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My wife inherited a Sefer Torah that is quite old, probably 200-300 years but we don’t know for sure.

Does anyone know anyone who could look at some photos to tell us more about it?

I'm currently reading Abraham's Heirs by Leonard Glick, and he explains how medieval Ashkenazi Jews were pushed out of other occupations and only allowed to be money lenders. This made me wonder how many Jews in each community were actually engaged in this business. Were all members of the Jewish community (or at least all adult males) supporting themselves as money lenders? The book says most Jewish communities had, at most, only a few hundred members. It's not clear to me how many households that would be. But it still seems like a lot more lenders than would be needed for the average medieval town or city.

im a BT, started out modern orthodox now im more yeshivish/just plain frum. was recently dating someone I really cared about, we met before I was frum and later reconnected after we grew up. He told me he loved me but could never marry me because his family would see marrying a BT as bringing embarrassment and shame to the family. I’ve never been that hurt in my life. It wasn’t just this one incident but it was kind of the culmination of lot of things lately that are making me struggle with the frum world

I love being observant but I’m tired of feeling like my background is embarrassing, or shameful, or problematic. I became religious when I was young and never did anything crazy. A lot of people tell me they never would have known that I wasn’t FFB if I didn’t tell them. I feel like I have a lot of good qualities and the frum world doesn’t care about any of them because I didn’t go to Jewish day school and I didn’t go to sem and my parents aren’t religious (and one of them is even Christian). I want to stay religious but I feel like cultural/community things are pushing me away from Hashem. I really became religious of my own volition but I can’t help feeling a little bit duped. I was really involved with Aish/Chabad and I feel like they sell a fantasy of the frum world. They’re ecstatic if you start keeping miztvot and don’t prepare you for the reality that if you really want to enter the frum world you will never be accepted.

Looking for practical advice I guess. I don’t want to stop being observant. I’m thinking that Israel may be a better place for me but I don’t want to run away from a problem that may follow me anywhere

TLDR; Does someone have experience using this book and if so, is the new expanded version significantly better?

Also is it actually more useful then just using existing concise cross reference writings like Masoret HaShas and Ein Mishpat in the Talmud, Be'er HaGolah and the Be'ur HaGra in the Shulchan Arukh, etc?

Details: R' Daniel Retter wrote an index for the Babylonian Talmud called HaMafteach Latalmud Bavli (btw i am only discussing the Hebrew versions) and there is an original version and a new expanded one version

The later version claims to be expanded and updated with "78,102 subject matter entries and sub-entries, with 92,400 Talmudic and Mishnayos sources" vs the original edition claiming to have "Approximately 6,600 major subject Entries; 27,000 minor Sub-Entries; and 42,000 Talmudic reference sources."

The strange thing is that both the original and new one (at least in the Hebrew versions) both seem to be around the same physical and size and both have about 500 pages give or take, so where would they have room to even add anything new?

Thinner paper? smaller font? Or is it marketing BS?

Is this only due to the fact that humans have free will and sometimes commit acts of evil? Why hasn’t G-d intervened to protect Jews from antisemitism as he did in other instances of the Torah? Is this suffering because he gives the most challenges to those who can handle it best?

I’m aware chosen people doesn’t mean better but there are more expectations of Jews compared to other groups. Shouldn’t they be rewarded in a just universe?

I've recently noticed that duration of Seders depends on a family. For us it's overall (usually) 2-3 hours. And Inwas wondering, how it's for the others. I personally know people who spend 4 to 5 hours. How long is it for you?

What traditions do you hold on to and which ones do you skip? How to combine both holidays for each partner?

This is the thread to talk about your Shabbos, or just any good news at all.

Hi! I’m a wedding planner and my clients are getting married and next week have decided to have a Jew-ish wedding, which is great! Problem is, they don’t have any of the ceremonial objects needed. My husband is loaning them his Kiddush cup, but does anyone know if synagogues will loan out a Tallit for a day?

In the old times, Jewish priests used to perform animal sacrifice. Why don't they do that anymore?

