Jewish History
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What Happened to Orpah?
What happened to Orpah after she departed from Naomi and Ruth? Answer: The Talmud (Sotah 42b) says that she suffered such a spiritual let-down after leaving her mother-in-law that she was intimate with many men and from there became pregnant…
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King David’s Mother
Where can I find out who King David’s mother was? Answer: The Talmud Bava Basra 91 records her name as Nitzevet the daughter of Adael. All the Best, Rabbi Meir Goldberg, Rutgers Jewish Xperience
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Jewish Mythology
Can you give me examples of Jewish mythology, like Lilith and Samson? Answer: The expression “mythology” has a rather wide range of possible meanings. If you mean, “examples of events and individuals in Jewish literature which likely never existed” then…
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Where Was the Covenant Between the Parts?
I am wondering if there is a reference or tradition that states where Abraham was located during the Genesis 15 covenant episode. Was his encounter with Gd, and the splitting and arranging of the animals located at Beit El? Moriah?…
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Enoch
Whats the deal with Enoch? In Genesis it says “Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away” Does this mean Enoch never died and if he didn’t, why would…
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Assyrian Exile and the Ten Lost Tribes
What happened to the Israelite tribes that were exiled by the Assyrians? Can they still be identified? Will they ever be found? Answer: In 2 Kings 17:6, 18:11 and the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 5:26, nothing is said about…
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Akeida: Isaac and Ishmael
When Abraham speaks with God after the aborted sacrifice God says (and I’m paraphrasing), “Isaac was your son, your only son.” Why state that Isaac was his only son if he also had a son, Ishmael, from Hagar? Answer: Good…
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Leadership After Joshua in the Land of Israel
Unlike Moses, Joshua seems not to have consulted G-d to find out who would lead the Jewish People after his death. Where can I find commentary about why the change from a single leader (necessary for the conquest of the…
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Family of Moses in History
What happened to Moses family after they reached Israel – his sons and wife? Were they able to enter into Israel? Was his bloodline traced through history or at least until the time of the Romans? Answer: I’m afraid I…