Question: Hi! I usually don’t listen to live music during the first half of the Omer. I bought tickets months ago to a concert and it’s in a week. I… Read more »
Posts By: Rabbi Akiva Dershowitz
Haircut During Sefira
Question: I am a balding man. I generally cut my hair extremely short. I buzz my whole head very short about every 2 weeks, as the balding is less pronounced… Read more »
Hair Removal for Women During Sefira
Question: Hello, I hope I’m not asking a question that has been already answered. Is a single girl of marriagable age allowed to shave during sefirah? Specifically legs. Thank you… Read more »
Boating During Sefira
Question: Please advise whether you are allowed to go paddle boating during the Sefira. Thank you! Answer: Yes, this is permitted. Sources: The customs of mourning in the Sefira… Read more »
Kashering Formica counter top
Question: Hi we are looking into buying a house from a non Jew, putting in a brand new kitchen would cost us a shinny penny now, is there any way… Read more »
Donating Sperm to an Infertile Couple for IVF
Question: Can a man donate his sperm to a infertile couple that are married for a procedure that does not involve any marital relations,or is the child a mamzer anyway… Read more »
Throwing Sefarim
Question: In order to return books at the public library, one has to throw/ drop them into the bin of returned materials. (There is no way to put them in… Read more »
Information about the Jewish rite of Passage – Brit Milah
Question: For a Year 11 Religion Assignment at school about Jewish rites of passage, I was wondering if you could answer a few questions about the Jewish ‘Brit Milah’ I… Read more »
Mikva with Husband Overseas
Question: When does one start counting 7 clean days when she knows her husband won’t be back from overseas the night of her mikvah? Answer: She may count and complete… Read more »
Chatzitza – INVISALIGN Braces
Question: Hi Rabbi, my wife has INVISALIGN Braces which can be taken off & she does take them off whenever she eats etc…but there is also cement applied to her… Read more »
Performing Tahara on Uncle
Question: Can, is advisable, for a nephew do, to participate, to Rechitsa of his uncle, brother of his Mother? Or in the presence of other people is preferable to discourage?… Read more »
Treif for pikuach nefsh
Question: A father refuses to eat something treif, although the doctors have ordered him to. His son tries to trick him and says that it is not treif. The father… Read more »
Bathroom hygiene on Shabbos
Question: B’shas hadchak, may one use, on Shabbos, tissues that are connected to each other and pull them out of the box with his mouth? Also, if one notices that… Read more »
Ethics in school
Question: If a teacher gives a test to one set of students in the first session. Then the same/very similar test to the second set of students an hour later,… Read more »
When is a slaughtered animal considered dead
Question: When is a slaughtered animal considered dead, right after slaughtering, when it stops moving afterwards,can a person cut off a leg off an animal right after he slaughters? When… Read more »
Monies from sale of Sefer Torah
Question: May money from the sale of a sefer Torah be used to make another sefer Torah kosher (being that them money is not paying for Torah directly, but for… Read more »
Maaser from Earmarked Money
Question: I was given a sum of money to help subsidize the purchase of a car. Am I obligated to give maaser on that sum? As an aside, what are… Read more »
Eating out of sukkah on a plane
Question: Can a man eat on plane when traveling on chol hamoed Sukkos? Answer: Yes, one who is travelling and due to his travels has no access to a Sukkah… Read more »
Theatres and Stadiums
Question: Dear Rabbi, I noticed in this week’s parsha (Acharei Mot) that when the Torah says we should not follow the Chukim of the Goyim, Rashi over there says this… Read more »
Kiddush on Shabbos morning
Question: If someone is making kiddush on a cup of grape juice on shabbos morning but does not want to drink most of it, and would rather be yotzei the… Read more »
Lost Place in Shmone Esrei
Question: If one is davening SE and has a safek whether he already said the chasima (conclusion) of a certain bracha, or did not say it, what should he do?… Read more »
Continuing Seuda Shlishis After Sunset
Question: If one desires to fulfill shalosh seudos by eating cake, fruit, or fish, is it necessary to stop eating them by shkia, or may one continue to eat them… Read more »
Carrying on Shabbos in Dangerous Places – No Eruv
Question: Hello, Am I allowed to carry a handgun or mace/pepper spray in an area/community that does not have an Eruv, yet is clearly dangerous for yidden to be walking… Read more »
Is a compass Muktza?
