Question: If someone is saying birchos krias shema (sitting down) and the tzibur has already begun shmoneh esrei, is one allowed to stand up to daven shmoneh esrei even though there is someone behind him already davening? Answer: You can stand up to daven shmoneh esrei, because you are already in front of him, but preferable not […]
Author Archives: Rav Y Wiener
mashiv haruach
Question: A person said the 2nd bracha of S”E with mashiv haruach… up to (but not including) the chasima of the bracha (Baruch ata H’). Then he went back to the beginning of the bracha and repeated it (due to lack of kavana), but this time forgot to mention mashiv haruach. [Strictly speaking, it is […]
al hanissim
Question: If one is davening on Chanukah or Purim without a siddur, and he does not know how to say al hanissim, should he just skip it, or may/ should he try to say it as best as he can (in his own words)? Answer: Try to say it as best as he can. Sources: […]
Music lessons during aveilus for parent
Question: May I continue my music lessons during the year of aveilus for my parent? Answer: The poskim permit a person who teaches music as a profession to continue when he is an avel. So if you are learning for a valid reason you may continue. Sources: Pri Megodim 551:10 (quoted by the Biur Halacha […]
Banister on steps outside house
Question: My brother recently moved into a house. They have 3 steps leading up to the house. There is no banister or wall on the sides of these steps. The issue is this: They have asked my mother to pick up their baby from day care couple of times a week and bring him home. […]
conditioner during chafifah
Question: I have curly hair that gets tangled easily. Can I use conditioner during a chafifah? Answer: You can use conditioner providing you rinse your hair thoroughly afterwards. Sources: Tosefos Bava Basra 53b ד”ה הרחיצו, Y:D 198 Shach 14, דרכ”ת יו”ד סי’ קצט ס”ק יג טבילה.
bracha on ground flaxseed
Question: A flaxseed wrap… what bracha?? Thanks so much!! Answer: On flaxseed whole or ground one should make shehakol. a) Majority of seeds used in conjunction with other foods so considered tafel (subsidiary) b) majority planted for the flax not for the seeds c) Mainly only health fads eat them so considered subsidiary. Therefore drops a bracha from […]
Profiting from event on neighbors property
Question: Can a tall hotel next door to a stadium advertise & charge admission for people to watch the game from their rooftop? In secular law, this was an actual case where hotels next door to Wrigly Field in Chicago did exactly that and were sued in court, and eventually they reached an out of […]
Cancelling caterer due to blizzard
Question: If someone hires a caterer for a Simcha, and then on the night of the Simcha there’s a blizzard, and the Simcha is cancelled, does the person who hired the caterer responsible to pay anything? Is this different then a person who hired workers and then cancelled due to an אונס , where we […]
leaving someone in yichud situation
Question: Sometimes I am at home with my father and grandmother (mother’s mother) – both not yet religious. If I need to leave the house (to daven), am I allowed to leave even though they will lock the door (or sometimes I lock the door) and be in yichud? They do not understand the need […]
Blending fleishig cooked onions.
Question: Can I blend a fleishig soup that has cooked onions in it, mixed with other veg, onion was chopped with a fleishig knife, with a parve/dairy blender? Answer: If the soup is not hot then on a temporary basis one can use a clean parve/dairy blender, providing you clean the blender afterwards thoroughly. But […]
yichud
Question: I had to do an interview for school with a woman, and the door was closed so as not to disturb other people. (Only she and I were in the room.) There was a camera recording the interview. No one was watching it live. However, the professor and perhaps other students would watch the […]
Is the interest on this Heter Iska compounded if that is not stated?
Question: I borrowed money from a family member over 15 years ago to save my home. Due to health and other factors, unfortunately I have not been able to repay it yet or make payments. The Heter Iska says “We have agreed to the condition that if the recipient will give 12% of the money […]
selling store credit at discounted price
Question: Someone returned clothing to the store for whatever reason (wrong size or colour etc) . THe store does not refund money but gives out credit notes to ensure that the buyer comes back to spend the credit. Someone is trying to sell her credit, at discounted price in order to get her money back. […]
asher yatzar
Question: After one answers Barechu, is it permitted to bless Asher Yatzar even though he is in the middle of the blessings of Shema, if he suspects that he will need the facilities again (e.g., one who drank a lot of coffee) and will lose the bracha? Could we say that it is a passing […]
Loshon Hora
Question: Are you allowed to listen to loshon hora about a Jew from a non-Jew? Answer: One should not listen, because as a result of what he heard from the non Jew he will now look down upon the Jew disgracefully. Sources: Chofetz Chaim, Hilchos Rechilos, Mekor Chaim Klal 6:3 & footnotes there.
