Q&A Potpourri #1: Gabriel, St. Patrick and Where Do We Buy Our Pants?
Real questions, submitted by actual OU Torah followers, with their real answers. NOTE: For questions of practical halacha, please consult your own rabbi for guidance.
Q. Who was the father of Johanan ben Zakkai?
A. Yochanan ben Zakkai means "Yochanan the son of Zakkai." So Yochanan ben Zakkai's father was Zakkai.
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Q. Could you please explain to me how "Shmuel" means "requested from God?"
A. You'd have to take the question up with Chana. I Samuel 1:20 says explicitly, "It happened, when the time came, after Chana conceived, that she delivered a son. She called his name Shmuel, because 'I asked him of Hashem.'" Rashi clears things up a bit. He explains that the name Shmuel is a portmanteau of the words שָׁאַל (I requested) and מאל (from God).
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Q. Is it permissible to celebrate St Patrick’s?
A. I'm afraid not. Like Christmas and Halloween, St. Patrick's Day and Valentine's Day are religious holidays in another faith. Accordingly, we are not permitted to observe them, even in a secularized fashion.
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Q. A friend of mine is seeking to convert to Traditional/Orthodox Judaism and is wondering about what brand of pants to wear. What brand of black pants should he get?
A. There's no particular brand of pants. What one would do is avoid shaatnez, a Biblically-prohibited combination of wool and linen. This isn't usually a problem in pants but it's more common in the jacket of a suit.
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Q. Is Gabriel the angel of death?
A. I wouldn't say so. Gabriel is the angel representing God's strength and he typically serves as an interface between God and man, such as when he gave Joseph directions to find his brothers. Sometimes his duties require destruction, such as when he overthrew Sodom, so in that sense you might say that he's an angel of death but he's not the angel of death.
Rabbi Jack's latest book, Ask Rabbi Jack, is now available from Kodesh Press and on Amazon.com.