Unanswered Questions
556 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Was the Chasam Sofer known for having an interesting way of learning?
I have a lot of experience learning Gemara and find myself oft dealing with the views of the Achronim to understand the Pshat in Rishonim. Unfortunately, I have inside me a slight aversion to the ...
- 835
9
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Maharam Shiff’s Mnemonic indexes
The Wikipedia page (from Jewish encyclopedia) for Rabbi Meir Shiff states:
A mnemonic index to the Bible and the Talmud by him is also extant.
Where can I find such an index?
- 730
8
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1
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Would suicide be considered acceptable if it was done to prevent yourself being sacrificed to an idol deity?
This is an oddly specific question but the thought came to me and I wanted to know what your opinions on it would be.
Historically speaking, human sacrifice was a regular occurrence in various pagan ...
CommunityBot
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8
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1
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Composed with the desire of our Father in heaven
Both the sefer Ohr Sameach and Meshech Chochmah, written by Rav Meir Simcha of Dvinsk, have on their title page the words
חובר ברצון אבינו שבשמים
(See http://www.hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=...
CommunityBot
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8
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1
answer
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Why do books say "ספר" on them?
Why do Jewish books often say "ספר" on the spine, cover, or cover page?
The word is synonymous with "book" in modern Hebrew, and some closely related concept like "document" or "scroll" in Tana"ch. ...
CommunityBot
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8
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1
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Chronology of Shofetim
Where can I find a diagram or timeline showing the chronology of the Shofetim according to different commentators?
For example Rashi on Shofetim 11:26, Ralbag nearby and Abarbanel on Shmuel 1 chapter ...
CommunityBot
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7
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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
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1
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Did Dovid hamelech write music?
Do we have any music notes or tunes attributed to him?
On the same note, do we have any music or songs attributed to biblical times? If not, why is that?
EDIT: do we know any tunes or songs even ...
CommunityBot
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7
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226
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Who came up with this story?
It says in Mekor Baruch (of Rabbi Baruch Epstein)
The Rosh Yeshiva of Volozhin, the Netziv, was once sitting down surrounded by several high-caliber students – avrechim versed in Torah, wise, and ...
CommunityBot
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7
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Why are "Chiddushei" seforim rarely cited in the Nosi Keilim?
I noticed that when quoting Rishonim, Beis Yosef/Nosei Keilim tend to focus on Poskim (Rif (and main commentary)/Rosh/Rambam, Mordechai, Teruma, Rabbeinu Yerucham, etc.) and responsa.
Very rarely do ...
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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
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Halachic opinions on tefillin peshutim
I was discussing the subject of tefillin with my father motzei-Shabbat and particular, the battim (leather boxes that contain the parshiyot, or parchment scrolls). We ended up wondering what the mid-...
- 13.3k
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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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Identification of Censored Areas of Talmud
Unfortunately, the Talmud and other writings have been subject to censorship since their completion. These alterations seem still to be present in many modern editions of the Talmud.
How ...
- 50.3k
7
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The Torah scrolls written by Jewish kings
The Torah commanded Jewish kings to write their own Torah scroll from a master in the possession of the Levites, and to read it every day of their life so that they should not become haughty and so ...
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