All Questions

What are the sources for עין הרע? Where does it say practical advice for when you feel you might be effected by עין הרע and you want to take action?

The Mechilta D'Rebbi Yishmael (14:2) explains וישובו ויחנו לפני פי החירות, מה היו חירות הללו לא היו משופעות אלא גדודיות ולא היו תרוטות אלא מוקפות ולא היו עגולות אלא מרובעות ולא היו מעשה אדם אלא מעשה ...

The Gemara Yevamos (62b) records שנים עשר אלף זוגים תלמידים היו לו לרבי עקיבא מגבת עד אנטיפרס וכולן מתו בפרק אחד מפני שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה - Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students in an ...

Do Jews believe Christianity alters Torah according to Melachim uMilchamot - Chapter 11/4. Isn't it the same old testament Jews and Christians believe in, how would it be altered?

The term mitqaddešet mean "sexual intercourse"? Apart from the Bible, it seems to have this meaning in rabbinic literature. According to Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Sefer Nashim, Ishut 3,11 ...

The zodiac sign of the month Adar in a non-leap year is Pisces (Dagim). But what kind of Adar I, which is in a leap year? Two months cannot have the same zodiac sign.

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 ...

I'm interested in who introduced (and/or when) the standard liturgical formula for bruchas, that is, that they start with (a) 'ברוך אתא ה (b) that, followed by אלוקנו מלך העלום (c) in the case of ...

Suppose someone wishing to convert to Judaism was caring in her home for a chronically-ill adoptive parent who practiced another religion. Would this be an impediment to the conversion process? Would ...

Shalom. The following article from Chabad.org claims that one should ‘offer one’s back / cheek’ to no one but Hashem: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1791975/jewish/Is-Turning-the-Other-...

In chapter 11 of the laws of kings (and their wars) (https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1188356/jewish/Melachim-uMilchamot-Chapter-11.htm) the Rambam defines the basic obligation to ...

Who is the author of the Maamar Mordechai quoted often in the Mishna Berurah. There are quite a number of sefarim on HebrewBooks with that title and the old prints make it hard to scan through them to ...

It has been said that a convert must avoid aspects, or relics of their non-Jewish life, from before conversion. I have heard some rabbis say, all ties to genetic family are severed with conversion. ...

Shalom. I want to know if I can laminate some pages of the Torah and hang up in the shower to read while I shower? Is there any halacha against this? Blessings.

In Israel, when an important Orthodox event is held (convention, family celebration, etc), a head table is set at the front to accommodate the most honorable Rabbis. This is called "the Mizrah&...

In a minyan I participate in, the one doing hachnasas sefer torah has to return the torah immediately to an aron kodesh in another room. I see people walk out the door to follow the Torah outside of ...

What may I refer to to learn where to locate verses or sections in the Tanach by topic? Preferably one of our own sources rather than a Christian one because the interpretations of the Tanach need to ...

I was learning the sefer אור ההלכה on hilchos Shabbos and he quotes someone as הרב הנאמ"ן. Does anyone know who that is?

Is there a teaching that states, those who work deserve to be paid? The longer version is: Where in the Torah, as according to the rabbis, is there a concept or a mitzvah that states, something like, ...

Accordinng to wikpedia : Apocrypha in Judaism Certain circles in Judaism, such as the Essenes in Judea and the Therapeutae in Egypt, were said to have a "secret" literature (see Dead Sea ...

The Shulchan Arukh (Y.D. 282:19) discusses stacking various sefarim. There it is stated that one should place a Chumash over other books of the Tanakh. Suppose I have a set of Chumashim with each book ...

What are essential seforim (by masechet) that are organized by sugya; preferably ones that give a basic overview of the lomdus involved.

Bereshit 10:2 reads: בְּנֵ֣י יֶ֔פֶת גֹּ֣מֶר וּמָג֔וֹג וּמָדַ֖י וְיָוָ֣ן וְתֻבָ֑ל וּמֶ֖שֶׁךְ וְתִירָֽס׃ Targum Jonathan to this verse reads: בְּנוֹי דְיֶפֶת גוֹמֶר וּמָגוֹג וּמָדַי וְיָוָן וְתוּבָל ...

The DCH and BDB lexicons list these words as all meaning the same thing - "to bow down." Is there some finer nuance between these words?

Is it halachically permissible for a Jew to call the police on a fellow Jew if a person is threatened with imminent violence in the United States. I know there is an issue with informing on a fellow ...

