#Halach

[hermthejewishwyrm]

"Its not that it's not kosher...its that its radioactive" - quote I overheard my father say into the phone

[learningftw]

ship of theseus is so easy. Yeah it’s the same ship. Each piece that’s replaced is batel b’rov of the rest of the ship and becomes the same ship as the rest of it. The only problem would be if you replaced the ikkar of the ship in one go. Now of course there’s a machloket about what the ikkar is- some say the mast, while others say it’s a continuous rov of the hull, while still others say that it’s just enough of the hull that the ship couldn’t stay afloat regardless of whether it’s contiguous- but the principle is simple.

[leahbasavraham]

[discworldwitches]

Rachel Adler - The Jew Who Wasn't There: Halacha and the Jewish Woman

[strawberrysamara]

Fully accepting that I'm going to have to atone for this one on Yom Kippur but how do y'all think gender roles in halacha would work in the Omegaverse? I mean how many mechitzot and who goes on what side, are male omegas and female alphas expected to wear tichels/sheitels when bonded/married, how tf do ketubot/gittin work, who wears talliot? Does tzniut apply along primary or secondary gender lines or a secret third option? Shomer negiah??? Taharat ha'mishpacha??????

[laineystein]

It is almost 3am and my house is finally kashered for Pesach. Not a whisper of chametz to be found. I FEEL SO FREE 🥳

[meanjewishdyke]

Binding the leather straps of tefillin tight against your skin each morning is more than just a ritual — it’s an act of connection, discipline, and submission to something greater. The smell of the leather, the way it wraps around your arm, tight and unyielding, feels both ancient and intimate, a link to countless generations of Jewish men who’ve done the same. But there’s power in that tightness, in that bond. The leather grips your skin, just as the mitzvot grip your soul, pulling you closer to your purpose, to your masculinity, and to G-d.

The black straps, worn as a symbol of strength and focus, press into your flesh, leaving marks — not unlike the marks of your own journey toward selfhood. Each wrap is a declaration of faith, but it is also a challenge: Can you be disciplined enough to carry the weight of who you are? Can you withstand the pull of tradition and the tension of transformation? The leather against your skin isn’t just a reminder of the commandments — it’s a reminder of your evolving masculinity, forged through action, struggle, and commitment. Every pull, every knot, brings you closer to your true form, a being reshaped by divine will and earthly struggle.

[anonymousdandelion]

Gittin 61a

@the Israeli rabbinate

[confessxcheese4tcc]

Dylan wasn’t religiously jewish, only ethnically and not even fully Sue had him participating in all these jewish holidays for no reason they weren’t even supposed to be doing that

CONFESSION #1001

[hyperpotamianarch]

Why is Hannukah eight days if the oil sufficed for one day? Day 5.

Well, today I hit some sort of barrier looking for stuff. Perhaps I should've scoured every commentator on the Shulchan Aruch or the Beit Yosef to find other answers, but I chose to look at a more modern book instead - Aruch HaShulchan. Which, yes, is paraphrasing Shulchan Aruch. Aruch HaShulchan was written by rabbi Yechi'el Michel Epstein about a hundred or less years ago. That proved to... Well, complicate things. You see, Aruch HaShulchan felt somewhat satisfied with Beit Yosef's answers - but only somewhat, because he still felt the need to supply more answers. Being the person I am, though, I wanted to bring you the answers from the earliest origin I can find, and Aruch HaShulchan attributed the answers to someone else: Shiltei HaGiborim on the Mordechai.

I didn't even get to the answer itself, but I feel obligated to note that this is a fascinating route. Shiltei HaGiborim was rabbi Yehoshu'a Bo'az from the Baruch family - don't ask me about the phrasing, please, I'm basing it on his page name in the Hebrew Wikipedia. He was contemporary to the Shulchan Aruch, and rabbi Yosef Karo probably never saw his book. But he also quotes another book that the Beit Yosef did get to see: the Orchot Chaim, by rabbi Aharon HaCohen of Lunel. The latter was a rabbi of the Tosafot era in France, though I think Lunel is in Provence which was an entire thing unto itself at the time. That places us at around the 13th-14th centuries CE, if you were curious.

I could keep the chain of quotes, since the Orchot Chaim also quotes an even older book, but I didn't manage to find this particular point yet in this book, so I'll leave you with what he says: similarly to the answers we had for the previous two days, he has a different topic of celebration for this day. In his case, it's the rededication of the Temple.

