Ask Judea Torah Show 13

[judeanoncapta]

Thank you all for your great questions.

I can't wait to hear your new ones.

[Dan Ben Noah]

Shalom judeanoncapta,

In the book of Jeremiah it states:

Jeremiah 29: 4-7
4. So said the Lord of Hosts, the G-d of Israel, to all the exile which I have exiled from Jerusalem to Babylon:         
5. Build houses and dwell [therein], and plant gardens and eat their produce.         
6. Take wives and beget sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to men, and they shall bear sons and daughters, and multiply there and be not diminished.     
7. And seek the peace of the city where I have exiled you and pray for it to the Lord, for in its peace you shall have peace.

Apparently Jews were encouraged to make lives for themselves in Babylon until the exile was over.  There seems to be no encouragement here for a "Zionist" movement to resettle the land.  Later the Jews came back when the 70 year exile was over, and were later exiled a second time.  Were they supposed to make attempts to resettle the land after the second exile?  They did during the Bar Kochba revolt and were crushed.  If no time frame for an exile is given, how do Jews know whether it's right to return to the land or remain in exile as Jeremiah 29 talks about?

[Rubystars]

Greetings Judea.

1. How do you know whether a story from the Bible must be taken literally, or whether it's ok to interpret it as a non-literal, symbolic story?

2. Where was the homeland of the Hebrew people before they came into captivity in Egypt?

3. G-d commands creatures including both people and animals to be fruitful and multiply, but what if reproduction gets out of control? An example of this would be a locust plague. Would it be immoral to use some type of pesticide to make locusts unable to reproduce?

4. Dogs and cats are being killed by the millions in America because there are no homes for all the extra dogs and cats, and many end up dumped on the street or subject to horrible tortures like being drowned. Would you be against Gentiles spaying and neutering, or does that rule only apply to Jews?


5. What do you think are some of the biggest misunderstandings that well-intentioned Gentiles have about Judaism?

[Sefardic Panther]

Shalom judeanoncapta,

I like your audio files on the correct pronunciation of Hebrew. I tip my hat to you and I hope all Ashkenazim take on the Temani pronunciation and drop the germanic vernacular. Do you think the original Hebrew writing (Ktav Ivri) should be put into common use too? As you know the Torah was given to Mosheh Rabeinu in Ktav Ivri. Do you think Ktav Ivri like gematria reveals further meaning of Toranic words? For instance the Ktav Ivri Alef is an ox and implies strength and the Ktav Ivri Bet is a house. Thus Ktav Ivri reveals that the av is the ā€œstrength (of the) houseā€.

My next question ā€“

Talmud Bavli Sotah 48b and Gittin 68a says that Shlomo HaMelek used the Shamir to cut the stones for the Beith HaMiqdash. What do you think the Shamir was exactly and will it be required for cutting the stones for the 3rd Beith HaMiqdash?

Toda raba

[Ulli]

Dear Judeanoncapta,

who was Rabbi Jacob ben Asher?

Sincerly,

Ulli