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3 votes
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Is one Chayav for burning the Korbanos of Erev Shabbos on Shabbos?

The Gemara (Shabbos 24b) states that the Korbanos that were brought on Erev Shabbos may not be burned on Shabbos, based on the דיוק of ״עולת שבת בשבתו״ - that only the Korbanos that were brought on ...
Sholom's user avatar
  • 412
3 votes
2 answers
96 views

What is the halachic definition of a mashehu?

In Shabbos 8a, Rashi says that an upside down object thrown into reshus harabim will encounter lavud within 3 tefachim of the ground and that is the moment one is chayav hotzaah. Due to this, if one ...
Yehuda's user avatar
  • 2,312
5 votes
1 answer
203 views

Why is the kabalat hatorah at Purim needed?

The Gemara (Shabbos 88a) says that at Har Sinai Bnei Yisrael might have only accepted the Torah out of coercion, which would enable them to say that their acceptance was not halachically valid. ...
Banana's user avatar
  • 190
1 vote
3 answers
55 views

Kal Vchomer logic and halacha

if mes mitzvah is doche avoda and avoda is doche shabbos. Kal vchomer mes mitzvah should forsure be doche shabbos. If A being mes mitzvah, is greater than B, performing the avoda, logically since A is ...
David Feigen's user avatar
  • 1,972
6 votes
2 answers
149 views

Understanding an apparent dichotomy in Rabbi Akiva's pre-Yeshiva days

The Gemara in Shabbos 127b relates a story about the importance of being dan l'chaf zechus, judging people favourably / giving others the benefit of the doubt. The story goes that a man left from the ...
Dov's user avatar
  • 34.5k
0 votes
0 answers
58 views

Is the 39 melachot concept halacha l’moshe misinai

Are the 39 categories melacha prohibited on Shabbat Halacha lemoshe misinai, or drash from the rabbis (deriving it from the juxtaposition of the Shabbat commandment to the mishkan)?
Man of faith's user avatar
  • 4,532
1 vote
1 answer
162 views

Can't you Shecht on Yom Tov?

In Tractate Beitza Perek Baiz Mishnah Ches it brings down a Machlokes between the Chachamim & Reb Elazar Ben Azaryah: "Can you scratch or scrape the body of an animal with a metal comb on Yom ...
Shalom L'olam's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
192 views

Wiping spills on Shabbat

Is it allowed to clean up spills from (wood or marble) floors on Shabbat? Not polishing it, but using a paper or bath towel to wipe up he liquid. No water or soap would be intentionally used or wrung ...
LovingHillel's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
134 views

Hot chocolate on Shabbat [duplicate]

If one has a glass of hot water (that was heated before Shabbat) are they allowed to put hot cocoa powder in it on Shabbat? In this case, it’s a solid being absorbed by the liquid, but would it still ...
user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
185 views

Plastic wrap on Shabbat

Is it permissible, if one has food that will otherwise be spoiled, to tear plastic wrap and cover the food with it on Shabbos? I ask because in the case of plastic wrap, it’s not cut to an exact line (...
Man of faith's user avatar
  • 4,532
1 vote
1 answer
87 views

Corn cutting on Shabbat

Is one allowed to cut corn off the cob with a knife or circle cutter on Shabbat? Would it be an issue of borer? Or would it be permitted? Does it change Sephardic Vs ashkenazi?
Man of faith's user avatar
  • 4,532
2 votes
2 answers
123 views

Cultivating hydroponics on Shabbat

I know one is not allowed to reap plants on Shabbat, but does this apply to hydroponics on shabbos? I know for instance one can cultivate hydroponics on shmita (sabbatical) year. Does this mean that ...
Man of faith's user avatar
  • 4,532
3 votes
1 answer
399 views

Hot tub on Shabbat

Is there anything halachically wrong with entering a hot tub on Shabbat inherently? Not for hygiene just leisure purposes, and not adjusting the temperature, just entering it?
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
936 views

Biometric screening on Shabbat

If there is a biometric screening system for a locked door, can one do biometric screening on shabbat? In this case, this is a completed circuit with running electricity before Shabbos (it’s always ...
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
138 views

Bug spray on Shabbat

Can one spray themselves with bug spray on Shabbat or no? I believe it’s brought down by the Mishnah that one can’t Delouse on shabbos, does this count? Is there a responsa on this? Thanks
Man of faith's user avatar
  • 4,532
2 votes
1 answer
158 views

If you are lost in the desert do you make havdalah first?

