All Questions
42 questions
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Slavic People are called K'nan in jewish sources
Why is the slavic languages or people reffered to as Cannanim in Jewish sources? Who is the first to do this?
See for instance Minchas Yehuda in Mechokekei Yehuda explaining Rashi on Devarim 3:9 Here.
...
- 1,777
0
votes
2
answers
327
views
How would you define this list of breakaways from Judaism?
I don’t know so much about history and theology, but I saw the following list and I was hoping that someone could help me understand it;
I saw R Dovid Gottlieb in "Reason to Believe" ...
- 173
1
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0
answers
128
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Is "Reason to Believe" correct that other persecuted national didn't survive? [closed]
(Note: This question has been closed here for being off-topic, so anyone who's interested in this please see https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/69620/what-religions-were-persecuted-and-...
- 173
4
votes
0
answers
212
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Do the current nations also have their own angels like the 70 from in the Torah?
Do the current nations (in 2021) also each have their own angel, like the 70 nations mentioned in the Torah?
- 41
2
votes
2
answers
322
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Did the Jews share some of the oral Torah's teachings and stories with the gentiles before the the 7th century?
I have found out that some Christians before the 7th century knew and borrowed concepts that are not found in the Tanakh but are found in the midrash, e.g., the story of Abraham and Nimrod, the story ...
- 448
1
vote
1
answer
673
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Which nations were the Cherethites and Pelethites?
Which nations were the Cherethites and Pelethites?
Divrei Hayamim I - I Chronicles - Chapter 18:17 And Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and the sons of
David ...
- 41
3
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1
answer
106
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What sons of Noach are the nations disposed of by Edom, Ammon, and Moav descended from?
Edom disposed of the Horites, Moav and Ammon the Rephaim/Emim/Zamzumim etc. (Devarim 2:10-12)
What sons of Noach are these peoples descended from?
If they’re giants (Emim/Zamzumim), are they ...
- 1,775
3
votes
2
answers
2k
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Why if you drink water directly from a river you'd be considered pagan?
I once heard that one way to determine if a person were a pagan or Jewish was to see how the person drinks from a water reservoir (river/lake etc). If a person would hold the water with their hands ...
- 133
4
votes
3
answers
216
views
Prayer for the local secular government
Many communities had the custom to say a prayer for the local secular government. I am looking for sources of varient nuschaos (i.e. versions).
2
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0
answers
107
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Have there ever been inter-faith debates between Jews and Zoroastrians? [closed]
There are records of many inter-faith debates (disputations) between Jews and Christians even up to modern times. However I have never heard of similar such debates between Jews and Zoroastrians. Are ...
user14881
4
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0
answers
61
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יר"ה honorific for a king in Mishnah Berurah -- a reference to a specific monarch?
In סימן דש, סקכ"ו the Mishnah Berurah says as follows:
במקום שהמלך יר"ה גזר שאין שום אדם...
My edition of Mishnah Berurah the acronym is expanded as: "יָרוּם הוֹדוֹ", which I believe means May his ...
- 20.2k
4
votes
1
answer
311
views
How is a Gentile's membership in a Table of Nations Gentile nation determined?
In Genesis 10 (The Table of Nations), the Gentile nations that came from the descendants of Noah are enumerated "after their generations, in their nations". How is a Gentile's membership in a Gentile ...
- 1,458
3
votes
2
answers
7k
views
Were there non-Jewish prophets? If yes, who were they and what were their purpose?
Do Jewish scriptures mention any non-Jewish prophet? If yes, what kind of message did these prophets preach (was it identical with Judaism for example?), and what were their purpose in general?
- 277
2
votes
1
answer
250
views
Was it a non-Jew who first discovered the principles governing the ta'ame ha-miqra?
I wrote to a very well respected and knowledgeable Rav regarding grammatical functions of the te'amim and the discrepancies that exist between the Sephardic and Ashkenazic systems. His response ...
- 11.8k
1
vote
0
answers
127
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Questioning who is the real Achashverosh
So I am doing very much research and I am trying to find out the REAL Achashverosh, so far, there are several possible rulers of Persia that could be the real Achashverosh
Can anyone of you guys ...
- 131
5
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2
answers
360
views
German and Ethiopian Jews in the time of the Mishna?
According to Negaim 3:1, the laws of negaim only apply to Jews (הכל מטּמאין בנגעים חוץ מגוים), but according to Negaim 2:1 they apply to people from Germany (גרמני) and Ethiopia (or Numibia, etc; ״כוש״...
- 19.1k
2
votes
1
answer
139
views
Differences in Jewish and Non Jewish Verse Delineations in the Torah
Common knowledge is that the Chapter and Verse numbers we currently use is from non-Jewish sources. There are comments that I have seen whereby the non-Jewish chapter numbering does not match with (...
- 1,094
1
vote
0
answers
103
views
Death Penalty for Desecrating God's Name?
In light of some of the recent embarrassing criminal incidents involving visibly religious Jews in the United States, it made me think of something I had read once ( or vaguely remember reading ) that ...
- 3,670
4
votes
1
answer
306
views
Source for Africans being Caananites?
In Alex's answer to Did any Achronim comment on the American Revolutionary or Civil Wars? he says that a certain Rav was opposed to the Emancipation Proclamation, because it goes against Noach's curse,...
- 23.3k
20
votes
2
answers
647
views
Do we have any proof (Biblical or other Judaic) that current-day Arabs have lineage from Yishma'el?
I am relating my question to Hashem and Arabs.
Offhand, I thought that Islam claims ties to Yisma'el. If true, I don't know how or why it makes that claim. If it's all Arabs, even non-Muslims, how do ...
- 71.5k
1
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0
answers
81
views
Greeks' gas lamps
I once heard that there is a source that says the Greeks invented gas lamps or some sort of street lights which enabled the Jews to roam the streets at night and not be with their families. The plan ...
- 42.7k
13
votes
1
answer
737
views
Are the seventy distinct languages and nations listed?
It's a well known concept that there were 70 nations and 70 original languages. Is there any agreement about which ones they were/are? I found this which lists the nations, but I'm interested in ...
- 431
6
votes
0
answers
400
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List of oppressors of the Jewish people
We say in the V'hi She'amda passage of the Pesach Hagaddah that in each and every generation there have been those who rose up against us to destroy us, but Hashem saves us from their designs. Is this ...
- 21.2k
9
votes
5
answers
2k
views
Have there ever been inter-faith debates between Jews and Muslims?
There are records of many inter-faith debates (disputations) between Jews and Christians even up to modern times. However I have never heard of similar such debates between Jews and Muslims. Are there ...
user2110
2
votes
0
answers
122
views
Have the empires of old perished?
I remember being taught when I was younger that the fact that Jews are around is a testimony to the eternity of our religion; that we survived them all and that they are no longer.
I am unaware (...
- 10.5k
8
votes
4
answers
1k
views
May one say kaddish for a non-Jew?
I have read that Jews recited kaddish on behalf of Abraham Lincoln after he was assassinated. What is the halachic basis for this and has kaddish ever been said en-masse on behalf of other non-Jews?
user2110
4
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Did Chazal know about China and the Chinese? and from which of Noach's sons do they hail?
The silk road from the Far East to Asia probably operated from about 200 B.C.E although it was not a direct trading route but worked in stages; so there was no direct contact from say China to ...
- 49
23
votes
2
answers
6k
views
Origin of the term Yoshke?
I have often heard Jews refer to Jesus as "Yoshke". Is the origin of that appellation based on halachic issues regarding mentioning names of foreign deities, or some other Jewish law or custom? When ...
user2110
2
votes
5
answers
847
views
What is the source of hatred perceived by Jews in different parts of the world?
I don't know if this is off topic but a similar question is here at Christianity SE and I thought it would be interesting to ask the corresponding one here.
It intrigues me how people from other ...
- 441
17
votes
5
answers
578
views
Why do we still use the non-Jewish way of delineating chapters in tanach?
The "perakim" (chapters) of tanach were established by non-Jews. Why do we continue to use them? Many of the chapter breaks do not correspond to our petucha/setumah paragraph system, and they often ...
user1668
14
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Was Judaism ever a proselytizing religion?
It is often asserted that up until the time of Constantine or so, Judaism was an actively proselytizing religion. This can be contrasted with the common practice today of rejecting potential converts ...
- 7,371
6
votes
2
answers
272
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Jews vs gentiles: disputes
Recently I got a pleasureful reading of the Ramban's dispute.
I think it a great source for "דע מה להשיב" (know what to answer to heretics).
I'm sure there were similar disputes by other great ...
- 6,084
19
votes
10
answers
19k
views
How are Spartans the son of Abraham?
I was reading the Book of Maccabees (I and II) over Shabbat and in it there is a letter written to Sparta to ask for peace, goodwill and friendship.
In the reply letter back from Sparta, they affirm ...
- 19.1k
-2
votes
2
answers
9k
views
Why do the Philistines have many Giants?
II Samuel describes giants among the Philistines (below).
Were giants common among the Israelites' neighbors?
Were the Israelites generally smaller in stature than their neighbors?
Were there ...
- 4,383
24
votes
3
answers
919
views
Providing wine for Christian ceremonial purposes: in the 8th century, what did the rabbis write?
Under Charlemagne in the 8th century and the Carolingian emperors, Jews were official importers of exotic foods from the Holy Land;[1] they also provided wine for Christian mass.
At the time, what ...
- 241
7
votes
1
answer
457
views
Amon and Moav today
The Halacha is that a Jewish woman may not marry a convert of Amon and Moav. Is there any way to know who is a descendant of Amon and Moav today?
- 140k
8
votes
2
answers
530
views
Aleinu L'Shabeach - Nusach HaTefila
The words "Sheheim Mishtachavim Li-Hevel Voryk Umispallelim El Eil Lo-Yoshiya" - Was this originally part of Aleinu and then removed, or was it added later to Aleinu? Why was this done?
- 140k
10
votes
4
answers
3k
views
Matrilineal Descent
I have heard that matrilineal descent (i.e. having Judaism passed down through the mother) comes from the Roman period when women were raped by Roman soldiers and the babies were then said to be ...
- 3,389
9
votes
2
answers
302
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Shakespeare in Classic Jewish Sources
Does anyone know of any references to Shakespeare, translations of his works, or anything related to Shakespeare in classic Rabbinic sources?
- 3,389
11
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5
answers
16k
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Are Europeans Edomites?
I had always thought that Europeans descended from Yafet, not Shem, and certainly not Shem, Avraham and Yitzhak. I am aware that it was common in the past to equate Rome with Edom, but I always ...
user345
8
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2
answers
280
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What food product was the Birkei Yosef discussing when he said Bishul Akum didn't apply?
If my non-Jewish neighbor cooks some rice and brings it to my house, I'm not allowed to eat it because of Bishul Akum (even if I know his ingredients and equipment are 100% vegan and grape-free). Too ...
- 136k
3
votes
4
answers
600
views
Modern nations and Umos Haolam
Where can I find a discussion about the roots of modern nations, in the Umos Haolam mentioned in the Torah and Chazal?
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