Questions tagged [rabbis]
Questions about the lives and personalities of Jewish religious authorities.
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Lashon harah about someone who leads people astray
Is it lashon harah to publicly criticize or attack those who you perceive as misleading people/leading people astray? For example, Rabbi Natan Slifkin has a blog in which he’s publicly criticized ...
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I don’t know if I accept my mother's conversion [closed]
My parents were married before I was born and my father had my mother convert before they got married. The place of my mother's conversion was Conservative I would say and it took my mother 2 years to ...
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Rabbinical authority
I am delving into the concept of the rabbinical authority based on the following pasuk
"If a case is too baffling for you to decide, be it a controversy over
homicide, civil law, or assault—...
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Is it possible to have prophecy and visions from the sitra achra?
BH
Is it possible the that the vision the person is receiving coming from a source of impurity or sitra achra or is this just called sitra achra and yetzer hara? Like are there levels to this that is ...
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Identity of Rabbi in Baba Bathra 14b
Who is R. Johanan in Baba Bathra 14b? Is this Johanan ben Zakkai or
Johanan bar Napcha? And how would we know? There seem to be a mixture
of tannaitic and amoraic sources in the gemara.
Many kind ...
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Is this idea (dictation model of Torah) by Rambam heretical/blasphemous/idolatrous?
Rabbi David Bigman in his article The Dictation Model of Torah Revelation
convincingly argues that the idea of Torah being entirely dictated to Moses, and then preserved over the generations (...
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Is there a special term for a King who is also a Rabbi?
I'm looking for whether there is a specific term or a title for a King who also happens to be a Rabbi/Chief Rabbi. In other words, both the religious authority and the political authority.
Just as an ...
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In specifics what oral tradition did the Sadducees believe in
Judaism today took the view of the Pharsies and not the Sadducees, do we know what the Sadducees believed in?
What we know- they reject some sort of oral tradition. Yet according to the sources (the ...
CommunityBot
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Why do we follow matrilineal descent of Judaism when there's evidence to suggest that it used to be patrilineal? How to resolve the contradiction?
According to the contemporary scholarship, even though modern Orthodox Judaism follows matrilineal descent, there is evidence to suggest that this was a shift that occurred during the second century, ...
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Does the Talmud continue to use extra Tanachic sources?
I'm trying to draw an analogy between the written and the oral Torah. After the Mishna was signed, the Sages continued to use extra-Mishnaic sources forever (Toseftah, Midrashim, etc).
After the 24 ...
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Hesped on satmar rov and connection to Parshas noach
Does anyone know where I could find reb hutners hesped on the satmar rav and specifically the connection he makes to the lion by Parshas noach
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Picture of Rav Elchonon Wasserman on boat [closed]
Heard in a shiur that there’s a picture of Rav Elchonon Wasserman on a ship looking out to the sea facing Europe, after leaving America and going to Europe knowing that Hitler was in power and he ...
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Sefer Torah Lishma **not** from the Ben Ish Hai?
Yabia Omer vol. 9 Orah Haim sim. 96:
גם ראיתי בקובץ "משנת חכמים", (תשרי תש"ס), במאמר מאת הרה"ג עזריאל מנצור (עמוד לה) שכתב, ששאל על זה מאת הרה"ג יעקב מוצפי זצ"ל, ואמר לו, שספר "תורה לשמה" אינו לרבי ...
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Removing haskamot when reprinting a sefer
I have heard that, recently, some publishers who reprint old sefarim remove some haskamot (approbations) from the book when they reprint it.
(Specifically, I heard that some Israeli chareidi ...
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Position of gedolim on AI
I have heard that some gedolim have recently expressed special opposition to Artificial Intelligence (in contrast to whatever their attitudes are for internet in general). Which gedolim have spoken in ...
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Kabbalos pnei rabo (visiting one's rabbi) on Yom Tov
That which it says in the Gemorah (Rosh Hashana 16b) that one has a obligation of "kabbalos pnei rabo" (to go see ones rebbe) on holidays - when is the obligation? Is there an obligation every day, or ...
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Who is Rabbi Koryah?
I have been reading up on Midrash Rabbah Bereshit 19:3 concerning Adam's location whilst Chava is speaking to the snake.
When it says that Adam had previously had sex with Chava and was now sleeping, ...
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Rav Nissan Kaplan - biography
Rav Nissan Kaplan is one of the Rashei Yeshiva at the Mir in Jerusalem, teaches English-speaking students in Walmark (וולמארק), which is one of the two batei midrash in the Bet Yeshaya building, ...
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How do I know if a midrash is accepted?
I have found many different types of midrashic works. Some are, as far as I can tell, accepted as being authoritative. Meaning they were written (compiled?) by the sages in roughly the Talmudic era. ...
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Sources regarding the Mesorah of the explanations/details of the Torah
It's difficult for me to accept that laws that I see written in a modern day Halacha sefer really originate from what G-d Told Moshe thousands of years ago. This is because there is so much time in ...
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Sefaria and Rabbinic Endorsements
Sefaria is a popular Web site with various translations of holy texts. Are any rabbinic authorities on record as endorsing or forbidding it?
Translations can be subjective. It is inevitable that one's ...
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Does the name Rami (רמי) have a meaning based in Judaism? If so, what is it?
Does the name Rami (רמי), as used by figures in the Talmud such as Rami bar Papa and Rami bar Chama, have a meaning based in Judaism? If so, what is it?
If רמ means high or exalted, does רמי mean my ...
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Why are mezuzot always mounted on the right side of the doorway?
I have read plenty regarding the debate on what direction and angle the mezuzah should be mounted. That said, I have never heard a clear explanation as to why we always mount them on the right side of ...
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What was Rav's relationship to R' Hiyyah?
