All Questions

Although many websites quote a Midrash saying Hashem told Avraham, "I will give your descendants a special day for forgiveness: Hoshana Rabbah. If they are not forgiven on Rosh Hashana then let ...

More and more non-traditional congregations stream their Shabbat and Yom Tov services, for the benefit of hospital patients and shut-ins. Anything unhalachic there, if done automatically, or by ...

It is mentioned (Yad Malachi: Klalei HaTalmud 148, 154, 301, 307, 330, 415, 550) that the Rambam seldom argued on the Rif. Is there a comprehensive list which enumerates how many times they argue - ...

I'm doing a essay on Ashkenazi history, and I had a thought. Ashkenazim are maninly Southern European and Middle Eastern with some Germanic and Slavic DNA. I've seen many cases where Ashkenazim think ...

Archaeological sources (only an example) mention such presence/influence in the time of the conquer which gradually faded before David's Kingdom. Is it mentioned anywhere in the Nac"h that the ...

At the shul we have simple tables with metal frames (a rectangle with 4 legs) and wooden tops, screwed to them with 4 screws per table. Eventually, all 4 screws of one table loosened up and the ...

Can one put photos in plastic frames that have either swiveling plastic latches or soft metal bending latches that open the back and let a photo be placed between the glass and the back without glue?

In the last years, in Israel, on Erev Chag Succot, about 4 hours before the Chag begins, we witness an interesting phenomenon - incredible price drop for the 4 Minim, especially the expensive Etrog ...

IKEA offers lots of furniture and utensils for self-assembly, some of which are pretty sophisticated, requiring screws and fasteners and some are pretty easy to assemble without tools or connecting ...

If the Schach or a portion of it fell/flew off during Shabbat/Chag, can it be placed back?

This is a 5 Agorot coin bearing a copy of a coin from the 4th year of the Great Revolt (70AD) that pictures the 4 Minim: I can spot two oddities relative to what's commonly accepted: there are two ...

Ma'aser Sheni 1:5 says that water is an invalid option for buying with ma'aser sheni money. The reason, as Bartenura's commentary explains, is because ma'aser sheni money can only be used to buy ...

Two mishnayot have confused me. The first is in Pesachim, which states that if 14 Nisan was on Shabbat, no one left the Temple Mount with their Korban Pesach until nightfall. The second is in Sukkah, ...

It is my understanding that "turning the other cheek" is a uniquely Christian concept that is alien to Judaism. It appears that we are encouraged to take (legal) action against those who do us harm ...

In פתיחת אליהו it mentions the עתיקא קדישא, which literally means the Ancient Holy One. Is that a name of Hashem or referring to something else?

If the sukkah is able to stand on it's own under normal circumstances, can one tie the sukkah wall "down" to a branch for instance, in order to add extra support for heavy wind?

Many people hold that an esrog can be checked with the naked eye, but in practice many people use a magnifying glass. Did the saintly Chofetz Chaim zy”a use a magnifying glass when inspecting his own ...

I would like to ask a question related to another question posted. Looking at 2 Kings 3:27 the wrath was caused after the sacrifice to an idol, yet it caused the Israelites to drew back, while they ...

Why must we fast on Tzom Gedalya? Was he the greatest leader Bnai Yisroel had that we fast on account of his assasination? Was Moshe not a greater leader for he took us out of Egypt yet we do not ...

Why don't we make a bracha on the sense of hearing, like we make on seeing פוקח עורים ?

The Rokeach § 219 (brought by Eliyah Rabbah 625:1) brings those who say that when Rabbi Akiva (Sukkah 11b) says that Sukkos commemorates the sukkos that the Jews dwelled in, it's referring to when ...

How Many vav Hahipuchs (Conversive vav) are in each of the 24 books of Tenach compared with the number of letters / verses in that book. As far as I know they are only in Tenach rather than Mishna or ...

THe approach of learning Halochos or Middos or behaviors from observing Tzaddikim's behavior alone is very common in our literature and is even rooted in Gemmorah (Brochos 62): תניא אמר רבי עקיבא ...

After remarrying, a husband inevitably keeps comparing the new wife to the former, no matter what was the reason for their separation (death or divorce), and that fact can undermine the ongoing Shlom ...

This question is only about interpreting Rambam's view on Revenge in Hilchot Deot 7.7: הַנּוֹקֵם מֵחֲבֵרוֹ עוֹבֵר בְּלֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר לֹא תִקֹּם. וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאֵינוֹ לוֹקֶה עָלָיו ...

The text of Hatatarat Nedarim starts like this: שִׁמְעוּ נָא רַבּותַי דַּיָּנִים מֻמְחִים "Please hear, expert Dayanim (court) It's not just that usually we gather three random people to be ...

There are 4 rules that would cause the postponement of the 1st day of Rosh Hashanna from being on the day of the molad. One of the most commonly implemented rules is called Lo Ad'u Rosh, meaning that ...

In Machshirin 4:7, we learn: ‮פֵּרוֹת שֶׁנָּפְלוּ לְתוֹךְ אַמַּת הַמַּיִם, פָּשַׁט מִי שֶׁהָיוּ יָדָיו טְמֵאוֹת וּנְטָלָן, יָדָיו טְהוֹרוֹת וְהַפֵּרוֹת טְהוֹרִים. וְאִם חָשַׁב שֶׁיּוּדְחוּ יָדָיו, ...

A footnote in this edition of the Midrash Vayosha refers to "Pharaoh's assignment to rule Nineveh for 500 years". I'm aware of midrashim around Pharaoh being the King of Nineveh. But where does this ...

There are some women who post a photo of themself on their LinkedIn profile. Does halacha say anything about this in terms of modesty?

COR: Canadian Yoshon Guide writes: Quaker Oats (COR 112): All products containing oats and/or oat bran - date code of 0819P8 or earlier (Family Size will have a ‘TV’ code instead of ‘P’). . Would ...

The Amidah is said three times a day during weekdays, four on Shabbat, and I believe a fifth time during Yom Kippur. Plus there are the repetitions of the Amidah that are said by the Chazen. For ...

There are some similarities between the laws of a house that obligates produce in ma'aser, and a house that is obligated to have a mezuza. Produce becomes obligated in ma'aser once it enters a house. ...

Gemmorah in Yoma 87B and Rambam Teshuva here rule to say Viduy over and over on Yom Kippur. ת"ר: מצות וידוי ערב יוה"כ עם חשכה The Sages taught: The main mitzva of confession is [just once] on ...

Shu"A Orach Hayim 607.6 כל הקהל לוקים מלקות ארבעים אחר תפלת המנחה שמתוך כך יתן אל לבו לשוב מעבירות שבידו: הגה ונהגו שהנלקה אומר וידוים בשעה שנלקה וכו'‏ All of the congregation receives ...

Outside of our synagogue on Yom Kippur, someone fainted and a doctor present decided to call an ambulance. At that time, there were multiple people present and one phone. Should people have jumped to ...

During seliḥot, we* interweave saying piyyuṭim with the recitation of the 13 middot. This is thematically sensible, since the recitation of the 13 middot is supposed to effect God's forgiveness1 2, ...

I admit that I sometimes just can't keep my fingers to myself. I felt thirsty so I took a refreshing ginger ale from my neighbour's freezer. I typed into Google 'thou shall not steal' after realizing ...

Following Danf's question on "not-to-ask-for-forgiveness-on-yom-kippur", Besides physical suffering for all, for some, Yom Kippur presents also spiritual suffering in the form of countless hours of ...

In the Torah it seems like a few of the Hagim get some special status as being particularly significant. Pesah gets a lot of attention and a lot of rituals, Rosh Hashannah seems barely worth ...

Request for suggestions on how to respond and assist someone in this scenario: During the break yesterday, I spoke with a tween-age girl who explained that she felt no purpose in davening in the shul ...

In the yom kippur musaf my community recited a poem going through the whole story of the deaths of the "asara harugai malchus" the ten martyrs. It is a "חטאנו" poem recited before the confession ...

I have just come across the phrase "nachas rights" and Google does not lead me to a definition. It is in the writing of a British Jew, I expect from Stamford Hill.

The mishna Uktzin 1:1 discusses yadot (handles) for food, and how they מִטּמא ומְטמא ("contract uncleanness and convey uncleanness"). In his commentary to that mishna, Rambam explains that the yad ...

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר֙ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהִ֔ים לֹא־ט֛וֹב הֱי֥וֹת הָֽאָדָ֖ם לְבַדּ֑וֹ אֶֽעֱשֶׂה־לּ֥וֹ עֵ֖זֶר כְּנֶגְדּֽוֹ: ‏ And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man is alone; I shall make him a ...

A friend remarked to me that playing video games professionally today is the equivalent of professional gamblers in the times of the talmud, specifically in that both are not involved in "Yishuvo shel ...

Mourners traditionally study two chapters of the Mishnah, these two chapters being Kelim Ch. 24 and Mikvaos Ch. 7. Besides these sections having to do with ritual purity, what is the underlying ...

Moed katan (21b): מתה אשתו ונשא אשה אחרת — אינו רשאי ליכנס לביתו לדבר עמו ]תנחומין, [כדי שלא לפגוע באשה החדשה. If it was the mourner’s wife who died and he married another woman within thirty ...

I remember seeing a Tosafos in Ksubos a while back which states that when a man gets married, he should go to his in-laws for the chag that follows his wedding. Does anyone know exactly where I can ...

Bartenura comments on the mishna in Yoma Perek 8(1) that there are five Torah references to affliction of the soul on Yom Kippur. The pessukim in the order in which he quotes them are: Vayikro 23:32 ...