20
As you yourself say, the Muslim claims have never been backed up with proof.
If there would be proof, why would they not inform us?
That seems ample proof that it's a baseless claim.
There are various proofs that the Torah we have is essentially identical to the original (with some minor spelling variants).
One is the fact that all Jews have the same ...
16
My sister made this chart. It is kind of a condensed version of the hebrew one:
And here's a version with the titles transliterated, instead of translated:
14
First, I would suggest you read a bit about the history of the biblical text, its redaction, etc. It's important to understand the role played by the Masoretes in the making of the Masoretic texts which are used today, such as the Aleppo Codex.
What is the source (talmudic or otherwise) for this concept?
Traditionally, there were a number of different ...
12
There is a teshuva of the Rema in which he writes that if you find a Teshuva of the Gaonim, you could follow its opinion.
I asked R' Zvi Berkowitz about this and he said this was restricted specifically to the period of the Gaonim, because the Rishonim themselves (on whom much of our codification is based) would have taken the position of the Gaon into ...
11
My Rebbe Rav Avigdor Nevenzahl Shlit"a told me that his Rebbe ybcl'c Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach zt"l when serving as mesader kiddushin at a wedding, upon hearing that one of the witnesses under the chuppa did not believe in Kabbalah or that Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai authored the Zohar, had him replaced as a witness.
The explanation I was given was that ...
10
Tehillim 54
לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ בִּנְגִינֹ֗ת מַשְׂכִּ֥יל לְדָוִֽד׃
For the leader; with instrumental music. A maskil of David,
בְּב֣וֹא הַ֭זִּיפִים וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ לְשָׁא֑וּל הֲלֹ֥א דָ֝וִ֗ד מִסְתַּתֵּ֥ר עִמָּֽנוּ׃
when the Ziphites came and told Saul, “Know, David is in hiding among us.”
Tehillim 57 (Thanks, Dr. Shmuel)
לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ אַל־תַּ֭שְׁחֵת לְדָוִ֣ד ...
9
This blog post mentions that it appears in some collections of Jewish legends and the like, but not in any traditional Jewish sources.
R. Chaim Kanievsy (in this Kuntres on Chinuch) was asked whether or not woman are taught Torah in the womb, and pointing out that women also have a philtrum, and it seems like he uses this as a proof that the philtrum is not ...
9
Rav Ahron Lopiansky seemed to dispel this myth as being an old bubby's tale in a lecture. His words were some thing along the lines of "Yiddishe bubbies say that this is the makeh, (slap)", while gesturing to his philtrum, with a smile on his face. I subsequently had a phone conversation in which I asked him directly for his stance. He said that he hasn't ...
9
I would offer three answers, which I believe may be true simultaneously.
1
While scribes were extremely careful for pesukim in Tanach, so as not to invalidate the kosher status of the sefer, they were not so careful when quoting pesukim when they occurred within the Gemara.
Add to that that sometimes earlier manuscripts will shorten words or phrases with ...
9
I hadn't answered this question because I assumed that since there were so many answers already provided, that there must have been at least one answer that really satisified the question, in a truthful manner, but that is not the case.
The truth is that every bit of evidence we have says that the Torah underwent changes. But most of these changes were not ...
9
There are two different types of gzeirah shava
specific words were part of the mesorah but the pesukim used and / or the actual item that was derived from the gzeirah shava may not have been part of the mesorah.
The content of the limud was part of the mesorah but not the words used in the gzeirah shava.
Halichos Olam Shaar 4. See also Ramban sefer ...
9
I believe that @YeZ is correct. When I lived in Washington Heights (upper Manhattan, NYC), I occasionally attended Cong. Sha'arei Hatikvah, which, I understand, still exists in the same location - across the street from the G.W. Bridge Bus terminal. They were "staunchly" Yekke. All 'ayins were pronounced as you describe, and the Chazan would say &...
9
From Chabad.org this question was once asked by Rabbi Alexander-Sender Yudasin to the Lubavitcher Rabbi Zatzal. The Rabbi said that perhaps since the Siman was = the words "בלי כל" the original Siman said
"בלי כל ֿ סימן". A publisher who misunderstood took it that there was no Siman and left it out, thus it was not in future editions.
הרב אלכסנדר-סנדר ...
9
The article was published by R. Salomon Alter Halpern in Hamoreh (according to here the Jewish Observer, may be the same thing) in 1970 and was called "Some Facts About Marcus Jastrow's Dictionary." I got a hold of the article from here. Here is a short summary:
The article is not coming to proclaim the dictionary prohibited or forbidden, it is coming to ...
9
The place to look for this is in Collected Writings of Rav S.R. Hirsch, the volume on Oral Law (I think Vol. 5 but I can't check it.)
The volume is divided into two parts.
The first part is a critique of H. Graetz's "History of the Jews" the volume discussing the evolution of the Oral Law.
The second part is a critique of Zechariah Frankel's "Darkei ...
9
The Masoretic note you have is from the Leningrad Codex. However, the Aleppo Codex indicates in the masorah gedolah in Chronicles that there are 3 instances of the word (see also Mikraot Gedolot haKeter):
These are:
Ruth 1:1 (short):וַיְהִ֗י בִּימֵי֙ שְׁפֹ֣ט הַשֹּׁפְטִ֔ים וַיְהִ֥י רָעָ֖ב בָּאָ֑רֶץ וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ אִ֜ישׁ מִבֵּ֧ית לֶ֣חֶם יְהוּדָ֗ה לָגוּר֙ ...
