Questions tagged [mesorah-tradition]
The different traditions passed down through the generations.
48 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Mesorah exchange between communities
Based on this thread
What exactly prevents Ashkenazim from accepting Mesorah from other communities on things that we have not done in our own community?
For example, what is it about the Mesorah of ...
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If the Dodo bird had a tradition of being kosher & was resurrected, would it be OK to eat again?
Came across an article titled "Could scientists resurrect the dodo bird?" and it made me wonder: suppose there was a mesorah that the Dodo bird was kosher before it went extinct in 1681.
If we in ...
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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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At what point does Moshe relay G-d's commandments to B'nai Yisra'el?
I'm asking this as a general question. We do see in a few places that G-d speaks to Moshe and then, the Torah says something like, "Moshe told this to B'nai Yisra'el".
But, in numerous other places (...
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Who were the Nistarim?
It has been documented that there is a group of righteous people called "The Nistarim". I am not referring to the lammed vav tzaddikim of the Gemara (Sanhedrin 97b, Sukkah 45b). Rather, a mystical ...
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Difference between Sefaria and Artscroll in enumerating Pirkei Avos
There seems to be a difference in the splitting of a Perek in Pirkei Avos. On sefaria the perek I am referring to is Perek 3 where the Perek in Sefaria groups certain Mishnayos in that Perek together ...
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How to deal with uncertainties in the Torah that lead to a change in meaning?
In Vayikra 14:19, there are different versions of the trop, and unlike most of them, this difference causes a change in the meaning of the words:
וְכִפֶּ֕ר עַל־הַמִּטַּהֵ֖ר מִטֻּמְאָת֑וֹ
(zakef-gadol,...
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Why do third-person singular female qal verbs lack a gaʿya?
The word הָיְתָ֣ה appears in the model Masoretic codices without a gaʿya on the initial ה in several places (e.g. Isaiah 1:21 in L [facsimile] & A). Likewise, זָכְרָ֥ה lacks a gaʿya (e.g. Nehamiah ...
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Siddur for Skolyer Chasidim
Is there a specific siddur for the minhag of the Skolyer Chasidim (Chasidim of Ukrainian town of Skole)?
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Differences between Breuer Tanachim
I stayed with Dr. Gabriel Wasserman for Shabbos over the summer and he mentioned that the different editions of R' Mordochai Breuer's זצ"ל Tana"ch have some small differences (eg. the Mosad ...
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Source for the oral traditions in Megillas Esther?
I'm trying to understand where the Rabbis in tractate Megillah get their information.
I thought that the way they interpret the five books of Moses was because they already knew all the laws and ...
user8832
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Can one change his minhag to another (equally stringent) minhag?
This has probably been asked before, but I couldn't find the question:
Can one change his minhag to another, equally stringent, minhag (without doing hataras nedarim)? So for example: if one ties his ...
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Gezeira Shava - They were taught the word? or the verse?
There's a semi famous idea regarding gezeira shavas (learning one law to another context through the use of parallel language in both locations), that Chazal had a tradition for which words to use but ...
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Magen Avraham's sources from the Arizal
When the Magen Avraham (commentary on Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim) refers to כתבים, writings, as his source, I take it for granted that he is referring to the writings of the students of the Arizal. ...
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Inconsistent sifrei Torah for the required number of aliyos
Different groups (Ashkenazim, Sefaradim, Teimonim) have different traditions for spellings of different words in the Torah. Practically, while each group writes according to their own mesorah, we ...
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Strange letters according to Sefer haTaggin
My chevrusoh mentioned last week that there is a sefer entitled Sefer haTaggin which discusses all of the strange letters found in Tana"ch.
Is there a collection of these letters and their forms (...
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Is there a surviving Jewish translation of the entire Masoretic Text in Greek?
Please don't say "the Septuagint" because I know that this has fallen out of favor among most modern Jews (the only exception being Beta Israel, which I believe still uses it - correct me if I am ...
user16888
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Must one follow Minhagim he reads in books?
If an Ashkenazi reads of a minhag, for example in Mishna Brura which it says Ashkenazim follow (the Rema), must he follow it? Or is it only what a father teaches his children?
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At what point does a Jew going against tradition establish a legitimate extension to that tradition?
This question is in reference to tzitzit knots but it can really apply to any Jewish tradition which comes in "flavors" so to speak.
Tzitzit are an interesting article because they tend to come in a ...
user15672
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Does Halakhah require one to believe in Gilu'i Eliyahu, Gilu'i Maggid, and the like?
I have heard many stories from many independent sources about Rabbis receiving teachings via individual revelation in the form of Gilu'i Eliyahu (i.e. "the appearance of Eliyahu") or Gil'ui Maggid (e....
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Change of Eida’s accent of Hebrew
Let’s say a certain Eida has a mesorah on Hebrew pronunciation, and their children learned Israeli Hebrew and within one generation have completely forgotten their parents’ traditional pronunciation.
...
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Satmarer minhogim
I'm looking for a source to learn the minhogim of Satmar chassidus. I wonder how different or similar it is from a galitzianer chassidus for example, maybe it has non-chassidic hungarian influences, ...
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Is there a Jewish source for the saying: "only the father knows when the wedding would take place"?
The website below describes what is apparently an ancient Jewish wedding custom, in which it was apparently said that "only the Father" of the groom "knows" when the wedding would ...
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Does "Not in Heaven" approach break of the chain of tradition (B"M 59b)?
In the famous argument about Tanuro Shel Akhnai (Bava Metzia.59b) R' Eliezer claims to faithfully represent the Heavenly tradition and he's supported by the Heaven. Neither R' Yehoshua, nor God admits ...
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Source of small/large letters in the torah
Although there are many small and large letters throughout tanach, both the aleppo codex and the Leningrad codex have extremely few of them. Were they later introduced? The different miforshim, ...
