Questions tagged [words]
Questions about the definitions, meaning and use of words specific to Judaism or words that carry unique meaning in Jewish law.
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What does 'Hashem's Countenance' mean?
What is countenance/פָּנָ֛יו? Face? Something more specific? What is the nimshal?
Always wondered. Thanks.
Apparently I need more words to post the question so, happy Purim everyone!
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How are the concepts redemption and salvation related in Judaism?
Does the term salvation (or save, yeshua) encompass redemption (geula)? Does redemption concern harm or punishment has already occurred while salvation contemplates future possible future harm? Does ...
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Why does Rashi translate שלולית differently from everyone else?
The beginning of chapter 2 of Pea says:
These things divide a field [into two] for purposes of pea [requiring a separate pea from each subdivision]: …, a שלולית, ….
The Bavli, Bava ...
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Proof that Hashem recreates the world every day
It says in the first blessing before the morning Shema that Hashem
renews, in His goodness, every day, the work of Creation, as it says: "To the One Who creates great luminaries, for eternal is His ...
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Asking a shaila - not looking for a psak
How does one phrase a request for a Rabbi's opinion on a halachic matter so as not to receive a psak? Are there multiple acceptable expressions?
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The importance of every word in Nach
When we learn the Torah, we work off the assumption that as the Torah is directly from Hashem, every word and even letter is there for a reason, and a lot of commentary and even Halacha is based on ...
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Why does Jeremiah 27.9 speak of a city instead of kingdom?
On the DD"M wave, Jeremiah writes (29:7):
"וְדִרְשׁ֞וּ אֶת־שְׁל֣וֹם הָעִ֗יר אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִגְלֵ֤יתִי אֶתְכֶם֙ שָׁ֔מָּה וְהִתְפַּֽלְל֥וּ בַעֲדָ֖הּ אֶל־ה' כִּ֣י בִשְׁלוֹמָ֔הּ יִהְיֶ֥ה לָכֶ֖ם ...
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Why do we repeat our intent in Musaf?
In the musaf for Shabbat we make the following plea about the future (loose translation mine):
שֶׁתַּעֲלֵנוּ בְשמְחָה לְאַרְצֵנוּ. וְתִטָּעֵנוּ בִּגְבוּלֵנוּ וְשָׁם נַעֲשה לְפָנֶיךָ אֶת קָרְבְּנות ...
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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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Bphi Kol Chai not Bphe
In SA Orach Chaim 187:1 in Mishnah Brurah Sif Beis, he writes that the phrase in Birchas Hamazon should be 'Bphi' kol chai and not 'Bphe'. Anyone have an idea why?
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What is chiltis?
Something "sharp" for the purpose of reawakening taste in vessels which are "eino ben yomo" (ones that haven't been used for 24 hours), is a subject of dispute. According to the ...
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What are nitzotzos?
I've begun learning the sefer Kedushas Levi and I keep coming across the concept of nitzotzos. I don't have much of a background in Hasidism, so I don't quite understand what it is.
As far as I can ...
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Is there a name for the timeframe when a wife is permissible to her husband?
Is there a name for the time when a woman can have sex with her husband?
The Torah tells married couples not to have sex during the period of niddah, when she menstruates until right before the moment ...
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What is the difference between simcha and oneg?
The Mishna Berura (529:16) notes there is a difference between "simcha" and "oneg" regarding Chol HaMoed and Yom Tov, but doesn't seem to elaborate. I always assumed they were ...
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What color is Yarok?
Yarok ירוק in modern Hebrew means green. What color does it refer to in Mishnaic Hebrew? I have heard that it refers to yellow and not green because the Mishna in Sukkah (on 34b) discusses a citron ...
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Bones and Essence
I believe the root of עֶצֶם/bone, and of עַצמוּת/essence, is the same.
Is there any discussion about metaphorical connections between bones and essence?
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What does ממנ”פ mean?
I've seen the acronym ממנ”פ in multiple places but I am not sure what it means.
