Halakha Puns

The more I've gotten into gardening the more curious I've become about the halakha of gardening.

I know there are laws about farming but I have a lot of questions and was wondering if anyone here knew of resources or had answers (any frame of reference, just want to learn).

Some of my questions:

• Is there a difference in halakha between gardening and farming? (As in, does a halakhic garden follow the laws of farming seen in Torah?)
• Is a garden of fruits/vegetables automatically considered a farm, even if it's not the sole means of substistence someone has?
• Does it become a farm if you sell the products therein? What about if you feed other people (i.e. donate produce to food pantry)?
• To confirm, does Kil'ayim with seeds only apply inside Eretz Yisrael? Meaning, am I good to plant the three sisters (squash, corn, beans)?
• What about fruits and berries? Do people typically wait for three years to consume the fruit, outside of Israel, and not on a farm? Is buying a bush or tree already of a certain age a fair way to start productivity enjoyment sooner?
• Can one have a grafted tree that they do not eat from? For example: can you buy a grafted Japanese maple bonsai?
• Are there any books focused on this topic of Jewish gardening? Or small scale farming, I suppose!

If you don't know, the halakha is basically a bunch of religious laws and guidelines. Many laws are about what you can and what you can't do on Shabbat (you basically can't do any labor). OK so now to the bizarre. According to the halakha if someone died on shabbat you're not allowed to move the body or even cover it - you can only help the living who suffer in shabbat. So what happens if he died outside in the sun? You don't want him to smell (it's also disrespectful according to the halakha) what are you going to do? It's time for trickery. While it's controversial, this is what many rabbis say you need to do. Two people will sit next to the dead body from both sides. They don't feel comfortable and its hot outside so they can take a chair. Now they feel the heat from above so they can't take a blanket/sheet to cover themselves. They don't have to stay there so they can stand up and leave. The blanket will fall on the body and will cover it. Good job! You saved the day and god is chill.

I recently came across a video from Rudy Rochman that states that Israel is not a Jewish state in the current form but it is a Western country with Jewish symbols and iconography. A lot of times when I hear the word Jewish state does that mean that Israel governs with the Halakha and applies the Halakha in the same way that an Islamic Sharia governed state like Iran or Saudi Arabia does with it's society? or is Israel governing system and society much more like a Western country?

Are there any good resources that discuss Hebrew pronunciation in terms of linguistics and Halakha, especially focusing on why "minhag" is a reason used for not adjusting pronunciation in light of linguistics and Halakha?

• If a Jewish astronaut is in space directly above Jerusalem, is he halakhically in Jerusalem?

• If I am in Jerusalem and I jump, do I temporarily leave Jerusalem halakhically?

• If a helicopter takes off from Jerusalem by ascending vertically, at what height (if any) does its pilot leave Jerusalem?

• If I am in Jerusalem but I'm wearing sneakers/sandals such that my feet aren't literally touching the ground, am I halakhically in Jerusalem?

I'm secular, so I don't know much about halakha. From the little that I do know -- it seems like back in Ancient Israel, there were multiple levels of courts, with the Sanhedrin as the "Supreme Court" (were the different levels courts of appeals?). Now though, we just have batei din, and as far as I can tell (am I wrong?) there aren't any higher or lower levels.

Now, let's say I'm part of a beit din, and there's an issue similar to one the Sanhedrin (or another beit din) ruled on. Am I bound to follow their precedent (as in a common law system, where judges' rulings become part of the law), or can I rule differently (as in a civil law system)?

If the Sanhedrin were to be re-formed, could they rule differently than prior Sanhedrins, much as the Supreme Court can change law by ruling differently?

Am I missing something major by coming at this from a secular legal framework?

I was recently trying to answer someone's questions about the role of women in Abrahamic religions and, like most people, I made the assumption that women in Islam had it shit and that women in Judaism had it pretty good.

But when I was asked to provide sources on the Jewish perspective, I found out that it was just the total opposite. OK, in the lived experience of most modern Jews, not Orthodox, women do have it better than Muslims. But in Orthodox Judaism, it turns out that women have a terrible time.