Just curious to hear how possible future technologies would affect Judaism.

You guys have a religious day off where you can't use technology and stuff right? Like you can't turn on lights? Idk what it's called. What do you guys do if there's a roach. Would you be able to turn on the vacuum or do you have to grab a shoe? Would it differ if the roach can fly?

Idk how to word this and I'm not religious so I'm sorry if this comes off as rude, but I'm really curious.

I took an Ancestry test 2 years ago and found out I am 30% Ashkenazi Jewish. I was adopted, and not raised Jewish. My bio mom was also adopted, but she was raised Jewish - her mom is 100% (I'm pretty sure she's still alive). After finally figuring out the Jewish side of my family tree... It has lead me once again, to want to learn more... except I don't know how to. Last time I tried to get together with friends to make latkes, but they're just too busy. I would like to learn more about the religion and culture. I am in Long Beach, California.

PS I hope this is not offensive.

Hello! As noted above. I hope it’s okay to ask this. My family is not Jewish but we are attending a bat mitzvah. One of the cards we got has G-d written out and we just noticed. It’s a specific card for a mitzvah but I thought Jewish people don’t usually write it out…is it okay? Should we make the o a dash with a sharpie instead? They are not orthodox Jewish but we are still unsure and don’t want to be rude. The synagogue it’s being held out has G-d on the website. Should we cross it out/is that really disrespectful? Thank you!

There are jewish people dispersed throughout where I live. However, there is no temple that is at all convenient in location. What do you do when the closest temple is "a burdensome distance" away?

I wanna see position of you guy since im assuming are more familiar with Hebrew language in general too. Question regarding Hosea 2:16 YHWH is clearly against being called Baal does Baal mean Master in general or does it mean master specifically of the diety of Baal.

I'm wondering what everyone does regarding candle lighting when they also attend kabbalat shabbat at synagogue. I feel like they can't be lit before you go, because burning candles unattended is a terrible idea. But lighting when you get home is technically too late right? So what is the standard way or compromise here?

The world is shattered. It's shattered in a way just about none of us have seen in or lifetime. It's time to do our part to bring the world back to perfection.

Join me in my weekly D'Var Torah video as I explore what each parashah can teach us about how to perfect the world.

Here's this week's instalment of Perfecting the World - One Parashah at a Time.

Let me know what you think

What did you read this past month? Tell us about it. Jewish, non-Jewish, ultra-Jewish (?), whatever, this is the place for all things books.

Just curious cause it seems like there are very different opinions about this.

Hi, I want to memorize the 613 laws and get a reward for it (monetary doesn’t hurt) is there any such contest? I’m not trying to be insulting, I have a good memory and I think it would be cool to have them at the tip of my tongue

I recently had the woman I wanted to marry not only break up with me, but she led me to believe we were still trying to work through it despite that. (As we have a child) On Monday I texted her something mundane and she replied with “I’ve moved on, I’m seeing someone else”. I feel so betrayed and lost at sea, I thought we were working on things all the while she’s moved on. This pain is unbearable. I don’t have a community out here or anyone aside from her. She was my life.

I'm of entirely colonial American descent, though they were not Jewish. I've one or two Jews in my ancestry, but I was not born Jewish and was raised Protestant. Some of my mother's ancestors actually arrived on the same boats as the initial congregation of the modern Shearith Israel in NYC (a Norwegian named Haymansz "the Portuguese" Rosenkranz working as a West India soldier in Brazil. Another ancestor working for the company died in Malacca)

I've been deeply interested in the Jewish communities my family would've come into contact with in the colonial Northeast and South.

Contrary to popular belief, NYC was not always the hub of American Jewry. Until the 1840s-1850s, it was Charleston, SC. This was also the place American Reform Judaism developed initially and it was out of a Sephardi synagogue, no less.

One of the inscriptions of the Statue of Liberty was actually written by a Jew of colonial descent, Emma Lazarus.

I didn’t know where I could ask. They just came fresh out of the oven and I couldn’t find the answer online. Is it Ha Motzi? Or just Shahakol? Thank you.