Questions tagged [history]
Questions related to how something was in the past, and how it's developed since then.
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What was Adam’s race? [duplicate]
I’m asking because he it Lucy in Africa or an earlier person found in Ethiopia https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31718336, the evidence shows early humans were Black. Is this found in the ...
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Did Yonathan, King Shaul's son, have children?
Yonathan died young, during the war with the Pelishtim. Did he leave children?
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Rabbi Saadia Gaon on the 10 Lost Tribes
I have read that Rabbi Saadia Gaon, a great sage who lived from 882 to 942, considered the Assyrian Exile to be in modern day Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of Iran.
Would anyone be able to confirm ...
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Was it David's custom to go into battle without an armour?
Shmuel I 17:38-39:
וַיַּלְבֵּ֨שׁ שָׁא֚וּל אֶת־דָּוִד֙ מַדָּ֔יו וְנָתַ֛ן ק֥וֹבַע נְח֖שֶׁת עַל־רֹאשׁ֑וֹ וַיַּלְבֵּ֥שׁ אֹת֖וֹ שִׁרְיֽוֹן. וַיַּחְגֹּ֣ר דָּוִ֣ד אֶת־חַ֠רְבּוֹ מֵעַ֨ל לְמַדָּ֜יו וַיֹּ֣אֶל ...
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How does the Motza Temple fit into our tradition?
This place is about a mile away from my home and I frequently ran in that area for years and saw the archeological site, until they announced that they've found a Jewish Temple running in parallel to ...
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What Talmudic disputes took place in Jerusalem?
I was asked this simple question, but couldn't recall one myself.
I understand that it must include pre-R'Yochanan Ben Zakkai Tannoyim, and there are not many of them, but still.
Were there disputes ...
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Resources that bring out interesting scientific/historic/academic related discussions from the daf?
I have a relative that invests a few hours a day learning daf yomi, yet he recently admitted that he does this solely because he believes it's a good thing thing to do but not because he actually ...
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Eretz Yisrael Esrog (Ordang)
Wikipedia writes, (unsourced) that standard Eretz Yisrael Esrogim are Ordang Esrogim, because virtually all of the Esrogim in Eretz Yisrael were safek murkav (possibly grafted) or produced ...
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After the destruction of the 2nd temple and Jerusalem, when, where and how did a new centralized leadership arise?
In other words, without a locus, polity or centralized worship, when and how did cohesion and order get reestablished from the chaos after the Great Revolt Circa 70 CE?
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Was there a traditional Hebrew equivalent of a Sator Square? [duplicate]
It seems a lot of old Latin stuff liked this Sator Square, five five-letter words that form a palindrome:
S A T O R
A R E P O
T E N E T
O P E R A
R O T A S
Was there ever a Hebrew equivalent to this? ...
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Did people use the Shem hameforash during the time of the First Temple? [duplicate]
Many people (especially the kings of Judah) seemed to use the suffix 'yahu' in their names, which seems to be related to the actual four-letter name. Are there any sources on this? Did the Neviim of ...
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History of מי אדיר and מי בן שיח
Where can I find sources about the history of the piyutim מי אדיר and מי בן שיח, which usually get sung at Ashkenazi weddings under the chuppah when the groom and bride walk in?
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Does the fact that "Elohim" is plural indicate that parts of the Tanakh hearken from a pre-Jewish polytheistic culture?
(disclaimer, I am a gentile and don't know how to type in square script)
My question applies to the whole Tanakh, but I'm specifically curious about Genesis. Translating strictly literally (ie, ...
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List of Tosafists or Geonim?
I went through a list of Master Profiles of my ancestors on Geni.com and I saw many profiles which said "tosafist" in their title or description, as well as many which said "Gaon of ...
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Are the Torah's 5 Book divisions (Bereshit, etc.) justified by the Hebrew text?
I wonder if the Hebrew text divides the scroll of Moses as clearly into 5 Books/Sections as modern translations do (by adding titles as if they are 5 books of Moses), or whether, for example, the ...
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Which ancient cults would cut out the hearts of live animals and offer them as sacrifices?
