All Questions
36,072
questions
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What does מחיה מתים אתה mean?
In the Amidah, does מחיה מתים אתה mean "You revive the dead" or "You are a reviver of the dead"?
If it means the former, how does God presently revive the dead?
Please provide ...
- 331
1
vote
1
answer
89
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Halachic reasons why a woman should not give a d'var torah before Musaf?
In a shul with which I am familiar, the established custom has long been that the Rabbi gives a d'var torah before Shabbat Musaf. On the rare occasions when the Rabbi is out of town, he will invite a ...
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0
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38
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Seeking halachic arguments for starting the Passover Seders earlier than Tzeit
Another thread (Starting the Seder after Sheki'ah (sunset)? Starting the Seder after Sheki'ah (sunset)?) included a discussion of the starting time of the Seders. This led me to search for ...
- 7,347
2
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0
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Why aren't chia seeds considered to be kitniyot?
According to the OU, plain unground chia seeds are not kitniyot. Given that they're almost indistinguishable from poppy seeds, which are considered to be kitniyot, I'm puzzled as to why not.
- 121
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107
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"These and those are idolaters" -- what is the problem exactly?
According to the Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 21:7, Zohar 2:170b), an angel was accusing Israel and claiming why Hashem should save them and drown the Egyptians: "Just like Egyptians, the Hebrews are ...
- 604
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1
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143
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Jewish View on "Runes" [closed]
How does the Torah and Talmud view (viking and non viking) runes? Letters written on swords and such. Stones with a letters. What is the view on them?
To clarify: There is a game(s) where it is ...
- 184
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38
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Why no (full) Hallel on the second day of Pesach?
On the last 6 days of Pesach, according to the Gemara, we don't say (full) Hallel because the korban is the same for all 7 days.
The second day of Pesach has a unique korban. So why don't we say ...
- 8,774
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36
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Conflicting Kashrut indications [duplicate]
A box of Manishewitz dark-chocolate-covered matzah says in the front that OU certified it as parve, but says in the back: "May contain nuts, soy, milk". Why the disconnect? Does it mean ...
- 17.1k
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44
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Does matzah have to be flat?
In looking at my kippah decorated to look like matzah, a child asked me: "Is this real matzah?" This got me thinking: Does halacha say anywhere that matzah has to be flat? It's easy enough ...
- 17.1k
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196
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Is it forbidden to sleep in a bed where a husband and wife usually sleep?
The Nitei Gavriel 51:6 writes that it is a midas chasidus (pious trait) not to even look at a married couple’s bed. So maybe actually sleeping in their bed would be an outright issur (prohibition).
Is ...
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37
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Is there a different deadline for Moshiach to come with mercy than to come with more harshness?
Chazal bring down that human history follows the seven days of creation, with each day representing 1,000 years, and the seventh day being a day of rest. Therefore, it follows that Moshiach must come ...
- 77
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1
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Hearing Kiddush for Shabbos and Yom Tov when for you it's just Shabbos
An Israeli is visiting the Diaspora for a holiday beginning on Friday.
On Friday night a local Diasporan will says kiddush for the holiday and shabbos. Can the Israeli, for whom it's not a holiday, ...
- 11
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60
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Kosher for Pesach substitutes -- aren't they too real?
I was always bothered by the fact that some Pesach food (cookies and the like) looks very real, almost like the original.
Are there any authorities who have taken this as an actual issue? Isn't it ...
- 604
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At a seder, If each kos has its own pri hagafen bracha, why does the afikoman not have its own al achilat matza bracha? [duplicate]
At an Ashkenazi seder, If each kos has its own pri hagafen bracha, why does the afikoman not have its own al achilat matza bracha?
- 11
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When Friday is last day of Chag - Can you bring shabbat in early, thus taking out chag early?
For example in Israel this year the last day of Pesach is Friday. I am looking for sources that discusses bringing in Shabbat after pesach early. This would have the effect of ending pesach early - ...
- 187
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60
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What is the specific act that cooks wheat into matzoh (and where does this leave Wondra)?
My housemates saw the hechsher on a box of matzoh, and posed a question that I think I know the answer to, but I don't know why. They asked: could Wondra flour ('precooked' flour) be kosher for ...
