Questions tagged [scope]
The scope tag has no usage guidance.
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Petition: On closing or editing COVID-19-related questions as psak-seeking
For the purposes of this thread,
A "COVID-19-specific halachic question" (henceforth "C19 question") is one which, due to the limiting nature of the question, cannot be generalized to other diseases,...
2
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1answer
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Can temple questions be posed as practical advice?
When asking about a law in the Torah which is not in active use do to our current pre-temple status, may one ask it as if it is happening.
Example
Q. My Bechor got mixed in with my Pesach, and I ...
4
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1answer
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Questions about seforim recommendations?
Figured I'd ask here before posting to main. I'm looking for an english translation of the mishna berura. Is that a question ("What's a good english translation...?") that's allowed on here? I know ...
8
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2answers
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On-topic-ness of “how many X are in Y” questions
Forgive me if this was discussed before; I don't frequent meta.
I've been seeing a lot of questions of the form "how many X are in Y?". I personally find them to be pretty pointless questions that ...
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vote
2answers
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Can something be on topic merely because similar things are discussed in Rabbinic Literature?
Jewish Eyes - Anthropology was recently closed as off-topic because it is not about Judaism per se. (Full disclosure: I was one of the close-voters.) The question as asked is certainly about things ...
1
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3answers
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Should biographies of rabbis be in scope?
Following a discussion in chat, I want to propose that biographies of rabbis should be in scope for Mi Yodeya. This proposal is triggered by recent closures of questions asking for biographies of R ...
4
votes
1answer
76 views
Request clarification on forum policy on Judaism
My post on living a Jewish life in the USA was closed as not being Jewish enough: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/98951/seeking-jewish-version-of-the-mid-20th-century-green-book-travel-...
10
votes
3answers
176 views
Is fact-checking Judaism on-topic?
Suppose a Jewish text says something. Suppose this something relates to some factual reality. Suppose I wonder whether the something is actually true. Would it be on topic to ask about it on Mi Yodeya?...
4
votes
1answer
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Can any question be made on-topic by adding “according to Judaism”? [duplicate]
Suppose a question is off-topic because it is not about Judaism; can it simply be made on topic by adding in a Jewish motivation, or by adding the words "according to Judaism"?
Consider this recent ...
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1answer
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Answers that don't refer to Judaism or anything Jewish (but still address the question)
If a question can be answered without any reference to Judaism or anything Jewish, is that indicative that the question is not really on-topic?
Example: Good dimensions for a Shulchan (Reading Table)
...
7
votes
1answer
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Is Hellenistic Judaism on-topic?
Consensus on meta seems to be that Karaite Judaism, questions asked from a Karaite perspective, and other non-Orthodox branches of Judaism are on-topic.
Is Hellenistic Judaism also on-topic?
Is such ...
6
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1answer
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Questions about Tanach/Talmud personalities
As per the site rules, questions relating to Jewish individuals, when not exclusively related to Judaism, are off-topic.
I would assume this would extend to even discussing personalities in the ...
5
votes
3answers
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Dealing with users who reject the answers of traditional Judaism
Recently we've had various questions and answers from the reletively new user Jdoe. The user in question rejects the traditional Jewish thought that the Torah Sheba'al Peh was received alongside the ...
10
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3answers
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Should we have a close reason for immodest posts?
The current FAQ includes the line:
Please respect that in the Jewish tradition certain questions, especially certain questions relating to sexuality, are discussed only in private. Such questions ...
2
votes
0answers
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Is an anthropological question on Black Hebrew Israelites on topic?
I have a question on the topic of the Black Hebrew Israelite movement, which in a way seems to me to be more along the lines of an anthropological question, and I am wondering if that is included in ...
4
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0answers
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Are questions about or based on academic Jewish studies appropriate for this site?
The catch-all of "Academic Jewish Studies" covers a wide range of topics. However as a general rule those studies do not necessarily subscribe to postulates which conform to normative orthodox Judaism....
