Questions tagged [history]
Questions related to how something was in the past, and how it's developed since then.
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The curse of King Darius
In sefer Ezra 6:11 it tells us that King Darius decreed that anyone who attempted to disrupt the resumed construction of the beis hamikdash would have a beam removed from their home and they would be ...
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If Adam and Chava only lived about 5,800 years ago, then how did races end up looking so different from each other in such a short amount of time?
How do we explain how different ethnicities ended up looking so different from each other in such a short amount of time, if Adam and Chava only lived less than 6000 years ago?
Did Hashem make it that ...
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bowing down during davening
If we look in the rishonim, we see that they said that we have to bow when we pray. The gemara (in Meggilah) also said that there are 3 types of bowing during prayer. I'm pretty sure there was also a ...
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What percentage of the Jewish population were Karaites at the peak of the Karaite movement? [closed]
I've been researching about the Karaite movement, but I've struggled to find good sources regarding their numbers. This website claims that some sources estimate that Karaites comprised as much as 40% ...
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Seeking a source for a quote by Rav Kook [duplicate]
Shalom, I am trying to find the source for the following quote by Rav Kook:
"Atheism comes like a painful cry to redeem mankind from this narrow, alien pit, and to raise it from the darkness of ...
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Jewish History Timeline
I am looking specifically to pinpoint when the purim story began, and how close that was in relation to the destruction of the first beis hamikdash.
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Reshus Harabim: Now vs Then
Throughout contemporary halachah, it seems that there are generally no more actual reshus harabim's anymore (except for certain places such as Brooklyn, NY). My questions are:
There are way more ...
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What is the history behind the Chassidishe havarah?
I know this can be considered "unspecific," as there are many Chassidus with many havaros (e.g. Karlin Stolin, which IINM is very similar to a Litvish havarah, vs e.g. Belz, which has a more ...
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Shlomo HaMelech's Throne
Where can I find an accurate depiction (drawing or digital depiction) of Shlomo HaMelech's throne?
(Or, an easy to understand description of it.)
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What's the earliest source to bless children on Friday night with Yivarechicha? [duplicate]
I wanted to know the earliest source to bless our children with yivarechicha... I've seen this minhag brought from the Yavetz. I wanted to know the earliest source.
(Im asking specifically on blessing ...
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Is it apikorises to believe dinosaurs existed?
Is it apikorises to believe dinosaurs existed? I know that scientists say that dinosaurs existed millions of years ago, but that may be potentially controversial, since the Jewish calendar doesn't go ...
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When was the concept of large-scale Hechsherim introduced and was it controversial?
Nowadays, Jews in America and Europe often rely on national or regional hechsherim whereby a product is certified as kosher by a rabbi the consumer does not know (and may not even really know who the ...
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Is "maximum position compliance" ever explicitly codified?
In Haym Soloveitchik's seminal essay "Rupture and Reconstruction" (1994) he lays out the state of Orthodoxy in the 20th century. Primarily, how Orthodoxy changed in the 20th century in ...
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Can someone translate this Targum Jonathan on Ezekiel?
Can someone translate this Targum Jonathan on Ezekiel 40:5?
וְהָא שׁוּרָא מִבָּרָא לְבֵיתָא סְחוֹר סְחוֹר וּבְיַד גַבְרָא קְנֵי מְשַׁחְתָּא דְחַד מִנְהוֹן שִׁית אַמִין בְּאַמְתָא דְהִיא אַמָה ...
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Methods of avoiding unintentionally wasting seed at night
Hi I heard there are methods of avoiding unintentionally wasting seed at night like sleeping on your side specifically that it has to be uncomfortable so your body doesn't sin in the night and then ...
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How and why did Rabbi Ishmael's 13 rules make their way into pre-tefillah in shacharit?
There are various customs surrounding the recitation of Rabbi Ishmael's 13 rules of hermeneutics before shacharit. In many shuls I have prayed in (not as much in Israel), this is recited before ...
