Questions tagged [theology]
Questions regarding our understanding of God, such as it is. NOT for every question about Jewish beliefs.
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What are the characteristics of the name צבאות? (and what role does it play in the seder hishtalshalus?)
What is the "role" of צבאות as the name of God? (Example, Elohim is God manifesting himself in nature etc)
Please be specific with any sources cited.
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Information about some Kabbalah authors
There is a sentence on Wikipedia about Kabbalah, but unfortunately, there are no sources for it, and I would like to know the sources (if they exist).
The sentence says:
"Among the problems ...
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Is it to our credit, or our discredit, if we feel ashamed and in awe of the Greatness of the Divine Presence?
There's a theme that appears a lot in the commentaries that being afraid of holiness, ashamed of nakedness and so on are either good things, or unfortunate results of bad things.
For an example of the ...
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Should one who is unable to do a mitzvah wish he was able to do it?
For example, should one who must go work to make a living wish he can stay and learn, or should he feel that this is the ultimate option that Hashem wants for him and there's no point to wish for ...
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Will Hashem reign alone?
In the morning prayer of the Chabad siddur it says "And when all things shall cease to be the Awesome One will reign alone."
What does this mean and are there any halachic sources that state ...
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If HaShem truly sent רוּחַ שֶׁקֶר in [1 Kings 22], Why does G-d need humans to lie?
In [Derekh HaShem 3.4.11], Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Ramchal) validates the vision by Mikayahu of G-d fooling Achav with lying spirits in [1 Kings 22:22-28] as true.
If HaShem knows trust in humans is ...
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Is a Jew permitted to believe in gods other than Hashem, provided they are not worshipped and are subservient to Hashem?
Imagine that a Jew were to say the following:
I believe in the Greek sun god Helios. I believe that he is real, is a god, and has power. However, I believe Helios was created by, and is subservient ...
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Proper definition for an idol/idol worshiping? [closed]
What is the proper definition for an idol/idol worshiping?
I'm asking this because in Christianity, an idol can be any person or thing that consumes your thoughts, words, time, energy, or money other ...
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Hashem too holy to abide by us, yet closer to us than we can imagine - how to resolve?
It seems like, when it comes to Hashem's closeness to us, we have 2 different sides, and they go in opposite directions and I would like to know how to resolve them.
A) On the one hand, the reason why ...
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Not inquiring about pre-creation - why?
ואמר רב אחא בר יעקב עוד רקיע אחד יש למעלה מראשי החיות דכתיב (יחזקאל א,
כב) ודמות על ראשי החיה רקיע כעין הקרח הנורא עד כאן יש לך רשות לדבר
מכאן ואילך אין לך רשות לדבר שכן כתוב בספר בן סירא (בן סירא ג, ...
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Theological issues to certain brachot
According to Rambam in Mishneh Torah but especially in Moreh Nevuchim, and many other Jewish Philosophers, when the Torah uses any words to describe Hashem, they are just a mashal, i.e. it is just ...
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Source for "God created this world so that we serve Him with free will"
Rabbi Manis Friedman has (in my opinion) a very beautiful and logical teaching as to why God created this world. He says (although I might be mixing my own ideas in here) that God created this world ...
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How come the world was doing Avodah Zara, while Noach and Shem were still alive?
Noach and Shem were alive during the time of Avraham, and I know midrashim say he lived in their house for some time learning about Hashem, but how come the whole world was practicing polytheism, when ...
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Hashem and the Platonic World
2 + 2 = 4, right? If I have 2 things, and you have 2 things, we have 4 things between us. This is a logical reality that is inescapable. If we want a coherent, consistent set of rules for counting, ...
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Why did Hashem wait 2000+ years to give the Torah?
I think the question is self explanatory: Why wait so long?
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What is God? A definition?
I wondered "What is God?", a question often turned into "Who or How is God". People often tend to describe who He is instead of defining the word "God" itself. In ...
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Are the sefirot created?
The sefirot are said to be attributes / emanations by which the Ein Sof reveals Himself to his creation. G-d is said to be the eternal one. But are His sefirot also eternal or are they created?
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Imagining G_d in your mind
Disclaimer: I am not planning on doing what is in this question. It is a purely theoretical question.
Everyone has some sort of a general idea about him, who spoke and the Universe came into being.
If ...
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Finding Meaning in the fulfilment of Mitzvos and Torah [closed]
How do we find meaning in the Torah and Judaism?
I understand some will respond that Hashem created us, so therefore that's all the reason we need to fulfil His mitzvos but, is there any meaning in it ...
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How Jewish would this gentile's explanation of the problem of evil be?
This is my personal explanation of why there is evil in the world. I don't believe evil contradicts a loving G-d, I believe it is evidence for a loving G-d. I will explain my point of view and would ...
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What were the 10 instances when the Torah reports that God descended?
What were the 10 instances when the Torah reports that God descended?
This question is inspired from reading this statement from the Wikepedia entry on parashat Noach:
Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai taught ...
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Is it wrong (or at least off) to refer to Judaism as a "faith"?
I teach Jewish Studies to primarily non-Jewish college students. One of my students referred to Judaism as a "faith." I associate the term "faith" with Christianity since it is ...
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Questions about the Talmud
Does the Talmud have things that are not laws like stories of prophets
Is all of the Talmud just explanation of things in the Tanakh?
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What was the original Noahide theology passed from Adam as presented in Job?
Rethinking the Book of Job: we're all aware of the 7 Noahide laws. However, beyond the commandments there's a large body of theology, explaining what God is, how He works, and what one should expect ...
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How would you define this list of breakaways from Judaism?
