23
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Why should Bochurim learn Gemara in Aramaic?
I don't see it as a "punishment" any more than one is punished by having to read Shakespeare in his Elizabethan English, rather than in an "updated" text. It's not because the language is sacred, it's ...
- 18.7k
11
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Why should Bochurim learn Gemara in Aramaic?
According to Tiferes Yisroel the gemara was redacted multiple times by Ravina and Rav Ashi. The reformatted the words to make them more contemporary. The Masechtos they didn't get around to have ...
- 33k
11
votes
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Aramaic in a baraisa
According to Dr. Michael Higger in Otzar Habaraitot, vol. 8 (my translation):
"And so we should also note that in a few places we find that the Talmud, when writing "and it was taught in a ...
- 23.6k
9
votes
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Why do we say Ushpizin in Aramaic?
In my book Lashon HaKodesh: History, Holiness, & Hebrew (Mosaica Press, 2015), on page 232 I wrote:
This idea comes up again in another, closely related, discussion.
According to Kabbalah, on ...
- 5,954
8
votes
Why should Bochurim learn Gemara in Aramaic?
Aramaic is actually one of the biblical languages (Daniel, Ezra/Nehemia) and even has words in the Pentateuch (e.g. "ygar sahadutha" by the treaty of Lavan and Yaakov). The Maharal interprets the ...
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7
votes
Why is Jeremiah 10:11 written in Aramaic?
Radak says that the verse (except the initial "tell them thus") is what Jeremiah was telling the Jews outside Israel to tell the Gentiles there — which would of course be in Aramaic. And the "tell ...
- 73.6k
7
votes
Translation of the word 'DiMistapina'
It literally means "that I am afraid." "לולא דמסתפינא"--"were it not that I am afraid" is a common rabbinic phrase typically signaling a novel interpretation which the author is not confident enough ...
- 6,392
7
votes
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7
votes
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What does the name "Sirach" mean?
According to Wikipedia:
Sirach is the Greek form of the family name Sira. It adds the letter Chi, an addition like that in Hakel-dama-ch in Acts 1:19.
According to Da'at Mikra on Ezra 2:61, footnote ...
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6
votes
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Where does Rav Hai Gaon explain the meaning of the phrase צורבא מרבנן?
This is found in Shaarei Teshuva ch. 84
לרבינו האי ז"ל
וששאלתם צורב"א מרבנן הוא כמו צרב'ת השחין דבר חם המתחמם באשה של תורה האי צורבא מרבנן דרתח אורייתיה קא מרתחא ליה שנאמר הלא כה דברי כאש ד"א ...
- 35.2k
6
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Why should Bochurim learn Gemara in Aramaic?
I am rather surprised at the answers here.
There is nothing wrong with learning gemoro in English. But the fact is, it was written in Aramaic. Anyone who has learned meforshim will tell you that each ...
- 323
6
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Why is there an Aramaic line after "Hashem yimloch l'olam va'ed" in Az Yashir?
I don't know if this will satisfy you but your siddur is following what the Arizal says to do, brought by the Mishnah Berurah.
Rema 51:7
וְכוֹפְלִין פָּסוּק כָּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ לְפִי ...
- 19.2k
6
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Is there a particular reason Ezra HaSofer name is spelled with an "א" instead of with a "ה"?
בית שמואל, שמות אנשים, אות ע'
עזרא אין בו ספק ובאלף בסוף משום שנתגדל בבבל נכתב בלשון ארמית
The Taz writes that it comes from Aramaic. Quoted in Beit Shmuel (Shemot Anashim, Ayin) and Aruch ...
- 2,053
5
votes
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Why does Hillel's teachings change to Aramaic in Ethics of the Fathers?
SEE TOSFOS YOM_TOV on this mishnah HERE.
והא דאמר בלשון תרגום עיין סוף מכילתין: - See my comments on 5:22 for
why this mishna uses Aramaic.
He sends to his comments HERE
הפוך בה והפוך בה וכו'
...