With respect in inheritance laws, sharia grants women 50% less than a Muslim's male heirs. But in halakha, women get nothing at all. In sharia, a woman's testimony is worth only half that of a man's. But in halakha, women cannot give testimony at all.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testimony_in_Jewish_law

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inheritance#Jewish_laws

I was never religious to begin with, but I was always led to believe that we were better than everyone else because of our laws and that Hashim's laws were the gold standard against which the laws of men and other religion had to be compared. Well, if this is the case, I can't think of any religion that treats women worse.

Conclusion: Jewish law is incompatible with democracy and with human rights.

I'm a 20-something with a strong academic background in Jewish Studies, strong spiritual interests, but minimal experience practicing halakha. I've always struggled with prayer and am interested in learning about and practicing Jewish law as a way of working observance into everyday life, but Modern Orthodoxy would make things difficult with my less observant friends and family.

I'd love to talk to / hear from anyone who has experience interpreting and applying halakha on their own terms. Maybe that just looks like Reconstructionism, but I don't know if I align with that movement at large (my experience with it is limited). Anyway, would love to hear any stories, perspectives, or resources – thanks!

Hey,

Just wondering if someone can outline what were the basic theological principles underlying halakha reform in Judaism. Many of the punishments described in early Judaism are similar to those used in Islam, but at some point Judaism either moved away from these punishments or made their application a procedural impossibility. So, just wondering what the theology was that drove or justified these changes.

Thanks.

My father isn't Jewish, so my chabad rabbi who did my bar mitzvah told me that I should use my mother's name when being called up for an aliyah and always called me up by that name for the next few years, so up until now I've always used "my name ben my mother's name". However, some shuls I've recently been going to have taken issue with that when they call me up, and insist that I go by "ben Avraham". I want to find the halakha on it, because if I'm supposed to go by ben Avraham then I will but I want to learn it for myself and I don't even know where to start looking for something like that. Anyone know a starting point?

For no particular reason, here is a brief recap of Jewish thinking regarding the possession and use of nuclear weapons. I’m not sure any of these rise to the level of halakhic rulings, exactly, but they are opinions that have been staked out by various rabbis in the last 70 years.

Some general agreements:

Nuclear weapons, if possessed, may never be used. Use of nuclear weapons, and especially the weapons available today, violates several principles:

• Tosafot on BT Shevuot 35b: explicitly prohibits the waging of war in a situation where the casualty rate exceeds a sixth of the population. [Note: I could only find the Tosafot in Hebrew so I can’t confirm this myself. It’s cited here ]

• ”Teshuvot Chatam Sofer, Orach Chayyim, 208, declares that not only is annhilation of one-sixth of the populace of the universe forbidden but also that war leading to genocide, defined as the extermination of one-sixth of a particular nation or people, is similarly prohibited.” (Bleich, J. David: Contemporary Halakhic Problems. Page 10).

• Lord Immanuel Jakobovits, former Chief Rabbi of England: “...a defensive war likely to endanger the survival of the attacking and the defending nations alike, if not indeed the entire human race, can never be justified.” (Immanuel Jakobovits, “Rejoinders,” Tradition: A Journal of Orthodox Jewish Thought 4.2 (1962): 198-205, at p. 202.)

However, sources disagree about whether you can possess and/or build up a stock of nuclear weapons.

• Under the rubric of “lying to save one’s own life,” several authorities permit nuclear possession as a deterrent only. This includes Rabbi Maurice Lamm (Chair of Professional Rabbinics at YU for a long time, author of The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning among other works); and Rabbi Michael Broyde (Law and Religion program director at Emory; considered for UK Chief Rabbi).

• Many sources are opposed to armament as well, feeling that it’s not really an effective deterrent, since using them is prohibited (and the actual use of the weapon won’t save your own lives). This includes Lord Rabbi Jakobovits (above); Rabbi Walter Wurzberger (former head of RCA, student of Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik); Rabbi Samuel Dresner (leader in the Conservative Movement); Reform Rabbi David Saperstein; Reconstructionist leader Arthur Waskow; Mosheh Lichtenstein (Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Har Etzion

I'm looking for some detailed discussions on the relationship and interplay between these three and why it's common in many, of not most to all communities for halakha to take a back seat when there is a conflict.

