All Questions

There's a famous criticism Rav Hirsch had about fairy tales- I think he was responding to the Grimm Brothers specifically. He says that reading such stories are very bad chinuch, since it affects our ...

Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim, 576) defines dever r"l or pestilence as an epidemic killing 3 people in 3 days (not 3 people in 4 days; not 3 people in 2 days) for a city of 500 working age men. How is ...

Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim, Siman 576) discusses fasting and praying for Dever (a plague), and also for a sickness (choli). What is the difference between sickness and plague?

During the Corona virus pandemic a verse which comes to mind is Yishaya 26:20: לֵךְ עַמִּי בֹּא בַחֲדָרֶיךָ, וּסְגֹר דלתיך בַּעֲדֶךָ; חֲבִי כִמְעַט-רֶגַע, עַד יעבור זָעַם. Go, my people, enter ...

What is Judiasm's stance on joking, or in a broader sense being a jokester or lighthearted person? Is it seen as being a negative trait, or is being funny sometimes warranted in certain cases? If I am ...

Wouldn't it make sense for one reader to do the whole thing?

Rabbi Rabbinavitch Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Places has been suggesting in his weekly Dvar Torah that people praying at home because of the Corona virus epidemic should add to the prayers on ...

Because of the Corona virus synagogues are closed this week Tzav 5780 which is Shabbat Hagadol, we will not be able to fulfill the custom of a Shabbat Hagadol Drasha (sermon) according to the usual ...

The Shulchan Aruch (475:1) says ואח"כ יקח כזית מרור וישקענו כולו בחרוסת ולא ישהנו בתוכו שלא יתבטל טעם מרירתו ומטעם זה צריך לנער החרוסת מעליו ויברך על אכילת מרור ויאכלנו בלא הסיבה - take a ...

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 ...

For example, my company matches donations to qualifying charities dollar for dollar. If I donate $100 and they match $100, can I count the matched funds as part of my masser obligation?

I have heard famously in the name of Rav Hirsch that he wanted to close all the synagogues in Germany for a 100 years so that people would value prayers and Judaism properly. On headlines (time 11:50)...

Although I am loath to ask a Covid 19 related question, one particular current debate caught my attention. Most readers are probably aware of the gemara in Bava Metzia 62a where we find the rule one ...

Where are the origins of calling this Beracha "Kiddush" Levana, and what does it mean? I have seen that Rabbi Yosef Qafih in his commentary to Maimonides’s Guide for the Perplexed (Vol. 2 Chapter 5 ...

The Gemara (Sanhedrin 42a) says that reciting Birkat Halavana is like greeting the Shechina. That is also as to why we recite it while standing. What does this mean? What is the depth behind this?

I find it strange that Genesis/Bereshit 18:21 seems to imply that G-d has limited knowledge of what's going on in Sodom and Amorah, so I wondered if the word eda'ah (אֵדָעָה) could be translated as: ...

One of the symptoms of COVID-19 is the loss of smell. Is one still Yotzei their father bracha of Borei Menei B’Samim even if they cannot smell the B’samim?

What is the source of the Prayer for the Sick which is included in the back of the Artscroll Tehillim and founded here: Prayer for the Sick G‑d, G‑d, mighty, merciful and gracious, long - suffering, ...

Are there any Midrashim where Yitzchak was actually sacrificed by Avraham? https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/1136172-gen-22-11-16a-the-story-of-the-near-sacrifice-of-isaac-is "a later midrashic ...

I thought I’ve read somewhere the moon needs to be visible (although you don’t look up at it) the entirety of kiddish levanah, so when it’s completed and you look up, the moon is still visible. Does ...

This question may sound strange but I was curious what the Halacha is on it. I enjoy wrapping tefillin. I personally enjoy the ritual of the arm wrap a bit more but both are enjoyable in their own ...

Related to this question, I’m wondering was there a special exception to allow Joshua into the Tabernacle? Some areas such as Numbers 1:51 say that any non-Levite who approaches it should be executed. ...

Divrei Hayamim 1, 16 quotes tehillim 105 (or vice versa) which reads זָכַ֣ר לְעוֹלָ֣ם בְּרִית֑וֹ דָּבָ֥ר צִ֝וָּ֗ה לְאֶ֣לֶף דּֽוֹר׃ He is ever mindful of His covenant, the promise He gave for a ...

The Seder is in a particular order essential to correctly observe Pesach. Is there a comprehensive source (or discussion) of the sequence of plagues, especially for insights of how to apply to our ...

