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I'm a Mets fan -- that's not a question, just a foundational point. It also contextualizes my many years of suffering. At Citi Field there is a stand that sells kosher hot dogs and "nachos" (no ch...
The Four Sons mentioned at the seder include the "Tam." I have seen many commentators translate that as "simple" or, as the OU website has it, "simple, unsophisticated, not because of external circ...
The way I was taught it, the Haftarah was read in order to get around the edict forbidding the reading of the Torah -- answer #1 here https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/593314/jewish/Wh...
Hear me out -- this is not meant to be facetious, but I'm asking as an issue of halachic theory. Let's say a person had the capability to fly (or at least float) -- what would the Shabbos-based ha...
On Rosh Chodesh, we read 4 aliyot carved from Parshat Pinchas (B'midbar 28:1-25). I know that there are rules about where you can break aliyot and such but why does the R"C leining start with the d...
One of the differences between Ashkenazic and some other liturgies is the text of the Kaddish. In Ashkenazic siddurim, the text reads (I'm using Sefaria) יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא (...
This hypothetical was asked of me by students. They started by asking about time travel in halacha. I did a little research but haven't found an answer to this aspect of it: If some one were to tr...
The texts of brachot were composed and codified over time and by different people so the simple answer to this question is "because" with no further explanation. But I'd like to believe that there ...
I'm trying to understand the limits of applying the concern of hachana on Shabbos. Here is one hypothetical: I need to be up and alert right after Shabbos ends, and I know that a cup of coffee kic...
Hypothetical -- a young man's father passes away. As the child grows, he follows the minhagim his father followed. But the son is not aware of his father's position on certain things. How bound is ...
I sometimes daven at a minyan which has a mix of people. When one guy leads davening, he does an Ashkenazic nusach. Another guy might daven Sefard. During musaf on Shabbos this past week, the shatz...
For the machtzit hashekel, we are supposed to use "half of the standard currency of that particular country" according to this site. But a silver (pre 1964) half-dollar coin is worth more than fif...
In Shmoneh Esrei, we have a series of bakashot, requests. Most start with the imperative (s'lach, sh'ma, bareich etc). Why does Ata Chonen NOT begin with the imperative and instead starts with a ba...
The mishna in Ta'anit talks about praying for rain. Ta'anit 1:4 says that if 17 Cheshvan arrives and rain hasn't fallen, individuals begin to fast. The previous mishna gives 3 Cheshvan (two weeks...
I was thinking aout Bil'am the other day and I recalled this idea (as written up on this website): The Moment of Divine Anger – As taught in the Talmud (Berachot 7a), each morning Hashem is mome...
Hey, my name is Jack. I’m coming from Christianity and I’m working toward converting to Orthodox Judaism. I’ve been praying and attending a synagogue for a little while now, and I’ve kept putting o...
I hope this hypothetical makes sense. According to my understanding, for an Ashkenazic Jew to accept that food was cooked "by" a Jew (and therefore not bishul Akum), the Jew must, at least, tu...
Is Civet coffee ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_luwak ) kosher or not, and by what reasoning? (This is a follow-up of Why is honey considered kosher? ).
Why is honey considered kosher? What I found on the net was an article that states that while bees (as any insects) are non-kosher, honey is not a body product of bees, but only processed (from co...
S'dom and Amora were hotbeds of improper behavior. What was the triggering factor that drove Hashem to decide to destroy them when he did? Did something change or get worse?
In a newspaper article by a Jewish academic about changing support for Zionism among US American Jews (deliberately not linked to avoid distracting from my actual question), I read More than 2,0...
The decalogue passages in Sh'mot and D'varim have two sets of trope. The special ("upper") trope is used in public torah readings. What is the other (regular) trope for? Why not just have the up...
I developed a question while watching the rain last night. Consider this question which I found online: https://dinonline.org/2015/12/25/bracha-on-thunder-and-lightning/ In that case, the individ...
Where I live, juries in civil and criminal trials are made up of ordinary citizens, who are summoned for this purpose ("jury duty"). Being judged by a jury of impartial "regular people" (not judge...
Shalom I’m a person who is interested in Judaism And human anthropology. I was reading the Book of Genesis and i stumbled upon some verses that says: [17:8] And I will give to you, and to your o...