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Why did the Savoraim only emend certain parts of the Talmud?
I remember learning that Savoraim added certain parts to the Talmud- ex: the beginning of Kiddushin (2a-3a) & parts of Bava Metzia.
(feel free to add additional examples)
Any idea why they ...
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When was the modern manuscript for the Torah agreed upon?
(This question is also asked here on history.SE for a different perspective.)
Considering that variations have occurred in the Torah's text over time (I think the Gemara may mention events where a ...
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How did the knowledge of the pronunciation of the Divine Name get lost?
I have heard that there are, in theory, 22 different ways to pronounce the Divine four-letter Name (Yud Key Vav Key) of Hashem and that the one correct way to say the Name has been lost. How did that ...
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Who were the pre-Lekh Likha righteous men?
BS"D
In Hilkhoth Avodhah Zarah RaMBaM lists the central figures in the transmission of ethical monotheism, and I was wondering if there were any other figures in our mesora not mentioned. Since the ...
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List of Aliyos with Different Stopping Points
Have noticed some Aliyos that seem to be different Mesoros where they should end.
For example
Bereishis Chamishi - From 4:19 - some go until 4:22, others until 4:26 (end of Perek)
Terumah Sheini - ...
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How do poskim in shulchan aruch disagree about the existence of a rabbinical decree?
There are times when Chazal says something and the meaning is debated and there are other times when whether an entire category even exists. How is this so? To give specific examples of what I'm ...
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Where are resources about counting Omer Year round?
My rabbi mentioned there's a custom to count the omer year round. The idea is to travel through all the sefirot for 7 sets of 50 days.
I'm looking for shiurim, texts, etc. that teach on this practice.
...
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"Vaishakehu" Extra Points over entire word? or some letters?
Shalom!
The famous Passuk on which Esav and Jaacov ran, hug, kiss and cry.
The Word VAISHAKEHU has points-dots over every leter.
Siftei Chakhamim seems to have VAISHAKEHU וישקהו with 5 nekudot, ...
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Why break Hallel in the middle of a parsha?
On Pesach night, following Beis Hillel we break up Hallel between חלמיש למעינו מים and לא לנו.
This is in the middle of a parsha, according to the Keter (navigate to Psalms --> From 114_2 to 118_1) ...
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Looking for an interpretation of Shir Hashirim that follows the parsha breaks
Coming off of some tangential discussion in the comments here, I'm looking for an interpretation of Shir Hashirim that follows the parsha breaks. It doesn't have to explicitly address every one, but ...
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Practical suggestions for choosing between different nuschaot in the Torah
Unfortunately, it's not hard to find places in the Torah, and even more so in Nach, where we have a doubt about either the trop or the nekudot. (Or, more rarely, letters, but those are generally the ...
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Torah transmission according to the Rambam
the Rambam in the introduction to Mishne Torah counts 40 generations from Moshe Rabeinu to Rav Ashi (compiler of the talmud) in the transmission of the oral law and lists the names of these sages.
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Who was Rav Moshe Margolis's Rav?
I'm currently making a Mesorah chart (I know there are some out there, I just wanted to do it myself). I've gotten all the way back to the Vilna Gaon's Rav, Rav Moshe Margolis, but I can't find any ...
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Division of Parshiyot in Tanach – Same or Seperate Nevuah?
I had a question about the Masoretic divisions in the Tanach, specifically the "פ" and "ס" notations.
I know that the division into chapters was a Christian development that has ...
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Is it a problem of al titosh Torah imecha if you use a different nusach hagadah than your family's minhag?
Is it a problem of "al titosh Torah imecha" if you use a different nusach hagadah than your family's minhag?
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Halachic inheritance
Is it possible that one holds differently then his community (i.e. Ashkenazim, Sfardim)? For example, Chuppah (Canopy).the shulchun Aruch says Chuppah is Yichud fit for cohabiting (rauy Libiah).and ...
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Is Vayelech misnumbered
Why is the siman for Parshat Vayelech listed as 70 if it only has 30 pesukim?
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Missing vav or not in Bamidbar 7:2
In parshat Nasso (Bamidbar 7:2), the Torah says
וַיַּקְרִ֙יבוּ֙ נְשִׂיאֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל רָאשֵׁ֖י בֵּ֣ית אֲבֹתָ֑ם הֵ֚ם נְשִׂיאֵ֣י הַמַּטֹּ֔ת הֵ֥ם הָעֹמְדִ֖ים עַל־הַפְּקֻדִֽים׃
On this verse, the Minchat ...
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Changes to the name of Hashem in written texts
I have seen an article which cites a text called Massorah and this text supposedly catalogs 134 instances (referenced here) in which the written text "originally" used the 4 letter name of ...
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What is the relationship between Ezra's scroll and the Aleppo/Leningrad codeces?
I'm a little bit confused. If Ezra re-established a singular text to the Torah, how is it that we have the Aleppo Codex and the Leningrad Codex and three different scribal traditions for Ashkenaz, ...
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Customs/Habits around having a second child?
Besides the brit milah ceremony, pidyon haben/habat (redemption of the firstborn) or kidush peter rechem (sanctification of the womb's opening) or seder kidushat chaye hamishpacha, (ceremony of ...
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What was in the Holy Incense of the ancient Hebrews of Exodus 30:34–38?
In Exodus 30:34–38, we read the following:
34 And the Lord said to Moses: “Take sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum, and pure frankincense with these sweet spices; there shall be equal ...
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CYLOR and Mesorah
Assume that someone has a she'elah, however their local rabbi does not follow their mesorah. How would one approach the issue of a psak?
For example, let's say my LOR is a Chabad shaliach and I need ...
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