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The reason for this is that if they see Torah scholars, and those who repair the breaches in Jewish religious practice, voiding the Torah in accordance with the exigencies of time and place, they will…
Contributor:
Moses Sofer
Places:
Pressburg, Austrian Empire (Bratislava, Slovakia)
Date:
1810
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And likewise I say: Whoever mingles teachings of Kabbalah with rulings of halakhah is liable for kilayim—sowing a forbidden mixture of seeds, “Lest the fullness of the seed you have sown be forfeited”…
Contributor:
Moses Sofer
Places:
Pressburg, Austrian Empire (Bratislava, Slovakia)
Date:
1835
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Since the law prohibits one, in no uncertain terms, from depicting figures, the question one may ask is how Jews have had all manner of paintings in their homes? And it is not enough to say that only…
Contributor:
Moses Raphael d’Aguilar
Places:
Amsterdam, Dutch Republic (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Date:
17th Century
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The following incident occurred: On the holy Sabbath of ḥol ha-mo‘ed Passover in the year 5335 [1575], many virtuous individuals from the Lisbon congregation arose and came to an agreement among…
Contributor:
Isaac Adarbi
Places:
Salonika, Ottoman Empire (Thessaloniki, Greece)
Date:
Mid–16th Century
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Question: The following incident occurred in Rhodes: Reuben purchased 530 okes of wax from Simeon via a third party. Reuben did not take this wax into his possession; rather, as soon as he bought it…
Contributor:
David Ibn Abi Zimra
Places:
Cairo, Ottoman Empire (Cairo, Egypt)
Date:
Mid–16th Century
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Regarding that which is written: a man’s gift [makes room for him] (Proverbs 18:16), this means that the gift itself, which one personally gives to the poor, will make room for him. When you provide…
Contributor:
Elijah ha-Kohen ha-Itmari
Places:
Smyrna, Ottoman Empire (İzmir, Turkey)
Date:
ca. 1700
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When we were gathered together, we the undersigned, to negotiate the repair of fissures in our city, which is the renowned Fez, with the advice and consent of…
Contributor:
The Sephardic Community of Fez
Places:
Fez, Saadi Sultanate (Fes, Morocco)
Date:
1618
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To the city of London, to the complete sage R. Solomon Ayalon, in the year 1697.
Contributor:
Jacob Sasportas
Places:
Amsterdam, Dutch Republic (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Date:
1697
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Question 1: May our teacher and master, the great rabbi, who sits on the throne of halakhic rulings, please instruct and enlighten us regarding an episode that unfolded here in our city of Pisa, may…
Contributor:
Jacob Senior
Places:
Pisa, Grand Duchy of Tuscany (Pisa, Italy)
Date:
Mid– to Late 17th Century
Subjects:
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Behold, we have before us the head of the rationalists [or “rational theologians”], Maimonides, may his memory be for a blessing. In chapter three of Hilkhot teshuvah [Mishneh Torah, Laws of…
Contributor:
Saul Levi Mortera
Places:
Amsterdam, Dutch Republic (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
Date:
ca. 1636