קיצורים וראשי תיבות בעברית indicates that it means ממערכת נשימה פנימית but I am not sure if that is correct.
Here are ...
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Their altars...and *his* asheirah?
Shemot 34:13:
כִּי אֶת מִזְבְּחֹתָם תִּתֹּצוּן וְאֶת מַצֵּבֹתָם
תְּשַׁבֵּרוּן וְאֶת אֲשֵׁרָיו תִּכְרֹתוּן
For you shall dismantle their altars, break their monuments,
and cut down his ...
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What is the definition of a city עיר regarding sieges?
Sifrei Devarim 203.
כי תצור אל עיר. במלחמת הרשות הכתוב מדבר.
(Devarim 20:19) "If you besiege a city many days": Scripture here speaks of an optional war.
I אל עיר. ולא לכרך.
"a city&...
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How do you interpret the expression עול בחיקו?
This is a metaphor used sometimes, such as in ואם הנהגה של רשע תהיה עול בחיקו של הצדיק למטה (R' Natan Nata Spira, 1585-1633, Megaleh Amukot al Iyov 34). I also read this expression in the R' Salman ...
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What does the concept of rehovot hanahar mean?
I have seen the phrase Rehovot HaNahar (wideness of the river) used, often in a kabbalistic context, but am not sure what it symbolizes. The phrase can be found in the shabbos song Kel Mistater (the ...
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Whence "בחזקת בשרי"?
Besides the main categories of meat, dairy, and pareve (non-meat, non-dairy) foods, two special subcategories of pareve foods are relevant to halacha (e.g. Yore Dea 93): pareve food cooked using clean ...
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Vayimaen (וימאן) Connection
The word וימאן is mentioned 3 times in Sefer Bereishis
Where Yaakov refuses to be consoled over the supposed death of Yosef (37:35)
Where Yosef refuses the advancement of Eishes Potifar (39:8)
Where ...
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Meaning of ודו"ק
It is fairly common to find the abbreviation ודו"ק at the end of a complex explanation of a Torah thought (Maharsha, for example, famously does this very often). Roughly, it means: "I didn't explain ...
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Why is Proverbs 22:6 omitted in the Septuagint?
Why is Proverbs 22:6 omitted in the Septuagint?
I don't see anything offensive about Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, and even when he is old, he will not depart from it.&...
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What's the source for the deeper meaning of the word Yavan?
BH
The Hebrew word for Greek is יון.
I heard from a rabbi, but don't remember the source he mentioned, the deeper meaning of the word.
That when Greeks first begin to deny, chos vishalom, the Torah, ...
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Madir vs Mudar vs Noder
What are the roles of מדיר / מודר / נודר when it comes to נדרים?
Originally I thought the Madir is the one who makes the Neder that makes an item forbidden,
The Mudar is the subject to whom the item ...
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The word Apikores
The Word אפיקרסין is mentioned in Yerushalmi Brachos (14-in old prints) to mean a robe. Also in Maseches Avel Rabasi perek 9 and 22. Also in Maseches tzitzis perek aleph.
This word is strikingly ...
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Is the Medrashic understanding at the Akeidah applied elsewhere?
In Bereisheet 22:2, Hashem commanded Avraham וְהַעֲלֵ֤הוּ שָׁם֙ לְעֹלָ֔ה to "raise [his son] up as a sacrifice." Rashi explains that the language was never that Hashem demanded an actual ...
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What is the difference between the different Hebrew words for sin? [duplicate]
What is the difference between transgression, iniquity, and sin?
Exodus 34:7:
נֹשֵׂ֥א עָוֺ֛ן וָפֶ֖שַׁע וְחַטָּאָ֑ה
In the Sefaria translation:
forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin
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Is there a term used to refer to a certain passage from Shemot?
I’m wondering if this passage from Shemot 34:6 is referred to with a “title” or “name”, if you will. There are many variations of the English translation. I like the one below.
I very much love this ...
