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In Brachot 61b:7 there is the famous parable of the fox trying to get the fish do go on the land. As part of the trick, the fox says: וְנָדוּר אֲנִי וְאַתֶּם, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁדָּרוּ אֲבוֹתַי עִם אֲב...
I have read talmudic accounts and heard of medrashim reagrding the timeline of the 6th day of creation and the "birth" of Adam and Chava (especially as it relates to Erev Shabbat) but I'm wondering...
When a string breaks off of one's tzitzit there are rules about its disposal. One may not treat it (according to opinions noted by the Rama) in a degrading fashion though they needn't be buried in ...
The Aruch HaShulchan rules on 271:30 that b'dieved, even one who doesn't drink melo lugmav of wine at kiddush is yotzei. Would he also say the same by havdalah?
The Bavli in various places (e.g. Suka 42–43) explains that the rabbis did away with blowing shofar and taking lulav on Shabas lest one "take it to an expert to learn, and carry it four cubits in p...
Shemot 12:15 tells us: "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread". But our tradition (I don't know the source, sorry) is that we are required to eat matzah only at the seder(s). Otherwise, the c...
The beginning of the Jewish year is referred to as Rosh Hashanah. The beginning of the Jewish month is called Rosh Chodesh. How come Rosh Hashanah has a "hey" (ה) in it, while Rosh Chodesh does n...
This is a hypothetical question; it doesn't apply to anyone I know, but I heard an anecdote and it led me to wonder. Suppose someone discovers that her maternal grandmother was in fact Jewish, but...
In Rus 1:8, Naomi is telling her two daughters-in-law that they should return to their homes. וַתֹּ֤אמֶר נָעֳמִי֙ לִשְׁתֵּ֣י כַלֹּתֶ֔יהָ לֵ֣כְנָה שֹּׁ֔בְנָה אִשָּׁ֖ה לְבֵ֣ית אִמָּ֑הּ יעשה [יַ֣עַ...
In the Yalkut Shimoni on Nach 499.2, he writes: שנו רבותינו בשעה שמלך המשיח בא עומד על גג בית המקדש והוא משמיע להם לישראל ואומר ענוים הגיע זמן גאולתכם Our Rabbi's taught, at the time that the k...
In the beginning of Parshat Sh'lach, when listing the spies from each tribe, the Torah gives Ephraim like every other tribe (Bamidbar 13:8): למטה אפרים הושע בן-נון From the tribe of Ephraim, Ho...
This question arose at my seder this year and nobody present knew of an answer: The haggadah designates the three matzot for specific purposes: We are to break the middle one (and save the larg...
I believe it was Rav SZA who wrote/said that there are three "threes" (3 things that people do having to do with "3") that are made up. Does anyone know where this is written and/or what they are?
What is the difference in translation according to dikduk (grammar) between שנואה AND שניאה? Both are used in Devarim 21:15 to refer to the same person.
I was taught that we shouldn't make an interruption between saying a mitzvah b'racha and taking the action. I don't have a source for this other than that it makes sense; you don't want to risk ma...
When the English translation of Torah Shleimah references “Hakobes,” to what author or work is it referring to?
This past Shabbat I was reminded (while watching the torah reader rolling the scroll) that all (or nearly all?) of parshat Balak is written as one long paragraph in the scroll -- three solid column...
I have little bit knowledge of Abrahamic Religion (Christianity, Islam). When I had seen the community first some questions came to my mind. I know that Hazrat Musa (a:) (prophet of Muslim) is God...
Do any contemporary rabbis address the permissibility or prohibition of reading the heretical “Me’or Eynayim” by de Rossi?
I'm trying to understand (the classical Jewish view of) the character of Yaakov. He gets the birthright by exploiting a situation -- he did nothing inherently wrong and WE see him as justified in ...
The Bracha on salt, as listed in Mishneh Torah, Blessings 8:8 is Shehakol. I have found confirmation in modern generally accepted Halachic sources. According to Mishneh Torah, Blessings 8:7 spices...
In the megillah, Mordechai tells Esther that if she doesn't go to the king, salvation will come from another source. While this is an admirable show of faith isn't he being somech al nes, reliant o...
Did Rabbi Avigdor Miller ever mention Azariah de Rossi or his sefer "Me'or Eynayim"? If so, what did he say about him or his sefer?
If one had placed a bouquet of flowers in a vase prior to Shabbat, is it considered muktzah? In what scenario would it be permissible to move it on Shabbat?
Mishna B'rura 128:22 says that if no Levi is around to wash a kohen's hands for the latter's blessing, a firstborn-to-his-mother should do so. Although Kaf Hachayim :40 notes that he hasn't seen th...