Something I've seen come up often in this subreddit is that many Orthodox/frum members seem to have a negative response when the topic of non-Orthodox Jews observing particular mitzvot and/or minhagim arises. For example, every time the issue of kashrut comes up with regard to Judaism as a whole, at least one person inevitably makes some remark about non-Orthodox Jews not "really" keeping kosher, etc.

So, what is it that you'd prefer? Would you rather that anyone who's not the frummiest person in the world avoid practicing Judaism at all-- and if so, where would you draw the line as to who's "frum enough"? How would you feel, for example, about a person who kept a strictly kosher kitchen in their home, but had a more relaxed policy when eating at friends' houses, or about a person who davened 3x a day but (voluntarily, and in a not-necessary-for-preserving-life kind of job) worked on Shabbos? I'm curious to hear your thoughts, and your reasoning for them. Seems like this could be an interesting thing for this community to discuss, as it's a topic that seems to arise often yet doesn't get blatantly talked about a lot.

Note: in an effort to help keep this community accessible for everyone, and avoid sending people on a google goose-chase, I've decided to start defining words that not everyone may know in my posts, since I know we have many community members who are considering conversion, weren't raised in a very observant household, etc. If anyone thinks this is annoying or unnecessary, please let me know and I'll avoid it in the future.

• halakha: Jewish law.
• mitzvot (sing.: mitzvah): Literally "commandments".
• minhagim (sing: minhag): "Customs". Something that's a common Jewish practice, but isn't a requirement, such as the practice of observing yahrzeit, the anniversary of your family member's death.
• kashrut: Relating to kosher dietary laws; "kosherness".
• frum: "Observant". You usually only hear this term applied to Orthodox Jews.
• daven: Pray.
• Shabbos/Shabbat: The Sabbath, which starts at sundown Friday evening.

Hi there! Quick question for /Judaism. Yesterday, the hot water went out at my boyfriend's apartment. We're coming off a massive snowstorm and it's cold and miserable.

I told him that we needed to call the landlord and he said that since he was orthodox he was unavailable until after shabbos. My bf isn't jewish and I don't know what orthodox means in his eyes-but guessing modern orthodox, not haredi (for the record, my mother is jewish but I am non-practising).

Regardless, I couldn't believe the man is essentially unreachable even in case of emergency. Say it hadn't been the hot water but the heat, for instance. So my question is, isn't there an ethical and more importantly halakhic basis for him having a means of contact? I would be happy to knock on his door or whatever but we only know where his office is. I know he's obligated to practice business ethically. Is there anything else? I know you can break Shabbos if it's life-threatening but how about if you're causing human suffering? Thoughts? We live in area where landlord-tenant relationships are tough because of issues like his. My bf otherwise has a good relationship with the guy so I don't want to push it but this whole situation makes me livid and I'd like to approach this logically and respectfully if possible.

What are the reasons for which a halakhic ruling that is currently being practiced can be considered no longer applicable or valid? One reason that makes sense to me is if it happened sufficiently recently and was based on a simplistic understanding of the science it was employing, then it should be reconsidered. Re: Electricity on shabbat.

Note: I'm tired of seeing the same old tired out threads in here. Everything is so, "well, this thing I perceive as terrible exists, so therefore God doesn't exist." While there is some merit to those discussions, it's very drab in this sub when conversations like that pop up on an average of every 2.8 days. Let's actually debate something about religion for a change.

To the Jews here, whose halakha do you follow and why? What factors do you take into account to make that chesbon? While this would seem like a side question, it's necessary to ask, how soon do you see yourself living in Israel? When do you choose to go by the Mishna Berura vs stam Shulkan Aruch vs Rambam? Do you have different rishonim or acharonim you reach to for certain halakhot?

The reason for the Israel question is because a halakhic sefer like the Mishna Berura is not practical to being a Jew living in Israel. It's a very galus halakha approach. If you read something like Rambam, he writes all his shitot out as letchachila Israel, b'diavad galus. Sure, you can learn how to prepare your house for Pesach with the Mishna Berura and how to observe shabbos, but what does it say about the Korban Pesach or offerings that need to be brought when the temple is rebuilt?

Also, Shavua tov!