Questions tagged [mesorah-tradition]
The different traditions passed down through the generations.
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The Origins of the Zohar - Why is it accepted as being true?
I've read arguments and counter arguments for the origins of the Zohar and I'm perplexed.
I personally accept the truths in kabbalah and chassidut, but I didn't realize how the Zohar sort of just "...
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Is one a heretic if he does not believe in Kabbalah?
Is one a heretic if he does not believe in Kabbalah? Not necessarily that the Rashbi authored the Zohar, but in the general tenets of kabbalah including but not limited to: tzimtzum, sefirot, ...
user2110
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How to reconcile the possibility that Rashi had a slightly different text of the Torah
In the Parshah of Chayei Sara, in Bereishis 25:6, there is a Posuk that refers to הפילגשים - "the concubines". Rashi expounds that since the word is missing a Yud, it must be a reference to the fact ...
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What is the source for the tradition that the philtrum is formed by an angel before birth?
Physiological context: The philtrum is the dip or groove in the middle of the upper lip below the nose (link). It is a feature of most mammals, thought to draw water from the mouth to the nose to keep ...
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Has the Torah been changed over the ages?
It is quite a famous argument from Muslims for authenticity of the Quran that the previous Holy Books (Bible and Torah) sent by God have been corrupted or changed by their followers and that Quran is ...
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Why aren't Yemenites an ed echad on locusts?
I've heard that the reason we (most of us) don't eat the locusts enumerated as kosher in the Torah is that we cannot identify them. That is, we don't know what type of locust is referred to by the ...
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Kashrus status of turkeys
From what I have heard there were those that did not eat turkey (such as Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky Zatzal) due to a question whether we have a Mesorah as to the Kashrus of this bird. I know that many ...
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Why don't we just follow the shittah of Moshe Rabeinu?
My question can apply to virtually all mitzvos where there is a disagreement in the standard way to fulfill them.
If one reads the hakdama (introduction) to the Rambam's peirush mishnayos (commentary ...
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What is "emunas chachomim"?
My daughter came home from school with a textbook response for what "emunas chachomim" is. I disagreed strongly with what was written in the book, so I'm not even going to say what they said. Rather,...
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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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The authenticity of rabbinic literature
I am studying the history of various branches of Judaism. I understand the position of rabbinic Judaism that parts of the laws were oral and not written. But this alone would not justify the ...
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Have any of you ever heard anyone pronouncing ayin as "ng"?
I have read that historically the letter ayin was pronounced by some Dutch, Portuguese, and Italian Jews as a velar nasal consonant (ng as in sing). Reference to this can be found here, here, and here....
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Rabbi Akiva and Ketarim
In Menachos the Gemara relates the Moshe asked Hashem about the meaning of the "crowns" on many Hebrew letters as written in the Torah. Hashem then gives the following response:
אמר לו, אדם אחד יש ...
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What is the source that forbids indecent dress by women?
I have been hardpressed finding a source for something that would seem to be such a well known Halacha. I (and most other too probably) have been brought up with the belief that it is forbidden for a ...
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Eldad HaDani's Lasting Influence - Is there any?
Eldad HaDani is (apparently) considered today to have been a fraud. According to this Wikipedia article, he was a traveler who told stories of his place of origin, which he claimed was a sovereign ...
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List of Halachot LiMosheh MiSinai
Is there a comprehensive list of things in the Talmud that are "halachot limosheh misinai"- laws that were passed down from Moshe through the generations? An example of such is tefilin needing to be ...
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What is the basis that allows Rabbis to create laws?
I understand that the Torah gives instructions to obey Judges for legal cases and questions, but what is the basis that Rabbis have for creating new laws, such as for celebrating Chanukah with a ...
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Soft Matzah for Ashkenazim
The Rama in 460:4 writes that one should make thin matzos and the Mishna Brurah 16 writes it should be thin. Rav Nebontzol (in his notes on the Mishna Brurah) points out the Be'er Heitiv 8 which ...
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General understanding of Kri and Ktiv
A number of questions regarding the 'kri and ktiv'
What is the source (talmudic or otherwise) for this concept?
Why is it necessary; meaning why could we not adduce whatever concept is being taught ...
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What is the source for Pardes?
What is the source for expounding the torah according to remez, derush and sod (along with 'pshat' the group can be referred to by the acronym PaRDeS)?
These forms of hermeneutics are not found in ...
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Looking for information on the Savoraim
I am looking for more information on the Savoraim such as a list of who they were, what they wrote outside of comments/amendments in the talmud, meaning do they have responsa, ethical or halachik ...
user2110
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Is it possible for mesorah to be discovered?
Suppose there was a previously unknown collection of midrash or sayings or halachah or commentary that was discovered in an archaeological excavation and is hundreds or thousands of years old.
...
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Why can't we distribute mitzvah obligations around the community?
How do we know from the Torah that it would not be sufficient just to have some people doing davening, others doing negel vasser, others doing tzitzit, others doing hachnosas kallah, others doing ...
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Rabbinic speculations on history
Sometimes in the Rabbinic literature traditions are related about what happened in history, with multiple different opinions. For example, there was a historical development in the script used by ...
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Why does the Mishna misquote the Tanakh?
In a number of instances, the Mishna provides quotes from Tanakh that differ from the versions of Tanakh that we have today. So, for example, Sotah 6:4 (31b). There, the mishna quotes Deuteronomy 19:...
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Accent mark in וישבע לו
In many Chumashim, the word וישבע in Parshas Chayei Sara (24:9) contains both a munach and a meseg (meteg). One example:
I do not understand what the meseg is doing there under the beis. Typically a ...
