Questions tagged [hashkafah-philosophy]
Jewish philosophy as well as Jewish perspectives - i.e. not only formal philosophy. NOT for questions about Jewish practice unless there's a philosophical component.
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Is there anything wrong with an unmarried man learning hilchos niddah?
Does a man need to be married to learn hilchos niddah? Part of a halacha chabura that's learning the halachos of nidah
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Reconiciling Statements Rav Kook made about other Religions
The introduction to the book "Abraham Isaac Kook - The Lights of Penitence, Lights of Holiness, The Moral Principles, Essays, Letters, and Poems", states that Rav Kook was positive toward ...
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Is this Jewish Neoplatonic idea heresy?
Context:
I've noticed before that whenever I post anything about Neoplatonism in a Jewish context, such posts usually tend to get downvoted to oblivion, and in general, such views are not very well ...
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How did G-d bring creation into the world without changing? Did He not have to decide to create at some point? How did He bring creation without time?
So the question is something like this: If G-d, blessed be He, willed creation into being, then
a) He either underwent change (deciding to create) [Impossible]
b) He always knew that He was going to ...
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If Hebrew was the target language, what was the source language in any of the Psalm in which “maskil” is mentioned?
If Hebrew was the target language, what was the source language in any of the Psalms in which “maskil” is mentioned?
Rashi on Psalms 88:1 wrote:
משכיל: כל מקום שנאמר משכיל ע"י תורגמן נאמר שהיה ...
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Did Rambam affirm or deny the principle of sufficient reason (PSR)?
In the simplest terms, the principle of sufficient reason (PSR) states that everything that exists has a sufficient explanation/reason/cause/grounding (there are different variations of the PSR, e.g. ...
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Do we believe in coincidences? [duplicate]
How far should one take coincidences?
Should one go with the mehalech that everything is divine intervention and take it as a simaan? Or can one brush it off as simply a coincidence?
For example, if I ...
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Why do we struggle to be good
Why is our whole life a struggle? At least from my observations we never move on to the "next level". The yetzer hara keeps giving us the same taavot and obstructions to improving ourselves ...
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Does everyone have a significant purpose in life?
What if my sole purpose in life is to hold open the door for an old lady? While I'm not mocking this and I'm sure it is a tremendous service to her more so than me, where does that leave me mentally ...
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Is Ruach Ha-Kodesh eternal or does it have a timespan? Is it even the first perfect creation? If not, then what is?
Like the question says, is Ruach Ha-Kodesh eternally created/emanated/sustained by G-d, blessed be He, or does it have a set span in Jewish texts? This is assuming that Ruach Ha-Kodesh is the first ...
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Case study in chesed: parking morally
A strong, fit man decides that instead of grabbing the absolute closest and most convenient parking spot to his destination, he will leave it and park further away, in case someone more infirm/...
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Is using "god" as a common noun assur?
In the English language, it is not uncommon to hear a person being referred to as "the god of x". Where x can be a skill or specialty like "software engineering", "the god of ...
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Why would some people "return" to Gehinnom?
Rashi on Psalms 9:18 states:
לשאולה: אמר רבי נחמי' כל תיבה הצריכה למ"ד בתחלתה הטיל לה ה"א בסופה
כגון (בראשית יב) מצרימה מדברה התיבון לי' והכתיב ישובו רשעים לשאולה א"ר
אבא בר זבדי ...
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Concepts of God
Is the concept of God in Jewish religious traditions often characterized by attributes like self-centeredness, a demand for worship, jealousy, and punishment for not adhering to beliefs?
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How can we exist?
Positing that G.od is perfect (by the fact that he is the moral authority and is thought of as absolute perfection according to the general consensus); a change that he makes would mean that he was ...
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Why is Human Intellect the only "faculty" with a dedicated Beracha in Amidah?
Only one of the berachot in Amidah (notably, the first one after the 3 berachot of praise; אַתָּה חוֹנֵן לְאָדָם דַּֽעַת) thematically corresponds to a faculty in the human being, namely intelligence. ...
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Are there any torah based books discussing the outdoors, nature, sepcific plants flora or fauna?
