Unanswered Questions
529 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Why do the Sages often believe that the word רוב mean "majority," when it clearly means "a lot"?
It seems clear that the word רוב in biblical Hebrew means "a large amount." For example, Bereshit 48:16
וְיִדְגּוּ לָרֹב בְּקֶרֶב הָאָרֶץ may they teem into multitudes in the midst of the ...
- 23.4k
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Origin of the Conservation of Biblical Personalities principle
There is a discussion on this site which is defined by a principle of Conservation of Biblical Personalities, when the midrash or aggadeta would quote various persons under the same name. Rabbi Tzvi-...
- 9,574
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Accidental murder during war
Do the laws of accidental murder/goel ha'dam apply during a war? For instance if during battle a Jew accidentally kills another Jew in such a way as would warrant the application of the laws of ...
- 28.4k
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Waiting between meat and milk
I once heard that the historical reason of why we wait between meat and milk comes from the rivalry between the Sadducees and Pharisees; In order to separate one group from the other, one of the ...
- 54k
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Status of "extra" mitzvot
When the Jews are exiled to Babel, God commands Jeremiah to tell the Jews some instructions regarding their behavior in exile (Jeremiah 29:4-9):
"Thus said GOD of Hosts, the God of Israel, to ...
- 28.4k
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Question regarding how the Beis Yosef understands the Rosh with regards to the required size of the Esrog
The Beis Yosef on the Tur (Orach Chaim 656) writes that when the Rosh (Bava Kama 1:7) uses the term ״כאגוז״ (the size of a wallnut) when describing the required size of the Esrog, that the Rosh is ...
- 442
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Who are the lulav and the hadasim?
There is a popular midrash that the four species on Sukkos represent four kinds of people. I usually see it in the form where the smell corresponds to mitzvos and the taste corresponds to Torah ...
- 9,421
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Where do we learn out that Nimrod tried to make himself into a deity?
I've always vaguely remembered the conventional story of Nimrod declaring himself a god and Avraham challenging him to change the course of the sun, etc. But after doing some active digging, it seems ...
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Are there Rabbinical commentaries on the symbolism of the altar fire revived by Nehemiah?
I gather that 2 Maccabees is outside the canon, but surely Rabbinical commentators were aware of it. With the goal of parsing out some of the symbolism seen in the following verses 1:23-28 (...
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Why "tilling and tending" of Eden are not considered commandments?
"God settled the Human in the garden of Eden, to til it and tend it." That preceded his introduction to its plants and trees and the commandments to withdraw from eating from them.
Was Adam ...
- 28k
4
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Repairing the Gospels
What are the halachic considerations if one is a book binder and a client wishes to hire him or her to repair a Christian bible? The bible isn't directly used in Avodah Zarah (for those who see ...
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Does Tzovei'ah apply to Dichromatism?
Dichromatism is when a material's hue changes with its concentration and thickness.
For example, pumpkin seed oil changes color based on how much of the liquid is present. And ground-up green leaves ...
CommunityBot
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Egyptian priests as closet monotheists, and Joseph’s Pharaoh as a Canaanite?
An exceptionally rare 1936 book by Rev Dr Izak Goller, called First Chapter, includes the following:
A powerful shepherd king of Canaan had invaded and conquered Egypt,
and one of his descendants ...
- 2,602
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Was the concept "Arich Anpin" was influenced by Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 3:12 and Midrash Tanchuma Pekudei 3:16?
Was the concept "Arich Anpin" (Keter,Hokhmah,Binah) was influenced by Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 3:12 and Midrash Tanchuma Pekudei 3:16?
Pirke DeRabbi Eliezer 3:12 - There (in the north) is the ...
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The term "divine presence" and "divine spirit" were used interchangeably?
Babylonian Talmud Sotah 11a:5 and Shemot Rabbah 1:28 depicts same scenery where divine wisdom in mishley is identified with Divine Presence. But in Babylonian Talmud Sotah 11a:5, it is written: "...
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