If our daily amida is (even partially) based on the Korbanot, why do we make no regular mention of the korbanot being replaced? On Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh and Yom Tov, we add in a musaf in order ...
Here is a hypothetical case -- I get home from work on June 22 and I'm bushed. Totally knackered and it is only 5:30. I'm afraid, though, that I won't be able to fall asleep again tonight so I take...
We are required to count the omer because the pasuk states וּסְפַרְתֶּם לָכֶם so Mitzvah #127 here mandates that counting. There is also an obligation (#221 on the list) to count the years towar...
If, as it seems, the actual counting towards the Yovel is a mitzvah. This is the Mishne Torah as translated and noted on sefaria: It is a positive commandment to count sets of seven years *Sefer...
I'm learning mishna Yoma, which describes the high priest's service on Yom Kippur, and I was struck by some of the logistical challenges. I am wondering, in particular, about the bowls of blood. ...
I visited another synagogue for the seventh day of Pesach, and noticed that during the torah reading (which is from B'shalach), there were parts that the congregation read along with the reader. T...
Animals in general are muktzeh, if I understand the basics of what I'm reading. There is guidance about pets at https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/522415/jewish/How-does-Shabbat-observ...
If one goes to a hotel in which the doors have BOTH an electronic lock and a manual one built in, does the door become a basis l'davar ha'assur on Shabbat? The electronics are inside the door and ...
I do not mean this as a practical question -- if I have to do that, I'll ask local authorities. This is more about the theory of the idea. I know that we try to separate ourselves from Avodah Zara...
I'm trying to get a handle on the events surrounding the creation of man. Is there any resource which catalogues the events and opinions? Adam and Chava are created Erev Shabbos. According to one ...
This year, the first night of Channukah is the evening of the 25th of December. This question would be about a year in which Channukah starts on or before the 24th. In that case, one would be faced...
I started thinking about this from a random post and thought of many question, probably missing the important ones. So this is structured as an argument between two people trying to follow the law ...
Mishna, Tamid 7:2: בָּאוּ וְעָמְדוּ עַל מַעֲלוֹת הָאוּלָם עָמְדוּ הָרִאשׁוֹנִים לִדְרוֹם אֲחֵיהֶם הַכֹּהֲנִים וַחֲמִשָּׁה כֵלִים בְּיָדָם הַטֶּנִי בְיַד אֶחָד וְהַכּוּז בְּיַד אֶחָד וְהַמַּחְתָּ...
In biblical/temple times, would it have been wrong to vounteer to do something which will make one tameii if the motivation is to avoid a different obligation? If I don't want to spend time with m...
Reading Bereshit I ask for the precise measure of a year using seven days and it does not work mathematically. How do you make it work as Hashem is perfect?
On the sabbath before the new month, we announce the upcoming new moon and on those days, we also do NOT say Av Harachamim (except during sefirah when the history of persecution is particularly rel...
Once moshiach comes, we will have resolution to all sorts of halachic issues which have been left unresolved (teikus for example and even, maybe eilu v'eilu cases). But what about minhagim, some of...
A tallit is normally worn only during the day, yet there is a custom to also wear it for all services of Yom Kippur including Kol Nidrei. Why? I've heard that it's because we take the torah scrol...
There are certain things that we do because we have been commanded to, and the bracha on these mitzvot includes the phrase "asher kidishanu" indicating that Hashem commanded us to perform these mit...
After Tisha b'Av we have seven special haftarah readings, which always align with the same torah portions. Every chumash I've seen gives these special readings for those parshiyot. I was taught t...
I was paring a Hebrew word and left with a biconsonantal But on the answer key it had three Hebrew letters intead of two Hebrew letters. A III he, was added to the end of the biconsonantal. What am...
At the beginning of Perek Chelek in Masechet Sanhedrin, the text specifies that "All Israel has a share in the world to come." But when the exceptions are presented, Bilam is included and he isn't ...
I have frequently heard people wish a newborn baby boy that he "merit an on-time circumcision". Now, in general, an on-time circumcision is performed if the baby is healthy enough, and is not perf...
I have read that men wear a tallit gadol at Shacharit because of a connection to Avraham (the mitzvah was given in his merit and Shacharit is 'his' prayer). Why then are men instructed to wear it a...
I read the following statement on the Chabad.org website https://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?tdate=12/9/2022 "The Talmud (Ketubot 103a) relates that even after his passing, for a time, Ra...