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Why are the enemies of the Jewish people called "Amalek"?
Throughout history many enemies have stood up to attack and destroy the Jewish people, (most recently the Crusades, Holocaust etc) and they are colloquially referred to as "Amalek".
...
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Assuming the status of a Beit Knesset or Beit Medrash
I heard Beit HaKnessiot and Medrashot have certain laws like you can't eat or sleep inside a Beit Knesset, for example, and others for Beit Medrash.
Now I heard our synagogue is like a Beit HaMedrash ...
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Where does the custom of staying up all night on Shabbat originate from?
I heard there were some Tzadikim who would stay up all night on Shabbat where did this custom originate from?
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Igros Moshe to R' Shlomo Calerbach
In this video R' Shlomo Calerbach claims there is a teshuva to him in Igros Moshe.
Please help me find it.
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Date rebuilding Jerusalem appeared in birkas hamazon and me'en shalosh?
Do the references to rebuilding Jerusalem indicate when the birkas hamazon and me'en shalosh were first written, or were these references added at some point to existing brachot?
Do we know when the ...
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When did the Meiri (and his community) wear tefillin?
The common practice today regarding tefillin is for them to be worn every ḥol day (give or take ḥol hamo'ed). Meiri on Brachot 14b describes various other practices, including one to which he ...
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Why do Ethiopian Jews who practice Haymanot Judaism still have roles like Nabiyy (Prophet) or Kahen or Kes (Priest)? How are they allowed this?
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but since the destruction of the Second Temple, (G-d, blessed be He, forbid), the roles such as that of a Priest/High Priest and the like, were removed and similar ...
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Where to Find Original Manuscripts Of Mishne Torah
I have a couple versions of books from Mishne Torah: some of them are from Mishne Torah HaRav Kook edition, and the other book I have is Mishne Torah Hashalem Edition and it says there that it is ...
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Which famous Rabbi had lifelong stomach pain?
I recently heard a shiur that quoted a famous rabbi (I think an Acharon) who talked about having stomach pain every day of his life, and studying torah was the only thing that gave him any joy. Does ...
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How does the existence of Himyarite Kingdom (a Jewish state that formed after the exile) impact the formation of a future Jewish messianic state?
According to the Wikipedia page on this topic, since the reign of Abikarib Asʿad (c. 384-433 CE), Judaism was adopted as the de facto state religion of the Himyarite Kingdom. It seems that Judaism ...
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Can someone point to some pre Holocaust (the older the better) Sefarim that address antisemitism in depth?
Considering all the Jew hatred experienced in every generation from persecution & exile to horrors like Hadrian’s Decrees, the crusades, blood libels, Inquisitions, & pogroms etc one would ...
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Did Adam establish a justice system?
One of the mitzvot given to Adam was to establish laws and courts.
Was Adam successful in setting up a working justice system, and if so, do we know any practical details of how it operated and/or for ...
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The Yetziat Mitrazyim Path
I know there are many opinions on Yitziat Mitzraim. The path taken through the sea and how/where they went.
Is there a sefer/website that shows (picture or text) the different shitas? I am hoping for ...
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Earliest Identification of Ishmael as Arabs / Muslims
Both Jewish sources and Muslim sources seem to take for granted that at least some Arabs and/or Muslims are somehow descended from Abraham's son Ishmael (whether biologically or spiritually). See, for ...
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What Is the "Standard" Shulchan Aruch Page Based On? How Many Dapim Are There?
There are many editions of the Shulchan Aruch and they do not all follow the same pagination. However, many editions I have seen call themselves "tzurat hadaf" and appear to have a similar ...
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The Maharsha accusing Rav Pappa!
The Gemara Shabbos 140b states the following..
וְאָמַר רַב פָּפָּא: הַאי מַאן דְּאֶפְשָׁר לְמִישְׁתֵּי שִׁיכְרָא וְשָׁתֵי חַמְרָא — עוֹבֵר מִשּׁוּם ״בַּל תַּשְׁחִית״. וְלָאו מִילְּתָא הִיא — ״בַּל ...
