ אֶת אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל ...
Al Berko's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
82 views

Sources for the location of the Red Sea

I am looking for Jewish sources that touch on the question of where (on a modern map) the crossing of the Red Sea (Sea of Reeds) took place. In my research, I'm finding several possible locations, ...
Cyn's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
189 views

Was There a Specific Location that the Babylonian Talmud was Written

The exact (think GPS) location of many biblical sites are known. We know exectly where Abraham bound Issac and suspect that is the same spot where the Holy of Holies was. Some of the ancient sites (or ...
JJLL's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
120 views

Where is נהר פקוד?

Is this a actually river named pikod? Are there records where it is? (Mentioned in Zevachim 8b among other places.)
Dr. Shmuel's user avatar
28 votes
2 answers
621 views

How do we determine "population statistics" for population-dependent Halachot?

There appear to be several halachot that are based on "a majority of Israel". For example: Mishnah Berachot 54a: הרואה מקום שנעשו בו נסים לישראל אומר ברוך שעשה נסים לאבותינו במקום הזה IF ...
Alex's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
223 views

What was Yaakov's funeral procession doing in Transjordan?

We read in Bereishit 50:10-11 וַיָּבֹאוּ עַד-גֹּרֶן הָאָטָד, אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן, וַיִּסְפְּדוּ-שָׁם, מִסְפֵּד גָּדוֹל וְכָבֵד מְאֹד; וַיַּעַשׂ לְאָבִיו אֵבֶל, שִׁבְעַת יָמִים. וַיַּרְא ...
Joel K's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
99 views

Are Ra'meses and Ra'amses the same place

In Bereishit 47:11 (and Shemot 12:37 and Bamidbar 33:3 and 33:5) we find mention of an Egyptian place called רַעְמְסֵס - Ra'meses. In Shemot 1:11 we find mention of an Egyptian place called רַעַמְסֵס ...
Joel K's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
68 views

Why did Jacob live "in his father's dwelling land"?

Parashas Vayeshev begins (Genesis 37:1, in my own translation): Jacob lived in the land of his father's dwelling: in the land of Canaan. I understand why it repeats the already-known fact (35:27, ...
msh210's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
91 views

Distance from Chevron to Sedom

Rashi (Genesis 19:1, "BaErev") asks rhetorically, וכי כל כך שהו המלאכים מחברון לסדום , implying that it's close from Chevron to Sedom. But if we assume that Sedom was located where the current Dead ...
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