42
I do not think it is a problem for a few reasons. Kin'as sofrim tarbeh chochmah (jealousy among scholars will increase wisdom - Baba Basra 21a). A certain extent of competition in Torah is a good thing. Having people compete for even something as minor as points helps increase Torah and wisdom. There is an issue of a person becoming haughty or seeking honor ...
34
The way I see reputation points on stack exchange is that they are useful for the people asking questions, not for the person getting the points.
That is, when someone comes to the site and asks a question, seeing the points next to a person's name gives that name 'recognition status'. If there is a debate between two people, one has 1 point, and the other ...
21
First look up the sources people quote, so that you know what they're saying inside.
Then, when you ask you Rav, tell him I had this question and did some research. This is what I found, what is the practical Halacha?
You can tell him where you got the idea about which sources to look up, but at that point it shouldn't matter. You're not telling him that ...
17
It's important to highlight that Christianity StackExchange has a very different atmosphere to Mi Yodeya. Christianity SE is very much true to its mission of being a Q&A site about Christianity. It is not a Christian site. And that post on meta isn't just a claim. It's lived up to throughout the site. In fact, it was recently brought up again in ...
15
Technically, yes. Everything you describe is an aspect of learning Torah. Even just reciting the Shema or a few psukim or one liners from Tanach or Talmud (both agadata and halacha) count for fulfilling the Mitzvah.
However, just as we don't use the phrases said after the birchat Ha'Torah in the morning to absolve us from studying the rest of the day, so ...
12
As noted in the comments, using electricity is melacha and thus forbidden on Shabbat. See this question for more information about why electricity is prohibited. In addition, writing is forbidden on Shabbat, even if the text is ephemeral. Since, so far, it is not possible to ask and answer questions on Mi Yodeya without using electricity and writing, the ...
11
Why should you have to mention it? Just say "I have a Shaaloh". If he answers differently than a (sourced) answer here, say "someone pointed out this Igros Moshe/Shmiras Shabbos Khilchaso etc." You could ask (out of curiosity) why he paskins (rules) differently.
Just like one doesn't have to say "We were discussing this Halacha in the bar yesterday..." you ...
10
Now that we've moved the clocks, I realized that it's possible to do the inverse of @jake's answer from the eastern time zone: shabbat ended this week before 6PM, so if I'd thought of it I could have gotten credit for the day by visiting in that last hour (7PM EST = midnight UTC). Shabbat won't end after 7PM again until March 10, and there are no chagim in ...
8
Please note that the following answer is not a halachik ruling and should not be read as such. It is a theoretical answer that explores the issue, examining the relevant issues.
With regard to the Gemara in Shabbat 33a, it seems clear that the context of discouraging sexual discussion is only when it is done in banter and tastelessly. When it is done for ...
8
The Talmud (Yoma 4b) relates:
ויקרא אל משה וידבר למה הקדים קריאה לדיבור? לימדה תורה דרך ארץ, שלא יאמר אדם דבר לחבירו אלא אם כן קורהו. מסייע ליה לרבי חנינא, דאמר רבי חנינא: לא יאמר אדם דבר לחבירו אלא אם כן קורהו. לאמר אמר רבי (מוסיא בר בריה דרבי מסיא משמיה דרבי מוסיא) +מסורת הש"ס: [מנסיא]+ רבה: מניין לאומר דבר לחבירו שהוא בבל יאמר, עד שיאמר לו לך אמור - ...
7
I don't know of a problem with "gentiles", though "non-Jews" seems equally appropriate.
6
I would suggest that the term "non-Jew" is both precise and neutral, and a perfectly acceptable halachic term as well, as halachic works such as the Shulchan Aruch often refer to א"י or אינו יהודי (non Jew).
5
Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky said that discussing matters of a sexual nature in a public forum is improper. He said that if looking for a source, the Talmud in Shabbos 33a was pertinent. He never acknowledged this as a definitive source, though:
Said R. Hanan b. Rabbah: All know for what purpose a bride enters the bridal canopy, yet against whomsoever who speaks ...
4
According to an article on "Internet Privacy in Halacha" by R' Asher Meir in the Winter 2014 issue of Jewish Action, it is forbidden to publicize someone's secret identity.
R' Meir says that revealing someone else's private information violates the prohibition in Vayikra 19:16:
... לֹא תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל בְּעַמֶּיךָ
You shall not go around as a ...
