Unanswered Questions
218 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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For whom does Mekhilta d'Rashb"i mean the Zohar?
I saw that Malbim on Shir HaShirim (1:2) quotes the Zohar with the name מכלתא דרשב״י. Indeed, the words he quotes are in the Zohar here. On the other hand, there is another work called מכילתא דרשב״י, ...
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7
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181
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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 ...
- 28k
6
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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 ...
- 10.4k
6
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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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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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5
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291
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Understanding the Zohar's Anthropomorphism of God
Unlike the Rambam's now-conventional ideas against anthropomorphizing God, there are kabbalistic texts studied today which seem to espouse completely antithetical ideas.
I am familiar with the ...
- 17.9k
4
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1
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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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4
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Do we apply עושה מעשה עמך consistently anywhere it says עמך?
The Gemara in several places (BM 48b and 62a, Yevamos 22b, Sanhedrin 85a, BB 4a, BK 94b, Makkos 8b) quotes the exposition
ונשיא בעמך לא תאור - בעושה מעשה עמך
“A prince in your people you shall ...
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Understanding the parameters of translating the pesukim
In Kiddushin 49a R' Yehuda makes the following statement
ר' יהודה אומר המתרגם פסוק כצורתו הרי זה בדאי והמוסיף עליו הרי זה מחרף ומגדף
One who translates a verse literally is a liar, one who adds his ...
CommunityBot
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4
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Source for Arizal’s teaching
I’m reading a book by Rabbi Shlomo Arush and he says the following: "According to our master, the Arizal, whoever wants to receive the light of Ein Sof in its entirety has to change its own nature ...
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4
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Mishneh Torah in english
To my knowledge, there are two English editions of the Mishneh Torah: the Yale Judaica edition and the Moznaim edition. Furthermore, there exist the Birnbaum (incomplete) and Frankel editions, perhaps ...
- 101k
4
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Why read about Rashb"i's death at a memorial ceremony?
Why do many people read the passage (known as אדרא זוטא) from Zohar about the death of Rabbi Shim'on ben Yochai at memorial ceremonies?
A description of it can be found here.
- 17.9k
4
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1
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404
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Maggidim (angelic mentors) in Jewish history. How new is it?
Did the phenomenon of "maggidim" (celestial/angelic mentors) who come to teach a person kabbalistic mysteries and other revelations, but begin with those who studied Lurianic kaballah in the 1500's - ...
- 36k
4
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1
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Is it obligatory / recommended / permitted / discouraged / forbidden to tie a red thread to a child's crib?
The comments to this question discuss tying to a red thread to a child's crib. Garvey80 claims that it is a minhag yisrael to do so, and is thus obligatory. User6591 claims that it may be forbidden, ...
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4
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1
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Leaving the room during a kabbalistic dvar Torah
We learn from Maran HaRav Ovadia Yosef Z"l, as well as R' Hamburger Shlit"a, and the rest of the non-Chassidic, non-Lurianic world that it is improper for one unlearned in sha"s and halachah to learn ...
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