New answers tagged hashkafah-philosophy
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What kind of character traits is Mashiach supposed to possess?
He should be Jewish. And since he is Messiah he should be messianic. So he should be a Messianic Jew.
Follow me for more proof of my amazing reasoning powers.
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Does the mitzvah of Tzedakah require poverty and inequality in society?
The question of OP is narowing the definition of poverty to one's financial needs. However, the definition of tzedaka adopted by the chakhamim is much wider. According to the book by R. Shimon Taub &...
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Why are we afraid of death and don't rush to the World to Come?
We are afraid of death because our Bible isn't completely convinced that there is a World to Come.
Ecclesiastes 3:16-22
וְע֥וֹד רָאִ֖יתִי תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ מְק֤וֹם הַמִּשְׁפָּט֙ שָׁ֣מָּה
הָרֶ֔שַׁע ...
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70 nations vs 70 who went down to Egypt
I tried to follow the advice of אילפא and look in Rabbeinu Bachya. Sefer Sitrei Rabbeinu Bachya, parashas Vayigash (Bereshis 46:15) states
וחיזקיר כל השבעים בלשון נפש וכו' נגד ע' המלאכים הסובבים כסא ...
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70 nations vs 70 who went down to Egypt
Yes, This is a general paradigm that G-d established at the beginning of Creation.
In the creation of the Hebrew Aleph-Beit, the 22 letters, there are 3 general categories, 3 Amot (אמות which are אמ׳ש,...
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Is Moshe Idel’s scholarship considered kosher by the Orthodox Jewish community
As already has been discussed in the comments, there is no doubt he is an academic. However, he does not present as "mekubal" and neither does any of his writings maintain any Rabbinic ...
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Is Moshe Idel’s scholarship considered kosher by the Orthodox Jewish community
The way the question is phrased is perhaps vague, but I can report having attended a lecture by Professor Idel at Yeshiva University's Revel graduate school. Revel itself does not 100% align with all ...
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Which rabbi said "if a horse had the mind of Kant ..."?
There is such a story, not regarding philosopher Immanuel Kant, but regarding Prussian (German) statesman Otto von Bismark. Perhaps, the rabbi in yeshiva adapted the story when seeing that his ...
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Why are we afraid of death and don't rush to the World to Come?
One can use the idea of midrash Eicha Rabba 4:15
“The kings of the earth and all the inhabitants of the world did not believe that an adversary and enemy would enter the gates of Jerusalem” (...
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Why are we afraid of death and don't rush to the World to Come?
Maybe you're just speaking on the level of the eternal soul, before being born?
(based on Talmudic, Midrashic, Kabbalistic, and Chassidic sources, all quoted)
The soul doesn't initially want to come ...
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If men are chesed, and women are gevura, why does it seem the other way around?
I have 2 answers. The first I heard here, and the second was originally my own understanding, and then I found a source, which is quoted:
Each gender is given the role that is not already part of ...
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All Sifre HaRamhal? (Rabbi Moshe Chayim Luzzatto)
It is very likely that the OP's question can be addressed by Machon haRamchal, הוצאת מכון רמח"ל, the publisher of all sefarim written by R'Moshe Chaim Luzzatto. As it appears, many writings of R' ...
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3
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Accepted
Judaism and aesthetics
There is definitely a role for aesthetics in Judaism. In the Song at the Sea, the Jews said (Exodus 15:2) זֶ֤ה אֵלִי֙ וְאַנְוֵ֔הוּ, which the Talmud (Shabbos 133b) interprets to mean This Is My God (...
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3
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How should religious Jews (and Noahides) respond to these criticisms
The speaker is making a few assumptions, and appears to admit that is because he is presupposing the truth of objectivism, and its atheistic implications, i.e. that there is lack of evidence for God, ...
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How should religious Jews (and Noahides) respond to these criticisms
First, the law of identity states that each thing is identical with itself. G-d is identical with G-d. The speaker in the video twists the application of the law by stating that everything in this ...
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How should religious Jews (and Noahides) respond to these criticisms
There is evidence for God. Many people have claimed to have interacted with him.
Even if something cannot be demonstrated true or false, one can still reasonably believe in it due to 1) Occam's Razor ...
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Free Speech - is it a Torah principle?
I think there are two angles on this.
Unfair comparison
Free speech seems to be a democratic principle, and is a necessity in a system where "right and wrong" are not absolute (or at least, ...
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2
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Accepted
Studying/discussing secular philosophy on Shabbat and their relation to the Torah
There are halachot of "daber davar", permitted speech on Shabbat, see OC 307:1
Ve’daber davar” (teaches us) that one’s manner of speech on Shabbos
must not be the same as one’s manner of ...
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Free Speech - is it a Torah principle?
Aside from the laws of Lashon haRa and cases in Mishna Chagiga 2:1, the mishna Pirkei Avos 5:17 teaches:
כָּל מַחֲלֹקֶת שֶׁהִיא לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, סוֹפָהּ לְהִתְקַיֵּם. וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, ...
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Free Speech - is it a Torah principle?
Judaism does not have a clear statement on freedom of speech. So must examine the issues one by one.
On the one hand, the Talmud itself testifies to such freedom, within broad bounds. It includes ...
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Author of 'alphabeta'
Here are R' Shmuel Ashkenazi's two Alfa Beta books:
אלפא ביתא קדמיתא דשמואל זעירא (Alfa Beta Kadmita de-Shmuel Zeira)
אלפא ביתא תניתא דשמואל זעירא (Alfa Beta Tanita de-Shmuel Zeira)
For more ...
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Why no positive feedback from Moses in his reproof for everything Israel did good?
We see that the Torah teaches that rebuke is not negative, and is indeed taken very positively, unless the person being rebuked is not on the right madrega:
Do not rebuke a scoffer, lest he hate you; ...
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Why no positive feedback from Moses in his reproof for everything Israel did good?
The book on chinuch "UpGrade" by R' Moshe Goldstein teaches that there exist two systems of education. The first one, closed system was used in the past, the modern "friendly" ...
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How can missionary arguments about free will be refuted?
That claim is totally incompatible with Judaism.
Reward and punishment are the result of moral choices. If those choices weren’t ours to make, we wouldn’t get reward or punishment, and thus a ...
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