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Unanswered Questions

198 questions with no answers
8 votes
0 answers
179 views

Mitzvos from the 613 that are not included in the Ten Commandments

The Chasam Sofer to parshas Nasso says (Toras Moshe I, ד"ה ושמו שמי) that it is known that even though the Ten Commandments contain all the 613 mitzvos (see Rashi and here), the three mitzvos that ...
7 votes
0 answers
137 views

Can anyone warn a man's wife to give her the status of a sotah?

In the Mishna, Sotah 4:5 (and Bavli 27a) it explains that in certain situations Beit Din may warn a woman not to be secluded with a man and this warning carries the legal status of kinuy such that if ...
6 votes
0 answers
61 views

How come that nobody could oppose to R' Gamliel in Halachah but could boot him promptly as the President?

I'm trying to understand the mechanics of the Jewish Presidency as presented in Berakhot.28a. In the story R"G asks if there is anybody who could object to him in a Halachic issue, and nobody ...
6 votes
0 answers
133 views

Operating a mechanical calculator on Shabbos

Are mechanical calculators Mukzte on Shabbos? Would it be considered a form of measuring? Mechanical calculators have no electric parts. Everything is purely mechanical: If it is considered measuring,...
6 votes
0 answers
135 views

Is plea-bargaining allowed in Judaism?

Consider this form of plea-bargaining: "Plead guilty to a lesser crime. In exchange, we won't prosecute you further and you give us information about your bosses and testify against them." This is ...
6 votes
0 answers
42 views

Why do we say Dayanim Mumhim in Hatarat Nedarim (Canceling vows)?

The text of Hatatarat Nedarim starts like this: שִׁמְעוּ נָא רַבּותַי דַּיָּנִים מֻמְחִים "Please hear, expert Dayanim (court) It's not just that usually we gather three random people to be ...
6 votes
0 answers
274 views

Did the Sanhedrin ever convene at night or on holidays?

Were there ever any times or special circumstances in either Temple period where the Sanhedrin would convene on Shabbat, at night or on holidays?
6 votes
0 answers
119 views

Why isn't imitating Hashem's traits a constant mitzvah?

In the introduction to Sefer HaChinuch, the author delineates what he feels are six constant mitzvos from the 613. מששה מצות מהן שחיובן תמידי לא יפסק מעל האדם אפי' רגע בכל ימיו. ואלו הם. א' להאמין ...
6 votes
0 answers
241 views

During the nine days, can we do something "slightly dangerous" in order to fulfill a mitzvah?

During the nine days, many hold that we refrain from activities that are considered even slightly dangerous; for example, air travel. However, I have read that R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (who ...
6 votes
0 answers
192 views

Do the laws of Ribis apply to loans of virtual currency?

If a Jew lends a player in a multiplayer online game money, and he knows without a doubt that that player is Jewish, does the prohibition of ribis apply? (After all, the only thing that changed was a ...
5 votes
0 answers
82 views

Can one do an issur derabanan so that his friend can do a mitzva doraisa

There’s a rule not to do an aveira to benefit another but would it apply in a scenario where the purpose of performing an issur derabanan is to enable another person to perform a mitzva doraisa.
5 votes
0 answers
108 views

Only Kohanim get reward for mitzvos in this world

There's a concept of שכר מצוות בהאי עלמא ליכא, there is no reward for mitzvos in this world (Kiddushin 39b). Much has been written on what this means and why it's true, but I found a innovative idea ...
5 votes
0 answers
848 views

Why is Rosh Chodesh called "the first mitzvah in the Torah"?

I continually see Rosh Chodesh identified as "the first mitzvah in the Torah".[1] I recognize that it is the first mitzvah given to Am Yisrael as a nation. But there are three mitzvot that precede it ...
4 votes
0 answers
46 views

Why did the Rambam single out Ribui?

In Sefer HaMitzvos, Shoresh 2, the Rambam says that anything derived using Rabbi Yishmael's 13 principles of derivation, or a Ribui (extraneous wording which tells us to include new laws), does not ...
4 votes
0 answers
115 views

Does it still count as a Bracha if one stuttered and repeated words?

What if someone has a stutter and they tend to repeat words when doing a Bracha. As long as they said all of the words, does it still count as a Bracha?

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