- 31
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2
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54
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May one put clean sheets on a bed for oneself--NOT launder them, just change sheets--during chol hamoed? [closed]
During Chol Hamoed, may I put clean sheets on my own bed (not a guest's) that were washed BEFORE the chag?
- 253
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52
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Source for Rava's first name
According to Wikipedia and Encyclopedia.com, Rava's real first name was Abba and "Rava" is a portmanteau of R' Abba. However, both claims are sourceless (Encyclopedia.com refers to Eruvin ...
- 20.2k
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2
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173
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Should men hide ervah from other men according to Bereishith 9?
I was thinking about Bereishith 9:20-27, where Noah is drunk and becomes uncovered, exposing ervah. Ham sees his father's ervah and tells his brothers, who then cover him without looking in order to ...
- 277
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46
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Why is there no birkas hamitzva on kiddush?
There's a general rule that there's a birkas hamitzva before performing a mitzva. How come no blessing is recited before the mitzva of kiddush?
- 1,813
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Matza Ball Soup v.s. Matza [duplicate]
We know we cannot have matzah on erev Pesach; what about matzah ball soup made partially of Matzah on erev Pesach?
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Does a formalized date system exist for Judaism?
I am a software engineer and currently thinking about dates/times. In programming, all dates are in the Gregorian calendar system, and things start to break down when you get to dealing with CE/BCE. ...
- 293
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Why the Placement of Pour Out Thy Wrath?
The paragraph "Pour Out Your Wrath" is in the Haggada after birchat hamazon and before Hallel.
Why might it have been placed there?
- 7,347
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55
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In what ways sacrificing several birds interfere with Jewish's ritual?
I was looking for sources on why the Jews fought the Romans and what's the real reason. Why the Jews didn't just get along with the rest of the empire.
I found this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
- 101
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81
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In what circumstances does the Tetragrammaton occur in non-Biblical literature?
I've tried to ask a very general question in the title, but I'll begin with the specific circumstance that gave rise to my question.
I was looking at the Maxwell House Haggadah and noticed this prayer ...
- 278
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2
answers
1k
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Do you drink five cups of wine when a Seder falls on Friday or Saturday?
This year the two Seders are on Friday and Saturday. My understanding (please tell me if I'm wrong) is that the normal Shabbat blessings are done before the Seder on Friday night, and the normal ...
- 133
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0
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77
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Is shaking off the charoses from the maror prohibited as boreir on Shabbos?
Is shaking off the charoses from the maror prohibited as boreir on Shabbos? And if not, why not?
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0
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How does Matzah contribute to simchas yom tov
I always understood the concept/reason to sometimes be lenient, known as מניעת שמחת יום טוב, a lack or decrease in the joy of Yom Tov, to be referring to cases where a significant portion of the meal ...
- 18.2k
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105
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Wristwatch beged isha?
What are the opinions on wearing a wrist watch.
We see many biblical figures that wore jewelry, the golden calf was made from jewelry belonging to man, you can say that only erev rav contributed to ...
- 23
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1
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46
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Is there a difference in commands, statues & rules?
In Deuteronomy there is a repeated triad that appears in its full form first in Deut 5:28:
וַאֲדַבְּרָה אֵלֶיךָ אֵת כָּל־הַמִּצְוָה וְהַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים
And I will tell you the whole ...
- 301
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70
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Source of "You can educate a fool but you can't make him think."
The internet is full of this "quote", attributing it to "The Talmud".
Is this really to be found in Mishnah or Gemara?
If so, what is the source reference?
- 307
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1
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90
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Why don’t first born sons of a bas Kohen need a pidyon haben?
Per https://www.yeshiva.co/midrash/11477:
The obligation rests on the father of a boy who is the first-born of his mother and was born through natural delivery. If the father is a cohen or a levi, or ...
- 51
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0
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80
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When did "Pour out your wrath" become widespread in Haggadot?
This website quotes Joseph Tabory as saying that the earliest known appearance of Pour Out Your Wrath in a Haggada was in the Machzor Vitry (p. 296) which dates back to around 1200 (See
https://www....
- 7,347
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101
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Was the Talmud written with diacritcs?