I understand this question may be interpreted as being slightly generalized but I'm asking for sources which cite the religious/spiritual nature of art in Jewish practice. Obviously, statues of ...

A couple of years ago I heard a vort based on a midrash. The midrash apparently stated that when Yisrael were enslaved in Egypt, the Egyptians made them work very hard at building magnificent ...

For those that watched the TV miniseries "Unorthodox", is it considered a Kosher Halachic marriage? Two irreligious Jews (don't keep kosher or Shabbos in public) who get married (the ring and the ...

What would be the beracha for yogurt with a kazayit of mezonot (al ha'michya) and a kazayit of a fruit of Israel (al ha'perot)? Does one assume yogurt is tafel to its toppings, and not say boreh ...

Would one need to make a separate bracha on hot chocolate that is drunk with the bread meal if one already made hamotzi, or does the hamotzi bracha cover it?

When may the principle of hora’at sha’ah (emergency measures) be invoked? Looking for sources, responsa. I know about the classic case, violating the laws of Shabbat to save someone's life. But under ...

"מְכַשֵּׁפָ֖ה לֹ֥א תְחַיֶּֽה׃" "You shall not tolerate a sorceress." (Exodus 22:17) Is the commandment of not allowing sorcerers and the like to live specifically against Jewish sorcerers or also ...

The current health situation has resulted in restrictions on large group prayers. Minyans have been included in such restrictions. Though this is the case, certain groups have been shown praying ...

Are there any sources (prior to 5780) that discuss the value or lack thereof of isolated individuals praying at the same time?

Are American Paskesz grain products, such as Mini Trios Bites, yoshon year round? Is there a way to determine from, e.g., a package code if/when they are yoshon? (Paskesz cookies under Rav Westheim ...

The Rambam says a King must be anointed by a Sanhedrin, why did Shmuel seemingly go alone in secret?

This is a personal question and I am seeking some guidance. Here is a little bit of background information so that you understand a little of what the situation is. So both of my parents are Jewish ...

Inspired by a comment on a related question, I'm seeking clarification on a detail of the discussion in Avoda Zara 26. The gemara discusses different opinions on whether one may raise from, must ...

Context I am practicing my biblical Hebrew by translating the weekly Parshah. As resources, I have the Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB) Lexicon (coded with Strong's concordance numbers) and Gesenius' ...

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 ...

Isaiah 45:1 calls King Cyrus of Persia “G-d’s Messiah” among other references to him: כֹּֽה־אָמַ֣ר יְהוָה֮ לִמְשִׁיחוֹ֮ לְכ֣וֹרֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־הֶֽחֱזַ֣קְתִּי בִֽימִינ֗וֹ לְרַד־לְפָנָיו֙ גּוֹיִ֔ם ...

There are those that say Hallel, Pesach night after Maariv. This year when it looks like, due to COVID-19, we will still not be Davening with a Minyan Pesach night, does one who is Davening without a ...

I'm wondering if there is in the Talmud any reference to gathering herbs.

Who was the last 'Samukh' (סמוך)? Rambam stated in the introduction of his book, that the last Sanhedrin (סנהדרין) was a little before the Talmud was edited. But it says nothing about the last ...

We find in Isaiah 8:2 that Isaiah took two trustworthy witnesses who are Uriah the priest and Zechariah Ben Yeberachiah. If this Zechariah is none other than the prophet Zechariah as Makkos 24b ...

The verse says (Exodus 19:4): אַתֶּ֣ם רְאִיתֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתִי לְמִצְרָ֑יִם וָאֶשָּׂ֤א אֶתְכֶם֙ עַל־כַּנְפֵ֣י נְשָׁרִ֔ים וָאָבִ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם אֵלָֽי׃ ‘You have seen what I did to the ...

I saw a documentary about the ultra orthodox/Haredi Jews in Israel. I saw how extreme they were in order to avoid the influence of the modern world to prevent assimilation. Then I came to know that ...

The Mishna, in Ta'anit 4:1-4, describes an institution called ma'amadot: Just as the Kohens and Levites were divided into 24 clans, which each handled the Temple service for two non-holiday weeks of ...

In general we refrain from observing fast days during the month of Nissan (S"A O"C 429:2). There are some exceptions, like a taanis chalom. For a communal distress such as a deadly epidemic a ...

As of late, there has been a controversy in various Jewish communities around the world. Certain Rabbis and certain individuals have actively circumvented the preventative measures to help stop the ...

Is the study of agadic material i.e stories which are not related to the practice or theory of Halakha, incumbent upon a Jew? In other words, is there something inherently wrong with not learning ...