9
According to Seder Olam Rabbah 5, it was on a Friday:
ממחרת הפסח, ערב שבת היה, נסעו מרעמסס, שנאמר ויסעו בני ישראל מרעמסס סכתה, וכתיב ויסעו מרעמסס בחדש הראשון בחמשה עשר יום לחדש
The day after [offering] the Pesach, which was a Friday, they journeyed from Ra'meses, as it says, "The Children of Israel journeyed from Ra'meses to Sukkot", and it is ...
8
The Bach in Siman 5 of Teshuvos Yeshanos writes this of someone who, among other problems, was כופר in תורת נסתר.
וכל שכן המלעיג על דברי חכמים ומדבר דופי על חכמת הקבלה
שהוא מקור התורה ועיקרה וכולה יראת שמים דפשיטא
דחייב נידוי דאין לך מזלזל בד"ת דחייב נידוי גדול מזה
ועוד דהלא נמשך אחר הפילוסופיא היא המינות בעצמה
ואשה הזרה שהזהיר עליה שלמה כמ"ש ...
8
Rav Herschel Schachter has written a Teshuvah that Ashkenazim may eat soft Matzah. See here* for a discussion of his Teshuvah and some follow-up questions and answers about it.
*Be advised that this is taken from a commercial site selling a product under the umbrella of "approved by Rav Schachter". It is, however, a real Teshuvah, and the discussion that ...
8
There are differences between texts of Tanach now and in the past. In fact, there are several different so-called "textual witnesses" of Tanach that exist, each of which has their own strengths and weaknesses.
The textus receptus — received text of the Jews is the Masoretic text, whose ancestors are present in some form in some of the Dead Sea Scrolls and ...
8
The Baal Shem Tov's teacher was Rabbi Adam Baal Shem. For more details about the origins of the Baal Shem Tov's Mesorah, look at The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Memoirs (by the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe) which discusses this history, albeit in a manner which is somewhat hard to follow if your purpose is to construct a timeline.
8
I still feel the question of "sources for indecent dress by women" deserves a better treatment than we (including me) provided up to now. So let me try again.
In summary
the key Torah verse prohibits erva in the Jewish camp
the gemara will define a woman's erva as parts of her body, her hair and her voice
most laws of tzniut are part of dat Yehudit and ...
8
This requirement is stated in the Tosefta and Meseches Tzitzith
Tosefta Menachoth 9:16
"תכלת אין כשרה אלא מן החלזון הביא שלא מן החלזון
פסולה."
Tekheleth is only valid from the חלזון ; if one used a dye not
made from the חלזון it is invalid.”
מסכת ציצית פרק א הלכה י
שאין צובעין תכלת אלא בחלזון.
We only dye תכלת with a חלזון
from: https://www....
8
According to Hebrew Wikipedia he received Semicha from the Chacham Tzvi.
קיבל סמיכה מאת החכם צבי
Still following the trail at Hebrew WP, he, in turn, learned from his grandfather, R' Ephraim Hakohen (אפרים הכהן), author of the commentary Machaneh Ephraim on the Torah.
He, in turn, learned from R' Moshe Lima (משה לימא), author of the commentary Chelkat ...
8
Yevamos (62b):
שנים עשר אלף זוגים תלמידים היו לו לרבי עקיבא מגבת עד אנטיפרס וכולן מתו בפרק אחד מפני שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה
והיה העולם שמם עד שבא ר"ע אצל רבותינו שבדרום ושנאה להם ר"מ ור' יהודה ור' יוסי ורבי שמעון ורבי אלעזר בן שמוע והם הם העמידו תורה אותה שעה
Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students in an area of land
that stretched from ...
7
Thanks to @Sharshi, this question is answered.
31_halachos_lmoshe_misinai_according_to_the_rambam
In the introduction to his commentary on the Mishna, the Rambam lists 31 halachos l’Moshe miSinai, which he says are most of them, if not all of them. These are:
That the loaves of a thanksgiving offering need a half-log of oil;
That the offering ...
7
The similarity and relationship between the Code of Hammurabi and the Torah have been noted by many. Some responses:
R' J.H. Hertz (summarized):
R' Hertz shows that the more we know about The Code of Hammurabi, the more we can appreciate the Torah's laws in Mishpatim. The areas that our codes differ shed light on the beauty and majesty of Torah. ... One ...
7
This is answered directly by Rambam in his introduction to the Mishna Torah. This authority to make new laws was taught directly by Moshe Rabbeinu as cited below from Deuteronomy 17:11.
"The mitzvot given to Moses at Mount Sinai were all given together with their explanations, as implied by [Exodus 24:12]: "And I will give you the tablets of stone, the ...
7
Sources For Rabbinic Authority
There are several divergent approaches to this.
Rambam (Introduction to MT: 26) is of the opinion that Rabbinic legislation falls under the rubric of "Do not stray from all that they tell you" (Deut. 17:11):
וכן יתבאר מהם המנהגות והתקנות שהתקינו או שנהגו בכל דור ודור, כמו שראו בית דין של אותו הדור, לפי שאסור לסור מהם, ...
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