Questions tagged [halacha-theory]
Questions about theoretical issues about psak and general halacha concepts
73 questions from the last 365 days
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Why is Y-K-V-K which denotes mercy, more strict than saying Elokim which denotes justice?
Kabbalistically speaking, the name Elokim denotes strict justice, while the name Y-K-V-K denotes mercy. If this is the case, then why are we more strict not to say Hashem's name of mercy outside the ...
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Aliens and Ever Min Hachai
According to Halacha, does the prohibition of Ever Min Hachai apply to alien life, or only species of animals on earth? I believe it would likely apply to aliens, but since all Halacha of kashrut were ...
- 4,532
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Can a Ben Pakuah be brought as a Korban?
Since shechita is not required would that prohibit bringing a ben pakuah as a korban? Or would you just schect it anyway and continue on?
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Accidental murder during war
Do the laws of accidental murder/goel ha'dam apply during a war? For instance if during battle a Jew accidentally kills another Jew in such a way as would warrant the application of the laws of ...
- 15.3k
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Waiting between meat and milk
I once heard that the historical reason of why we wait between meat and milk comes from the rivalry between the Sadducees and Pharisees; In order to separate one group from the other, one of the ...
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Question regarding how the Beis Yosef understands the Rosh with regards to the required size of the Esrog
The Beis Yosef on the Tur (Orach Chaim 656) writes that when the Rosh (Bava Kama 1:7) uses the term ״כאגוז״ (the size of a wallnut) when describing the required size of the Esrog, that the Rosh is ...
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Why do we use the leaf of the Lulav, and not the Date?
According to the midrash, the lulav is the species that has no fragrance, but it has a good taste. That's referring to its dates, yet the Torah says we should take the leaf, and use it for the avodah, ...
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Why don't we make the bracha on the Etrog, instead of the Lulav? [duplicate]
According to the midrash, the Etrog is the species that is the best, because it has a good taste and a good fragrance (which represents Jews who have Mitzvot and Torah, rather than just one or neither)...
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Can one have a Christmas tree in their sukkah? [closed]
There's a Jewish teenage boy who isn't so into his Orthodoxy. He said to his father: "I want you to have a Christmas tree in the sukkah this year, etc, and I will come in with my friends into ...
- 611
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Why didn't Bruriah tear kriyah?
In Yalkut Shimoni Mishlei Remez 964 there is a record of Bruriah informing her husband Rebbi Meir of the death of their sons
ד"א אשת חיל מי ימצא. אמרו מעשה היה בר' מאיר שהיה יושב במנחה בשבת ...
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Repairing the Gospels
What are the halachic considerations if one is a book binder and a client wishes to hire him or her to repair a Christian bible? The bible isn't directly used in Avodah Zarah (for those who see ...
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Does Tzovei'ah apply to Dichromatism?
Dichromatism is when a material's hue changes with its concentration and thickness.
For example, pumpkin seed oil changes color based on how much of the liquid is present. And ground-up green leaves ...
- 3,907
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Sources for the Noncontradiction principle in Judaism
IMU, the "Law of Noncontradiction" does not apply in religion in general - same rabbis can hold opposing views and contradicting Halochos can coexist (see אֵלּוּ וְאֵלּוּ דִּבְרֵי אֱלֹהִים ...
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Insertions in the amida from Rosh Hashanah to Yom kipur
In the gemera brachos 34a it says one is not to make any additions to prayer in the first three and last three brachos of the amida. This is also brought down in rambam in chapter 1 of tefila and ...
- 4,686
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How can Sanhedrin abolish "whole body of Halachah" from the Torah?
The Mishna in Horayos (1.3) describes a possibility of the Sanhedrin annulling a "whole body of Halachah" from the Torah, such idolatry or Shabbos, and concludes that "they are exempt&...
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Sanhedrin power do redefine Hebrew language concepts (left and right)
The Torah forbids us from straying from Sanhedrin's rulings left or right (Deut 17.11). Left and right are abstract linguistic concepts that reflect certain social conventions. Needless to say, the ...
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What are the halachic parameters of perishah min hatzibur?
We always hear about the concept of not being poreish min hatzibur. (I'll have to come back and edit the question with some examples when I'm not out.) Where is this concept defined in halachah? What ...
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Where couldn't the gentiles go in Solomon's Temple?
I would like to know where were gentiles not allowed to go in Solomon's Temple. Was there a court for Gentiles like the Second Temple? Could they enter any of the courts in Solomon's Temple? Many ...
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Non-Food related items
Not addressed by Transfer of taste to/from non-food items
Can non-food related objects have the status of milchig or fleishig because of saliva or food residue? This would refer to anything from a ...
- 38.7k
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Is it permissible to donate or sell organs that you can live without?
For example it's possible to live with only one kidney and it's still possible to have children with only one testicle.
Do donating or selling these organs have any prohibitions and if so which ones? ...
- 4,686
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Does Judaism acknowledge and accept the principle of absolute, personal bodily autonomy as a foundation behind a right to abortion?
Currently, in the United States, there is a very heated and emotional debate going on over the subject of the right of a woman to an abortion and the principle of abortion on demand.
This is a very ...
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World record for longest time of being Fleishig
Based on the discussions here: Where do the different traditions for hours of waiting between meat and milk come from?, what would be the world record for the longest time one can maintain their state ...
- 3,907
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chuppah besula/almana
We know that for a chuppah of a besula (virgin) all that is needed is the wedding canopy or yichud even not raoyi for biah (fit for cohabiting). Initially one should have yichud fit for cohabiting but ...
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Surrogacy and forbidden relationships [duplicate]
What is the law if a woman is a surrogate for her sibling's fertilized egg? I.e. a sister is implanted with the blastocysts of her brother and sister in law. According to the halacha, the child is ...
- 14.7k
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How to "pasken" that AI translations are good enough to be valid translations
It seems likely that at some point soon, AI will be good at translating hebrew, yiddish, arabic and aramaic into every other language, extremely reliably.
Right now, I imagine that the general "...
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If I'm not sure if I should make a bracha, should I make it?
For a sheheciyanu or birchas hatov hameitiv, if I'm not sure if I should make a bracha, should you or would it be a bracha levatalah?
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Leading others to suicide
Imagine a situation where you are rude with someone, either during an argument or not, and this person is under severe mental distress and later they end up taking their own life.
What are the ...
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Why no Halachic codex for the masses appear till the 12th century's Mishneh Torah?
Another "bird's-eye" view of Judaism from the Orthodox tradition:
14th century BCE, the Torah is received and practical laws are passed down orally.
10th-3rd centuries BCE, books of ...
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How do contradictions within Halacha impact the credibility of Judaism?
Given the vast array of interpretations and customs in following Halacha, how does Judaism maintain its credibility and authority when one practice can be considered correct by one group but incorrect ...
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Where does the Torah prohibit the killing of non-Jews?
Please provide one Halachic or other source from the Torah that prohibits Jews killing gentiles. The Rambam doesn't say it. Sanhedrin 57a even says a Jew who kills a gentile is exempt. The posuk that ...
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Espresso on Shabbos... ☕ Will this method work? [duplicate]
I've come across some fully-manual espresso machines, such as Flair 58x*. Assuming one holds like Rav Moshe Feinstein where there is no bishul in a kli shlishi, and one prepared his pre-ground coffee ...
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If saying a Beracha over a worldly benefit is a logical mitzva, are non believers exempt? Are Chazal saying Hashem's existence is a svara?
According to the Gemara (Brachot 35a), the halacha of saying a beracha before benefiting from the world is a svara; a halacha derived from logic:
סברא הוא: אסור לו לאדם שיהנה מן העולם הזה בלא ברכה
...
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Maharshal on halachah vs secular law
This page says:
Rabbi Shlomo Luria, nearly 500 years ago, argued that with the
exception of great moral deficiencies like murder, stealing and
deception, the Torah mostly describes behavior between ...
