Unanswered Questions
333 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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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....
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English explanation of Sheva Brachot at a Wedding
I was a guest at a wedding recently. During the sheva brachot under the chuppah in addition to calling up someone to recite the bracha a second person was called up to read a relevant English passage ...
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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
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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 ...
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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
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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
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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 ...
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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 ...
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Who were the Nistarim?
It has been documented that there is a group of righteous people called "The Nistarim". I am not referring to the lammed vav tzaddikim of the Gemara (Sanhedrin 97b, Sukkah 45b). Rather, a mystical ...
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Seeking Ramchal's Hoker u'MeKubal in English
Is the Ramchal's Hoker u'MeKubal available in English? I have already read Derech HaShem, Daas Tevunos, Mesillas Yesharim, and Ma'amar HaGeulas, so I would be interested in other of his works in ...
CommunityBot
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6
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1
answer
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Using Eicha trop when learning
When leining in shul, there are a few minhagim about what gets read with the Eicha trop. This is what I've seen most often (in chronological order through the year):
איכה אשא לבדי in Devarim
Most of ...
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Smoking and psychedelics in kabbalah?
Many are familiar with stories of great tzaddikim smoking pipes and the like in some sort of kabbalastic rite. I've even heard some chassidic Rebbes having a so called "Kabbalah pipe". Im curious to ...
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Why do third-person singular female qal verbs lack a gaʿya?
The word הָיְתָ֣ה appears in the model Masoretic codices without a gaʿya on the initial ה in several places (e.g. Isaiah 1:21 in L [facsimile] & A). Likewise, זָכְרָ֥ה lacks a gaʿya (e.g. Nehamiah ...
CommunityBot
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Mechon-Mamre Tanach text
Which manuscript of the Masoretic text is used as the basis for the Tana"ch on Mechon-Mamre.org?
Is it based on the Leningradensis, the Keter Aram Soba, or another manuscript?
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Translation help: powers of the seven great men of the city
I'm struggling with a particular part of the reasoning of the Mahari ben-Lev in responsum 2:72, in which he addresses whether or not the טובי העיר have the power to make a rule banning townsfolk from ...
CommunityBot
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