In Shabbat 69b there is a disagreement about how a person who has lost track of the day of the week should keep Shabbat Rav Huna said: One who was walking along the way or in the desert, and he does ...
rikitikitembo's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
83 views

Parshas Behalosecha: The inverted nuns demarcating two punishments

In Parshas Behalosecha, famously the verses 10:35-36 are bookended with two inverted "נ's": ׆ וַיְהִ֛י בִּנְסֹ֥עַ הָאָרֹ֖ן וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֑ה קוּמָ֣ה ׀ ה' וְיָפֻ֙צוּ֙ אֹֽיְבֶ֔יךָ וְיָנֻ֥סוּ ...
Dov's user avatar
  • 34.5k
4 votes
0 answers
79 views

Ran comments on Gemara Masechet Shabbath

I did learn several comments of Rishonim on a Suggia in Masechet Shabbath and read a footnote (from Harav Moshe Hershler) on the Ramban (Edition Hamachon Hatalmud Haisraeli). He refers to a comment by ...
kouty's user avatar
  • 23.1k
4 votes
2 answers
125 views

Torah as a bar metzra

The Gemara in Shabbos 88b, shows a famous dialogue between Moshe Rabbeinu and the melachim, when Moshe ascended to the Heavens, after Matan Torah. And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: When Moses ...
Shmuel's user avatar
  • 11.7k
1 vote
1 answer
552 views

Why is the Leviathan scared of the Kilbit?

Wikipedia's article about Leviathan makes the following claim: However, in spite of his supernatural strength, the leviathan is afraid of a small worm called "kilbit", which clings to the ...
James Read's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
105 views

Mishkan and Shabbat - did technology change?

Most of the Torah is darshoned by Chazal or the Sanhedrin as a combination of two sources: 1) Mesorah going back to Moshe Rabbeinu, and 2) the י"ג midos by which the drashos are derived. They are ...
MichoelR's user avatar
  • 4,047
0 votes
1 answer
83 views

Shir Hashirim: a dialogue between G-d and His bride Yisrael

On Shabbos 88a, where the Gemara discusses the teaching of R'Chama bar R'Chanina: Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, said: What is the meaning of that which is written: “As an apple tree among the ...
Shmuel's user avatar
  • 11.7k
5 votes
0 answers
97 views

Who was Tzimtzemai Malketa?

In Shabbat 63a it says: "On the topic of Jerusalem, Raḥava said that Rabbi Yehuda said: The logs of Jerusalem used for fuel were from the cinnamon tree, and when they would ignite them, their ...
Harel13's user avatar
  • 28.4k
3 votes
0 answers
61 views

On the relative densities of liquids

The Mishna, Shabas chapter 19, describes beating wine with oil (to make a healing ointment for a circumcision) as something that can be done a day in advance and therefore may not be done on Shabas. ...
msh210's user avatar
  • 73.9k
7 votes
3 answers
322 views

Matan Torah: Coercion or out of love?

There is a Midrashic approach to "and they stood at the foot of the mountain" (Shemos 19:17), namely that G-d literally held the mountain over the heads of B'nei Yisrael, coercing them to ...
Shmuel's user avatar
  • 11.7k
4 votes
1 answer
220 views

What do the words בֶּאֱמֶת אָמְרוּ teach us in the Mishna?

