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Why Do We Wash Hands After a Funeral or Cemetery Visit? Whenever holiness departs, negative forces try to fill the void.
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Why Are Kosher Pickles “Kosher”? Even if a pickle jar is marked as containing “kosher pickles,” it does not necessarily mean that the pickles are actually kosher to eat.
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What (and Who) Is Rabbi Meir Baal Haness? And why do we give charity in his name?
In a time of need, some have
the custom to give charity for Israel (called tzedakah of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness) and pray, “G‑d of Rabbi Meir,
answer me!”
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Why Didn't the Rebbe Ever Visit Israel? Over the years, many have asked the Rebbe, why he—a staunch supporter of Israel—never moved there or even visited. Here is how the Rebbe responded.
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What Shape Were the Luchot: Round, Square or Rectangular? The main source for this erroneous image seems to come from Christian art during the Renaissance . . .
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Where Is Mount Sinai? The fact is that no one knows for sure. By looking at the story of the last person to visit, we can understand why.
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Does Judaism Believe in the Apocalypse? “Six thousand years is the world, and it is in ruins one [thousand], as it is stated: ‘The L‑rd alone shall be exalted on that day’”
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Why Men Immerse in the Mikvah Every Day But how about men immersing regularly in a mikvah? There are two primary reasons
why, even nowadays, many men immerse.
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Why Is the Day After the Holiday Called Isru Chag? The name is based on the verse in Psalms, “Bind [the] festival [offering] with cords to the corners of the altar.”
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Why Is Passover Seven (or Eight) Days Long? The
Midrash connects the seven days of Passover to the seven days of the
week. But, why?
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Was Moses Purged From the Haggadah? 10 Approaches Why isn’t Moses part
of the Haggadah’s Exodus narrative?
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What Is the Meaning of the Charoset on the Passover Seder Plate? The Talmud gives several reasons, which serve as the basis for the recipe and
texture of this Passover paste.
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Why Give Half-Shekels to Charity on Taanit Esther? Why do we give a haf-shekel to charity, and why is it done on Taanit Esther?
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Why Do Torah and Haftarah Have Different Trope? Most communities
use six different kinds of trope throughout the year…
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Are Imitation Crab, Pork and Cheeseburgers Kosher? Even if the Torah forbids a food, one is still permitted to eat kosher food artificially flavored to taste like it. However, if it closely resembles the non-kosher food, it may be necessary to mark it as an imitation.
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Why Is Challah Braided? The long-standing Jewish custom is for Shabbat
breads to be braided. Here's why.
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Why Are There No More Prophets? With the death of the latter prophets Chagai, Zechariah
and Malachi, “the spirit of
prophecy departed.”
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Why Don’t Jews Write ‘This Book Belongs to…’? The custom is attributed to Rabbi Yehuda Hachassid
(“the pious”), 1150-1217.
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Why Eat Latkes and Sufganiyot (Doughnuts) on Chanukah? The earliest mention of this custom seems to have been
made by Rabbi Maimon
ben Joseph, father of Maimonides.
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Why Were They Called "Maccabees"? The word has become synonymous with the small
band of Jewish freedom fighters who freed Judea
from the Syrian-Greek occupiers…
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Aufruf: Why Is the Groom Called to the Torah Before His Wedding? Traditionally, the chatan (groom) is honored with an aliyah at the Torah on the Shabbat before his wedding. This is known as an aufruf, Yiddish for “calling up.”
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Why Is Tefillin Worn on the Left Arm? The sages of the Talmud take it as a given that tefillin are put on the left arm (or the
right arm of a lefty) and offer several reasons…
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Twins in the Bible The first, and perhaps the most famous, twins in the Bible are Jacob and Esau. The only other set is Peretz and Zerach.
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Why Do Mourners Tear Keriah on Their Garments? Tearing garments upon the death of a close relative, "keriah" in Hebrew, dates back to biblical
times.
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What Are Archangels? The term “archangel” doesn’t actually have a Hebrew equivalent in Jewish Scriptures.
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Why Is There a Chair for Elijah at a Brit Milah (Circumcision)? During the period when the nation of Israel was split into two kingdoms, Elijah the prophet had a showdown at Mt. Carmel with 450 false prophets of the Baal idol . . .
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Why Is the Olive Branch a Symbol of Peace? Long before the ancient Greeks, the Bible recorded that the dove brought an olive branch to
the ark.
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Why Do We Wear a White Kittel on Yom Kippur? There is a custom to wear white clothing, or more specifically, a white robe-like garment called a kittel, on Yom Kippur.
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Why Is Rosh Hashanah Challah Round? Many have the custom
to begin the Rosh Hashanah meals with round challahs, often filled
with raisins and sweeter than usual. Here's why.
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Why Do We Sometimes Read a Double Torah Portion? And when do we double them up?
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Why Do Many Hasidic Jews Wear Shtreimels (Fur Hats)? And why doesn’t Chabad wear them?
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What Is Rashi Script and Where Did It Come From? Can you please explain
the origins of this script? Did Rashi have his own unique Hebrew script?
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Why Is Impurity Not Observed? The Torah contains a complex code of purity laws. Why
are Jews not careful about these laws nowadays?
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Why Sleep With Tzitzit? I was under the impression that the mitzvah of wearing tzitzit only applies to the daytime. But then I heard that many have the custom to wear tzitzit during the night as well. Can you explain the reason behind this?
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Why Say Shema at Bedtime? Didn't we just say it in Maariv?
Shema is included
in the evening service. Yet the Talmud states that before one goes to sleep
to sleep, he should recite the Shema. Why?
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Why Two Rollers for a Torah and One for a Megillah? Why does a Torah scroll
have two poles or rollers, while the Megillah (Book of Esther), which is also
read from a scroll of parchment, only has one rollers (or none at all)?
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What Is the Jewish Approach to the Apocrypha? The 24 books of the Bible were
canonized by the Anshei Knesset Hagedolah. Any later works are not
considered Divinely inspired.
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Matzah on Pesach Sheini: When and Why? The Paschal lamb was consumed
on the evening of Iyar 15, but the custom is to eat
matzah on Iyar 14. Why?
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Four Holy Cities of Israel: What and Why? The terms “four holy cities of Israel” or “four lands of life” refer to Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and Tiberias.
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Why Wait Eight Days for the Circumcision? Although the verse
itself does not reveal why we are instructed to circumcise specifically on the
eighth day, many possible explanations are offered . . .
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For Real, How Rare Is a Red Heifer? A heifer is simply a fancy name for a young cow that
hasn’t yet borne a calf. And the red is not ruby
red.
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Why Was Non-Kosher Dye Used to Build the Mishkan? How could they use impure animals for the holiest of places?
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What Is the Authentic Ancient Hebrew Alphabet? Ketav Ivri vs. Ketav Ashurit
I recently read about some ancient writings that were in a
script called Proto-Hebrew, which the Jews supposedly used to write in before
the current Hebrew script.
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What Is So Special About the 7 Species of Fruit With Which Israel Was Blessed? The Significance of the Shiv'at Haminim
This isn’t just a
flowery verse. These seven species are specifically connected to the Land of
Israel . . .
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Why Get an Aliyah (or Maftir) Before a Yahrtzeit? Before addressing this question,
let’s recount a story that underscores the importance of a mourner reciting
Kaddish and reading the haftarah throughout the year of mourning.
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Is Magic Jewish? If yes, how and why does it work?
The Torah and Talmud both reference--and forbids--it as a fact of life. Maimonides, Nachmanides, and the rabbis of later generations present nuanced views of how it can or cannot exist in a world where G-d reigns supreme.
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