Tzedaka Coin of Higher Monetary Value
Question: What should the shul gabbai tzedaka do if he finds someone gave a US Silver Dollar worth more than a dollar? Assuming he knows who gave the coin, should he inform the individual of the greater value of the coin? Also, if the individual says he’s giving the silver dollar, for whatever it’s worth, […]
Use item before returning to store
Question: I bought an item from a Jewish store. After a few uses, I found that it was slightly faulty. I intend returning it, but it will be a while before I can get back to the same store, and I’ve used the item a few times since this decision (as I don’t yet have […]
Pesticides
Question: Does Rabbi Vaye use an enormous amount of pesticides in his “Kosher Gardens” brand vegetables?? Concerned about cancer risk. Thank you. Aidel Kahn. Answer: I suggest you call him yourself to clarify the situation. His number is 972-2-5325588. Sources:
Clean laundry on Shabbos
Question: Are you allowed to fold and put away clean laundry on shabbos if it bothers you to leave it out and unfolded? Answer: I suggest to put the laundry away unfolded and fold it after Shabbos. There are two problems with folding and putting it away on Shabbos. a) the actual folding b) the sorting […]
Blowing out a candle
Question: Can you please tell me if putting out the havdalah flame by covering it with tin foil or a glass plate would avoid the issue of blowing out candles? Also, can you please tell me how to understand why we don’t blow out a flame? (Although Ner Hashem Nishmas Adam, I’m not sure why […]
Selling on Ebay and Amazon
Question: Since the product is available for sale on Shabbos, and a sale could be made and paid for on Shabbos, is there any problem regarding selling and doing business on Shabbos? I realize each case could be different but would like to know the basic halacha and take it from there. Answer: If the […]
retzei
Question: The halacha is that a person who has a safek if he said retzei on shabbos needs to repeat benching because we assume that he did not say it. Would the halacha be different for a person who eats bread only on Shabbos, and never during the weekdays, in which case perhaps we should […]
Shabbos – Amira LeAkum
Question: Can I deliberately create a situation before Shabbos in order to rely on a heter of Amira LeAkum on Shabbos? For example, If I live in a town without an Eruv, can I not bother to get wine before Shabbos and rely instead on asking a Goy to go and get it for me […]
Greetings
Question: G’Mar Chasima Tova. May all of Klal Yisroel be Zoche to year of Brachos and Simchas and may we all increase our Limud Torah and Halakhic Observance. Answer: Thank you for the warm blessings. May HaShem grant you blessings of success in all your endeavors, and bestow upon you many years of spiritual and […]
Fasting on Yom Kippur
Question: I am recovering from breast cancer surgery and preparing for radiation. Nurses are telling me not to fast because I need to keep my immune system strong and still need protein to heal. Should I fast? Answer: You should ask the doctor who knows your case history well and abide by his decision. Wishing you a […]
Putting food into a cli sheini on Shabbos
Question: We know that a food that is a “davar yavesh” (dry) that was already cooked (in a cli rishon) before Shabbos may be put into a pot of hot water (even a cli rishon — so long that it is on the fire) on Shabbos (See Orach Chaim Siman 318 Sif 4.) We also […]
Bal Teshaktzu
Question: For a man, is it permissible to shave excessive hair around the opening of the rectum in order to prevent fecal matter (after a bowel movement) from adhering to the surface? Thank You. Answer: It is permitted but not the standard practice done by religious people. Sources: Y:D 182:4
Shomrei nigia by a sister
Question: I have heard that there are opinions that hold there is an isur to touch a sister over the age of 3. Is there validation to that, and what is the halacha? Answer: According to the Chofetz Chaim already a girl from the age of 3 is considered a woman as far as the […]
Obligations of someone who borrowed and crashed my car
Question: If someone borrowed my car and got into a car accident and now my insurance will go up because of this, does he have to pay me for the extra amount now that I have to pay or is that considered an indirect cause of loss and he is patur? Thank You and Gmar […]
shabbos
Question: If the light in the bathroom is off on Shabbos, and he is afraid of dirtying himself or not being able to clean himself properly due to the darkness, may one turn it on with a shinui due to kavod habriyos? Answer: He can take a bottle of water into the bathroom and clean […]
May mediation (גישור) be even a first option before beis din?
