Hebrew Synonyms - Kahal and Edah
Question: The people of Israel are sometimes called collective Kahal (קהל), sometimes Edah (עדה ,עדת) and sometimes plain Israel, and although they probably point to the exact same group of people they...
View ArticleWho Wrote Psalms?
Question: Who are the authors of psalms? Answer: The Talmud (Bava Basra 14b) mentions ten people, in addition to David, who authored Psalms: Adam, Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses, Heiman, Yedusun, Asaf,...
View ArticleKorach and the New Month (Rosh Chodesh)
Question: Is there any connection between Korach and Rosh Chodesh (the new Jewish month)? Answer: Hmm - interesting. Korach and Rosh Chodesh don't seem that obviously connected, but the Torah is one;...
View ArticleMiriam’s Well and Leaving the Supernatural
Question: How does the stopping of the well of Miriam relate to faith? Answer: You do mention that the episode describes a lack of faith on the the part of the Jewish people. That is certainly true....
View ArticleRitual Purification Without a Temple
Question: Can you direct me to a treatise on the evolution of the practice of ritual purification (childbirth, skin diseases, and secretions) following the destruction of the Second Temple? Answer: Hi!...
View ArticleMiracles in the Torah
Question: I have heard there were several constant miracles when Israel was in the wilderness. Examples are that the staves of the ark were longer than the Holy of Holies but when they were placed in...
View ArticleLiteracy at the Time of the Patriarchs
Question: In the time of Abraham did people read and write and if so who? What was the level of education for a poor 15 year old girl? Answer: Historically very few women were literate before the last...
View ArticleThe Torah Portion Named after Pinchas
Question: Why is the Sedra (Torah Portion) Pinchas called Pinchas when the story of Pinchas was last week in [the Torah Portion of] Balak? Answer: A Sedra is always known by a significant word that...
View ArticleNumbers in Wilderness — all to the tenth?
Question: Why are there no odd numbers in the Torah's counting ( 637....2349.... ) of the Jewish people in the Torah Portion of Bamidbar, only round numbers ? Answer: This question is very interesting....
View ArticleKeturah’s Sons and Names Listed in the Torah
Question: In Genesis, Chapter 25, (Shishi of Chayei Sarah), the Torah begins by telling us that Avraham married Keturah and had six sons with her. It names them and then names the sons of two of them,...
View ArticleWhat did Pinchas Do?
Question: The beginning of the Torah Portion of Pinchas begins with a reference to a great deed that Pinchas did. What great deed did he perform? Answer: Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon...
View ArticleInfanticide and Divine Justice
Question: Please forgive me if my question is impudent; I certainly do not mean to be disrespectful. My question is this: When Korach and his cohort got swallowed up by the earth (Numbers 16:31-33),...
View ArticleTo Annul a Vow
Question: Generally speaking , what kind of vow cannot be annulled? Answer: In Judaism, if a Jew makes a vow not understanding something about the vow he was making, AND, if he did understand he would...
View ArticleCentrality of Tanach
Question: As a teacher, how do I give my students an idea of how people of the Jewish faith perceive scripture? Is such a thing possible? What are the central texts for Judaism? I would very much like...
View ArticleProof of an Oral Torah
Question: I know that there is the torah, the written one, but where does it say anything about the Oral Torah? Answer: There is actually at least one clear reference to the Oral Law in the Written...
View ArticleFishing for Sport
Question: Since fishing for food is permitted is fishing for sport permitted? When a fisherman goes fishing he can not determine if his catch is going to be kosher or not. Is he permitted to fish for...
View ArticleBrief Summary of Jewish History
Question: How did Judaism start? Answer: The following is a brief overview of the history of Judaism: ABRAHAM: FATHER OF MONOTHEISM: Abraham was born in 1812 BCE in the city of Ur in Ancient...
View ArticleGrace After Meals - Birchat Hamazon
Question: What is the commandment for saying a blessing after a meal? What is the reason for reciting this blessing? Is it absolutely necessary to say the blessings in the form in which they are...
View ArticleUnderstanding Idol Worship
Question: What was so attractive about idol worship that our ancestors occasionally engaged in it? From the descriptions of it, child sacrifice, etc. it seems reprehensible. Without a Temple today we...
View ArticleWhat is the Service of the Heart?
Question: The Talmud in Ta'anit 2a teaches that the service of the heart is prayer. But how does one knows its prayer? When I think of service of the heart for example I think of all my whole being...
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