That's actually another one that sounds way intuitive. The holiday is called Hannukah, for heaven's sake. In Hebrew, Hannukah means "rededication", or... well, there are a couple of possible translations, it also has to do with education and with initiating use of a house. Re-initiating said use doesn't have a separate word, though. So, yeah. Of course we celebrate the rededication of the Temple, which clearly started at the 25th of Kislev.

This answer is not without problems, but neither are the two of yesterday and the day before. By suggesting a different cause to celebrate on the first day from the other days you create a conundrum of why, then, are they all celebrated the same? With the answer from Shabbat, on the victory in the war, there's a rebuttal from the Turei Zahav saying that a victory in the war requires days of feasting and joy, like Purim. Since this wasn't the prominent component of the miracle, though, the days of Hannukah are days of Praise and Thanks, which is why the Hallel is a central commandment of the holiday but feasting is not - unless it contains praise to Hashem on the miracle. This actually has Halachic ramifications.

Tomorrow, if I'll manage to find the source, we'll talk about the other answer suggested in the Orchot Chaim, which is widely different from all the answers we've seen yet.

[resplendent-ragamuffin]

Hi

I'm asking you this bc of your latest post about Mikveh.

I don't want to talk to actual rabbi irl, due to the sensitivity and identity issues.

My question is this:

I'm Jewish.

I'm on-off sex worker

I'm female.

Should I go to Mikveh? Are there any spesific things I should do, due to my circumstances?

(this is an open question).

Thank you

So first off, huge caveat: I am in no way a halachic authority. I'm just a frum nerd. I also have no personal experience using a mikvah, as I am not in a situation where it is relevant to me yet. There are multiple opinions on just about everything in Judaism, and any answer would also be heavily dependent on where on the observancy spectrum you are--Orthodox and Reform are going to have very different answers, especially on something like this. Additionally, rulings are often tailored to a specific person's circumstances--which is one reason why you need someone knowledgeable, because they'll know what nuances may apply.

I would really strongly encourage you to find a rabbi you can trust, and/or talk to a mikvah guide. In your case I would probably recommend an open mikvah, as they are more likely to be understanding. The mikvah guides are there to help, and if they're doing their jobs right should be discreet and respect your privacy. Likewise a rabbi making rulings should be keeping your business to themself, and shouldn't be gossiping or anything about what you tell them. There isn't any sanctity or privilege like Catholics have during confession, but it's just common decency.

That said, and coming from an Orthodox perspective:

Hesitantly, I'd say yes? But as I say this is pretty much an educated guess. I know that among those who are not celibate outside of marriage, there has been a movement to go to mikvah for niddah, but there has also been pushback (mostly on the basis of "you shouldn't be having sex outside of marriage, so you're trying to do a mitzvah on a sin;" as I understand it those who are against pre/extramarital sex but pro-mikvah tend view it as "you shouldn't be having sex but if you're going to you should make sure you aren't tamei"). This is why I'd recommend you talk to an Open Mikvah; they're frankly less likely to be judgemental in a case like this.

(To be clear, I am not intending to come off as judgemental myself, or to say that "all Orthodox people are judgy about this--Orthodox Jews aren't a monolith any more than anyone else is, and the "two Jews three opinions" rule applies to us too. I'm just quoting things I've heard the one time I was in a discussion about this, which was years ago. I'm really not an authority on this topic.)

However as myself a "waiting 'til marriage" Orthodox type I really can't give you a particularly strong answer. And like everything else, any answer would depend on where on the spectrum of observance you fall, and even then there would probably be multiple answers.

My followers might have more useful answers?

[shoutsindwarvish]

my grandma died this morning

because of shavuot, shabbat, and memorial day, the funeral won’t be until wednesday

which feels like a long time?? i know they embalmed my grandpa (he wasn’t observant but it’s a jewish cemetery so in hindsight i’m surprised) so they’ll probably do the same for her

what in the world do people do who ARE observant and have holidays stacked on top of each other like this? :(

[leahbasavraham]

Not tonight babe I’m trying to make AI generated images of (more) halachically accurate Sinai stone tablets

[discworldwitches]

Rachel Adler - The Jew Who Wasn't There: Halacha and the Jewish Woman

[bubervitch]

love it when a Jewish person in 1760’s Germany decides to convert to Lutheranism just for their descendants to go ‘anyway…’ and convert right back. You really thought you got one over on me great-great-great grandpappy Friedrich

[sorrymyrabbisaidno]

Y'all the christian landlord I have who keeps trying to proselytize to me wanted me to watch a "Jewish Christian" on youtube😭😭