18
votes
Accepted
Going from an nonreligious reform Jew to a religious one?
Welcome and congratulations on your search and efforts!
Beyond the suggestions above (first and foremost to approach the rabbi in a local synagogue or Chabad house), there are a number of websites ...
- 48.1k
12
votes
Accepted
How long does it take to learn to layn Megillas Ester?
I've been a Torah reader for about 45 years, and have read Megilla for about 20 years. This is tough to give you an exact assessment, here, because there are several factors here. So, take what I ...
- 70k
12
votes
Accepted
I am 15 years old and do not go to a Yeshiva but would like to learn Talmud. A few rabbis near me said they could teach me. How should I start
First of all congratulations for wanting to grow in your Jewish learning. Learning Talmud means different things. One approach is to learn the structure of the Talmud, its way of approaching issues, ...
- 48.1k
11
votes
Help identifying yeshivot for baalei teshuva (men)
So there are a number of options in Israel - I will try and provide a bit of background for each one. Just an aside, please note there is no such a thing as a bad yeshiva, it is always about finding ...
- 30.3k
10
votes
Bat mitzvah - I'm female aged 50. Never been taught or had a bat mitzvah
Welcome and congratulations on your search and efforts!
First and foremost you should approach the rabbi in a local synagogue or Chabad house.
Beyond that, there is a wonderful organization called ...
- 48.1k
9
votes
Bat mitzvah - I'm female aged 50. Never been taught or had a bat mitzvah
Absolutely. I have no idea where you live, but you might try the nearest branch of Chabad or Aish.
- 73.5k
8
votes
Accepted
What should a Jew learn regularly?
In the most general sense, one is required to know the entire Torah, meaning both written and oral, revealed and hidden, each individual according to their unique capacity. It is an occupation which ...
- 14.3k
8
votes
Advanced Tanya Shiurim
When a beginner learns Gemara, one of the greatest setbacks is the lack of "prerequisite" knowledge. Many concepts are preestablished, including the 13 middos of learning Torah (gzeira shava, binyan ...
- 362
7
votes
Is studying in a university while at a yeshiva possible in israel?
Machon Lev in Jerusalem is one such option
The Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT) – Lev Academic Center is the
second largest academic institution in Jerusalem. It is fully
accredited by ...
- 48.1k
7
votes
Sheilos U'Tshuvos on Gemara
I don't know if any of these three is exactly what you are looking for, but I'm sure that they would be extremely helpful for your purposes.
A Sefer that often quotes various Teshuvos and their ...
- 20.9k
7
votes
Accepted
Predisposition of a person based on day of birth
See Shabbat 156a:
כְּתִיב אַפִּינְקָסֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בֶּן לֵוִי: הַאי מַאן דִּבְחַד בְּשַׁבָּא, יְהֵי גְּבַר וְלָא חֲדָא בֵּיהּ... מַאי טַעְמָא? דְּאִיבְּרוֹ בֵּיהּ אוֹר וָחוֹשֶׁךְ. הַאי ...
- 97.4k
6
votes
What should a Jew learn regularly?
I had the privilege to discuss this question in person with R Ephraim Buchwald who founded/leads the National Jewish Outreach Program and has personally directly taught thousands of Jews and ...
- 48.1k
6
votes
Going from an nonreligious reform Jew to a religious one?
In addition to the fine answer by mbloch, I'd like to touch on a few points not mentioned there.
Be sure not to grow too fast. You're in a tough situation, living in a family which I assume is not ...
- 18.5k
6
votes
Sheilos U'Tshuvos on Gemara
Hebrewbooks.org is available to everyone who is on the web. When you open the 'shas' tab, There a Sefer on the mefarshim list called שדה צופים which quotes many Sheilos Uteshuvos the likes of the ...
- 1,382
6
votes
History of chattan & kallah classes
Based on the book "Halachos of Niddah" by Rabbi Shimon D. Eider (first published in 1981), the origin of the modern Chassan and Kallah classes began shortly after the Holocaust. Historically, mothers ...