Mishna Shabbat 1:3: לֹא יֵצֵא הַחַיָּט בְּמַחְטוֹ סָמוּךְ לַחֲשֵׁכָה, שֶׁמָּא יִשְׁכַּח וְיֵצֵא. וְלֹא הַלַּבְלָר בְּקֻלְמוֹסוֹ. וְלֹא יְפַלֶּה אֶת כֵּלָיו, וְלֹא יִקְרָא לְאוֹר הַנֵּר. בֶּאֱמֶת ...
user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
48 views

Parallels in Sotah 11a and Shabbat 33b

I noticed yesterday that there are some similarities between the story brought in Sotah 11a and the one in Shabbat 33b. In Sotah 11a it says: "Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says that Rabbi Simai says: ...
Harel13's user avatar
  • 28.4k
0 votes
1 answer
78 views

Which parts of Meschta Shabbos have a connection to Hilchos Shabbos in Shulchan Aruch

I'm interested in learning Meschta Shabbos אליבא דהילכתא with Shulchan Aruch. I would like to know how many pages in the meschta are relevant to Hilchos Shabbos in Shulchan Aruch. It doesn't need to ...
user6781's user avatar
  • 3,371
0 votes
1 answer
156 views

Pesukim for Hilchos Shabbos

I'm looking for a list of all the pesukim relevant to learning Hilchos Shabbos. This would preferably include pesukim in Nach. The more thorough the better. It could be either in a well-known sefer ...
N.T.'s user avatar
  • 9,564
0 votes
1 answer
186 views

Hashem has doubt? [duplicate]

Masechet Shabbat says that when you give the benefit of the doubt, Hashem will give you benefit of the doubt. However, Hashem cannot have the benefit of the doubt. The benefit of the doubt relies on ...
yogazefish's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
111 views

Can you translate Rabbi Yosef's commentary on Shabbat 146a?

Could someone translate the following: בשעה שבא נחש על חוה. פשט המאמר הוא כמו שאמרו המפרשים ז"ל, דלא בא עליה ח"ו ביאה ממשית גופא בגופא, אלא ביאה מחשבית והטיל בה זוהמא בראיה, ואותה הזוהמא ...
GGG's user avatar
  • 572
-1 votes
1 answer
88 views

Why does Nedarim 37b contradict Shabbat 86a?

Why does Nedarim 37b contradict Shabbat 86a? In Nedarim 37b, Children should not read a Torah passage [for the first time] on Shabbat : Rather, with regard to Shabbat, this is the reason that children ...
חִידָה's user avatar
  • 1,428
1 vote
1 answer
79 views

Handling food valued as currency on Shabbos

What is the status of a food item on Shabbos which a country declares as legal tender? For example, if a developing country designates chocolate as legal tender, may one consume, handle, or "...
Moshe's user avatar
  • 3,907
2 votes
2 answers
340 views

Was Shammai a builder?

Encyclopaedia Judaica says that “Nothing is known of the early life of Shammai except for the statement that he was a builder by occupation (Shab. 31a).” But that passage, the standing on one foot ...
Zarka's user avatar
  • 2,602
7 votes
1 answer
111 views

Why did the guy on Shabbat 127b change the order of events?

The following story appears in the Babylonian Talmud on Shabbat 127b: Our Rabbis taught: He who judges his neighbour in the scale of merit is himself judged favourably. Thus a story is told of a ...
Alex's user avatar
  • 50.3k
0 votes
1 answer
53 views

Why is it not called a דבר שאינו מדעת?

Why is it called a דבר שאינו מתכיון. Since twice in Gemara Shabbos Rashi understanding and explaining to us what forgetting is when one leaves a rock on top of a barrel says this first on Shabbos 125b ...
Russell's user avatar
  • 722
1 vote
0 answers
47 views

Does casting metal entail a melacha (assuming it's already liquid)?

The Torah says to cast gold rings when building the Mishkan. Obviously you'd have to do the melachos of extinguishing to make charcoal, burning to then ignite said charcoal, and cooking to liquefy the ...
Shalom's user avatar
  • 136k
2 votes
1 answer
273 views

Does knitting on Shabbos constitute avos melachos other than weaving?

I'm used to the illustration with a loom showing the melachos involved in weaving: Mesach (loading the string), Oseh Shtei Batei Nirim (loading the harness), Oreg (weaving), Potzea (un-weaving). ...
Shalom's user avatar
  • 136k
7 votes
1 answer
338 views

Was R. Shimon Bar Yochai not part of "R. Shimon Bar Yochai and his companions"?

