Chabad.org Zmanim (2024)

FAQs

What is the meaning of Zmanim in Chabad? ›

Many observances in Jewish law are performed at specific times during the day. The calculation of these halachic times, known as zmanim (Hebrew for “times”), depends on the various astronomical phenomena of the day for the specific locale.

A shaah zmanis is defined as 1/12 of the halachic day. It is calculated by dividing the total amount of time between hanetz amiti and shkiah amitis into 12 parts. Each of these parts is considered a halachic hour, shaah zmanis.

Sof Zman Tefilah (סוֹף זְמַן תְּפִלָּה) means "end of the time to say the Shacharit Amidah." This is four halachic hours into the day.

Z'manim (times) are important in Jewish life. They tell us when different mitzvos can be performed, from donning tefillin in the morning to observing Shabbos and holidays.

The answer to your question is both and neither. Allow me to explain: Chabad, as well as all other chassidic groups, finds its roots in Eastern Europe, which was the home to much of Ashkenazic Jewry. As such, initially, most of Chabad's adherents were of Ashkenazic origin.

In Chabad thought, the study of Kabbalah is seen, in some instances, not only as an act of religious study, but as a way to fulfill other Jewish commandments.

The Talmud defines dawn as the moment 72 minutes before sunrise. However, some Jewish communities claim that this definition pertains only to the situation in Mesopotamia on the days of the equinoxes.

Sunset is the most well known of the three, it is usually in the evening when the sun approaches the horizon and the skies are red in color. Sundown is when the sun disappears together with daylight. Nightfall describes the period of time, anywhere from after the sun has gone until dusk or early morning.

According to the Magen Avraham, the hours of the day are calculated according the hours of light. In other words, the calculation begins from amud hashachar and lasts until total darkness. However, according to the Gra, the calculation is based on the hours that the sun is visible, meaning from sunrise until sunset.

All orthodox Jews, men and women, are (theoretically) required to go to the mikveh. Also, many less orthodox Jews have discovered the mikveh as a spiritual place and cultural heritage for themselves in the last decades.

Can you use a river as a mikvah? ›

Rivers are only kosher mikvas when spring-fed. A river is a kosher mikva if it exists year round (not like a wadi, which is frequently dry and only flows after rainfall).

3) You can officially immerse in the mikveh after tzet hacochavim (when the stars come out, between 20 minutes and an hour after sunset, depending on geography and local custom). You need to find out what time that is where you live (it is generally around havdalah time).

The use of a condom is therefore not prohibited because of the contraception of the body itself, since this result is obtained by all means, but because the use of a condom should be seen as not the way of the land and in any case the removal of sperm is null and void.

Because the commandant for this duty rests on the man, any form of male contraception or sterilization is prohibited by Traditional Jewish Law. However, liberal figures and authorities encourage male contraception when the use of contraception is important for the safety and health of the man and his partner.

Brain death is the finest criterion of death, according to halakha, precisely because the classic criteria of irreversible respiratory and cardiac arrest are dependent upon the death of the brain.

A mikvah is a pool of water in which Jewish people immerse to affect purity. It is most commonly used by women when they conclude their period of niddah and by converts as they become Jewish.

Tashlikh or Tashlich (Hebrew: תשליך "cast off") is a customary Jewish atonement ritual performed during the High Holy Days on Rosh Hashanah. In some Judaeo-Spanish-speaking communities the practice is referred to as sakudirse las faldas ('to shake the flaps [of clothing]') or simply as faldas.

There are many words for the soul in Hebrew, but the most commonly used are nefesh and neshamah—both of which mean “breath.” In Genesis, the soul is described as G‑d's own breath animating us: “And G‑d breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.”

He translates it as “Exalt”, or “Lift up your voices”. It would thus be a command for the singers to raise their voices when chanting the Psalm. In the Talmud (Eruvin 54a), it says that anywhere where it says either נצח, סלה, or ועד, it means “everlasting”. So “selah” would mean “everlasting”, “eternally”.