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Unanswered Questions

411 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
10 votes
0 answers
405 views

May one ride in a utilitarian car?

A new study has confirmed the obvious: people want to survive: even though participants approve of autonomous vehicles that might sacrifice passengers to save others, respondents would prefer not to ...
10 votes
2 answers
208 views

Counting Sefirah in a made up language

Can one fulfill the mitzvah of counting the Omer by counting in a language that only he/she understands? What if a few people understand? An entire goup?
9 votes
1 answer
443 views

Reincarnations - Let's work out how many one would need to be personally obligated in all 613 Mitzvot in the superset

In a nutshell, the Arizal says (Shaar Gilgulim Ch. 16) we are reincarnated in order that every Jew gets a chance to experience all 613 mitzvot as a chiyuv (personal obligation) at least once. My ...
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
60 views

Why does the Torah add ger sometimes

For some commandments in the chumash the Torah adds "and also the ger with you", and sometimes it does not. What's the reason for this? Is there a specific reason every time?
7 votes
0 answers
148 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,...
7 votes
0 answers
97 views

Is there a connection between the two times 7 cows, ears and years that Yaakov worked for his wives?

Is there any connection or relationship between the seven fat & seven lean cows, the seven beautiful and seven parched ears of grain that Pharaoh dreamt and Yosef interpreted, and the seven years ...
7 votes
0 answers
151 views

Why do most Chumashim mark the end of a Sidra with 3 parsha markings?

With the exception of the end of Vayigash, every Sidrah (Shabbat weekly Torah reading) ends at a parsha (paragraph end.) When there is a parsha end in the middle of the sidrah, Chumashim use a single ...
7 votes
1 answer
232 views

How do I know my unanswered questions will be revealed [to me] when I die?

Many times as a Jew I think in the back of my head that certain question’s answers I greatly ponder will be revealed to me when I die. I’ll give an example. A few distant relatives of mine were ...
6 votes
0 answers
304 views

Textual Criticism of Nach

I was recently learning Megillat Esther (as I prepare some shiurim on the topic), and was surprised to find the following comment by Rabbi Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi (Tedeschi), in his commentary to ...
6 votes
0 answers
93 views

Why is there no דגש in the כ״ף of הכזונה in פרשת וישלח לד:לא?

I know that the rule of ה״א התימה is that it usually takes a הֲ unless it precedes a שוא, such as here in הַכְזוֹנָה, where it then just takes a הַ and the following letter doesn't have a דגש in order ...
6 votes
0 answers
115 views

How is love created? Is giving sufficient or must there be Hakoras Hatov?

Related: Where does Rav Dessler mention that root word of אהבה is הב? Rav Wolbe in Alei Shur vol 2, in the first va'ad on Hakaras Hatov (page רעט) says that Hakaras Hatov is a foundation of love. ...
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
167 views

Why do we greatly honor the Davidic line of kings?

I have trouble understanding why we greatly honor the Davidic line of kings, why we pray for the restoration of the dynasty. Taking as examples the last six major kings of the Davidic line, they ...
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 ...

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