This might sound like a strange question, but was the Talmud written with diacritics? The MT today is written with critical marks that were added in the middle of the first millennium. But the Talmud ...
- 171
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65
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Mekor for Dayenu 'warfare' seder tradition
I recall seeing a minhag in which the participants enjoy hitting each other with scallions during Dayenu at the seder night. I don't know much about this but I was very curious on learning what is the ...
- 6,672
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77
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0
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When do we read Shir ha-Shirim if the 1st day of Pesach is Shabbat? [duplicate]
According to the OU:
On "Shabbat Chol HaMoed," the Shabbat that occurs during the Intermediate Days of the Holiday, or on the Seventh Day of that Holiday when Shabbat coincides with that ...
- 848
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108
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Healing power of matzah (Zohar)
The Zohar HaKadosh (thanks to HaLeiVi for pointing this Zohar out) writes that matzah is called "healing food":
Rather, it can be likened to a King who had a single son who grew weak. One ...
- 1,939
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Is Tehillah 118 connected to Deborah/Yael?
"They surrounded me like bees, they were extinguished like a fire of thorns - in the name of the Lord, as I will chop them off." - Tehillim 118:12
With reference to bees and fire as well as ...
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Recitation of Hallel Accompanied by an Aramaic Targum? (in Megilla 21b)
I recently noticed in גמ' מגילה כא עמוד ב a possibility that there was some point where Targum accompanied the public recitation of the Hallel, due to the line:
"ובהלל ובמגילה אפילו עשרה קורין ...
- 414
2
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1
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164
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Ma Nishtana Candles
So I was introduced to something new this year when someone sent me an Erev Pesach checklist which included the preparation of Ma Nishtana candles? I had never heard of this practise and looked online ...
- 19.9k
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Moshe Grave connected with the Cave of the Patriarchs
The Sefer אישי התנ״ך / the encyclopaedia of biblical personalities brings the sifri Beracha 34:51 “ A tunnel cave connected Moses grave with the graves of the patriarchs.”
I can’t seem to find this. I ...
- 1,796
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Is it possible we didn’t speak Egyptian while in Egypt?
Our sages say that we didn’t change our language, clothes, and names and in that merit we were redeemed. However didn’t we have to communicate with the Egyptians in their language?
- 801
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82
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How could Haman be a gilgul of Eisav?
The Arizal in Sefer HaGilgulim ch. 35 says that Haman was a gilgul (reincarnation) of Eisav. How is that possible being that Eisav had the din (status) of an Yisroel meshumad (apostate Jew Kidushin ...
- 801
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47
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On A Fully-Jewish Town in Spain
I'm preparing a shiur on Golden Age Spain and their minhagim. I remember reading in a historical chronicle (which I could have sworn was the Sefer HaKabbalah of the Raavad HaRishon) about a fully-...
- 416
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1
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67
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Source for laying tefillin each workday
It's obvious that there's a long tradition of putting on tefillin each morning that isn't Shabbos or YomTov but what's the source for this? Why each day? Before pekudei d'zmrah, after putting on ...
1
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1
answer
40
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Does the Torah teach, that mountains have an extension below the mountain’s base?
Job 28:9 “They put their hand to the flinty rock,and overturn mountains by the roots מִשֹּׁ֣רֶשׁ.
the word מִשֹּׁ֣רֶשׁ is used literally for a root of tree or shrub,as in Jeremiah 17:8
Does the Torah, ...
- 39
1
vote
2
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132
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Mechirat Chametz on Internet
I see that many Jewish sites make Mechirat Chametz on Internet.
I know that traditionally poeple make the selling by a Shtar and a Kinyan Sudar to make the Rav Shaliach to sell the Chametz. How works ...
- 22.1k
3
votes
1
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141
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When to start Shnayim Mikra for a parsha that is delayed due to Yom Tov?
This year (5782) Acharei Mos won’t be read until a few weeks after Metzora, due to Pesach falling on Shabbos (and outside of Israel on the next Shabbos as well). Do the Poskim discuss whether one may ...
- 780
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43
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Mishnah Edition
Can someone recommend an edition of the Mishnah? I am looking for an edition that is - a) all-Hebrew b) with all the major commentators (Bartenura, Rambam, T. Yom Tov, etc.) C) printed with very clear ...
- 407