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Unanswered Questions

308 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
9 votes
0 answers
154 views

Maharam Shiff’s Mnemonic indexes

The Wikipedia page (from Jewish encyclopedia) for Rabbi Meir Shiff states: A mnemonic index to the Bible and the Talmud by him is also extant. Where can I find such an index?
9 votes
1 answer
2k views

Honorific for a non-Jew

My question is somewhat simple: is there an honorific for particularly righteous, deceased non-Jews? Related: is זכרונו לברכה ever used for non-Jews? I don't recall ever having seen this. EDIT: I ...
8 votes
1 answer
183 views

Composed with the desire of our Father in heaven

Both the sefer Ohr Sameach and Meshech Chochmah, written by Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, have on their title page the words חובר ברצון אבינו שבשמים (See http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=...
8 votes
1 answer
277 views

Why do books say "ספר" on them?

Why do Jewish books often say "ספר" on the spine, cover, or cover page? The word is synonymous with "book" in modern Hebrew, and some closely related concept like "document" or "scroll" in Tana"ch. ...
7 votes
0 answers
225 views

Why are "Chiddushei" seforim rarely cited in the Nosi Keilim?

I noticed that when quoting Rishonim, Beis Yosef/Nosei Keilim tend to focus on Poskim (Rif (and main commentary)/Rosh/Rambam, Mordechai, Teruma, Rabbeinu Yerucham, etc.) and responsa. Very rarely do ...
7 votes
1 answer
315 views

Where can I find a complete Shulchan Aruch without too many abbreviations?

I am looking to buy a Shulchan Aruch, but unlike Buying a Shulchan Aruch, I am concerned with different requirements I don't want a lot of abbreviations. I have spent some time learning Yoreh Deah ...
7 votes
1 answer
501 views

Is the Nefesh HaChaim truly representitive of the Gra's position?

There's a popular understanding that the Gra asked R Chaim of Volozhin to write a sefer based on his teachings that would deal with many points that the sefer Tanya dealt with and this is the Nefesh ...
6 votes
0 answers
142 views

Replacement kesubah but the father had a name change

I heard an interesting question but didn't hear the answer. There are laws about what to do when someone loses their Kesubah. They write something new called a kesubah d'irkesa, which is a document ...
6 votes
0 answers
207 views

What is the proper voweling (Nikud) for Metatron?

I have seen many variations of this and wonder if anyone could tell me which is the most correct? These variations include: מֶטָטְרוֹן‎‎ (Meṭāṭ'rōn) מְטַטְרוֹן‎ (Măṭaṭ'rōn) מֵיטַטְרוֹן‎ (Mēyṭaṭ'rōn) ...
6 votes
0 answers
305 views

What software to use to write a multi-section sefer?

What software is available that allows Hebrew and English and multiple sections? i.e. the main section and then a footnote/pirush (section #2) on that, and then a 3rd section which footnotes items ...
6 votes
0 answers
1k views

Multiple characters with the same name in the bible

In the Bible most of the names are unique, especially for the main characters. As far as I know there is only one Abraham and only one Moses etc. There are some names that appear more than once like ...
6 votes
0 answers
67 views

In prayer for sick, can one name count for two people?

On Shabbat morning, the gabbai prays for the sick to be healed and reads out a list of names of sick people, that was provided by the community. In the case where two sick people have the same name (...
6 votes
0 answers
108 views

How did R' Yaakov Risher arrive at the exact number of responsa that he published?

Volume 1 and 3 of Shvus Yaakov have 182 responsa in each, corresponding to the numerical value of the author's name, Yaakov. Volume 2 has 188 responsa. After responsum 182 of volume 2, the author ...
6 votes
0 answers
4k views

What determines whether a man's Hebrew name uses "ben" or "bar"?

I have (obviously) heard a lot of Hebrew names of the form "Ploiny ben Almoiny," where Almoiny is Ploiny's father. But occasionally I see names written with the Aramaic "bar", for example Simon bar ...
6 votes
0 answers
111 views

Why are there only 8 Martyrs in the Tisha b'av kinnos

The kinna on Tisha b'av says there are 10 Martyrs, but only 8 are named. In the Yom Kippur version, however, all 10 are mentioned. Why are 2 missing from Tisha b'av?

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