Questions tagged [sources-mekorot]
Questions seeking sources for a given practice in general or in specific Jewish communities, alternatively seeking the location of a specific source of a teaching/idea/philosophy based on Torah writings.
244 questions from the last 365 days
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Source for quote from Rebbe Nachman zy"a
Does anyone know where the source is for the quote, "Remember: Things can go from the very worst to the very best in just the blink of an eye", I don't think this is an exact quote but if ...
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Sources on hirhurei aveira
There's a famous Rosh, very short, on the subject of הרהורים, and the mechanics of punishment for bad thoughts alone. Supposedly, it has opened a rich literature, but my חברותא & I are not ...
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Where to Learn Yekkish Minhagim [duplicate]
I'm a ba'al teshuvah who wants to learn more about yekkish minhagim, as my family comes from Berlin. Are there any good resources (in english would be better but my hebrew isn't too bad) to learn ...
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Lesser known Sefardi commentaries on the Parasha (online)
Very simple question. I am always looking to add to my list of Sefardi (incl. Edot Mizrach, Italian etc.) commentaries that I can draw Divrei Torah from. I have been relying mainly on the Chida, ...
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Saying something in the name of someone who never actually said it
I remember years ago reading in one of Aryeh Kaplan's compendium works, a law that when someone feels confident that they're saying something correctly, that they can actually say it in the name of a ...
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Is there a gemara that explains why our forefathers' prayers were answered right away?
I think I remember a gemara that says the reason why our fathers were answered right away as opposed to us is because they knew G-d's name. I am searching for it but I have not found it yet.
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Seeking to find a quote from Rashba on Kidushin
ולולא פירוש רש"י היו דברי התנאיים והאמוראים סתומות ולא היו ניתנים
להבנה
Were it nor for Rashi's commentary, Shas would remain a closed book to
us all.
I heard that the Rashba says the above in ...
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What is the dating of Herod and Pompey's conquests of Jerusalem and the solemn fast
According to Josephus, Pompey took Jerusalem in the third month (Sivan) of 63 BCE during the solemn fast. He then later states that Herod captured Jerusalem in the third month, on the same day, also ...
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The four descriptions of the world as a reference to the four galuyos
The Torah recounts the state of the world just after G-d created heaven and earth (Bereishis 1:2):
And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was on the face
of the deep. And a wind from G-...
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Touching dogs obstructs prayers - source?
One of the first things I learned in yeshiva was that there is some source that says that:
if one touches a dog, then their prayers are "held up in heaven" for 40 days.
I don't remember ...
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Yisro wanting to go back to convert people: Moshe says no!
In Parshas Behaaloscha (Bamidbar 10:29), the Torah says:
And Moshe said to Ḥovav, the son of Re῾u᾽el, the Midyanite, Moshe’s father in law, We are journeying to the place of which the L-rd said, I ...
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Does anyone know of a source for the ראם in the Torah (Devarim 33:17) being the same animal as the איל? [duplicate]
I’ve heard it said that it’s the same species as the איל (ram), just at a different age (like an אישה and a נערה).
Other answers to this question Animal R'aim of the midrash are almost certainly ...
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Signs that someone's kindness is real, and not just virtue signalling
I am looking at Torah lessons that enable one to assess if someone's kindness is genuine and not just a front for the sake of honour.
For example, if they are kind towards homeless people, but not ...
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Prohibition from having intimacy while being a guest - source from Chumash
I’m looking for a source from Chumash that intimacy should not be conducted in a another’s house.
I recently learned Siman 240:13 in OC Shulchan Aruch which prohibits intimacy when sleeping in another’...
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Source that Sarah laughed because she heard that the bracha for children was only temporary i.e. "You call that a bracha?"
In this answer I quote a lecture by Rabbi Manis Friedman, where he explains that Sarah heard that the beracha from the angel was only going to be temporary. Her laughter was a form of protest; a ...
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Animals in the Ark of Noach: a metaphor for the nations of the world
In Parshas Noach (Bereishis 6:19-20), we read the instruction G-d gave Noach to build an ark, and together with his family, to put in animals:
וּמִכׇּל־הָ֠חַ֠י מִֽכׇּל־בָּשָׂ֞ר שְׁנַ֧יִם מִכֹּ֛ל ...
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Positioning the Sefer Torah poles
I was recently told that while we do gelilah - rolling the Sefer Torah - we always mean to position the "Bereshit" pole higher than "Devarim" pole.
