Questions tagged [tanach]
An acronym of "Torah" (Five Books of Moses), "Neviim" (Prophets), and "Ketuvim" (Writings). The three books together form the "Written Torah".
61 questions from the last 365 days
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How could the Sages suppress such sefarim such as Yechezkel and Kohelet?
They of course seemed to have had good intentions so as to not let the books confuse people but how is it possible that some of the most wise and humble men decide that they have the right to suppress ...
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What tribe was Shmuel from?
I’ve seen conflicting answers, one that he was from shevet Efraim and one that he was from shevet Levi.
Does anyone have a real source for which it was?
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Isn’t ״צרות לבבי הרחיבו״ an oxymoron?
In Tehillim 25:17, David says:
צָר֣וֹת לְבָבִ֣י הִרְחִ֑יבוּ מִ֝מְּצוּקוֹתַ֗י הוֹצִיאֵֽנִי׃
My deep distress increases; deliver me from my straits.
The root ״צר״ literally translates as “narrow”. Its ...
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Lack of the name Hashem Tzevaot in the Torah
There is a dispute on Shevuot 35 whereby, according to one opinion, Tzevaot is one of the Divine Names that may not be erased. Although Hashem Tzevaot appears frequently in various haftarot and ...
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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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Are there any multi-word names in the Tanakh?
The words יערי ארגים in 2 Samuel 21:19 are sometimes claimed to be a two-word name. (For example the KJV translates them that way.) Are there any other names in the Tanakh like this, which consist of ...
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Is anyone in the Tanakh referred to by their mother's name?
Many people in the Tanakh are referred to by their father's name. For instance שלמה בן דויד in 2 Chronicles 1:1. Are there any instances where someone is referred to by their mother's name? Like "...
- 233
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Yehoshua bin Nun and Yosef
In Sefer Yehoshua chapter 24 it says that Yehoshua lived to be 110 years old, Yosef also lived to be 110 years old. Also Yosef's burial follows Yehoshua's burial. Is there any significance to this?
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How to push back against people who use the Tanakh to justify and promote antisemitism?
It has been argued by atheists and other thinkers, namely self-hating Jew Christopher Hitchens, that the Bible/Tanakh is the biggest contributing factor to antisemitism, and it is not exactly without ...
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Joshua stopping the sun
Note: I'm not an expert in science.
I have been wondering for a while what does it mean that Joshua made the Sun stand still?
Since the Earth revolves around the Sun, it makes more sense to say that ...
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Why does it say the whole generation died, if Yocheved was still alive?
Shmot 1:6 says
וַיָּ֤מׇת יוֹסֵף֙ וְכׇל־אֶחָ֔יו וְכֹ֖ל הַדּ֥וֹר הַהֽוּא
And Yosef and all his brothers and the whole generation died.
Yocheved was part of the 70 people who went down to Egypt, and ...
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How did Amram marry Yocheved, his aunt? [duplicate]
The Gemara Bava Batra 17a, lists Amram as one of the four people who never sinned. However, he married his aunt, which is forbidden in Vayikra 18:12.
If you are going to say that because it was before ...
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Hadran for Tanach? [duplicate]
Is there a hadran recitation to be said upon the completion of learning all of Tanach?
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List of pesukim you can add to Musaf of Rosh Hashanah?
In Rosh Hashana musaf, we are required to say 10 pesukim each for malchuyos, zichronos, and shofaros. You are allowed to say more than 10, and the standard minhag in machzorim that I've seen is to ...
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When we say brachos, why are there 2 pronouns for Hashem? [duplicate]
When we say shehakol for example, we say "ברוך אתה ה" and "שהכל נהיה בדברו"
Why refer to Him in the second person, and for the rest of the bracha in the 3rd? Shouldn't it be "...
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Did the Aseres HaShevatim find out about the Churban?
Does anyone discuss whether the Aseres HaShevatim ever found out, in their exile, what fate befell Yehuda, and in particular, about the Churban?
(The question is inspired by the imagined dialog ...
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Word switching from plural to singular when it is many?
In Shir HaShirim (5:11), Rashi writes:
"רְבָבוֹת הַרְבֵּה קְרוּיִין רְבָבָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "רְבָבָה כְּצֶמַח הַשָׂדֶה נְתַתִּיךְ":
Many myriads are called ‘רְבָבָה’, as it is stated, “...