6
votes
1answer
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Are questions about Samaritanism on-topic?
Are questions about Samaritanism, especially questions about Samaritan teachings or practices that differ from Rabbinic Judaism, on-topic?
I was thinking about asking a question about why the ...
5
votes
1answer
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type of question to ask on MY
I appreciate the forum to be able to ask questions. However, I want mine to be in sync with what the guidelines for the site are. Are questions on the weekly Parsha encouraged to be asked on the MY ...
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vote
1answer
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Should Q&A rules be lifted when a question implies that the asker is facing high Halachic or health stakes?
Sometimes we get questions that either indicate or suggest that the author is seeking advice regarding a matter of high Halachic or medical states, for example:
Determining whether a particular ...
5
votes
3answers
185 views
Questions about the meaning, source of Yiddish names
A user has recently asked two questions (1, 2) about Yiddish names that have been closed as off-topic, with the specific close reason "Questions about the Hebrew language or about history or news of ...
2
votes
1answer
54 views
Fiction as a mashal for a halachic question
Some time ago, I asked this question. As someone who consumes significant amounts of fictional material (namely reading on Shabbat and anime/film-TV/reading during the week) these questions pop up in ...
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0answers
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Why doesn't Mi Yodeya allow you to post a question in a foreign language? [duplicate]
I can barely read and write English, I only know Gujarati, so could Mi Yodeya allow me to post a question in Gujarati
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0answers
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Are questions regarding something impossible allowed? [duplicate]
Of course, it is impossible to create something ex nihilo. [Citation needed.] But, for a moment, let's pretend it's possible. Would there be a halachos issue with doing so on Shabbos? (I'm assuming ...
2
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0answers
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Questions about Hebrew names
Are questions of the form "What is the origin of name X" considered on-topic, since many of those names originated from Tanach and Shas?
7
votes
2answers
355 views
Is Mi Yodeya a Judaism Stack Exchange, or a Rabbinic Judaism Stack Exchange?
Before I really began to understand the profound nature of Orthodoxy, I was thinking to leave the forum because I tend to approach Scripture from a different perspective than Orthodox Jews do. I do ...
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1answer
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Are questions about the Hebrew language on-topic?
There's been a proposal on Area51 for a Hebrew Language SE for a while now, but as it isn't open yet, is it appropriate to ask a question about the Hebrew language here?
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2answers
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Is Jewish culture really off-topic?
Earlier today I asked a question about the background and history of a well-known Jewish folksong (What is the source of the words of the Hebrew folksong "Hevenu Shalom Aleichem"?). The ...
3
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2answers
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Answers based on the Samaritan Pentateuch
Are answers based on the Samaritan Pentateuch considered as being answers?
I don't think we'd allow answers based on the New T.
Case in point: This answer. Fascinating answer, but not based on ...
6
votes
1answer
50 views
What should I do about Hebrew Language questions?
Questions specifically about the Hebrew language are off topic on Mi Yodeya. So, where can I ask questions only related to the Hebrew Language?
5
votes
1answer
354 views
Closure of complex-scenario questions
The following is not my own opinion so much as it's my rendering into words the unworded guidelines that I think Mi Yodeya has been following for quite some time. It's posted without my moderator hat ...
4
votes
1answer
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General Knowledge Relating to Judaism: How Related [duplicate]
The help center states that questions about "general knowledge (science, etc.) as it relates directly to Judaism" are acceptable.
My question is: how direct.
I am asking particularly about questions ...
10
votes
3answers
268 views
Hiding Dangerous Information
Although obviously regardless of Mi Yodeya policy, each user needs to apply his / her own discretion, what is the policy regarding posting information, in a question or answer, that if publicized ...
5
votes
1answer
87 views
Why was this question closed and deleted when a similar one has 16 upvotes?
This question of mine was closed and deleted (I didn't know it was deleted until someone pointed it out to me, since I can't view deleted questions)
https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/51265/...