Is there any Halacha about it? ...
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Shalom Zachar - why the name? [duplicate]
The practice of having a Shalom Zachar is throwing a kiddush soon after a male baby is born, in celebration, held by Ashkenazi Jews, and it is even codified in Shulchan Aruch.
The wikipedia page is ...
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Where to find good English translations of Jewish Texts like Yalkut Shimoni?
I’m interested in gaining access to Jewish texts like the Yalkut Shimoni. I’ve seen interesting excerpts translated, like 499 concerning the light of creation being the soul of the Messiah and I’d ...
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How did the Briskers, or the Soloveitchiks, acquire the reputation for exactingness in quotation?
I recently came across a story about the Vilna Ga’on in Halachic Man (on p.30 in the 1984 English edition). I had various doubts about the authenticity of the story, and in the course of discussing my ...
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Can We Use Our Reward In The Next World Like Money In This World?
A story about the Vilna Ga’on appears in Halachic Man (on p.30 in the 1984 English edition). I feel like I’ve heard essentially the same story many times, told about various historical figures, ...
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Ha'azinu as a spiritual remedy for heretical thoughts
The B'nei Yissoschor in the sefer Agra D'Pirka, as quoted by the sefer Kavod Shabbos (Parshas Ha'azinu, p. 548) says:
לומר בכל יום שירת האזינו: נראה לי בסגולה ללמוד בכל יום שירת האזינו,
והוא סגולה ...
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Earliest mention of or evidence for Water Libation/Simchas bais hashoeiva/Naanuim/Aravos
So far as I know the earliest explicit mention of these is in the tanaic/amoraic literature.
Is there any earlier mention of them or other kind of evidence?
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L'chatchila Ariber: what does it mean and where does it come from?
There seems to be a famous saying from the Rebbe Maharash, Rabbi Shmuel Schneersohn (1834 - 1882):
די וועלט זאגט, אז מ'קען ניט ארונטער דארף מען אריבער, און איך האלט אז
מ'דארף לכתחילה אריבער
The world ...
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Was Shlomo Molcho HY”D the author of Shalom Aleichem?
I recently watched a video claiming that Shlomo Molcho hy”d was the author of the piyut Shalom Aleichem. Does anyone have any sources for this, or does anyone know of anyone else to whom it is ...
- 1,346
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Belief in Teshuvah being a prerequisite
Somebody told me that the Rambam says that belief in the idea of Teshuvah is a prerequisite to Teshuvah itself. Can anyone source this?
- 1,346
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Ramban on Moshiach's immortality
I heard on Shiurim that the Ramban stated that death has no power over Moshiach ben David? Where does he say this?
Is it is his Sefer Geulah?
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Sleep Paralysis in Torah?
My friend recently mentioned to me that he has sleep paralysis and I was wondering what the Torah has to say about it:
Why does it happen according to the Torah?
How does one stop it from happening ...
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What is the quote about 13 rivers of aparsemon?
Can some share the quote where this came from: "the righteous will bathe in 13 rivers of aparsemon"? I've seen it paraphrased online a lot but I can't find it in the reference listed (Avodah ...
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Mishnah Berurah's Torah Study Recommendation [duplicate]
Mishnah Berurah 155:3 says:
חייב אדם ללמוד בכל יום תורה שבכתב שהוא תנ"ך ומשנה וגמרא ופוסקים, a
person is obligated to learn every day [the] Written Torah, which
includes TaNaCH - Torah, Prophets ...
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Source for Shofar customs
What are the different practices and sources for different practices of the quality of the shofar sounds (not Rashi vs Tosfos (ie: 3 vs 9 truah)); ie: where the note goes up and down (rootoos, ...
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Connection Between Shechem and Yitro? (and Amalek)
When Saul goes to war against Amalek, he tells the Kenites to withdraw from among the Amalekites (1 Samuel 15:6).
In Josephus's Antiquities, it is David who gives this warning when he is attacking the ...
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Looking for the source of a drasha
In the book “Between Cross and Crescent” the author cites a midrash which apparently says: “God revealed himself in four languages: Hebrew, Latin, Arabic and Aramaic”
apparently in reference to v'Zot ...