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Evidence for the king and his Sefer Torah
One of the most defining characteristics of the Torah's king (Parshas Shoftim) is that he writes himself a Sefer Torah, carries it at all times, is constantly reading it "all the days of his life&...
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Prophecies in Devarim 29 & 30 not fulfilled?
In Devarim 29:22 we see that G-d says that He will punish us by making our land “beyond sowing and producing”, but we see that before 1948, there was agriculture.
In Devarim 30, G-d says that if we ...
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Why wasn’t Adam a hunter gatherer?
We see in Genesis 2:15 that Adam is commended to work the land, thus a farmer. How does that align with the supposed fact that we were hunter gatherers before farmers?
In Genesis 2, we also see that ...
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Where couldn't the gentiles go in Solomon's Temple?
I would like to know where were gentiles not allowed to go in Solomon's Temple. Was there a court for Gentiles like the Second Temple? Could they enter any of the courts in Solomon's Temple? Many ...
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Why is "son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian" called that way?
Leviticus 24:10
"Now the son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel fought each other ...
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Historical controversy surrounding division of the Tanach into Christian chapters / verses?
What kind of reception did the transition to Christian chapter and verse numbers have within the Jewish world in or around the mid 15th century? Did it stir up any kind of controversy?
Background:
The ...
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I don't understand why/how Hashem's language seems opposite in Bereishis 2:16-17: אָכֹ֥ל תֹּאכֵֽל you may eat& then לֹ֥א תֹאכַ֖ל you may NOT eat?
I read the parshah over specifically trying to identify if Chava or the snake lied first. I remember learning that if Adam and Chava hadn't sinned by eating the forbidden fruit that the snake would ...
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Midrashim that explore the exact meaning of "tov" in Genesis 1?
It's no secret that "good," in English as well as in Hebrew, is rather polysemous: on the one hand, it can mark the degree to which a given thing satisfies its purpose or relevant ideal (as ...
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Canonization of Tanakh
Given that the Talmud records disputes among great chachamim about the status of certain books of Ketuvim, how can we be fully confident that these books are in fact authoritative and true?
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Text different from details of an event
In Bereshit (Genesis) - Chapter 18, pasuk 13 says, 'And the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Is it really true that I will give birth, although I am old?''
Rashi on this pasuk ...
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What does going "alive into Sheol" mean in Numbers 16?
Parshat Korach contains a curious phrase in Moses's admonition to Korach and the resulting consequences:
וְאִם־בְּרִיאָה יִבְרָא יְהֹוָה וּפָצְתָה הָאֲדָמָה אֶת־פִּיהָ וּבָלְעָה אֹתָם וְאֶת־כׇּל־...
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Is it possible to figure out the Steumot and Petuchot in Nach using the old style Mikraot Gedolot text?
In the old Warsaw Edition of the Mikraot Gedolot there are various indentations that would suggest there are open and closed paragraph marks in the text but these markings do not match the more modern ...
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Is God Ever in Two Places at Once?
Are there any instances, ideally in Tanakh, where God's physical manifestation of Himself is present in two separate locations at once? Or more poignantly, are there instances of God speaking/...
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Differences in meanings between similar pronouns (עָלָיו, לוֹ); likewise (יהוּ,- יו-)
Is there someone who discusses the differences between pronoun synonyms?
I'm thinking of two sets as examples, both of which occur within a few pesukim of each other in perek 5 of Shir HaShirim:
5:4 ...
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Is there a source that names in the Torah may not be the person's actual name
Some of the name given in the Torah are frequently explained by Chazal to mean something about the person. For example the Gemorah (Sanhedrin 82B) says that the real name of Cozbi bas Tzur was ...
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Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7
How do classical sources explain the discrepancy in the numbers of the olei Bavel (those who returned to the Land of Israel from the Babylonian exile) in Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7?
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Why Don't The Israelites Eat Their Animals in the Wilderness?
The Israelites are in the wilderness for 40 years and in that time they have a few crisis moments that always lead me to the same question. Why don't they just eat their animals?
They ask for meat, ...
