Unanswered Questions
336 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
votes
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
votes
1
answer
570
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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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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
6
votes
0
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133
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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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119
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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 ...
- 20.2k
6
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0
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241
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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 ...
- 388
6
votes
0
answers
192
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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 ...
CommunityBot
- 1
6
votes
1
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227
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Practical עשה דוחה לא תעשה
There are a few examples frequently offered for the rule "עשה דוחה לא תעשה":
Someone whose garment has four corners and linen can nonetheless put wool tzitzis on it. This is unlikely nowadays, when ...
- 188
5
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0
answers
82
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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.
- 2,298
5
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73
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(Why) did God take away free will from the sons of Eli?
In 1 Shmuel 2:25 it indicates that the sons of Eli don't repent for their sins because God wanted to kill them
וְלֹ֤א יִשְׁמְעוּ֙ לְק֣וֹל אֲבִיהֶ֔ם כִּֽי־חָפֵ֥ץ ה' לַהֲמִיתָֽם
But [the sons of Eli] ...
- 15.3k
5
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0
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199
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Proof of Hashem via Talmud/Amora/Tanna
Does anyone know of the places where a Tanna/Amora offers a proof for the existence of Hashem.
ie: Bereshit Rabbah 39:1 Avraham Avinu passes a castle on fire (see below)
Is there perhaps a list, or a ...
- 1,397