- 6,889
4
votes
Hebrew for ice - and other "new" words
see the Shulchan Aruch O.C. 320:9-10:
ט השלג והברד אין מרסקין אותם דהיינו לשברם לחתיכות דקות כדי שיזובו
מימיו אבל נותן הוא לתוך כוס של יין או מים והוא נימח מאיליו ואינו חושש
וכן אם הניחם בחמה ...
- 2,901
4
votes
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Is the Aramaic Section of Daniel Second-Century BCE Aramaic?
The question posed requires an expert in Aramaic. One such expert was Sir Godfrey Rolles Driver. In 1926, in an article in Journal of Biblical Literature, Volume 45, 'The Aramaic of the Book of ...
- 1,746
4
votes
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Does Talmudic-Era Hebrew or Aramaic Distinguish Between Teaching and Learning?
In both Mishnaic Hebrew and Talmudic Aramaic, the words meaning learning and teaching have the same triliteral root, but they have different binyanim.
In Hebrew, the root is ל-מ-ד. When in the pa'al ...
- 40.4k
4
votes
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Why does "mene" appear twice in Daniel 5?
Metzudat David writes that the doubled phrase implies that G-d's calculation here is precise.
R. Moshe Alshich writes that the first occurrence of the word (which is not interpreted explicitly by ...
- 40.4k
4
votes
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לעלם ולעלמי עלמיא - (kaddish) isn't this redundant?
To reformulate my earlier comment into an answer as per the request of @ezra:
The phrasing of the kaddish here is most likely taken from דניאל ז:יח (as implied above by @Double AA)
עַד עָלְמָא, וְעַד ...
- 1,453
3
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Is the Aramaic Section of Daniel Second-Century BCE Aramaic?
The Aramaic in the Book of Daniel has two purposes: (1) the Aramaic provided a perfect chiasm to the parallel Hebrew portions of the text; and (2) the Aramaic is special divine revelation to the ...
- 1,574
3
votes
How holy is Aramaic?
The גמרא מגילה דף ט says that according to one opinion that allows a sefer torah to be written in aramaic the reason is because it says יפת אל' ליפת which means god glorified יפת by making his ...
- 399
3
votes
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Place to Learn Aramaic Online
When you refer to the Aramaic of the targumim and rabbinic literature, be aware that you are referring to a number of different languages! Linguists refer to the language of the Yerushalmi, for ...
- 18.7k
3
votes
Hashta Ba'agala
This answer is complete speculation. It is not sourced from anywhere, just my own original thoughts and pshat (understanding).
If I'm not mistaken, at the time that the Nusach (formulation) of our ...
- 131
3
votes
Online glossary of Talmudic terms
Wikisource has A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature
- 513
3
votes
Aramaic-gemara lashon- reverse search
You can search through the English definitions of the CAL Aramaic dictionary with the CAL Gloss Search. It includes a number of Aramaic dialects beside the Aramaic used in the Gemara, but if you are ...
- 23.9k
3
votes
Why do we say Ushpizin in Aramaic?
Well by halachma anya there are reishonim (Ritva..) that explain why it's in aramaic because we dont want to invite the demons or angels lest they persecute us. That reason would apply to why we ...
- 2,115
3
votes
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Please translate Gemara - Aramaic word מקני
The Hebrew and the Aramaic verbs in this case share the root קנ"ה. In the paal form (קָנָה) it means to buy or obtain something. ArtScroll helps you with the patach, which suggests a causative, ...
- 7,272
3
votes
Changing Beitza to Bei'a
Refer to this website here:
Many have the custom to refer to the Maseches as "Bei'a," which is the Aramaic term for "egg." The source for this practice is the MAGEN AVRAHAM (end ...
- 25.4k
3
votes
Is it possible we didn’t speak Egyptian while in Egypt?
Indeed, the Maor VaShemesh in remazei Pesach writes that all Jews spoke Egyptian and what our sages meant when they said that the Jewish people were redeemed in merit of the fact that they didn’t ...
- 945
3
votes
What is חטי קרדינותא?
Not that I would presume to explain Rabbi Vital's words or the teachings of the Ari z"l, but in context it seems to be alluding to the expression found in the name of Rav Kahana in tractate ...
- 13.4k
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