Questions tagged [history]
Questions related to how something was in the past, and how it's developed since then.
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What happened to the Erev Rav (Mixed Multitude)?
When the people of Israel left Egypt they did not leave alone. They left with a mixed multitude of many people (Exodus 12:38). What happened to the mixed multitude in the desert and, specifically, ...
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(How) did the South African rabbinate deal with non-white conversion candidates during apartheid?
As I understand it, during apartheid, the South African government treated the Jews as "white."
Did it ever happen that someone in a different racial group expressed interest in converting to Judaism ...
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Was the Chasam Sofer known for having an interesting way of learning?
I have a lot of experience learning Gemara and find myself oft dealing with the views of the Achronim to understand the Pshat in Rishonim. Unfortunately, I have inside me a slight aversion to the ...
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Would suicide be considered acceptable if it was done to prevent yourself being sacrificed to an idol deity?
This is an oddly specific question but the thought came to me and I wanted to know what your opinions on it would be.
Historically speaking, human sacrifice was a regular occurrence in various pagan ...
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Composed with the desire of our Father in heaven
Both the sefer Ohr Sameach and Meshech Chochmah, written by Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, have on their title page the words
חובר ברצון אבינו שבשמים
(See http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=...
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Who added the sixth chapter of Avot?
The tractate Avot consists of five chapters. At some point, a sixth chapter was "added". This sixth chapter is an adaptation from the eighth (or sixth, depending on edition) chapter of the 'minor' ...
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Did Dovid hamelech write music?
Do we have any music notes or tunes attributed to him?
On the same note, do we have any music or songs attributed to biblical times? If not, why is that?
EDIT: do we know any tunes or songs even ...
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Who came up with this story?
It says in Mekor Baruch (of Rabbi Baruch Epstein)
The Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin, the Netziv, was once sitting down surrounded by several high-caliber students – avrechim versed in Torah, wise, and ...
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Why are "Chiddushei" seforim rarely cited in the Nosi Keilim?
I noticed that when quoting Rishonim, Beis Yosef/Nosei Keilim tend to focus on Poskim (Rif (and main commentary)/Rosh/Rambam, Mordechai, Teruma, Rabbeinu Yerucham, etc.) and responsa.
Very rarely do ...
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Early descriptions of the Foundation Stone
I am looking for early descriptions of the "Foundation Stone" (אבן שתיה) -- the huge flat rock now enclosed by the "Dome of the Rock," and believed by many Jewish scholars to have been the site of the ...
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Halachic opinions on tefillin peshutim
I was discussing the subject of tefillin with my father motzei-Shabbat and particular, the battim (leather boxes that contain the parshiyot, or parchment scrolls). We ended up wondering what the mid-...
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Source for Jewish Chapter breaks in Tanach
I know that the chapter divisions are a Christian invention, and therefore don't exist in very old Jewish sources (Aleppo Codex, Leningrad Codex, dead sea scrolls, etc.). However our divisions don't ...
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Identification of Censored Areas of Talmud
Unfortunately, the Talmud and other writings have been subject to censorship since their completion. These alterations seem still to be present in many modern editions of the Talmud.
How ...
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The Torah scrolls written by Jewish kings
The Torah commanded Jewish kings to write their own Torah scroll from a master in the possession of the Levites, and to read it every day of their life so that they should not become haughty and so ...
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Why no halachos in the Babylonian Talmud like in the Jerusalem Talmud?
Most Jewish texts have a easy way to pin down a citation.
Some are numbered. For example, Rambam and Y'rushalmi and Tosefta have chapter and halacha. Some of these have different numberings in ...
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Who is Rav Chafetz Ben Yatzliach?
In the Introduction to the Duties of the Heart, Bahya ibn Paquda mentions a book by Rav Chafetz ben Yatzliach which summarises the commandments of the Torah. Is anything known about this figure?
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Gedolim on Spanish Flu
Did the Gedolim of the time during whcih the Spanish Flu was spreading (and killed anywhere from 17 million to 50 million people) comment on it and provide any halachic guidance on whether to permit ...
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How many fled to the Cities of Refuge?
Do we know how many people (accidental murderers) took advantage of the Cities of Refuge (Deuteronomy 4:41-43)? Perhaps the size of the cities would put an upper limit on that number, so do we know ...
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When did a Jew last marry a woman captured in war?
What is the last recorded case of a Jew marrying a woman captured in war, as allowed by the Torah [Deut. 21:10-14]? Anybody more recent than King David, as mentioned in Sanhedrin 21a and Kiddushin ...
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Can we use archaeology to determine halacha or mesorah?
Can archaeology be used to determine the proper halacha or mesorah in certain cases? For instance, what if we found a Sefer Torah from the times of Moshe Rabbeinu and it differed from our mesorah. ...
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What kind of flute was used in the temple, according to the mishna?
In Mishna there are several mentions of the use of flute, there were used at the time of the Bet Mikdash, see below a few examples. I am interested to know if we have some knowledge about the type of ...
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Unknown La'az in Teshuvot Rashi
In the Elfenbein (1943) edition of Teshuvot Rashi, in the teshuvot from Rashi to the rabbis of Auxerre ('סימן ג), Rashi writes "לשון דמות צלם" is "אאמיינדליי" in la'az. Elfenbein writes in his ...
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How did R' Yaakov Risher arrive at the exact number of responsa that he published?
Volume 1 and 3 of Shvus Yaakov have 182 responsa in each, corresponding to the numerical value of the author's name, Yaakov. Volume 2 has 188 responsa. After responsum 182 of volume 2, the author ...
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Use of speaking "Baruch HaShem" in 1492 Spain
I am writing a play that takes place during the Spanish Inquisition. A Rabbi is walking home from the King's court and his belongings are tossed to the ground by hooligans. A young Spanish girl picks ...
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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 ...
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Source for not referring to Chanuka lights as a "menora"
Following up on this question about the use of the words "menora" or "chanukiya" to refer to Chanuka lights:
I find it interesting that the use of "chanukiya," popularized in 1897 through a secular ...
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How was Chanukah celebrated at the Beis HaMikdash?
In the centuries between the Maccabean Revolt and the destruction of the Bayis Sheni, how was Chanukah commemorated at the Beis HaMikdash (other than the addition of prayers like Al Hanisim)?
Since ...
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Why Syrian Idolatresses okay but Canaanite not?
Why was Abraham, and later Isaac and Rebecca, dead set against their sons, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, respectively, marrying idolatrous Canaanite and Hittite women, but perfectly okay with them marrying ...
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Simanim in the Rosh
In the Rosh's work found at the back of most gemaras, his halachos are split up into simanim (sections). I am wondering whether we can make inferences from how the simanim are split up and hence want ...
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When did the use of Ba'alei Kri'ah (Torah readers) begin?
I'm asking this question for my friend, "Rabbi Ed" who emailed me this morning...
He wants to know when the use of Torah readers (i.e., a designated person who reads the parsha from the Torah) began. ...
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Original Sources of Origin Claims of Hebrew's Pronunciations
I'm interested in finding out where the differences between Sephardic and Ashkenazic pronunciation of Hebrew come from.
On wikipedia it says:
"Leopold Zunz believed that the Ashkenazi pronunciation ...
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The Mekor Baruch's intructions of making gold from copper
Rav Epstein in his Mekor Baruch 3:19:6 brings a story about him and a maggid. The maggid was looking for a certain sefer which instructs one how to make gold from copper. The Mekor Baruch (who had the ...
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How common was tzaraas?
Tzaraas (discussed in Vayikra 13-14) is a human skin disease that renders its victim impure and subjects him to many laws. In a different form,
tzaraas can also affect clothing and houses. It is ...
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Historical Division of the Neviim
It is my understanding that the Neviim has two major divisions:
the Former Prophets (Nevi'im Rishonim נביאים ראשונים, the narrative
books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) and the Latter ...
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Has completing the entire Talmud ever been a tenet of Rabbinical Ordination?
Has there ever been a requirement in any Rabbinical program to finish the entire Talmud, not just select mesechtas + related halachos?
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Holidays south of the equator
When Jews first started establishing communities south of the equator, they must have noticed that the holidays fell completely at the wrong times of the year. (For example, Pesach, referred to as hag ...
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Are there communities that follow the Rambam?
At one point, many Sefardic communities followed the Mishneh Torah. As time went on, it seems that the sefardim accepted the Beit Yosef.
Besides for Yemenites, were there any communities that, until ...
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Did Rashi wear a yarmulke?
Tractate Sofrim (14:14) records two opinions that concern the wearing of a head covering during the Shema: there are those who say that it is not necessary, and there are those who say that it is ...
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Why did הַר הַזֵּיתִים become a place of burial
I am wondering if there was any particular reason that הַר הַזֵּיתִים was chosen to become a place of burial. Is there?
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July 4th in relation to the Jewish calendar
I was wondering if anyone has any sources that discuss the fact that July 4th, 1776 was 17 Tamuz 5536. Is there any correlation between the Declaration of Independence and the Destruction of Jerusalem?...
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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?
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Which of the 9 Parah Adumahs that have existed was from Dama ben Nesina?
Kiddushin 31a teaches us the famous story of Dama ben Nesina, ie a gentile who refused to sell the Chachamim a precious stone for the ephod since doing so would wake up his father.
The gemara ...
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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 ...
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History of separating milk and meat dishes
What are the origins of having separate milk and meat dishes? It seems to be a generally accepted practice, and there are many Acharonim that talk about it. Where was the idea first introduced and how ...
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Is the number of Jews killed during the Babylonian exile according to Gittin literally true?
Since the only authoritative sources of information, in this case, seem to be the Jewish Scriptures, can you help understand them?
... in this valley Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard killed ...
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Timeline of the 10 plagues in exodus?
Do we have a chronological timeline (with years) of the 10 plagues?
I'm trying to recreate a full timeline of the הגדה של פסח for the upcoming holiday, going from the arrival of Jacob and his family ...
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Shavuah Tov or A Gutte Vuch on Motzai Shabbos
What is the earliest reference or source for wishing Shavuah Tov or A Gutte Vuch on Motzai Shabbos?
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what were taxes like during Solomon's time? (According to Judaism)
I know there was terumah (10%) which went to kohanim and maaser ani (9% every other year to poor) + maaser sheni, which isn't exactly a tax but you had to spend it in Jerusalem. Where did non-Temple ...
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Noted instances of Kares and Ariri
Are there any written recordings in any branch of Torah where we find a comment proving someone actually died from Kares/Ariri?
Now, of course being a heavenly decree it would be hard to know for ...
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Morning seder as the "main" seder
In most Yeshivas with which I am familiar, morning seder, the regimen of learning before lunch, is the more in-depth and intense learning seder, while afternoon seder (session) is generally less in-...
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