I don’t know so much about history and theology, but I saw the following list and I was hoping that someone could help me understand it;
I saw R Dovid Gottlieb in "Reason to Believe" ...
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Difference between the First and Second Commandments
In the Ten Commandments, the First Commandment prohibits having false gods. The Second Commandment prohibits making carved images. Is the problem with carved images that they can be worshiped? If so, ...
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Is God "lonely"?
In modern Jewish literature, there are references to God being "lonely", which justifies His involvement in our fortunes; witness the piece below by 20th-century rabbi Eliezer Berkovits. ...
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If I deny G-d access to my thoughts. Would He read it anyway? Are my thoughts publics by default?
If I deny G-d access to my thoughts. Would He read it anyway?
For G-d, Are my thoughts publics by default?
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Where does 'lev melochim beyad hashem' apply
Someone was discussing with me siyata dishmaya during the second World War. He spoke about how Churchill came to power and inevitably fought against Hitler. So he quoted Rav Miller from gateshead ...
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Why are blessings preceded by suffering?
In Torah there are about 6 or 7 people/groups I can think of whose suffering preceded some blessing. The first is Abraham’s prolonged childlessness and his subsequent test to sacrifice his son. The ...
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God as the Father of converts?
Chizkuni on Numbers 5:8 refers to God as the "Father of the convert". Do any other, earlier sources convey this idea?
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Question about Joseph the Righteous, Yoshke, and Capture and Enclothing by the Sitra Ahra
Still aspects unanswered, please see edit at bottom of post if interested.
The book Divine and Demonic in the Poetic Mythology of the Zohar (p. 247) discusses the concept of the "Other side" ...
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Is Hashem only God of the Jews?
According to Exodus 20:2-3
"I am the Lord, your God, Who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall not have the gods of others in My presence.
There are various ...
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What does it mean קנאה, Jealousy?
שמות לג:יד. Rashi explains the verse that says G-d is a Jealous G-d. My understanding of how Rashi explains: the root of the word Jealousy means is "my way goes, and every other way suffers"....
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Do angels serve God out of love?
There are plenty of sources that angels serve Hashem out of fear. However, are there any early sources that angels serve Hashem out of love? Is that something that humans are unique in doing?
It seems ...
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How did Yisro figure out that Hashem is the greatest?
When Yisro came to the Jewish nation, he said that now he knows that Hashem is the greatest because "in the very same thing in which they sinned against them" (18:11).
What does this mean ...
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Can God influence man to sin?
We know that God is Sovereign, Creator of all things, whether spiritual or physical, and nothing escapes His control or goes against Him.
So, from what is written:
"However, [God hardened Pharaoh'...
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May one study medieval Christian philosophers such as Augustine or Aquinas? [duplicate]
Many colleges and graduate schools require their students to read Christian philosophers such as Augustine or Aquinas. Does this pose a halachic problem?
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Why didn’t the sages sense a problem with "in God's image"?
The Talmud (Megillah.9b and Tractate_Sefer_Torah.1.9) lists the 13 places/verses that felt problematic in the translation into Greek.
"י״ג דברים שינו בה:
אלהים ברא בראשית.
אעשה אדם בצלם ודמות
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Created in the Divine Image
The Torah tells us that Adam was created in the divine image (Gen 1.26-27; 5; 9.6). If the divinity had a body, then we would suppose this means that Adam was created as the divinity's Doppelgänger, ...
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Sources to Learn about Bechina
I'm studying Chovos Halevavos. Can you provide me with some further sources to learn more about Chovos Halevavos's "bechina", i.e., reflecting on God's kindnesses in creation. Books/articles/...
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Did Rambam ever refer to the 13 Principles in his other works?
Rambam lists the 13 Principles as the beliefs which measure one's merits for the world to come, and he writes it as an elaboration of the Mishnaic statement: "All of the Jewish people, have a ...
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Was the man who wrestled with Jacob, God?
It seems to me that the most plain reading of the passage in Genesis 32:22-32 suggests the man who wrestled with Jacob was somehow God, as crazy or as insane as it may sound. I'm looking for ...
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What is the earliest reference of the "original sin"?
The term "חטא הקדמון", or "חטא אדם הראשון" is used widely in Kabalistic and Musar literature to explain Jewish theology, where the world is seen as somewhat broken by this "...
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Are there any references from the schools of Shammai and Hillel that support belief in the soul separating from the body at death?
I found an old question on Mi Yodeya asking for proof of the existence of the soul. Part of the question made this comment:
Judaism asserts that a human being is a composite of a body and a spiritual ...
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What is the source of the teaching that Hashem, unlike humanity, perceives time continuously?
I recall once reading a passage that discussed divine perception of reality. The idea was something like this: Humans blink their eyes, and so do not see everything that happens in time. Hashem, ...
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Sources on the Divine Documentary hypothesis
First, to accommodate contradicting Tannaic views, the Rabbinic tradition allows for multiple Halachic lineages stemming from Moses (see "אלו ואלו דברי א' חיים" regarding Hillel and Shamai). ...
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How is the Book of Life / Death organized?
Are these just two books containing lists of people detined to die and one destined for life? Or does each person have his own life and death book?
How does it work from one year to the next? If it's ...
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Can G-d read our minds?
In Devarim 8:2 it is written G-d test us in order to know what is in our hearts, so G-d uses an non-direct way to know what is in our hearts. Can G-d read our minds?
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How come that the natural state of a newborn kid is non-theistic?
IIRC, when a person is conceived, a soul is brought before God whom it knows or recognizes well, who decides on its traits and puts it into a fetus, which studies the Torah with an angel for a couple ...
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