Rabbi Azriel Schreiber
855 answers
Whenever possible, JewishAnswers.org tries to include the name of the author on every post. However, at certain times, we make significant changes to the answers posted. In that case, we will often sign the post with our generic “pen name” – Rabbi Azriel Schreiber. This “pen name” may also be used when a writer declines to have his name published.
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Treatment of the Dying
When is a person a TEREFAH? Is it permissible to kill such a person,or a dying person? Maimonides (Laws of Murder and Preservation of Life, 2:7) defines a Terefah as someone who, according to qualified medical opinion, suffers from a…
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Whipping
Doesn’t the Torah say that a transgressor is whipped 40 times?How were the Rabbis allowed to reduce the number to 39? Deut.25:2-3 says “he (an official) shall beat him (the transgressor) before him (the judge), according to his wickedness, a…
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Defacing Property
What is the source of the prohibition against defacing public property? It is a violation of “bal tashchis”, the prohibition against destroying or damaging things, based on Deut. 20:19. See the article on “Bal Tashchis” in the Talmudic Encyclopedia, Vol.…
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Inheritance
What is the order of inheritance? The order of inheritance is sons, daughters, and father; and if the first in line doesn’t exist, his/her heirs get his/her portion, in the same order. Thus if there are no children or grandchildren,…
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Jews as Slaves
Could Jews be sold as slaves? Answer: During First Temple times, Jews could be sold as slaves for six-year periods (see Ex.21:2). In some cases they could serve longer (see Ex.21:5-6), but only until the Jubilee year (Lev.25:40). All slaves,…
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The Number of Slaves
How many Jews in Second Temple times were slaves? The slaves that Jews owned in Second Temple times were non-Jews who had been bought (or captured in war) by Jews. However, such slaves had to be converted, which made them…
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The Laws of the Country
Must a Jew obey his country’s laws? The Rabbis recognize a country’s laws as binding on Jews who live in that country (see e.g., Talmud Gitin 10b), provided they are reasonable laws — not “evil” or unjust. The authority of…
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Coveting
Why is coveting forbidden? Coveting things that belong to someone else, or being jealous of someone, is obviously not a good attitude. The commandment not to covet is repeated twice, in Ex.20:17 and Deut.5:21, to teach us that there is…
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Scheming Witnesses
Why does the Torah use the singular in Deut. 19:19 in speaking about a “scheming witness” (ed zomem), when we know that two witnesses are required? The context makes it clear that the passage is speaking about two witnesses, since…