Unanswered Questions
572 questions with no upvoted or accepted answers
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Acronym for ישראל (original source)
Where was this insight originally brought down from?
י = יצחק, יעקב
ש = שרה
ר = רבקה, רחל
א = אברהם
ל = לאה
The earliest work I could find was
שני לוחות הברית
But I'm not sure if it ...
- 1,204
6
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2
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Requesting forgiveness when in doubt
Rambam writes in Teshuva 2,9 that one must ask a person for forgiveness when he has wronged him and personal Teshuva is not enough.
I have seen people (and I myself have often done this) asking for ...
CommunityBot
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6
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Should we ask a non-Jew to wear a kippa for a burial?
Should we ask a non-Jew to wear a kippa for a burial? He likely doesn't have an obligation to do so. We often ask them in a synagogue (and this answer discusses the reasons) but what about a cemetery?
- 44.7k
6
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Maror- common lettuce
Rav Dovid Feinstein in Kol Dodi perek 15:18 writes that the common custom is to use romaine lettuce for maror.However, he mentions that he heard that a renowned Gaon of recent times who permitted ...
- 42.7k
6
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Height of havdalah candle = height of spouse?
I have seen havdalah ceremonies where a unmarried person is charged with holding the havdalah candle and is told to hold it at the height that s/he would want their spouse to be. What is the source ...
- 73.9k
6
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0
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Verses indicating that each person has an equal entitlement to a land-plot
In Numbers 26:53–54 (JPS), the Israelites are commanded:
Unto these the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number of names. To the more thou shalt give the more ...
- 19.3k
6
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0
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250
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Source for Chazon Ish on What defines a Lamdan
I recently read an article and the author wrote the following:
"The Chazon Ish described the true lamdan as “someone who spends three hours preparing to deliver a five-minute shiur, and when he is ...
- 73.9k
6
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1
answer
245
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Source for forgiveness at a Bris Milah for those who share the baby's name
I have heard many times that if one is present at a Bris Milah and the baby receives the same name as them, they receive forgiveness for all of their sins and/or some sort of special Beracha.
Is ...
- 21.2k
6
votes
1
answer
136
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No Shema' at the end of Shirat haYam?
Over the last several years, I have noticed that most schuls in the US do not recite the pasuk of שמע ישרﭏ at the end of Shirat haYam in Pesukei deZimrah, while every Nusach Ashkenaz siddur I've seen (...
- 428
6
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1
answer
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Judges Chapter 9 and Aesop's Fable
In the book of Judges 9:8-15 we have the following fable:
8 The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they
said unto the olive-tree: Reign thou over us.
9 But the olive-...
- 28k
5
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0
answers
92
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Comparison of different hashkafas
I'm curious whether anyone has published a (reasonably unbiased) comparison of different major hashkafas and the key differences between them. Has anyone come across such a thing?
To clarify: I'm ...
- 48.6k
5
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0
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102
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+50
Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s yahrtzeit
I’ve seen in various calendars that 15 Kislev is the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. Does anyone have a source for this?
- 1,346
5
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Recurring numbers by certain yomim tovim?
Does anyone know of any sources that talk about how each yom tov seems to have a special number attached? A number that seems to crop up several times?
For example:
Rosh Hashana - 3
3 sets of 3 shofar ...
- 34.5k
5
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0
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Tefillin on Yom Tov - P'shat and source for quote by Mishna Berura
The Mishna Berura 31:3 explains why we do not wear Tefillin on Y"T as follows;
ויו"ט ג"כ מיקרי אות דבפסח מצרים כתיב אות והוקשו כל מועדי ה' בפ' אמור
The Rishonim all give different ...
- 3,836
5
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The Maggid of Mezeritch on jewels and straw
In his sermon on the ethics of controversy, R Norman Lamm says:
The great Maggid of Mezeritch, the leading theoretician of Hasidism
and one who knew only too well the life of controversy, told us ...
- 2,602