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Which Jewish Groups Don't Believe in Resurrection of the Dead? [closed]
The Sadducees denied a coming resurrection of the dead, since they accepted only the written Torah as scripture. However, their movement went extinct in the early first millenium. After them, who was ...
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Wonder Child of Jerusalem
I grew up hearing about the story of a wonder child in Jerusalem that was born knowing כל התורה כולה. The Gedolim of that era explained that he didn't receive the flick from the angel at birth to make ...
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State of Judaism before the destruction of the first temple
Can someone recommend some good resources on delving into the state of Judaism between entry to Israel and the destruction of the first temple? Specifically, the state of the religion. What did it ...
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Is there any mention to someone wearing tefillin in Tanach? [duplicate]
Aside from the passages in Shmah, are there any accounts discussing or of Jews wearing tefillin in tanach?
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History of Creation Ex Nihilo
Is it known whether creation from nothing has always been the mainstream jewish belief (as far back as is possible to tell)? Were there notable groups within Judaism that, instead of going with the ex ...
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The beis hillel
Does anyone know at what period in his life the beis hillel (הלל בן ר' נפתלי הירץ) wrote his Sefer. I know it was published after his death I want to know what year he wrote it
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Are there two or three Rabbi Rashash?
How many Rabbi's are there that are named "Rashash"? I can't seem to find any sources that speak of another rashash, besides the ones mentioned below. I was told that there was one that ...
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Are there accounts detailing personal encounters with the Rambam and referring to his personality?
The Rambam, at least in his writing, is often forthright, reassured and direct. It seems to me that sometimes the Rambam can be construed as disparaging of certain groups of people. For example (...
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Do the non-traditional branches of Judaism claim to be rejecting the original foundations and replacing it with something superior?
R Dovid Gottlieb made the following claim to me:
"The non-traditional branches (Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist) of Judaism claim to be rejecting the original foundations and replacing ...
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Origins of Ashkenazi Community
I saw a comment by mevaqesh:
To summarize the thesis set forth by R. Dr. Soloveitchik and in
collected Essays vol. II and elaborated on in vol. III, the Ashkenazic
mesorah was founded by a group of ...
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Which Jewish theologians won't cite Jewish survival as evidence of miracles?
Which Jewish theologians (defined below) disagree with the following conclusion:
"Jewish survival can't be [reasonably] explained in a natural way (and instead needs to be explained as a miracle)...
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When did The Talmud first become available to the readers as a written document?
What was the probable earliest time, when some Jewish readers could get a hold of a document that contains any material that belong to the material that is found in Talmud Sanhedrin?
What was the ...
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Preservation of the text
I read in an article that "rabbinic literature" states there was a preserved copy of a guarded text in the second temple, I was hoping someone could let me know where I can find this text, ...
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בָּרוּךְ אֱלֹקֵינוּ שֶׁבְּרָאָֽנוּ לִכְבוֹדוֹ - What is the background of this prayer?
What is the background of this prayer? I'd like to know who composed it, when, if there was any reason that it was composed, and what the intentions of the composer were that we should absorb when ...
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History of Hashkeim vs. Bo
I learned in this book that in some ancient traditions, they started a new parsha at Hashkeim (barad) instead of at Bo (arbeh), as I'm used to. (This is a variation of the minhag to read the whole ...
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What changed in the later First Temple period that increased interaction with further kingdoms?
If you read the Book of Kings, the nations with which Israel (or later, Judah and Israel) was always either warring or allying themselves are basically its neighbors: Egypt, Lebanon ("Tyre"),...
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To what extent would the kings of Israel and Judah have been involved in the upbringing and instruction of their children?
To what extent would the kings of Israel and Judah have been involved in the upbringing and instruction of their children? Are there any Biblical references that can help determine this?
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