The Talmud in Shabbat 11a states that those like R. Shimon Bar Yochai whose occupation is Torah study are exempt from prayer: דתניא חברים שהיו עוסקין בתורה מפסיקין לק"ש ואין מפסיקין לתפלה א"...
Alex's user avatar
  • 50.3k
8 votes
1 answer
95 views

Can three Talmudic passages about mitzvot "protecting" and mitzvot "saving" be reconciled?

The Talmud in Shabbat 49a records the following story: שפעם אחת גזרה מלכות רומי הרשעה גזירה על ישראל שכל המניח תפילין ינקרו את מוחו והיה אלישע מניחם ויוצא לשוק ראהו קסדור אחד רץ מפניו ורץ אחריו וכיון ...
Alex's user avatar
  • 50.3k
4 votes
0 answers
43 views

How did the Rabbis know that people were intentionally leaving food on the stove?

The Talmud (Shabbat 38a) records the following rabbinic decree: מאי גזירתא דאמר רב יהודה בר שמואל א"ר אבא אמר רב כהנא אמר רב בתחילה היו אומרים המבשל בשבת בשוגג יאכל במזיד לא יאכל וה"ה לשוכח ...
Alex's user avatar
  • 50.3k
4 votes
1 answer
152 views

How did King David think he could thwart God's plan?

The Talmud (Shabbat 30a) relates the following interesting tale about King David's death: And as to what Solomon said, 'for a living dog is better than a dead lion', — that is as Rab Judah said in ...
Alex's user avatar
  • 50.3k
4 votes
0 answers
63 views

How many times does the law follow Samuel in ritual practice?

The Talmud (Shabbat 22a) records the following: איתמר רב אמר אין מדליקין מנר לנר ושמואל אמר מדליקין רב אמר אין מתירין ציצית מבגד לבגד ושמואל אמר מתירין מבגד לבגד רב אמר אין הלכה כרבי שמעון בגרירה ...
Alex's user avatar
  • 50.3k
9 votes
2 answers
284 views

Why can a baby get Tzaraas?

Reference in Gemora Shabbos 133a Daf Yomi recently to tzaraas (skin disease see Leviticus 13) on the foreskin regarding mila (circumcission). This implies babies can have tzaraas. If tzaraas is not ...
Adrian Muller's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
284 views

Why is the name Mekom P'tur indicative of being entirely permissible?

In the introduction to Tractate Shabbat in his Commentary to the Mishnah, Rambam writes: אבל מקום פטור מותר להוציא ממנו לכל אחת משלש הרשיות ומהן אליו וזה מותר לכתחלה ולפיכך נקרא מקום פטור (Kafih ...
Alex's user avatar
  • 50.3k
5 votes
1 answer
188 views

Did Rav Papa issue a halachic ruling in order to benefit financially?

In the Gemara Shab. 140b Rav Papa is recorded saying that one who drinks wine while able to drink beer violates “ba’al tashchit”. Maharsh”a comments that Rav Papa’s disapproval of consuming wine ...
Gavriel's user avatar
  • 9,948
0 votes
1 answer
138 views

A puzzle in the Steinsaltz’ Talmud commentary

It is written in Shabbos 83a in the Steinsaltz edition of the Talmud that gentiles are designated the status of zav. The commentary explains that the reason is “So that a Jewish child will not grow ...
Kenny Xiong's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
285 views

Why does the Mishnah use the terms poor person and homeowner when discussing carrying on Shabbat?

This first Mishna in Shabbat (2a) describes the transfer of an item from a private domain to a public domain. The Mishna describes the individuals involved in this transfer as העני עומד בחוץ ובעל ...
rikitikitembo's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
202 views

Haftorah Parshas Emor

Why would we institute the public haftorah reading for Emor, which includes one of the pesukim in Yechezkel which almost caused that seffer to be hidden away by chazzal? See Shabbos 13b with Rashi. ...
user6591's user avatar
  • 34.1k
3 votes
0 answers
81 views

Why is one who's influenced by a Persian priest liable to death?

It says in Shabbat 75b that if a magosh tries to influence a Jew to adopt even a single one of his customs, that Jew should be put to death: אמר רב זוטרא בר טוביה אמר רב: ... והלומד דבר אחד מן המגוש ...
Micheal Afingindin's user avatar