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Vayakhel-Pekudei – Guarding a Good Reputation: To What Extent?

Recently, there was a story circulating about a gabbai tzedakah (an official in charge of funds for the poor) who approached a certain wealthy man and asked him for a donation. The man agreed to give a sizeable donation on condition that he would be told to whom his money would be given. The gabbai […]

Reintroducing The Shtar Chatzi Zachar

PDF view/download A Halachic Method Of Bequeathing To A Daughter Contents Introduction – A daughter does not inherit her father if her father leaves sons 1)      Halachic ways to give the daughter a share of the inheritance, and their drawbacks 2)      Shtar Chatzi Zochor 3)      The permissibility of the Shtar Chatzi Zochor 4)      How much […]

Shemini – Is Your Food Kosher?

In Parshas Shemini we find the laws of Ma’acholos Assuros – the instructions about which animals are kosher and which are forbidden to be eaten. The Ramban gives a reason behind the prohibition to consume certain kinds of animals. He explains that every species has its innate characteristics and traits that are shared by all […]

Donation in error

Question My wife transfered maaser money from our general checking account to our tzedaka account. Immediately after performing the transaction, she realized that she had forgotten to subtract approx. $5000 that we had “borrowed” from our general account over the year for tzedaka. We had been waiting until my pension arrived to deduct the borrowed […]

Does the entire Haggadah have to be read?

Question: Does the entire Haggadah have to be read word for word, or it is enough to just ‘talk’ ABOUT some sections without actually reading the text? Answer: Torah law requires every Jew to discuss Yetziat Mitzrayim on Seder night. Sefer Emek Brachah famously quotes Rav Chaim Soloveitchik as pointing out that there are three particular […]

Is a Beth Din required to provide a reason for its ruling?

Question: Is a Beth Din required to provide a reason for its ruling? Answer: According to the Halacha, usually a Beis Din is not required to provide a reasoning for its ruling. If, however, the Dayanim perceive that the losing party suspects that the Beis Din has ruled against him for unfair reasons, the Beis […]

A Driver’s Liability in Halacha and Civil Law

Driving a car in America carries with it tremendous responsibility. Besides the Torah obligation not to hurt others, driving also involves several issues of liability according to American civil law. Below we will discuss some of the basic issues of Halachic liability when driving a car. Interestingly enough, secular traffic law plays an important role […]