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What's the difference between פקד and זכר? [duplicate]
וה' פקד את שרה
Would it be the same if the word זכר was used?
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Difference between behema and chaya
What is the difference between the term behema and chaya used in the torah and mishna?
Is it that one means domesticated animal while the other means wild animal?
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Does Tractate Nedarim never mention the talmudic terminology 'Tanu Rabanan'?
I heard that Nedarim is rare as a Tractate in that it completely omits usage of the phrase Tanu Rabanan (its purpose being the introduction of a well known Baraisa, followed by an amoraic discussion).
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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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What crime was committed by one who touched the mountain?
From what I have learned, different sins which are punished via the court system deserve different types of death penalties. In Parshat Yitro (19:12-13), the text indicates that one who touches the ...
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What is the original meaning of the word "hevel"?
I am not religious myself, but lately I have found myself somewhat attracted to Ecclesiastes. Reading about it, I am fascinated about what seems to be endless meanings and interpretations of the word ...
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What is the meaning behind the word "House" when we call the Jews "The House of Israel"?
The House of Israel is a phrase which gets repeated often but I never get many people explaining the small details behind the name.
The Jewish people are called the "House" of Israel. Is there a ...
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Why is the word for afternoon (צהריים) plural? [closed]
Why is the word for afternoon (צהריים) plural but morning (בוקר) and evening (ערב) are singular?
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Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch: "שמח" and "צומח"
In this question I brought a quote that I saw in Rabbi Twersky's The Enemy Within (Shaar Press: 2002) in his chapter entitled "Finding Joy in Life" (p.104):
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch ...
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What Tzar (Pain) is There in Leaving Egypt?
It says Vayhi Beshalach Pharoh Es Haam why Vayhi that indicates a language of Tzar what Tzar(pain) is there is Leaving Mitzrayim?
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What is the history of the terms Posek and Psak Halacha?
From my searches, the Tanach does not have the term Psak or Posek in it. Many questions here related to questions on psak quote the Rambam, but those sections refer to Horyaot, or Divrei Halacha, or ...
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Hebrew Dictionary for Mishneh Torah
I’m looking for a dictionary which contains words that one would find in The Rambam’s Mishneh Torah, not Biblical Hebrew. Any suggestions would be helpful.
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Why do Chazal refer to the emergence of a baby from the womb as pesichas hakever
A term throughout Chazal is פתיחת הקבר, pesichas hakever, translated literally as the opening of the grave. For example, Niddah 21a. This term refers to the emergence of a fetus or baby from the womb (...
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In 1 Chronicles 27:25, what is the difference between a storehouse and a treasury?
The same word, אוֹצָר seems to be translated both ways.
1 Chronicles 27:25
And over the treasuries of the king was Azmaveth the son of Adiel, and over the storehouses in the fields, in the cities, in ...
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The distinctions between different roots meaning "save"
Is there any source which explains the textual uses and disticntions between the following roots
פ-ד-ה
ה-צ-ל (is that the root?)
י-ש-ע
ג-א-ל
(and any other similar words, even including the Aramaic פ-...
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Source of the expression בית עולמים referring to the temple
Where does the term בית עולמים come from in reference to the Temple?
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How do I tell whether an "Efrati" is an Efraimite or someone from Efrat (i.e. Bethlehem)?
Sometimes an אֶפְרָתִ֜ means someone from the Tribe of Ephraim. It is certainly used that way in the context of the "Shibollet" story.
Other times, is means someone from Bethlehem. (Ruth) ...
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Why Yehoshua **Bin** Nun and not Yehoshua **Ben** Nun
The Torah refers to Yehoshua as Yehoshua Bin Nun. (See here for an example).
Why Bin Nun and not Ben Nun?
Are there any places in Tanach where he is referred to as Ben Nun?
Is there anyone else in ...
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The word chaveir חבר
According to Jastrow, the word chaveir refers, sometimes to "associate, friend, partner (in sacrifices); colleague, fellow-student; fellow-being; of the same kind(also of things)" (via ...
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