- 2,602
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On the relative authority of biblical and rabbinic law
A principle in Judaism is that perceived uncertainties in biblical laws must be resolved with stringency, whereas perceived uncertainties in rabbinic laws may be resolved with leniency.
But rabbinic ...
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Different shitos in halachah
If one holds like a certain shita in halachah. Then acts in accordance to a different shita in halachah, other then what he holds.
is his action valid because there is still some shitos in halachah ...
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What are the limits to "shev v'al ta'aseh"?
The Rabbinic power to ban a practice such as blowing shofar on Shabbat is called "shev v'al ta'aseh" - "sit and don't do it." Is there any limit to the power? For instance, could ...
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Should David have killed Saul?
In 1 Samuel 24 Saul enters a cave to relieve himself and David cuts off part of Saul's cloak rather than kill him. During this time Saul had been pursuing David with the explicit intent to kill him. ...
- 15.3k
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A father promising their child an afikoman present on yom tov?
A prominent minhag on seder night is that the children "steal" the afikoman and hide it. What follows is the normal haggling process as the father agrees to buy a child a gift in return for ...
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A blind person not seeing chametz
The Torah (Shemos 13:7) famously tells us:
וְלֹֽא־יֵרָאֶ֨ה לְךָ֜ חָמֵ֗ץ
Chametz shall not be seen in your possession.
What happens if the homeowner is blind? Do they have to hide away/lock up the ...
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Will Moshiach need to PROVE he is a male line descendant of King David?
Would it be a requirement for Moshiach to be able to prove that he is a descendant of King David or at least have a family mesorah that he is?
Or is it more of a case that once we see that someone is ...
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Is hiddur mitzvah biblical or rabbinic
According to Halacha, is the concept of hiddur mitzvah, beautifying the mitzvah, biblical or rabbinic in nature? Or is it a machloket amongst the poskim?
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Is Marit ayin biblical or rabbinic
According to Halacha, is the prohibition of Marit Ayin biblical (D’oraita) or rabbinic (Derabbanan) in nature? Or is this question an undecided Machloket amongst the Poskim?
- 4,532
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What would happen if the king was incapacitated?
If a Jewish king became incapacitated, for instance if he was in a coma, what would happen? Would a new king be appointed? Would nothing happen and the people would simply wait? Would the queen, or ...
- 15.3k
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Paradox of being commanded to not do something when out of control?
One of the principles that comes out in discussions about drinking and doing mitzvot, is that the alcohol impairs one's self control, and thus they aren't doing the mitzva properly [e.g. some sources ...
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Was Yehonatan a mored b'malchut?
In Shmuel 19:1 Shaul, the king, clearly gives instructions to kill David, which he reinforces even after swearing not to kill David (v.6) by sending soldiers to kill David and even going himself to do ...
- 15.3k
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Can/should anyone kill a mored b'malchut?
If someone is found to have rebelled against the king (mored b'malchut), by say directly disobeying a king's order, does the rebel need to have the crime adjudicated in court or can (should?) anyone ...
- 15.3k
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Where in the works of Maimonides does he address how to deal with apparent contradictions between halakha and empirical facts?
Maimonides’ view is that halakha is teleological (see for example Guide III, 27,31) e.g. some laws are to promote societal wellbeing, correct moral beliefs, etc. Where in his works does he deal with ...
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Where in his works does Maimonides address how to understand אלו ואלו דברי אלקים חיים and the nature of makhloket more broadly (besides intro to PhM)?
Given what Maimonides says in his introduction to his Commentary on the Mishnah (Perush ha-Mishnayot) it seems like he is not a pluralist when it comes to truth in a makhloket (halakhic debate). He ...
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Are there any other opinions on 6 constant mitzvas
Sefer hachinuch seems to have introduced the idea of 6 constant mitzvas.
Some are debatable. For example - dont go after your heart. Sometimes your heart is full of good stuff that should be ...
- 307
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Minimum amount for beracha achorona
According to Halacha what is the Minimum amount to eat before Jews are obligated to recite a beracha achorona? Is it a disputed question?
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