Unanswered Questions
419 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
10
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Who authored the 13 Ani Maamin's?
The Rambam in his Hakdama to his Pirush on Perek Chelek in Mesechtas Sanhedrin mentions the points of belief a Jew must have. To the best of my knowledge these are the basis of the well-known ...
- 970
10
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2
answers
208
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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?
- 2,013
9
votes
1
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443
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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 ...
- 14.7k
8
votes
0
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179
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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 ...
- 979
7
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0
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194
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Finding a chiddush of the Brisker Rov
This question has a bit of an introduction to it.
Rav Shlomo Lorincz wrote a biography of the Chazon Ish, the Brisker Rov and Rav Shach, called במחיצתם (translated by Yonason Rosenblum as “In Their ...
- 19.1k
7
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66
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Why does Pirkei d'Rebbi Eliezer only connect certain berachos of Shemoneh Esrei to events in Tanach?
According to Pirkei d'Rebbi Eliezer:
The first beracha of Shemoneh Esrei, "Blessed are You, Hashem, Protector of Avraham," refers to Hashem's protecting Avraham during the war with the four kings (ch....
- 17.9k
7
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137
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Sheimos-free versions of Tanach Online
There are many websites that provide the user with the text of Tanach (as well as various other Jewish sources). When printing sources, I like to avoid printing "Sheimos", or actual names of Hashem, ...
- 21.2k
7
votes
1
answer
571
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Eliyahu HaNavi's role in Moshiach's arrival according to the Rambam
The Rambam says in Hilchos Malachim 12:2:
There are some Sages who say that Elijah's coming will precede the coming of the Mashiach. All these and similar matters cannot be definitely known by man ...
CommunityBot
- 1
7
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0
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317
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Early descriptions of the Foundation Stone
I am looking for early descriptions of the "Foundation Stone" (אבן שתיה) -- the huge flat rock now enclosed by the "Dome of the Rock," and believed by many Jewish scholars to have been the site of the ...
- 7,056
7
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Source for Jewish Chapter breaks in Tanach
I know that the chapter divisions are a Christian invention, and therefore don't exist in very old Jewish sources (Aleppo Codex, Leningrad Codex, dead sea scrolls, etc.). However our divisions don't ...
- 48.6k
7
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0
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184
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Why does Mishneh Torah have Shem uMalchut for Yishtabach?
I was looking into the Seder haTefillot as well as other siddurim based on it, and something always bothered me about Birkat Yishtabach, which as most of you know "closes" the Pesuqei deZimra section ...
- 71
7
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1
answer
137
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Historical controversy surrounding division of the Tanach into Christian chapters / verses?
What kind of reception did the transition to Christian chapter and verse numbers have within the Jewish world in or around the mid 15th century? Did it stir up any kind of controversy?
Background:
The ...
- 48.7k
6
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0
answers
304
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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 ...
- 21.2k
6
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0
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147
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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,...
- 3,907
6
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0
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1k
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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 ...
- 362