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Re-articulate a sound repeated after a maqaf?
When the same sound is called for on both sides of a maqaf, does this call for a single, prolonged version of that sound, or a second articulation of that sound? E.g. אֶל־לִבּֽוֹ׃ in Gen 6:6.
In ...
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Why does the Torah continuously seperate "Geirem" from the rest of Klal Yisrael?
Throughout last week's Parshas - Parshas Acharei Mos - it states a Halacha, then it says that every Jew should keep it, and then adds every Ger (convert).
For example: פרק יז:ח
וַאֲלֵהֶ֣ם תֹּאמַ֔ר ...
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Reference book needed
Any suggestions for a reference book that is a "Who's Who" of persons named in the Tanach? Persons do appear in multiple places (such as in Shmuel and Divrei Hayamim, or in the lives of ...
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Ritual lapses of the Jews mentioned in the rebuke of the prophets? And why primarily focus on justice and lovingkindness and not rituals?
Do the prophets ever rebuke the Jews for not being "observant" of all the "Bain Adam Lamakom" laws or any failings in these areas other than Avodah Zarah?
I think Jeremiah does ...
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Why the words "אחרי מות"?
Parshas Acherei Mos begins off saying "And it happened after the death of Ahron's 2 sons..."
The Torah never says when things happen - it just goes in order!
So, why here does the Torah tell ...
- 859
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Dagesh in שישלם
In Tehillim קלז, should I read the Yud in שישלם with or without a dagesh? I’ve seen it both ways.
The “without” option makes sense according to an exception in the grammatical rules of Dagesh ...
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Connection between 5 books of the Torah and the 5 Megillot?
The megillot are read on different occasions in the year:
Shir HaShirim on Pesach
Rut on Shavuot
Eicha on Tisha b'Av
Kohelet on Sukkot
Esther on Purim
Do any mefarshim find a connection between the ...
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What really is Ketiv/Kri [duplicate]
Basic question but:
What exactly is Ketiv vs Kri? How do these differentiations pop up? Which one is more authoritative and why is it more prevalent in Nach vs the Torah?
Thanks
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Hashgacha question - why does Hashem influence the nations to chastise us, in order for us to do Teshuva?
What is the explanation that in many cases the Tanakh speaks about nations (e.g. Aram) that Hashem sends to chastise the Jewish nation? It implies that Hashem is able to influence pagan nations, but ...
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The connection between King Ahashverosh and the king of the world [closed]
According to the Midrash, the king mentioned in the Megilat Esther is G-d.
So how is it that the king was looking for a wife? How did he kill his first wife? How did he raise the wicked Haman to ...
- 1,659
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Why did Mordecai behave towards Haman in this way?
Haman was enraged at Mordechai's behavior, according to Megilat Esther he investigated his people and directed his hatred and revenge towards Mordecai to all of Mordecai's people, that is, to the Jews....
- 1,659
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Why did Mordecai save Achashverosh? [duplicate]
It is known that Achashverosh was an evil king and encouraged Haman to kill the Jews in exchange for making money. Moreover,he made a feast for the Jews with the temple vessels. If so, why did ...
- 1,659
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The kashrut of honey in Lion's belly in the parable of Samson [duplicate]
In the book of Judges, 14:18, וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ אַנְשֵׁי הָעִיר בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, בְּטֶרֶם יָבֹא הַחַרְסָה, מַה-מָּתוֹק מִדְּבַשׁ, וּמֶה עַז מֵאֲרִי; וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם--לוּלֵא חֲרַשְׁתֶּם ...
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Help for a Gentile in quoting Tanach
My daughter has a friend, Abigail, who is about to have her Bat Mitzvah, which unfortunately she can't attend. We wanted to make a gift for her that would make her feel special on this important day ...
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Why does the Megillah say "It happened in the days of Ahasuerus" — and not,"... in the days of Mordechai and Esther?"
The Megillah (Esther 1:1) begins: ויהי בימי אחשורוש... - It happened in the days of Ahasuerus...
Why doesn't it say instead, it happened in the days of Mordechai and Esther, or after the Destruction ...
- 161
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What is Omek Rom and omek Tachat in Chassidus
BH
What is omek Rom and omek tachat in Chassidus how are both connected?
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