18
votes
Did the Ba'al Shem Tov actually exist?
I think the Ba'al Shem Tov had to have existed in some way (even if it's not the way we've been taught), as I doubt an entire branch of Orthodox Judaism would base itself off the teachings of a ...
- 18.5k
18
votes
What is the process called to become a Rabbi?
Semikhah is the name of the process through which a rabbi is ordained in Rabbinic Judaism.
- 239
17
votes
Accepted
Is a female Torah scholar accorded the same honors as a male?
R. Yehuda Aiash (Shut Beit Yehuda YD 28) rules that in general any honour which one must accord a male (such as standing up for an older man), one must accord an equivalent female as well:
פשוט דכל ...
- 35.4k
14
votes
Sefaria and Rabbinic Endorsements
"Sefaria is one of my favorite things in the entire contemporary Jewish world. It is taking cutting-edge technology and doing something very spiritual by it. What it is doing is opening up the ...
- 474
13
votes
Accepted
Speaking negatively about Rabbis
The Mishnah in Sanhedrin says "... an apikores has no share in the world to come." Commenting on this records the Gemara (San. 99b):
רב ור' חנינא אמרי תרוייהו זה המבזה ת"ח
Trans.: Both Rav and R. ...
- 11.9k
13
votes
Pri Chadash and Coffee
Beer Heitev to Orach Chayim 89:3 (ד״ה מותר) quotes the Pri Chadash saying:
Coffee can be drunk (before prayer), particularly in Egypt where their thinking doesn't work properly without coffee.
וכ&...
- 404
12
votes
Accepted
Rav Chaim Kanievsky's learning schedule
In Rebbetzin Kanievski's biography it is written that R Chaim Kanievski completed every year Mishna, Talmud Bavli, Talmud Yerushalmi, Nach, Rambam, Tur, Shulchan Aruch with commentaries, Mishnah ...
- 48.2k
12
votes
Accepted
Does the Talmud continue to use extra Tanachic sources?
As @TamirEvan stated in the comments, Ben-Sira appears a few times in the Talmud, for example:
Sanhedrin 100b:
"The verse states: “All the days of the poor are terrible” (Proverbs 15:15). The ...
- 24.9k
11
votes
Smicha from R' Zalman Nechemia Goldberg?
I am a personal Talmid Of Rav Goldberg Shlit"a. I have been attending his Shiurim for over 8 years and had the pleasure of driving him over a 4 year period. He has also attended all of my family ...
- 111
11
votes
Did any Achronim comment on the American Revolutionary or Civil Wars?
R. Hayyim Joseph David Azulai twice refers to the American Revolution in his diary. Both times he is talking about the negative effect the war was having on the finances of Jews in Amsterdam who had ...
- 49.1k
11
votes
Accepted
What was the ultimate fate of Rabbi Elisha ben Abuyah (Acher)?
The story is brought down in Chagiga 15b:
When Acher died, they said, "We cannot judge him to punishment [in Gehinnom], but we cannot enter him into the World to Come. We cannot judge him to ...
- 3,698
11
votes
Did the Ba'al Shem Tov actually exist?
Aside from the fact there are countless prominent Rabbis from his time who state clearly that they met and learned with him face to face, such a the Maggid of Mezerich, any student of history is aware ...
- 14.3k
11
votes
Accepted
What were the first rabbinic reactions to the rise of Islam?
We don't have much sources from the era. It was, after all, the era of the Savoraim, who were mostly focused on editing and redacting the Talmud.1 The following are the earliest sources I was able to ...
- 24.9k
10
votes
Smicha from R' Zalman Nechemia Goldberg?
I live in the U.S. and have Semicha from R' Zalman Nechemia, so I feel qualified to share my experiences. I will preface that Rabbi Yirmiyahu Ullman was a tremendous help in providing information and ...
- 4,313
10
votes
How to get an urgent answer if your local rabbi isn't reachable
The best option is probably the Beis Din of your own community; see if they are reachable by phone; they may well be. That said, someone I sort of know has experience with the following hotlines in ...
- 19.6k
10
votes
Does the Talmud continue to use extra Tanachic sources?