Question: Is it Halachikly valid to settle a dispute in mediation (גישור) as a first option even before beis din? I am referring to a religious Jew who is a certified mediator? Answer: There is a dispute amongst the Tannaim if a comprimise (פשרה) is permitted, forbidden or a mitzvah. The halachah is that it […]
Rabbeinu Bachya on 32:10
Question: Please see Devarim 32:10. What does Rabbeinu Bachya mean when he says the pupil of the eye contains something that resembles a man? Answer: When you look into someone’s pupil you see a reflection of your face, like a mirror. That is why the pupil is called “ishon” i.e. small man. Sources:
stamps
Question: Are you allowed to use a stamp from an envelope that was returned Answer: Depends, if it happened in Israel the stamp should be destroyed as one has to pay for the service received from the postal department, even if the mistake was caused by external factors. If it happened in the Diaspora since […]
Hot pareve food cooked in fleishig pot put into a milchig bowl
Question: I made a pot of black beans with all pareve ingredients in a fleishig slow cooker. I then accidentally put some of the very hot beans into a cold milchig bowl with a cold milchig spoon in it (the spoon was just sitting in the bowl; it was not used to serve the beans […]
Taking down signs
Question: If the local city ordinances or laws prohibits signs being put up in a certain area may a person (who is not the one who put up the sign) remove them? Answer: Although he might not be doing anything halachicly wrong but why does he have to be the one to remove them, why […]
Chicken soup warmed up in milchig pot
Question: I turned on my own flame and told the housekeeper to warm up my chicken soup. I came to the kitchen to find she had taken a milchig pot and put the chicken soup inside and placed it on the flame to warm up. Is it safe to assume that the soup cannot be […]
Cake after meal
Question: Should one make a mezonos on a seven layer cake at the end of a seuda? (Icing on the inside, sugary dough, and the cake crumbles—although I’m not sure if the 3rd type of pas haba b’kisnin requires crunchy) Thank you! Answer: Eating cake at the end of the meal is a complicated issue. […]
Can I cut schach from a public tree without getting permission from the government?
Question: There is a tree on a small island in a public park where the palm branches are getting old and falling off anyway as there is no gardening there. Am I able to take my boat and cut some branches off (keeping it looking the same for the publics visual appearance/pleasure) without getting permission […]
Talking to women
Question: How should one deal with the fact that the shulhan aruch says you can’t say hello to a woman and the fact that if you do so in today’s society it will be very insulting? Is there any leeway with this halacha? Answer: Since now days saying hello is only a formality, the observance […]
Washing the nose in yom kippur
Question: Can a person wash his nose with a syringe on Yom Kippur? Can he swallow this liquid ?! Answer: Since he is not permitted to swallow the water he can only wash his nose in a way that no water will penetrate into his throat. Sources: O:CH 612:5 & 6, ibid 613:1 & 4 […]
chol hamoed
Question: Is it permissible to do grocery shopping on chol hamoed?? even if it is for after the holiday ?? Answer: One should not buy groceries on chol hamoed if the items are for after Yom Tov, unless there is a chance that the items will not be available afterwards or that they will be more […]
questions about the new lightbulb called shabbulb
Question: Recently a new type of light bulb, called ShaBBulb, has netted the market. The bulb is LED and has a cover which can be moved like lever on Shabbos. It carries the halakhos of a number of prominent poskim. My question is as follows, would there be an issue if the lightbulb is put […]
do they owe me the money?
Question: I have worked for the same school for 20 years. Every year they offer direct deposit. Every year I say yes the first year they offered I gave them my paperwork and every year since then I say the information has not changed. This past August, Chase Bank offered a 300 dollar incentive to […]
Pestilence
Question: A person comes to shul on yom tov covered with bedbugs. Before the gabbai can remove this person several nearby people have been infested, and perhaps the carpet also. Emergency procedures call for immediately putting your own infested clothing into a hot drier, and for immediate chemical cleaning of the affected area. May this […]
davening with a clean body
Question: If one davened and subsequently discovered that for some reason, his body was not clean (he had apparently not cleaned himself properly after the bathroom # 2), is it necessary to repeat the prayer(s)? Answer: Shemah he has to repeat and regarding Shemonah Esrey is a dispute amongst the poskim. Sources: O:CH 76:5 Mishnah […]
shofar
Question: If one was spacing out during shofar (thinking of other matters), does he still fulfill the mitzvah? Answer: The halacha is that mitzvos mentioned in the Torah need intention (kavanah) and without it one does not fulfill the mitzvah. The custom is to blow 100 blasts, so if you had already heard enough of the […]
Bracha in the middle of Shemoneh Esrei
Question: If someone did not hear tekias shofer yet and he is davening musaf with a minyan where tekias are blown in the middle of the silent shemoneh esrei, may he himself recite the bracha that is made on the blowing of the shofar in the middle of shemoneh esrei before tekias are sounded? Answer: […]
follow-up havadala
Question: It is my understanding that if one forgot to make Havdalah motzoi yom tov, he can only say it the next day, and not beyond that. Answer: Correct. Sources: O:CH 299 Mishnah Berurah 16 See Sharey Teshuvah 491:1
Using wooden planks to support the schach
Question: Is one allowed to support schach by placing beams on top of the schach and under it. If one can how much? and how wide. Answer: If the width of the beam is less than 3 tefochim (24 cm) one can even sit under it but if the width is more than 3 tefochim […]