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12:17 AM
4
Q: Do Reform Jews believe in a theistic God?

micBy "theistic God", I mean a God who is omnipotent and omnibenevolent and expressed himself through the Tanakh, or at least as powerful as say, Apollo was believed to be in ancient Greek religion. Different sources seem to be saying different things. Wikipedia says yes, while ReformJudaism.org sa...

 
12:57 AM
3
Q: Does one make a shehecheyanu on "used" jewelry?

dmrIf someone is going to be wearing a "used" piece of expensive jewelry for the first time (as in, it was previously worn by a different person as opposed to being new from the store), do they make a shehecheyanu on it?

 
1:17 AM
4
Q: Aderet's Anonymous Sefer and Haskamah?

rami_bar_pappaIn this post, https://www.torahmusings.com/2013/04/my-nom-de-plume-exposed/ , R' Michael Broyde says that "Finally, [Professor Marc B.] Shapiro informed me that the Aderet published a book anonymously, and included his own haskamah to the book (referring to himself in exalted language)." Does any...

 
2:16 AM
3
Q: Can a bald person be a Nazir?

alichtWe know someone who takes a Nazirite vow upon themselves must refrain from haircuts, wine and coming close to dead bodies, and at the conclusion of their Nazirite period must cut their hair. What would be the law regarding a person who is naturally completely bald and can't shave any hair at the...

 
 
5 hours later…
6:50 AM
The tag "yaharog-val-yaavor" is not spelled right, the right spelling is "Yehareg-..."
 
 
1 hour later…
8:09 AM
yehareg-veal-yaavor is listed there, not yaharog-...
I also don't see a yaharog-val-yaavor on the list of all tags. Where do you see it, @kouty?
 
 
2 hours later…
10:13 AM
@msh210 in the editions of the question about svara of מאי חזית דדמך סומק טפי
 
 
8 hours later…
6:28 PM
7
Q: Where can I find Rav Kook's writing of this?

GavrielThere is a recent article in which Rabbi Moishe Bane writes the following : The legendary Chief Rabbi Avraham Yitzchok KaCohen Kook z”l, observed that in every society, in every religion, in every country, in every era throughout history, there is a remarkable inverse correlation betwee...

 
 
2 hours later…
8:15 PM
@Adám I hope you don't mind me asking, I am assuming you are a person of faith and science, how do you deal with doubt?
 
@Rick I don't mind. What kind of doubt do you more specifically have in mind? (I promise you won't offend me.)
 
I just mean it in general, the doubts about one's goal's, believes it could be about choices and commitments to one's self.
I am assuming God occupies that space in the human mind. I am assuming faith is an exercise in doubt.
 
@Rick I think Judaism is quite different from many religions in that it isn't a "weekend activity", but rather a lifestyle. My goals and my purpose are quite clearly defined.
 
8:38 PM
I would think those are rituals, they don't really address beliefs and doubts. Rituals are about repetition, regiments, and providing instruction. However, at the heart of purpose is a belief, I would think.
 
@Rick Sure, but even the required beliefs are precisely defined.
 
@Adám I think these are rules which provide guidance to a community, but it leaves out what seems to me, to be at the heart of the matter, perfect faith. Faith I am assuming is believing without seeing or proof?
 
@Rick I think we can't really know anything. There's only belief. When people get out of bed, they believe that the floor will carry them. Nothing can truly be proven, and the eyes can deceive. I believe that God is, that the Torah is true. There are indications that I should believe the floor will hold, and there are indications that Judaism is sound, but ultimately, I can only believe strongly in both, and so I base my actions on those beliefs without wavering.
 
9:07 PM
@Adám In the world we see instances where people have beliefs and act on them in the same way you would expect the floor to hold you up when you stand upon it. The German people believed that nationalism was an unwavering truth. The Communists believed that communism was also an unwavering truth. However, I wouldn't call these ideologies faith. I am assuming faith is stronger than ideology because it embraces doubt because you can never know the mind of God.
 
10 messages moved from The APL Orchard
@Rick Why do you assume there's no doubt in the mind of a religious person?
 
@kouty I don't know what question you're referring to, but if the tag is only in previous versions then it is not necessarily live on the site
 
@Adám I don't know what is in other peoples minds. However, I am interested in knowing how a religious person who takes his faith seriously deals with it.
 
@Rick Can't speak for others, but I certainly have doubts at times. Remembering that the lack of certainly is part of the Plan helps. And for me, the continued existence (against all odds) of the Jewish people with its heritage, is a strong indicator that it is the truth.
 
9:38 PM
@Adám So the community provides strength when doubt invariably enters the mind, and that a line of heredity going back to the beginning can act as witnesses and guidance to future generations. I understand that. How about when that line of logic cannot be relied on. I am assuming Moses and Abraham walked with no communities. The fact that you believe that God is a monotheistic entity, that God is forever without community, that he would value that quality above others.
 
@Rick Moses certainly had a community. Abraham was indeed very special in that he looked upon the world, and saw God's presence. Abraham wasn't Jewish, though. (Neither was Moses, initially.) A Jew that grows up isolated from his people has a special status. He isn't punishable for not following the commandments, as he didn't get a chance to be informed about them.
 
8
Q: Are there examples in Tanach of 3 or more parties having an ongoing conversation?

rikitikitemboFrom what I have seen in reading Tanach every conversation is between two parties and two parties only. Sometimes those parties consist of 1 person and other times of several people for example "And his brothers said..." but in all of those latter instances the group of people are speaking as one...

 
9:54 PM
@Adám is community more important than belief?
 
@Rick No, of course not. Rambam (who formalised those 13 principles) also wrote that one must flee neighbours that exercise negative influence, and take residence in the wilderness if necessary. Even if the entire community is breaking the Law, I still have to keep it.
 
@Adám I understand, that makes sense.
 
b a
@kouty I had already deleted the tag (revisions). Once you delete all the questions with the tag, the tag disappears by itself. In this case, there was only one question with it
 

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