Adding to @Harel13's answer, four points:
The Gemara in Yevamot 86b says the following:
אמר רב חסדא בתחלה לא היו מעמידים שוטרי' אלא מן הלוים שנאמר (דברי הימים ב יט, יא) ושוטרים הלוים לפניכם עכשיו ...
- 3,262
10
votes
Accepted
Gezerah D'Rabbah in the Beit Hamikdash?
An additional application is the prohibition to sprinkle purifying water on a tamei meis on Shabbos, even if that would allow him to offer his Korban Pesach.
Pesachim 69a
והזאה מאי טעמא לא דחיא שבת ...
10
votes
Accepted
Shlomo Yosef Zevin a Rav at 9 years old
The Aruch Hashulchan died in 1908 (source, see footnote 9), and according to the article you brought, Rav Zevin was born somewhere between 1886-1888 (in fact, it was 1888). Therefore, he could have ...
- 20.9k
9
votes
On What Subjects Does One Say Birchas HaTorah?
The Gemara in Maseches Berachos (11b) clearly tells us what types of learning require a blessing.
א"ר יהודה אמר שמואל השכים לשנות עד שלא קרא ק"ש צריך לברך משקרא ק"ש א"צ לברך שכבר נפטר באהבה רבה אמר ...
- 49.1k
9
votes
Accepted
Audio or video lectures of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan zt"l
For the original recording of the famed Age of The Universe speech which was given at the Midwinter Conference of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists on February 18, 1979 (later published in ...
- 479
9
votes
Talmid Chacham today
The halachic term is indeed applied even today (although the qualification is debatable). Rema (YD 243:2) rules that all laws relating to a TC apply even today save for the penalty for embarrassing a ...
- 11.9k
9
votes
Who is Rabbi Shimeon who discusses with Rabbi Yochanan in Gemara
The edition of Shas at HebrewBooks.org contains a footnote suggesting that it is indeed R. Shimon b. Lakish.
It notes that there are manuscripts with this reading, as well as the parallel text in the ...
- 41.8k
9
votes
Do Rabbis admit emotional involvement in their rulings?
There are plenty of instances in which poskim relate their personal feelings in a psak. The first that came to my mind is R. Ovadia's famous ruling (Yabia Omer vol. 6, Even Ha-Ezer #3) that widows of ...
- 11.3k
9
votes
Rabbi who killed children?
This case is mentioned in the Beit Yosef (YD 157):
מעשה ברב אחד ששחט תינוקות הרבה בשעת השמד שירא שיעבירום על דת
It happened that one rabbi slaughtered many children in a time of persecution for ...
- 97.4k
9
votes
What does שליט"א stand for?
For what it's worth, the Otzar of Roshei Teivot on Bar Ilan lists both שיחיה לאורך ימים טובים ארוכים and שיחיה לאורך ימים טובים אמן. I prefer the latter, because the former is redundant, as pointed ...
- 20.9k
8
votes
Examples of Rabbis who had strong disagreements and were amicable
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook and Rabbi Yosef Chaim Sonnenfeld were practically polar opposites in terms of hashkafa (for example, in response to Rabbi Kook setting up the Eretz Yisrael Chief Rabbinate, ...
- 24.9k
8
votes
How do I repeal rabbinic laws? Who to contact? What is the process?
As far as I know there are currently no rabbis who are actively involved in legislating rabbinc-level laws. Those laws were set in stone centuries ago. As DoubleAA mentioned in the comments on your ...
- 24.7k
8
votes
Accepted
Two Rabbi Akivas?
There were not two Rabi Akivas. What the Gemara is saying is there were two Tana'im with different opinions as to what Rabi Akiva actually said. One presented his version in a Mishna, and one ...
- 33.4k
8
votes
How many rabbis does a synagogue have and what is their role?
This answer is based on my experience only, which is primarily with Orthodox synagogues.
Many synagogues have many members who happen to have completed the requisite course of study and become rabbis,...
- 73.5k
8
votes
Earning semichah with just a test
Just knowing a lot of halacha does not make someone capable of being a posek. A posek is someone who is not just familiar with the Psak Halacha in the Shulchan Aruch or the Mishna Brerura, but it is ...
- 15.4k
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