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Why is precedent set by individual rabbis, but not courts?
The headline on this obituary for R' Eliyashiv ("A One Man Supreme Court") got me thinking - why do we invest so much power in precedents set by individual rabbis, as great as they may be, but not in ...
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Halachic authority of books
To what extent do books on Halachah have authority? I was taught that the Gemara was "closed" and may no longer be challenged in terms of its Halachic authority. To what extent is this authority ...
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Can an Ashkenazi write a Sephardi Torah?
If an Ashkenazi Sofer writes a Sefer Torah in the Sephardi or Yemenite tradition:
a) has he fulfilled his obligation of writing a Sefer Torah (thanks, Double AA!), and
b) since a Sefer Torah must be ...
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what is the source for the artscroll sidur?
what is the mesorah for the artscoll ashkenaz siddur? Is this the same nusach ashkenaz that was used in previous generations?
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Could any of the lamed-vovniks be a non-Jew?
I am referring to the concept of Tzadikim Nistarim (lamed-vovniks)—the 36 hidden saints in the world because of whose righteousness the world continues to exist—addressed in this passage:
As a ...
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10
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Chain of tradition for stories/parables told by Rashi
I've already asked one question about where Rashi got a particularly troubling interpretation of an obscure reference in the Gemara, telling a very detailed and gruesome story about R' Meir and his ...
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Is one allowed to become a Talmid HaRambam?
There is a movement of people (including several MiYodeya users I've seen) who believe in following the teachings of the Rambam exclusively, basing their practical halachot off the Mishneh Torah, ...
user5540
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1
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What is the genealogy of Judah ben Bava?
Is Judah ben Bava, noted for continuing the tradition of ordination, the son of Bava ben Buta, the Rabbi who was spared by Herod?
user2110
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If we have full copies of the Torah in an unchanged form (Dead Sea Scrolls), why don’t we revert our Torah scrolls back?
We have found very old Torah scrolls, which were named the Dead Sea Scrolls. These scrolls are some of the oldest Torah scrolls out there; however, there are some discrepancies between these ancient ...
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Why no number of p'sukim for P'kude?
Many copies of Chumash list, after each parasha (weekly reading), the number of verses in that parasha. By and large, they omit it for parashas P'kude; why?
(And if the answer is that they copy the ...
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Is this chart of the mesorah of Torah available in English?
Does anyone know if this chart of the mesora of Torah is available in English? or if there is anything like it in English?
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I thought Gezeirah Shavah requires Mesorah
In Masecheth Rosh Hashanah (9b), the Gemara uses a Gezeirah Shavah from Tishrei, with the word שנה, to support the Mishnah's ruling that 'Orlah is counted from Tishrei. In response, however, the ...
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Isaiah 8:11: "kaf" or "bet"?
It seems that two versions of Isaiah 8:11 exist.
One has "כחזקת היד" -- this is the version in the Aleppo (shown above) and Leningrad codices:
http://www.studylight.org/desk/?sr=1&old_q=...
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Does Rabbinic Literature misunderstand the infinitive absolute?
The infinitive absolute is a conjugation classified generally by a qametz under the first consonant, and a holem or holem - vav by the second. According to the Cambridge Introduction to Biblical ...
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Tanach without Christian chapter divisions
Is there a Tanach available that is not divided into Prakim, rather into Pesuchos or Sedorim etc. ?
The nonJewish origin of the chapters is shown at Who Divided the Torah Into Weekly Readings, ...
user7340
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Why was Shlomo haMelekh not a part of the Oral Torah’s transmission?
Reading the Rambam's introduction to his Mishne Torah, I am struck by the fact that he has Achiya haShiloni succeed David in the transmission of the Oral Torah, and not David's son Shlomo. I'm curious ...
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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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What ancient sources discuss the meaning of Psalm 22?
Many Christians believe Psalm 22 refers to Jesus of Nazareth. How have Jews historically understood Psalm 22 and interpreted it?
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When the Torah was almost lost and one (or several) Rabbis saved it?
I heard several times from numerous sources, that there were times in history (during the 1st and the 2nd Temples) when the Torah (incl. Oral) was almost completely lost and just one Rabbi (or a ...
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What were Alter Halpern's main issues with Marcus Jastrow's Dictionary?
I have heard that Alter Halpern, a Rabbi in England, published an article or kuntres presenting issues with Marcus Jastrow's Dictionary (for the Talmud, midrash, targum), i.e Sefer HaMilim.
What ...
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How to apply the Masoretic note, "2x, once plene and once defectively" to Ruth 1:1?
In Ruth 1:1, there is a Masoretic note on שְׁפֹט which I do not understand:
The picture is a little unclear, but the note says (I have highlighted the letters with a dot above them):
ב חד מל וחד חס
...
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Hammurabi in Jewish sources
The Hammurabi code is one of the oldest preserved codes of law dating back to 1772 BCE. This is roughly the time after the flood (-2105BCE), the tower of Bavel (1765BCE) and the Patriarchs.
Although ...
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What day of the week was Yeziyat Mizrayim?
Do we have a tradition what day of the week Yeziayit Mizrayim was? I seem to recall seeing it stated somewhere, but a quick search didn't find any sources.
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Is there still a mesora on how to write the Torah in Greek?
Do we still have a mesora for the translation of the Torah into Greek, and if so, is this the LXX/Septuagint commonly used by Gentiles? Do we still have a mesorah for any other seforim into Greek?
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