Shalom,
I'm trying to find books geared towards nature lovers.
Wanting to go into the forest and identify plants, trees, rock formations and geological phenomena and their characteristics from a ...
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Source for zeh le'umas zeh interpretation
There is a well known concept in Jewish thought that things manifest themselves equally in the realms of holiness and unholiness, kind of like a cosmic balance. Many mefarshim quote this pasuk from ...
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Holy Boycotts - Permitted, recommended, obligated or forbidden?
It is a well known principle that we must make sure that the people we give tzeddakah to are definitely poor and not scammers/fraudsters (see Yoreh De'ah 251:10).
I am sure this principle is not ...
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Query about the grass analogy in the Tehillim
Shalom.
Tehillim 92 and 103 both deploy grass as an analogy, in the former to describe the wicked, and in the latter to describe Man / Adam in general.
Should we take these verses, combined, as a ...
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Is it apikorises to believe animals (not humans) evolved? [duplicate]
Is it apikorises to believe such a thing? On the surface it makes sense, but evolutionism seems to greatly contradict with the Torah’s calendar in some ways.
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Preserving the planet - Is damage irreversible according to this midrash?
The medrash in kohelet rabah 7:13
says to not destroy the planet on grounds that there's no one who will be able to repair the damages.
Is this an endorsement for Jews to be concerned with climate ...
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Would there be bad tidings in Olam Haba?
https://www.sefaria.org/Pesachim.50a.17
״וְהָיָה ה׳ לְמֶלֶךְ עַל כׇּל הָאָרֶץ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה ה׳ אֶחָד
וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד״. אַטּוּ הָאִידָּנָא לָאו אֶחָד הוּא? אָמַר רַבִּי
אַחָא בַּר חֲנִינָא: ...
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כֻּלָּם אֲהוּבִים - further reading please
Every day in the berachot of Shema, we describe the angels who praise Hashem as כֻּלָּם אֲהוּבִים, all beloved. I would like further reading on this description of them. Anything: who they are, why ...
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metaphors and myths
According to the Rambam, certain parts of the Torah are to be understood metaphorically. While this approach works well in cases where we can imagine that the "first listeners" understood it ...
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What is the practical lesson on this side of the Korach story?
It is often said that the Torah is not a history book, and is very selective in which events and lessons it relates, such that they are relevant to all generations.
The story of Korach seems to be ...
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Who was Rambam responding to when he argued for free will against the idea that everything is pre-destined/pre-determined? Did any thinkers believe it
It is well known that Rambam advocated against the ideas that everything is pre-destined and pre-determined and that he believed in (absolute) free will for humanity. The fact that he felt that it was ...
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Does Ramchal disagree with Rambam?
Ramchal states in various places, including Derech Hashem 1:2 that Hashem created the world in order to give His goodness to another:
הנה התכלית בבריאה היה להטיב מטובו ית' לזולתו
and that other is ...
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אף־אני אלך עמם בקרי - what does it mean for us to treat Hashem בקרי, and visa versa?
Vayikra 26:40-41:
והתודו את־עונם ואת־עון אבתם במעלם אשר מעלו־בי ואף אשר־הלכו עמי בקרי
And they shall admit their sin, and the sin of their fathers, with
their betrayal which they betrayed against Me, ...
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Are we allowed to ignore someone's wishes for privacy if there is a great spiritual reason to do so?
If someone we know has a serious medical issue, like they had a stroke or heart attack and the prognosis isn't good, and they ask that nobody should know except close family, do we have to listen?
The ...
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Men's response to women's teshuka - source and explanations
I am looking for what I thought was a gemara I learned a long time ago somewhere in moed but can't find now (I am still fairly sure it is there but it might very well not be). It effectively stated ...
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Is G-d's 'mind' separate from Him?
Recently, I've been studying Neoplatonic philosophy in its Jewish context and the history of Jewish Neoplatonic thought.
In such a view, some propose that because G-d, blessed be He, is absolutely ...
