Torah Q&A
3290 answered questions with cited sources from the Sefaria library.
What does judaism say about oral sex
This is a topic discussed in halachic literature with nuance and respect for the sanctity of marriage. Judaism generally permits sexual intimacy between husband
What is jewish red string prayer?
The red string (chut adom) practice in Judaism involves tying a red string around the left wrist as a protective amulet against the ayin hara (evil eye), o...
Who was Jesus according to jewish tradition
According to Jewish tradition, Jesus (referred to in rabbinic literature as Yeshu ha-Notzri, יֵשׁוּ הַנּוֹצְרִי) was a Jewish man from the Second Temple pe...
Can a married couple engage in oral sex?
This question touches on the halacha of tashmish hamita (marital intimacy), which is addressed directly in Talmudic and post-Talmudic sources. The mainstre...
What is the Ana BeKoach prayer?
The Ana BeKoach (אָנָּא בְּכֹחַ) is one of the most mystically significant prayers in Jewish liturgy, a seven-line poem that serves as a kabbalistic medita...
Does 63 have a numerical equivalent and meaning in Hebrew?
The number 63 has deep significance in Jewish mystical tradition. In gematria (the system of assigning numerical values to Hebrew letters), 63 is most famo...
What is yom kippur prayer for dead parents?
The prayer you are referring to is Yizkor (יִזְכּוֹר — "May He remember"), a memorial prayer recited on Yom Kippur (and three other yom tovim) for deceased...
What’s the deal with anal sex
The halachic status of anal sex within marriage has been a subject of significant rabbinic debate throughout Jewish history. The mainstream position, as ruled b
How much more is a Jew obligated to pay to support business in their community?
There is no fixed monetary percentage or multiplier that a Jew is obligated to pay extra to support local Jewish commerce. Rather, the Torah and halachic t...
I come from a christian background and I was thinking of sin as a category of sever mistakes like murder and other types of sever physical agression. I thought of myself as a fairly decent person, but I am becoming more and more aware of more subtle forms of sins. In fact, I don't work outside the house, I am a woman without a boss, nobody sees what I am doing, but oftentimes I am lazy and I scroll on the internet, not doing my household chores. Now I am feeling very lowly about myself, because I didn't achieve anything over all those years that I stayed at home. In the first years, I did my household chores more strictly, but over the last few years, I started becoming less and less punctual and less demanding. Now the chaos and disorder are becoming obvious and it feels like a sin that I am not productive. My mom and mother in law were very organised, but also a bit robotic with very very little time for themselves. My mother became bitter because she neglected herhelf and her own needs. That's why I became more lazy and less stringent too towareds myself, but it feels unhealthy. It feels like a sin. My mother in law was also very very well organised and in fact she is like an example to me, but she is much more disciplined than me. It seems to me she sets the bar really high and I cannot achieve that level. It feels to me like I am not doing well. I want to learn from her, but I don't succeed to emulate her ways. What can you teach me to become more disciplined, more organised, more balanced ?
What a beautiful and honest question — and what courage it takes to look inward this way. Torah tradition would actually reframe much of what you're describing:
Un juif peut til manger du porc ?
Un Juif peut-il manger du porc ? La réponse est non — la Torah interdit explicitement la consommation de porc. Le porc (chazir en hébreu, חֲזִיר) ne possède qu'
Who were the holiest mamzers
The Holiest Mamzerim (Illegitimate Children) in Torah Tradition The Torah tradition preserves remarkable figures who were either identified as mamzerim (בַ...
How many hebrew letters are in the Torah
The Torah contains 304,805 letters — this is the traditionally accepted count, preserved and transmitted by the Masoretes (Ba'alei HaMasorah), the great textual
What are the restrictions on the 17th of Tammuz?
The 17th of Tammuz (Shiva Asar b'Tammuz) is a communal fast day on which eating and drinking are forbidden from dawn (alot hashachar) until nightfall. It m...
What does the Torah say about Jesus?
The Torah itself — meaning the Five Books of Moses, and more broadly the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) — does not mention Jesus by name, as Jesus lived approximate...
What is prayer for sukkot candle lighting?
The prayer recited when lighting candles for Sukkot follows the standard Yom Tov (Jewish holiday) candle-lighting formula, with the addition of Shehecheyan...
Does the torah say you can kill all your enemies?
The Torah does not grant blanket permission to kill all enemies. Jewish law has a highly nuanced framework governing when killing is permitted, prohibited,...
Does yishmael overtake edom at the end of days?
The relationship between Yishmael (Ishmael, representing the Arab/Muslim world in rabbinic typology) and Edom (representing Rome and later Christendom/Western c
Why are there eleven dots over the words
This is a fascinating question in Torah scholarship! You're referring to the eleven nekudot (dots) that appear above certain words in the Torah — a phenomenon k
What is prayer for lighting shiva candle?
The traditional practice is to light a candle (or ner, נר) in the house of mourning during shiva (the seven-day mourning period), but there is no formal bl...
Did the Jewish people have a presence in the land of Israel over the past 2000 years.
The Jewish people maintained a continuous religious and communal presence in the Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael) throughout the past 2,000 years, though in...
Why do we wait 6 hours between milk and meat
The custom of waiting 6 hours between eating meat and then dairy is rooted in a Talmudic ruling later codified in Jewish law, based on the Torah's prohibit...
Architecture of the bet hamikdash
The Architecture of the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) The Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) in Jerusalem was a precisely structured sacred complex described in detail
What is jewish psalm 91?
Psalm 91 is one of the most beloved and powerful chapters in the entire Book of Psalms (Tehillim), known as the great psalm of divine protection and securi...
How many wives did Shlomo HaMelech have?
King Solomon (Shlomo HaMelech) had 700 wives and 300 concubines, for a total of 1,000 women in his household. This is stated explicitly in the Book of King...
Would the Torah approve of AI?
Artificial intelligence doesn't appear in the Torah explicitly, but Jewish tradition offers rich frameworks for evaluating transformative technologies. The Tora
What is blessing for mikvah?
The blessing recited before immersing in a mikvah (ritual bath) is: "Baruch Atah Hashem, Eloheinu Melech haolam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu al h...
How many animals offered in sukkot feast?
The Torah prescribes a detailed and elaborate sacrificial schedule for Sukkot, making it the most sacrifice-intensive holiday in the entire Jewish calendar. Ove
Can I work on Tisha b’av
Working on Tisha b'Av (the Ninth of Av) is governed by local custom (minhag), but universally, Torah scholars refrain from work the entire day, and anyone who d
Tu'baAv
Tu B'Av — The Jewish Day of Love and Joy Tu B'Av (ט״ו באב, the 15th of Av) is one of the most joyous days on the Jewish calendar, celebrated as a day of love, r