This past year I grew some vegetables for the first time. I don't live in Eretz Yisrael, so I know I don't have to tithe my produce, but it made me wonder: what if I did? How would I go about tha...
What is the Jewish holy book? As far as I know that is Torah. Even, I had heard that Torah is in Arabic. While searching it again, I found that there's difference between Torah in Islam and Torah i...
I sometimes help other people in my synagogue learn to read torah. While I have a tikkun, I have some vision problems and find it much easier to print a portion from Trope Trainer, which offers a ...
Simply put, how much physical distance on the globe/map effects a discernable change in time? If I compute the zman for something, I do so based on (for some websites) my zip code. But that zip co...
When we say Ulichaporas Pasha in musaf on a rosh chodesh that is a leap year, is that supposed to be read/understood as a continuation of the previous request or as a new request? אֱ-לֹהֵינוּ וֵ...
There are certain categories of speech which are outright forbidden by the Torah (various forms of gossip, profanity, blasphemy, curse, etc.). Theoretically speaking, could the Sanhedrin legislate...
When Pesach starts on a Saturday night, I understand that we are forbidden to eat matzah on that Shabbat (because we don't want to diminish the experience at the seder), but that we also aren't all...
I have heard that when dietary laws and serious medical conditions interact, there are grounds to be lenient on the basis of pikuach nefesh. I'm pretty sure I've heard this with respect to ingredi...
In Genesis 14:21-23, after Abraham returns, king of Sodom proposes him to take the riches, with him keeping the people. Abraham didn't accept it with a great vow before God and as such, avoiding to...
The Talmud (Berachos 61b.9) relates the holy incident regarding Rebbi Akiva's martyrdom. He proclaimed "all my days I have been pained, waiting for this moment of fulfillment". Seeing as his commen...
Although I can't seem to find it now, I recall a rule that says that no one under the age of twenty can sell real property that he's inherited. Why? Because people under the age of twenty are not t...
Which of the Asseres Hadibros is most important? I remember hearing that its jealousy, but any sources (either that its jealousy or any other one) would be greatly appreciated.
Suppose someone started reading a haftara for a different week, or according to a different custom for the same week, or a piece of navi that's not a haftara at all. What should the community do? ...
Pesachim 68b teaches: רבי אליעזר אומר אין לו לאדם ביום טוב אלא או אוכל ושותה או יושב ושונה רבי יהושע אומר חלקהו חציו לאכילה ושתיה וחציו לבית המדרש R' Eliezer says, "A person on Yom Tov can either ...
I live in the diaspora and this doesn't affect me personally, but in thinking about the sh'mita cycle while tending my small garden, I found myself wondering about some details. Does the law to not...
In the first paragraph of Krias Shema Al Hamita, we say that we forgive: ...לְכָל־מִי שֶׁהִכְעִיס וְהִקְנִיט אוֹתִי אוֹ שֶׁחָטָא כְנֶגְדִּי בֵּין בְּגוּפִי בֵּין בְּמָמוֹנִי... ...anyone who ha...
In my Simchas Torah experience, there's at least as many cycles of aliyos as there are Kohanim and Leviim, such that if anything a given Kohen or Levi may end up with multiple aliyos on a given Sim...
When reviewing parashas Ki Sisa I noticed that 32:7 has הֶעֱלֵיתָ heelesa for "you lifted" whereas 33:1 has הֶעֱלִיתָ heelisa. Why?
Exodus 21:28-29 (and onward) gives us laws concerning the ox that gores. If it happens once, they kill the ox but do not punish the owner. But if the ox has a pattern of goring and the owner has ...
I noticed that Ezekiel 1:16, in describing his vision of something like a heavenly chariot (merkavah), says the words gleaned like tarshish, translated "beryl" by Sefaria and some others: מַרְאֵ...
This Shabbat is Rosh Chodesh Av. During the three weeks (which we're in the midst of) we read three special haftarot. On Rosh Chodesh normally we read a special haftarah. When they coincide, do ...
Generally speaking, whenever the Torah tells us "do not do X," the context is "do not do a specific action" (don't eat non-Kosher, don't do work on Shabbos, etc.). In a select few prohibitions, how...
There are instances when I cannot use my Oz Vehadar edition of tractate Menachos, and thus I am forced1 into using an older edition, i.e. the old-fashioned Vilna printings2, from, like, two-thousan...
The Septuagint's version of Jeremiah is one eighth shorter than the Masoretic Text's version. In the Dead Sea Scrolls is evidence of both versions. Did any ancient Jewish writers (such as in the M...
I'm trying to figure something out about Channukah: When the victorious Jews cleaned the temple they found only enough oil to light the menorah for 1 day and it took another 7 days before they had...