People are diagnosed with terminal illnesses on a regular basis. Many times a person refuses to undergo treatment because they don't wish to experience the pain and exhaustion that would entail. While ...

Does the mother bird need to actually go away from the area of the nest or as long as it is removed from the nest it's fine even if it is in the immediate vicinity or right next to it.

I came across an argument that the word Cushi can be used for both non-blacks and gentiles. They argued that Moses married a Cushi, yet Moses' wife, according to Rashi, was not actually black. ...

I am looking for specific online resources or fundamental books and guides (online or in print) that are practical and helpful tools for a more 'academic' approach to the study of Tanakh and Talmud. ...

when I was younger one of my rabbi's told be that gelilah is like u get all the aliyah. I am wondering what the source on this if this is true?

Moses was still afraid that Dathan and Aviram would try to thwart his mission, so God said to Moses in Midian, "You can go back to Egypt without worry, for all the men who seek your life, i.e., ...

I am fairly unfamiliar with Judaism and I happened upon a special Sabbath that I had not seen before. It occurs in late January or early February and is known as Shabbat Shirah. I would appreciate it ...

In Tanya chapter 48 it talks about "sovev kol almin", the light it Hashem that "surrounds" all worlds, then it says that the explanation of the term is not that it "surrounds&...

My daughter goes to a chabad school (nusach ari?) and has been taught in class that וּכְתַבְתָּ֛ם in the shema (end of first paragraph) is with a shvah na on the כְ. She also says it has the asterisk ...

English and other languages (e.g., Russian & Greek) distinguish between "holy" ("святой", "άγιος") and "sacred" ("священный", "ιερός"). ...

Part of the purification process of a Metzora is a full haircut (Vayikra 14:9). וְהָיָה בַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי יְגַלַּח אֶת־כָּל־שְׂעָרוֹ אֶת־רֹאשׁוֹ וְאֶת־זְקָנוֹ וְאֵת גַּבֹּת עֵינָיו וְאֶת־כָּל־...

Why isn’t Albert Einstein a heretic? He said: “I believe in Spinoza’s G-d who reveals Himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a G-d who concerns Himself with fates and actions of human ...

We all know Lavan was a bad person. He tried to kill Yaakov, he enslaved Yaakov, tried to cheat Yaakov out of his wages, he gave Yaakov the wrong wife, and many more. We even begin the hagaddah with a ...

The Gemara Yevamos (62b) and Midrash Koheles Rabbah (11:6) single out two specific students who died out of the 12,000: וְרַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אֲלָפִים תַּלְמִידִים הָיוּ לִי ...

Is anyone aware of a Sefer which traces the psokim of the Rambam to their source in the Gemoro together with providing the necessary background and other varying halachic opinions? In other words a ...

In most prison/custody cells in the UK, and likely elsewhere in the world, there is no seperation between the living/sleeping area and the toilet. Is a person allowed to daven or learn Torah in such a ...

Many Biblical Halochos are built on some basic math techniques - addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, etc. This is predicated on our common sense, we speculate that mathematical logic ...

In the movie Fiddler on The Roof, I cry when I see this part of the film, because God is so real to me, and because I long for my fathers blessing, but he is no longer on the earth. I am jealous of ...

What is the halachic reasoning for adding/deleting this line to the Kaddish? Is it unique to just Nusach Sefard and Edot HaMizrach? It seems to also be near universal amongst Dati Leumi minyanim in ...

Was the concept of Godhead (one God, but multiple persons) known to Judaism prior to the advent of Christianity? Were there Jews that held a Binitarian, Trinitarian or similar "Godhead" ...

Regarding Moshe's response to Aharon at the end of the fifth reading of Shmini, Rashi writes that Moshe's response to Aharon (who said if we heard the leniency of eating the one time only sacrifices ...

According to Wikipedia, Rabbi Avraham Ben Harambam wrote a commentary on the Torah. Is there anywhere I can find a copy of this online?

The Torah says: וְשָׁמְר֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֑ת לַעֲשׂ֧וֹת אֶת־הַשַּׁבָּ֛ת לְדֹרֹתָ֖ם בְּרִ֥ית עוֹלָֽם׃ בֵּינִ֗י וּבֵין֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל א֥וֹת הִ֖וא לְעֹלָ֑ם כִּי־שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֗ים ...

I understand that conversions made under a non-orthodox tradition are typically not accepted under orthodox law. My question is, if a child born to a mother who was converted in a non-orthodox ...

I saw something intresting brought from the midrash tadsha. I want to know where can I find this midrash. Online sources or/and where to buy online would be appreciated.