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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The Ke-betzah and the Ke-zayis
>What are the volumes of an egg (ke-betzah) and an olive (ke-zayis)? There are two views about the volume of an egg; it’s either 58 cc (cubic centimeters) or 100 cc. (According to the latter view, eggs in the time…
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The Soul and the Body
When does the soul enter the body? Where is it until then? According to the Talmud (Yevamos 62a), unborn souls are “stored” in a place called GUF (not to be confused with the usual translation of “GUF” as “body”). The…
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The Old Testament and the New Testament
What is the origin of the terms “Old Testament” and “New Testament”? The concept that the Christian Bible is the “New Testament”, in contrast to the Jewish “Old Testament”, goes back to the earliest days of Christianity; see 2 Corinthians…
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The Dead Sea Scrolls
What are the Dead Sea Scrolls? What language are they written in? The Dead Sea Scrolls are the remnants of the library of a Jewish sect. They include most of the books of the Bible and the Apocrypha, as well…
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The Garden of Eden
Where is the Garden of Eden? Originally the Garden was “in the East” (Gen.2:8), but since Adam and Eve were expelled from it, it’s no longer accessible from this world. The Talmud says that Eden was much bigger than the…
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Eve and the Snake
Why did the serpent tempt Eve? The Torah tells us (Gen. 3:1) that the serpent was unusually intelligent ("cunning"); perhaps it resented the fact that Adam and Eve were appointed as rulers over all the other forms of life (Gen.…
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The Authors of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles
Who wrote the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles? According to the Talmud, the books of Samuel were written by Samuel, Gad the seer, and Nathan the prophet; the books of Kings were written by Jeremiah; the books of Chronicles…
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The Sadducees and Pharisees
What happened to the Sadducees and Pharisees? The Sadducees did not survive as a distinguishable group. The Pharisees were the ancestors of today’s Jews.
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Sarah Giving Birth at 90
How could Sarah have had a baby at the age of 90? Abraham and Sarah themselves couldn’t believe that she could have a child in her 90’s (Gen. 17:17; 18:12-13). Her case was an exception to the natural order of…