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2answers
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Is it appropriate to ask what the signs near the tomb of Abraham have written upon them, and some of the history behind those signs?
I was recently reading up on Wikipedia regarding the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and was particularly interested in this picture: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Cenotaph_of_Abraham_-...
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1answer
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Request for d'var Torah questions
I'm thinking about posting a series of questions (in the spirit of the mi-yodeya-series) of the form, "What are some good, short divrei Torah from Parashat X?" where X is replaced with each parasha.
...
14
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1answer
251 views
Is this a suitable platform for non-Jews to ask questions about Judaism?
I am not Jewish, but my curiosity was piqued about some aspects of Judaism after having political discussions elsewhere online with Orthodox Jews.
I am particularly interested by the way in which ...
3
votes
2answers
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Is Sefer Yetsira (The Book of Formation) on-topic?
Sefer Yetsira (Book of Formation/Book of Creation) is attributed to Abraham the Patriarch.
The historical origin of the Sefer Yetzirah was placed by Reitzenstein (Poimandres, p. 291) in the 2nd ...
7
votes
1answer
106 views
Does Purim-Torah need to be otherwise on topic?
Nothing in the Purim Torah guidelines mentions that they need to be otherwise on topic. This could either be because it is obvious that it needs to be on topic, or because it doesn't actually need to ...
0
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3answers
107 views
Reviving the Jewish-Date series
The tag jewish-date-series has some serious scope issues, as it is about history of Jews as much as about Judaism.
I am considering reviving it in the form of "This date is significant in Judaism ...
5
votes
3answers
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Are local service recommendations on topic?
Are questions that ask if such-and-such a thing exists in their locale ontopic?
Examples: Are there any safrut teachers in Boston? Who has a toiveling service in Los Angeles?
In the past, this ...
8
votes
2answers
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Tweaking Mi Yodeya's scope to build a broader community
I was reading this post about one person's issues with Stack Overflow, and something it said struck me (as I noticed the same thing, but didn't attempt to articulate it):
The "flavour" of ...
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votes
1answer
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Questions about reasons for differences in davening
I don't really think that questions like this one (as understood by this comment) are really answerable without simply saying, "Some people do one thing and others do another thing." I would say that ...
5
votes
1answer
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What is Mi Yodeya's position on cross-posting?
Some sites on the SE network don't like cross-posting at all, while others think that it can be okay, in certain situations.
What does the Mi Yodeya community think about cross-posting, where the ...
2
votes
2answers
37 views
Practical Survey Questions
I am presently working on the typography for a siddur, based primarily on the Rƶdelheim editions. As I am doing all of the rubrications, I would rather create a user-friendly siddur, not something ...
2
votes
2answers
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Are famous chakiras “primarily opinion based”?
When I asked Is "pikuach nefesh" on shabbos "hutrah" or "dichuya"?, someone left a comment saying that "This is a rather famous Yeshivish Chakira [question discussed in ...
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votes
1answer
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Edit off-topic question with valuable answer?
At first sight, it appears that our policy on changing question meanings would discourage editing this question, because it already has a valuable answer. But is that still true when the question is ...
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1answer
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Proposed shift in scope
I know I'm coming in very late to this party, but I'd like to speak up since I am a non-moderator. This site--and especially its policies--seem to be very much "by the moderators, for the moderators" ...
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4answers
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Is a question that asks “What does Judaism think of x” possibly off-topic?
At the time of this posting, this question has 4 close votes. Several comments have leveled accusations of being off-topic as not about Jewish Life and Learning.
However, the question asks "...
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votes
1answer
74 views
Include Biblical Hebrew
The Hebrew proposal failed, but has been restarted. However, I don't see why it will do much better. Meanwhile, I hold my self back from asking Hebrew-related questions, out of fear of political down-...
5
votes
3answers
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Are “what if I …” questions off-topic?
One of our off-topic closure reasons is a psak-oriented question. Questions in which a person clearly provides his or her personal situation, followed by a question, are clearly in this category.
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