- 6,753
6
votes
I am 15 years old and do not go to a Yeshiva but would like to learn Talmud. A few rabbis near me said they could teach me. How should I start
Adding to what mbloch said,
Would you recommend the Daf Yomi.
No. A beginner would not be able to keep up with the pace of learning one entire daf every day. Even those who are well-versed in the ...
- 18.5k
5
votes
Learning Medieval Arabic
In addition to all the very good advice in the other answers, there is a book by Joshua Blau in Hebrew called דקדוק הערבית-היהודית של ימי-הביניים, which was published by the Magnes Press of the Hebrew ...
- 51
5
votes
Accepted
What are the pros and cons of learning online?
Online learning is absolutely a valuable experience. The fact of the matter is, you can find the answer to pretty much any question that you have about Judaism online (and if you can't find it, it's ...
- 24.7k
5
votes
Resources for those beginning to keep Shabbos
Here are some resources I would consider useful/practical for those new to Shabbos and seeking to cultivate an Orthodox observance, based on my own experiences as a baalas teshuvah.
Shabbos primers:
...
- 19.6k
5
votes
Resources for those beginning to keep Shabbos
Two online resources from Morasha:
The Shabbat Experience - Insight into Friday night seudah & mitzvos
Shabbat I: Plugging into the Goals of Life (basic concepts of Shabbos)
And a book to ...
- 58.3k
5
votes
Accepted
What's the best way to learn how to lead mincha?
I had the same question years ago. I have used http://virtualcantor.com/
I liked the versatility of the site. But also its clarify for newcomers. I did not know the structure of the tefilla and ...
- 1,936
5
votes
Is studying in a university while at a yeshiva possible in israel?
Bar Ilan offers the option of combining beit midrash for part of the day and university courses the rest of the day: http://mgl.org.il/
- 4,881
5
votes
I am 15 years old and do not go to a Yeshiva but would like to learn Talmud. A few rabbis near me said they could teach me. How should I start
I am a baal teshuva so I have had this issue before.
I would 100% recommend against starting with daf yomi: it’s way too hard, and it takes years of preparation to get to that level.
I would ...
- 151
4
votes
What is the proper approach to a novel idea in Torah?
My teachers who worked extensively with Baalei Teshuva warned me that Sefer HaMiddot by Reb Nachman is a work that is difficult to understand properly and many ideas in fact seem to run contrary to ...
- 5,310
4
votes
Online shiurim on the topic of religious OCD
Searching YUTorah for "OCD" produces this list of 11 shiurim on the topic. The one of those shiurim that I've listened to was carefully researched from both the Torah and medical perspectives, at ...
- 911
4
votes
Resources for those beginning to keep Shabbos
For a guide to the Shabbat Table Experience, try my book, Treasure of Shabbat: An Illuminated Guide to the Shabbat Table Experience: Finding Meaning and Inspiration through Shabbat Observance at Home
...
4
votes
What are the pros and cons of learning online?
What I'm stating is my own opinion based on my experience. Others may advise otherwise, and you may have a different perspective.
"Online", these days, offers so many options that it is mind boggling....
- 70k
4
votes
What are the essential books which every Jew should own?
I have yet to find a better list than that of the "Crazy Jewish Convert":
Essential Jewish Library
Siddur, published by ArtScroll
Siddur, published by Koren
Chumash, published by ArtScroll
Tanach (...
- 18.5k
4
votes
Accepted
What are your suggestions for learning Yiddish?
You might start with yiddishpop.com.
If you want to learn the Lubavitcher Rebbe's sichos in Yiddish, a program that presupposes very little Yiddish knowledge is Back 2 Basics Sichos. Some of the ...
- 19.6k
4
votes
What should a Jew learn regularly?
R Yehuda Greenwald wrote a small booklet called "Torah study" under the direction of R Shlomo Wolbe (I have it in French, it is part of this larger book).
He suggests there a daily program ...
- 48.1k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible