11
votes
Accepted
Rambam controversy
the Rambam literally holds that demons don’t exist, which are talked about multiple times throughout tanach and Talmud, would that mean that the Rambam is a heretic c”v?
No, there is no fundamental ...
- 6,433
10
votes
Accepted
Why no number of p'sukim for P'kude?
Aharon Ahrend has a detailed article in Rabbi Mordechai Breuer's Festschrift (vol. 1 p. 157) titled "The Mneumotechnical Notes of the Numbers of Verses in the Torah Portions" where he goes through the ...
- 97.3k
10
votes
What is the source that says David wrote Psalms / Tehillim while hiding from Saul
Tehillim 54
לַמְנַצֵּ֥חַ בִּנְגִינֹ֗ת מַשְׂכִּ֥יל לְדָוִֽד׃
For the leader; with instrumental music. A maskil of David,
בְּב֣וֹא הַ֭זִּיפִים וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ לְשָׁא֑וּל הֲלֹ֥א דָ֝וִ֗ד מִסְתַּתֵּ֥ר ...
- 1,827
10
votes
Accepted
Does prioritizing one's mental health supersede adherence to Torah commandments?
In theory, the mitzvah to preserve a life overrides almost every other mitzvah, and serious mental health is certainly included in that. The Talmud talks about extinguishing a fire on shabbos if ...
- 131k
10
votes
If we have full copies of the Torah in an unchanged form (Dead Sea Scrolls), why don’t we revert our Torah scrolls back?
Halakhah does not assume that anything older is necessarily more precise despite the principle yeridat hadorot (ירידת הדורות), and this is scientifically not reasonable either. Assume you write an ...
- 7,434
9
votes
Accepted
Transition from "Temple Judaism" to "Rabbinic Judaism"
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 ...
- 2,951
9
votes
Accepted
How to apply the Masoretic note, "2x, once plene and once defectively" to Ruth 1:1?
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 ...
- 7,434
9
votes
Accepted
What day of the week was Yeziyat Mizrayim?
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 [...
- 41.7k
9
votes
If we have full copies of the Torah in an unchanged form (Dead Sea Scrolls), why don’t we revert our Torah scrolls back?
There's been extensive scholarship on this, especially by Professor Schiffman. The "Qumranites" -- the group to whom these scrolls belonged -- did not follow the mainstream "Pharisee&...
- 131k
8
votes
Is one a heretic if he does not believe in Kabbalah?
R. Meir Mazuz Shlita was asked the following question:
אני רוצה לשאול בפרט על ה"דורדעים" שאינם מאמינים בחכמת הקבלה כל עיקר,
אלא בדברי הגמרא, רב סעדיה גאון, הרמב"ם, וכדומה. איך יש להתיחס להם? האם
...
- 35.4k
8
votes
Has the Torah been changed over the ages?
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 ...
- 3,546
8
votes
Has the Torah been changed over the ages?
I didn't answer this question for a long while because I assumed that since there were so many answers already provided that at least one of them must have answered it truthfully with the best ...
- 10.5k
8
votes
What is the source that forbids indecent dress by women?
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 ...
- 47.7k
8
votes
Accepted
What is the basis that allows Rabbis to create laws?
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 ...
- 35.4k
8
votes
Do Jews accept The Book of the Wars of the Lord (סֵפֶר מִלְחֲמֹת יהוה) as an authentic part of Tanach
Nachmanides writes:
ודרך הפשט ב"ספר מלחמות ה'", שהיו בדורות ההם אנשים חכמים כותבים ספר המלחמות הגדולות, כי כן בכל הדורות, ובעלי הספרים היו נקראים מושלים, שנושאים בהם משלים ומליצות, ...
- 1,723
8
votes
When the Torah was almost lost and one (or several) Rabbis saved it?
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 ...
- 4,892
7
votes
Accepted
List of Halachot LiMosheh MiSinai
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, ...
- 25.7k
7
votes
What is the basis that allows Rabbis to create laws?
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 ...
- 14.2k
7
votes
When the Torah was almost lost and one (or several) Rabbis saved it?
In Melachim II, chapter 22 during the time of King Josiah the High Priest Hilkiah found the "scroll of the law" in the temple. This chapter does not imply that it was necessarily the only such copy of ...
- 590
6
votes
Have any of you ever heard anyone pronouncing ayin as "ng"?
In proper Dutch-Ashkenazi pronunciation, "ya'akov" would be "Yang'akouv", as not only the ayin is pronounced as an 'ng' sound, but the cholam is pronounced as 'ou'. As a kid I was ...
6
votes
What is the basis that allows Rabbis to create laws?
The comments, above, approach the correct analysis.
This question is discussed in detail in Talmud Shabbat 23a, near the middle of the page (as seen in the Sefaria site).
There is a statement that ...
- 70k
6
votes
Does Rabbinic Literature misunderstand the infinitive absolute?
does Rabbinic Literature misunderstand the infinitive absolute, by seeing it as a redundancy...?
(I don't think it's possible to speak for all of rabbinic literature, but) I believe there is ample ...
- 23.7k
6
votes
How to apply the Masoretic note, "2x, once plene and once defectively" to Ruth 1:1?
My understanding here is that the masorah here is relating to the word שְׁפֹט / שְׁפוֹט without any prefixes.
That word does appear only twice in Tanach: here (spelled defective) and plene in II ...
- 41.7k
6
votes
ולא תתורו: kadma veazla or azla-geresh?
All the Tiberian manuscripts (and here, here, here, and here) and the majority of the other (Ashkenazi/Sephardi) old manuscripts* have a maqef, followed by the Venice Mikraot Gedolot and other ...
- 9,777
6
votes
Why do we have many teachings from Hillel and Shammai, but very few of earlier zugot?
Because in those days there was very little to no machlokes:
בראשונה לא היתה מחלוקת בישראל, אלא על הסמיכה בלבד
In the beginning there was no disagreement in Israel, except regarding
smicha (...
- 8,045
5
votes
Is this chart of the mesorah of Torah available in English?
There's a multi-colored one on chabad.org, the title of the article is "The Torah from Sinai - A Diagram".
The content in this page is produced by Chabad.org, and is copyrighted by the author and/or ...
- 43.9k
5
votes
Mom And Baby Talk
I think you are doing all the right things for this age - washing her hands, saying Modeh Ani and Shema with her. Once she begins to speak, start saying Torah Tziva with her each morning.
It is ...
- 651
5
votes
How do we know that the Judaic calendar should be primarily lunar based?
Rashi on Shmos 13:2 explicitly says that Hashem showed Moshe the moon and explained how the calendar was based and how the new month was to be determined. This explanation would include the rules for ...
- 42.9k
5
votes
Community without tzitzith
Rabbenu Avraham ben HaRambam implies (HaMaspik L'Ovdei Hashem, ed. Wincelberg p. 27) that in his place and time it was not common to wear a four cornered garment with tsitsit.
He is giving examples ...
- 35.4k
5
votes
Who are the Elders in the beginning of Avot
See mefarshim, e.g. Yachin:
הן השופטים שאחר יהושע:
The elders: The judges after Yehoshua.
שעלי השופט האחרון מסר לשמואל ראש הנביאים.
Eli (Hakohen), the last judge, transmitted to Shmuel, the first ...
- 22.7k
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