3
The Igros Moshe - יו"ד ב' סימן קלב - writes that the prohibition is only when one intends to teach Torah to non-Jews.
דהא דאין מוסרין דברי תורה לעכו"ם, הוא דוקא כשכוונתו למוסרם להעכו"ם, אבל כשכוונת הלומד דברי תורה הוא ללומדם בעצמו ולמוסרם ליהודים הנמצאים שם, לא נאסר מחמת שנמצא שם גם עכו"ם שג"כ ישמע ממילא הדברי תורה.
If one teaches Torah and there ...
3
Tosfos understand that "Darchei Shalom" is not considered a gift. IMHO that means since you benefit from the resulting peace then it's not a free gift since its win-win for both sides. Similarly when you contribute to an online community you benefit that when you need assistance the online community will be available to help you. So it seems that since it's ...
3
I recognize the irony in answering a halachic question on MY about how careful one should be when answering halachic questions on MY, and furthermore, that I’m doing so based on another answer to another halachic question on here. So with my CYLOR disclaimer out of the way...
I’d previously asked about teaching Torah to non-Jews, and I received an answer ...
3
According to Rambam, the prohibition of ona'at d'varim is specifically in a case where one intends to hurt the subject. Accordingly, in this case, if the point of the downvote is not to hurt the subject, then the prohibition would not be violated. In this vein, Rambam writes in Perush HaMishna to Bava Metsia (4:10) that onaat d'varim is insidious, for only ...
3
My ancient Aramaic reading skills are exceedingly poor but I am able to understand concepts. I am not able to look things up in sefers and get schar but I am able to learn complex torah from the discussions of others on miyodea.
3
There is no reason it would be obligatory to upvote a question just because you answered it. As Ariel K stated, the answerer is generally helping out the asker anyway. A stronger case could be made for the asker to show Hakarath HaTov to every answerer by upvoting every answer, but that would also be weak. Not every answer is a good one, just as not every ...
3
While the question of the topics included in the mitsvah of Torah study, is surprisingly unaddressed in Hazal and Rishonim, we have a few sources that pertain to various subsets of the site.
Rambam writes in Perush Hamishna to Avot (1:16) as follows:
ואני אומר, כי הדיבור יתחלק לפי חיוב תורתנו לחמשה חלקים: מצווה, ואסור, ומאוס, ואהוב, ומותר...החלק הראשון, ...
2
If the question is interesting enough to answer, it deserves an up vote. If you feel the answer is obvious or if you don't like the question why waste your time answering it!
In terms of Halacha, showing respect to the questioner is of utmost importance, to answer in a rude way of to not take note that the question is good is to show disrespect and that is ...
2
Some questions, such as this one, may have an obvious answer, which the answer-er may decide to write. In addition, some questions may be based on faulty premises. For example, it seems on this SE site, questions are frequently upvoted, so this question might not have much basis. By answering a question, one doesn't necessarily imply that "it shows research ...
2
If someone writes something incorrect, it would be proper to downvote him so that other people do not learn to act incorrectly. StackExchange relies on downvoting (not flagging, as some people assume) to mark incorrect information.
Downvoting a wrong answer would be permitted as it has a clear constructive purpose. The Chofetz Chaim and other poskim all ...
2
The first mishnah in Avodah Zoro says,
1 During the three days preceding the festivals of the non-Jews, it is
forbidden to do business with them, to lend them something or to
borrow something from them, to lend [money] to them or to borrow
[money] from them, to resolve your debt to them or to have them
resolve their debt to you. Rabbi Yehuda says: ...
2
The real issue I would worry about when scrolling through a list of MY questions is the interdiction of thinking thoughts of Torah in a bathroom. Even if our current-day bathrooms are not the bet hakissei of halacha (there is some discussion on this, see e.g., beginning of this), the Mishne Torah (Laws of Shema 3:4) and Shulchan Aruch (OH 85:2) forbid ...
1
This is a very good and interesting question. On the outset we can eliminate the possibility of "lifnei Iver" in this case. The problem of Lifney Iver is if you are the person that permits the Avera.
Tosfoth Avoda Zara 6B:
מנין שלא יושיט אדם כוס יין לנזיר. נראה דה''ה בכל שאר איסורין אלא להכי נקט כוס יין לנזיר משום דמסתמא למישתי קא בעי ליה כיון דכ''ע חמרא ...
1
The Gemara is stating that learning halachos everyday makes him a בן עולם הבא. Would he commit actions that disallow him from עולם הבא, that will not be the case.
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