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Sochatchov on renewing the soul with the Shofar
In the sefer Eretz Tzvi, by Rabbi Aryeh Tzvi Frumer it says (Eretz Tzvi, Moadim, Newer Version, Vol. 2, p, 48):
ויש לומר הענין בזה לפי מה ששמעתי מאדמו"ר הזקן זצוקלה"ה מסוכטשוב דע"י
...
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Did the Arizal's daughter marry the son of R' Yosef Karo?
Is there any source [historical, academic, mystical] that the Arizal's daughter married the son of R' Yosef Karo, author of Shulchan Aruch?
I see this mentioned in this article (unsourced), and ...
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Original source of the term "Atzmus" in Kabbalah
B"H
I know Chassidus and kabbalah often refers to the Atzmus (Essence of G-d). What is the original source of the idea?
I know the verse in the Torah mentions the bones, עַצְמ֥וֹת (Atzmos) of ...
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Egyptian priests as closet monotheists, and Joseph’s Pharaoh as a Canaanite?
An exceptionally rare 1936 book by Rev Dr Izak Goller, called First Chapter, includes the following:
A powerful shepherd king of Canaan had invaded and conquered Egypt,
and one of his descendants ...
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Rav Moshe Feinstein's advice on doing teshuvah
In the sefer Igros Uksavim (Vol. 1, p. 25, letter 25), by Rabbi Wolbe, he quotes Rav Moshe Feinstein (בכרך י' סי' קטו בחלק אורח חיים) and says:
There is a response from the great Rabbi Moshe ...
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Humans allowed to engage mida k'negged mida?
In my related question, What is the difference between mida k'negged mida and nekama, it was brought that the point of midda k'negged mida (one of the points, at least), is to help someone wake up ...
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Why do many great Tzaddikim die so young?
Examples:
Chanoch (365)
King Shlomo (55)
King Yoshiyahu (38)
Ramak (48)
The Arizal Hakodesh (38)
Ramchal (39)
Ohr Hachaim Hakodesh (46)
Rebbe Nachman (38)
Why, sometimes, do the greatest of the ...
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Seeking Midrash that says that Moshe cannot enter the land because he killed the Mitzri
On 'rav lach' Hashem tells Moshe he cannot enter the land because he killed the Mitzri. Moshe responds that Hashem killed many Mitzrim. Hashem responds asking Moshe if he knows the ways of God (or ...
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Where Does Rashi Mention the Streets of Venice?
After some discussion with some chavrusot, someone mentioned that there is a Rashi somewhere in Shas that discusses either the streets of Venice, or at least a city with "dry streets" ...
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The Mitzva to Know Hashem = get to know Him. Diyyuk in Mishneh Torah?
I once heard Rabbi Manis Friedman Shlita prove, from the wording or some other clever diyuk, in the first perek of Mishneh Torah, that the Mitzva of (paraphrased) "knowing that there is a first ...
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Limud HaTorah in Mitzrayim
The Satmar Rav in Divrei Yoel (Parshas Vayigash, p. 480; left column) explains how Yaakov Avinu and his family were, halachically, able to leave Eretz Yisroel and settle in Mitzrayim although it is ...
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Mah Tovu And Shem of 42 Letters
Does anyone know a source connecting the common nusach of Mah Tovu, which has 42 words to the Shem of 42 letters?
I have searched online, Sefaria, and Otzar HaChochma without success yet.
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Source for red of setting and rising Sun being from gehinnom and gan eden
A friend of mine once showed me a passage in the Talmud. It was talking about the red colour seen on the horizon when the Sun is setting and rising. If I remember rightly it said that the red from the ...
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What are the halachic parameters of perishah min hatzibur?
We always hear about the concept of not being poreish min hatzibur. (I'll have to come back and edit the question with some examples when I'm not out.) Where is this concept defined in halachah? What ...
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Chofetz Chayyim’s son-in-law
The book Ha-Tzaddik Rabbi Shimon (p 27) contains the following story, attributed to ‘the notes of the Chofetz Chayyim’s son-in-law’. Are these notes published or available, or is the excerpt in this ...
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Source of quote "a little light dispels great darkness"
A well-shared quotation is "a little light dispels great darkness". I've seen this attributed to the Baal Shem Tov, the first Rebbe of Chabad, and "Our Sages".
Does anyone know the ...
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72
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Jews who turn out to be non-Jewish in the age of Moshiach
I remember a chaver from yeshiva mentioning an obscure passage on what becomes of the non-Jew who, having mistakenly lived his entire life as an observant Jew, learns that he was not actually ever ...
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