In Mo'ed Katan (Bab. 20a) the Gemara relates a story about how Rav learned of the death of his parents from a conversation with R' Hiyyah. The Gemara tells us their relationship, and it's pretty ...
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Can a convert (ger) become a chabad shliach?
"A convert may not hold a position of Jewish communal authority." (Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Melachim 1:4)
The Tzitz Eliezer ruled that a convert may not serve in a lone communal position but he may ...
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Did R Aaron Feldman and R Lichtenstein ever meet before the latter's death? [closed]
R Lichtenstein and R Feldman had a dialog in Jewish Action: https://jewishaction.com/letters/dear_reb_aharon/
I'm wondering if they ever actually followed through on their stated desire to meet, and ...
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Who was Rambam responding to when he argued for free will against the idea that everything is pre-destined/pre-determined? Did any thinkers believe it
It is well known that Rambam advocated against the ideas that everything is pre-destined and pre-determined and that he believed in (absolute) free will for humanity. The fact that he felt that it was ...
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fathers chair gadol hador
I was quite curious on what happens if a rabbi comes to your house and lets say your fathers chair was there and it would be nice for the rabbi to have it. If your father is not there, are u able to ...
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Looking for more information about a story of positive atheism/heresy
In a 2006 article (original link no longer available), Rabbi Jonathan Sacks tells the following story:
“DO YOU believe,” the disciple asked the rabbi, “that God created everything for a purpose?”
“I ...
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What is the status of the psak of a Maharat?
If an orthodox male Rabbi bestows semicha on a woman (dubbed Maharat), what is the status of her halachic decisions? This question is irrespective of whether or not the male Rabbi should confer ...
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Why did Rabbis stay away from Amei Haaretz?
The Gemara tells Torah scholars not to mix with Amei Haaretz, eat with them, et cetera. The Gemara's concern was that the Torah scholars would learn from the bad ways of the Amei Haaretz.
Yet, for the ...
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Who wrote the comments published within Avnei Miluim?
The classic sefer Avnei Miluim (written by R' Aryeh Leib HaKohein) was published with many comments and annotations, although they are not credited.
I have heard various opinions on who the anonymous ...
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How did Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan write so many books? [closed]
Aryeh Kaplan wrote some 50+ books in the span of a decade or so. Obviously he was remarkably talented at writing, but I'm just curious how exactly was this possible. He's often quoted as saying in the ...
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Shiurim on Approaches of Meforshim
Does anyone know of any good shiurim that I could find online that go through the approaches of the various meforshim on Torah?
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Which rabbis permit food being kosher just based on the ingredients?
Kosherstarbucks.com give options of what to order based on different halakhic standards. They include the "No Utensils List" (CRC-recommended), the Regular list, and the Kosher by Ingredients list (...
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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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Story source: rabbi sweeping streets, take pride in your work?
I once heard a story that when a European gadol first came to America he had to take a job as a street sweeper and "nobody ever swept the streets as well as he did." The message of the story ...
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What does it mean when you read a certain Rabbi said in the name of another Rabbi?
I'm a Roman Catholic wading through the Midrash of Tehillim. What does it mean when you read a certain Rabbi said in the name of another Rabbi?
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What rabbis openly allowed/promoted wearing wigs?
When discussing wigs as a means of covering women's hair, I only heard that rabbis recognized them only aposteriori.
What prominent rabbis publicly allowed their use apriori?
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Why does the Rabbi face the congregation during prayer?
In nearly every shul I've been in the Rav of the shul sits up near the aron kodesh and faces towards the congregation instead of facing east. I assume this is in keeping with halacha (as mentioned in ...
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Beginner on Rav Soloveitchik
I am looking to delve into the teachings of Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903-1993). Any recommendations on a good starting point?
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Rabbi Yaakov of Krozh's book
Rabbi Yitzchak Hertzog zt"l in his short essay (in Hebrew) "למידותיו של חזקיהו מלך יהודה" (On the Traits of Chizkiyahu King of Yehudah), published in the Sinai Jubilee Volume, pp. 27-28 ...
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Rabbinical Hebrew English Dictionary
Are there any existing dictionaries that focus on Rabbinical Hebrew. The way Geonim, Rishonim, Achrei Achronim Wrote their Commentaries, Tshuvas, etc... I'm trying to learn more but sometimes having ...
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LOR Questions family planning
One of the most common questions Rabbis tend to get is about contraception. Specifically a discussion about family planning, and how long one can use contraception for. Before the man has fulfilled ...
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Where does "probeh" come from?
Every time recently that I've heard of an Orthodox congregation conducting a search for a rabbi, the stage at which the rabbi visits the community for a Shabbat and auditions for the position is ...
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Evidence for the divine inspiration of the Torah
What evidence is there that the Torah was divinely inspired? Historical evidence, prophecies, etc, for example.
Further reading on this topic would be appreciated.
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Rif, Rosh, and Rambam about the Techelet
The Petil Techelet company (I believe) makes three types of colored strings:
Raavad- 1 full string of blue
Tosafot- 2 full strings of blue
Rambam- 1/2 string of blue
Does the Rif or Rosh mention any ...
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HaGaon HaRav Asher Weiss Shelita and Techelet
Does anyone know if HaRav HaGaon Asher Weiss wears Techelet?
Also, why or why not?
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Usage of אמר מר and גופא [duplicate]
The Gemora sometimes wants to discuss a side point from a previous text. It will introduce this as אמר מר or גופא for example the first page of Brachos says: אֲמַר מָר: ״מִשָּׁעָה שֶׁהַכֹּהֲנִים ...
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Shiurim by Rav Dovid Feinstein Zt"l
Does anyone know where I can find recorded shiurim by Rav Dovid Feinstein?
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