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Sex with a gentile on her period [closed]
In terms of transgression and/or liability: is there a difference between a Jewish male having sex with a gentile woman who is in the midst of menstruating, and a gentile woman that is not in the ...
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Which books have lots of chassidic and kabbalah insights on regular, halachic gemaras?
I teach a gemara shiur to older folks, with a focus on skill-building (understanding the structure and logic behind the gemara).
I find that sometimes -- to give a little peek at how the Torah is so ...
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What philosophy of life does Torah/Judaism propose to humanity?
What is God's will for us here on earth as individuals? Living intensely within certain limits, working to get what our soul desires, relating intensely with whom we feel attracted, having children, ...
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Correct way to apologise
As I've grown older, I've started to find the phrase "please forgive me" to be a little bit distasteful. It has a big fat "me" in it, and (especially when it is ritualised) it can ...
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Is it to our credit, or our discredit, if we feel ashamed and in awe of the Greatness of the Divine Presence?
There's a theme that appears a lot in the commentaries that being afraid of holiness, ashamed of nakedness and so on are either good things, or unfortunate results of bad things.
For an example of the ...
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Should one who is unable to do a mitzvah wish he was able to do it?
For example, should one who must go work to make a living wish he can stay and learn, or should he feel that this is the ultimate option that Hashem wants for him and there's no point to wish for ...
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Why didn't Hashem warn Adam and Chava about the curses?
Simple question, why did He surprise them with curses? Initially He just said they will surely die if they are the fruit. After they do, He then tells them that not only will they die but lots of ...
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What do we want? How to resolve this seeming mixed message in Alshich on Shir HaShirim 1:4?
Here is an excerpt. I recommend learning the whole commentary on 1:4 before considering answering the question.
הה"ד משכני וכו' והוא כי הלא יקשה בכתוב אשר הערנו למעלה אומרו משכני
לשון יחיד נרוצה ...
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Does Judaism value selflessness?
Does Judaism value selflessness?
In particular,
Rambam in Shemoneh Perakim lists יתרון טוב הלבב as an extreme/negative character trait, and he defines this as someone who is giving to others at their ...
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Proto-Libertarian ideas in rabbinic literature
Is there any source in Chazal on the principles that formed the modern thought of Libertarianism?
I'm trying to gather sources of some of the key concepts of Libertarianism in Chazal, such as: (1) ...
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Who was the Maharal influenced by in his seforim?
Where did the Maharal source his knowledge of nistar from in his seforim? Was it other seforim or rabbis?
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Love Hashem more than fellow Jew?
Question
This is a general question looking to exhaust the topic. Should we love Hashem (ואהבת את ה' אלקיך) more than anyone else? Including our spouse (ואוהבה כגופו - Rambam Ishut 15:19), our ...
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Is Absurdism Compatible with Judaism? [closed]
I have been getting into the works of the French philosopher Albert Camus, who is the face of the philosophical idea of "The Absurd" or "Absurdism". I was wondering if this ...
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Are the commandments in Mishlei Torah she-baal peh that was later written down?
Shalom.
I have for a long time been confused about what exactly Sefer Mishlei is. Were the commandments in this book - 'Acquire Chokhmah' / 'Get discernment' etc. - revealed to Moshe at Har-Sinai? ...
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How are the concepts redemption and salvation related in Judaism?
Does the term salvation (or save, yeshua) encompass redemption (geula)? Does redemption concern harm or punishment has already occurred while salvation contemplates future possible future harm? Does ...
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Man's Duty in this World
According to Judaism, what is man's duty in this world, and what should man's goal in life be?
Is our goal to fulfill G0d's commandments, which will earn us a place in Olam Haba, or is our goal merely ...
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Hashem too holy to abide by us, yet closer to us than we can imagine - how to resolve?
It seems like, when it comes to Hashem's closeness to us, we have 2 different sides, and they go in opposite directions and I would like to know how to resolve them.
A) On the one hand, the reason why ...
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Is the idea of a "philosophical zombie" compatible with Jewish thought?
Background to the question:
The "philosophical zombie" or "p-zombie" is a thought experiment describing a hypothetical being that is in every way identical to a human being, except ...
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