Which ancient cults would cut out the hearts of live animals and offer them as sacrifices? The Mishnah (Avodah Zarah 2:3) mentions a concept called עורות לבובין which Maimonides and other commentators ...
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Where is the rest of Rabbi Shmuel Belkin's manuscript of The Midrash of Philo?
I am currently researching Philo of Alexandria, also known as Philon (פילון) or Yedidyah HaKohen of Alexandria.
There is a book that was prepared in manuscript by Rabbi Shmuel (Samuel) Belkin, z”l, ...
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Where did the manuscript for Shoreshei HaMitzvot l’Ramchal come from?
There is a newly printed book entitled שורשי המצות לרמח׳ל claiming to be from a never before published manuscript from Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato.
Does anyone know more about the discovery of this lost ...
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Source for story about a murdering son-in-law whose family was swallowed alive
I stumbled upon a really random story in the middle of a sefer on the Azharos of Rav Shlomo ibn Gabirol. The author says he heard it from his father. Since he was discussing the prohibition of murder, ...
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What is the connection or relationship between the two vocalizations of ערב?
What is the connection between the two vocalizations of ערב?
This word ערב in Exodus 12:38 is latinized as "eirev" or "erev" or "eruv" and
is the exact same Hebrew ...
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History of Extramarital Relations [duplicate]
What was the view on extramarital relations in the times of the gemara? To be clear, this is not a question of what is or isn't permitted. This is a question about historical practices; historically ...
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Was the Ritva's teacher the Ba'al Hamaor's grandson?
I came across this statement while learning Ritva:
והנכון כמו שפירש הרב בעל המאור ז״ל זקנו של רבינו נ״ר
Who is "Rabbeinu" that he refers to? To the best of my knowledge, his teacher the ...
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Source for R' Shimshon of Sens's views on Rambam
While reading the wiki bio of R' Shimshon of Sens, a few statement there caught my eye.
The Rash sided with the opponents of the Rambam in their disputes.
condemned Rambams' rationalistic views on ...
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Why so much critique of the ibn Ezra?
Throughout Chumash, the Ramba"n goes after the ibn Ezra. The Ramba"n says in his introduction to the Chumash that his attitude toward the ibn Ezra is "תוכחה גלויה ואהבה מסותרת". In ...
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Ma'ayan HaChochmah - Written by Moshe?
I found the book Ma'ayan HaChochmah in many editions, all of which are attributed to Moshe Rabbeinu. Here are some examples: 1, 2, 3, 4.
What is the history of this book? Is it unanimous that it was ...
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Why did Egyptian and Babylonian officials change Jewish names?
For example, in Divrei Hayamim Beth 36:4, the king of Egypt crowned Eliakim over Judah and Jerusalem, and he changed his name to Jehoiakim. In Melachim Beth 24:17 the king of Babylonia crowned ...
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G-D’ Instructions: Why didn’t G-D teach the ancient Israelites to have more respect for women? [closed]
Why didn’t G-D teach the ancient Israelites to have more respect for women. HE never reproached men for have multiple wives and concubines. He never reproached people for giving their children away to ...
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Were there insects in the garden of eden?
I was recently thinking, we create comfort for ourselves by keeping nature at bay.
Flies and mosquitos are annoying, would Adam and Eve have thought the same?
There were certainly serpents, maybe ...
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Rabbinic influences in the Karaite Siddur
The KJA Siddur appears to have a number of instances of influence from the Rabbinic liturgy. Some examples of note, based on a brief perusal:
Page 2: The brachah on tzitzis. (The questions there ...
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Censored letters of the book Peri Haarets
I am looking for an uncensored version of the letters, from which we have a censored version in the standard versions of the Peri Haarets. I would appreciate some links.
Note.
Peri Haarets is the ...
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Migdal Bavel during the times of the Gemara?
In the Gemara Sanhedrin 109a, it states
R. Yonatan said: A third of the tower was burnt, a third sunk, and a third is still standing. Rav said: The atmosphere of the tower causes forgetfulness.
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Reason why Ruth the Moabite converted
What was the reason why Ruth converted to Judaism?
Was it love of Naomi or love of Hashem or both?
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Midah Keneged Midah in the Punishment of an Entire Tzibur [i.e, Covid-19]
I was recently reading a controversial article on The Lakewood Scoop claiming that Coronavirus (Covid-19) is a punishment for the fact that we expelled anti-vaxxers from our Yeshivos and Mosdos ...
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Why are there no high priests today?
What happened in history so that there are no-longer high priests?
If succession for the role is by descendant of Aaron, what conditions prevent a new high priest from existing.
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Were the Essenes considered apikorisim?
The ancient Essenes are known as being an highly Ascetic sect, with many Mystical and Monastical practices.
In fact, Rav Aryeh Kaplan seems to imply that much of our Kabala actually originated from ...
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Help trying to find the lifespan of an ancient rabbi
Zohar (Vayikra 10a) quotes a sefer by R. Hamnunab [Hanunah] Sabah, a sage of Second Beit HaMikdash times. Thing is, I can't pin-point the lifespan. Can someone help me with this? Toda.
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Why did Jews stop saying RaḤmana
At the times of the Mishna and Gemara, one of the more commonly used names to refer to God among Jews was RaḤmana, literally the Merciful. It seems like this was widely used as Hashem is today. When ...
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Who was the Megilat Esther?
As in the commentary on the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvot. Do we know this person’s identity? Or even when this person lived?
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Who is Artaxerxes of Ezra 4?
Ezra 4:4-24:
4. Thereupon the people of the land undermined the resolve of the people of Judah, and made them afraid to build.
5. They bribed ministers in order to thwart their plans all the years of ...
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Do Karaite Jews believe in Mashiach?
I was curious about where Karaite Jews sit on the topic of Mashiach considering they reject Rabbinical Judaism and only accept the original Five Books as their standard.
The vast majority of the ...
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The latest date in Tanach
As far as I can tell, the latest date mentioned in Tanach is in Nechemiah 13:6:
כִּ֡י בִּשְׁנַת֩ שְׁלֹשִׁ֨ים וּשְׁתַּ֜יִם לְאַרְתַּחְשַׁ֤סְתְּא מֶֽלֶךְ־בָּבֶל֙ בָּ֣אתִי אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ
for in ...
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Why are only 4 Persian kings mentioned?
Daniel 11:2
And now, I shall tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth one will become very wealthy. And when he becomes strong with his wealth, he will ...
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Did the Talmidim of Rebbi Akiva die by joining the rebellion with Bar Kochva? [duplicate]
I have heard from an Israeli friend of mine that some maintain that the Talmidim of Rebbi Akiva zs'l didn't all die in a plague, but rather they were killed by Roman soldiers because they had ...
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Warm food on Shabbat day during Mishnaic and Talmudic times
In looking over the laws for keeping food warm over Shabbat, I began to wonder how things practically played out during the times of the Mishna and Talmud. Given that an oven could only be used if the ...
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Why is the name "Tre Asar" in Aramaic?
All the books of Tanach are either named after a person, or are given a Hebrew name, except for Tre Asar, which is Aramaic. One would have expected the Hebrew title Shinem Asar, and indeed it is ...
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Diets promoted by different Rabbis throughout history
I was curious if there was any information about the sages or other known historical Rabbis who promoted diets for physical/spiritual health.
Obviously, Kosher is Kosher but did anyone ever suggest ...
user20915
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Building a community from the ground up [closed]
Many times, jewish people were forced to leave their cities and rebuild their communities in other places. Jewish life needs a lot of elements to be practiced at full (bread, wine and candles for the ...
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Is fighting in a non-Jewish army against another army with Jews as well permissible?
Let me explain. This is something that actually happened, in World War One; Jews volunteered to fight with the Entente and many Jews volunteered on the Central Powers. Some could have served on the ...
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Working Talmid Chochum [duplicate]
In Jewish history, amongst the rishonim and achronim (and achrei achronim), who were known to be Talmidei Chachumim (either due to their seforim or just facts) and Businessmen (employee counts)?
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Which of the *Zugos* were in charge during the Chanukah story?
Pirkei Avos tells us of a chain of Torah leadership from Shimon HaTzadik (who lived in the times of Alexander the Great), to Antignos Ish Socho, to the pairs of leaders after that.
On whose watch did ...
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