Question: I sometimes use a compass to help with finding directions for DAVENING. Can I use a compass on Shabbos/Yomtov for this purpose? Is a compass muktza? Answer: No, a… Read more »
Using Pinkies For Havdala
Question: Why is it that when people dip their fingers into the wine after havdalah, they use their pinkies? Why not their pointer? Thank You Answer: While this seems to… Read more »
Maaser for Promised Tzedakah
Question: I had promised in my mind to give a certain amount of money to tzedakah while in an unpleasant situation. May I now use maaser money to pay this… Read more »
Is Darwinism Kefirah
Question: Sholom, I am unsure this is the right forum for this question but lets try: I would like to know if the evolution theory developed by Darwin (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwinism)… Read more »
Attending Sporting Events
Question: Is it muttar to attend professional baseball, basketball etc…games? Answer: Rav Moshe Feinstein in a famous responsa prohibited this practice based on Bittul Torah and Moshav Leitzim, basically wasting… Read more »
Exporting Tzedaka & Adopt-a-Kollel
Question: I have heard criticism about the Adopt-a-Kollel program that shuls in Chutz Laaretz should be focusing their tzedaka money on the needs of their own local poor as per… Read more »
Which Patriarch never saw a Seminal Emission
Question: Which Patriarch never saw a seminal emission and where is it written in the Torah ? Answer: The Talmud in Yevamos 76a attributes this to Yaakov Avinu, and derives… Read more »
Immodesty in front of non Jew
Question: Is it permissible for a lady to be in bikini next to a non Jew. For example, next to the lifesaver, o two or three other goyim. She’s not… Read more »
Halachaic methods of writing G-d
Question: Dear rabbis, I rememvber when I was younger that the reform prayerbook would use a two yad letter denotion for G-d. Since becoming a Ba’al Teshuvah, I have never… Read more »
Loshon hara about a book
Question: Someone on a frum online writers forum posted an enthusiastic recommendation for a book. The author is a frum yeshiva man. I happened to have read part of the… Read more »
Tattooing eyebrows
Question: Are married women allowed to use method of tattooing eyebrows for someone who lost all hair in eyebrows. I do not know if it is permanent but might last… Read more »
Bishul Mefafea
Question: Do we say בישול מפעפע בכל הכלי (that when you cook in only part of the pot the cooking makes the food be absorbed throughout the whole pot) or… Read more »
Onions in a a frying pan cut with milchig knife
Question: You are frying onions in a frying pan used for meat, when you remember you used a dairy knife to cut the onion, what is the din of the… Read more »
Diet in Halacha
Question: B’rshus, I am a 18 year old yeshiva bachur who is, Baruch Hashem, healthy in all aspects and pretty fit (even though I gained a few pounds over Pesach)…. Read more »
How long is עוֹלָם?
Question: 7וַהֲקִמֹתִ֨י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֜י בֵּינִ֣י וּבֵינֶ֗ךָ וּבֵ֨ין זַרְעֲךָ֧ אַחֲרֶ֛יךָ לְדֹרֹתָ֖ם לִבְרִ֣ית עֹולָ֑ם לִהְיֹ֤ות לְךָ֙ לֵֽאלֹהִ֔ים וּֽלְזַרְעֲךָ֖ אַחֲרֶֽיךָ׃ 1. In the Torah, עוֹלָם is used to denote past time (כָּל־יְמֵ֥י עֹולָֽם, Isaiah… Read more »
Answering Questions in Shidduchim
Question: Hello I was recently called foe shidduch information about a guy that I know from yeshiva. The caller asked if I would consider him a considerate person. I wouldn’t… Read more »
Washing for wet fruits and vegetables; Giving bread to an irreligious person who will not wash
Question: I ate some baby carrots and out of laziness decided that they were not really wet and started to eat them without going to wash. Then I realized that… Read more »
Jewish contractor paying gentile workers for the Jewish customer
Question: 1. I wish to contract a gentile moving company whom a frum, Jewish contractor found for me 2. If I pay the moving company directly after they finish, they… Read more »
Haircut during omer for medical need
Question: Hello Rabbi, I would like to know if I may trim my hair during the omer , I am applying antibiotic to the scalp and it is difficult to… Read more »
Maasar Money for an Orphan
Question: There is an orphan in my community who I’ve grown close to. She’s a young girl who lost her mother and I got to know her while volunteering to… Read more »
Mitsvah to demand a debt from a non Jew
Question: Hello, there is the Mitsvah not to set a non Jew as a king over Jews. Torah in D’varim 17:15 uses the word “Ish-Nokhri”. Rambam explains that “Ish-Nokhri” is… Read more »
Orlah – Plant with root-ball
Question: I would like to purchase a fruit tree, so that I can eat the fruits immediately. The growers sell trees with the “root-ball” intact (the tree’s roots, together with… Read more »
Shilu’ach Haken with Cardinal
Question: Is a cardinal considered a kosher bird that one can perform shilu’ach hakan with one of its nests? Answer: This bird is not considered kosher for eating purposes, as… Read more »
Acne on Shabbos: pimples and blackheads
Question: Is it mutar to squeeze out blackheads on Shabbos and Yom tov? I understand pimples are more problematic since blood may come out but this is not the case… Read more »
Negative Web Reviews and Lashon Hara
Question: Dear Rabbi, BH I got married last summer. Despite a really beautiful wedding we have been having terrible problems with the photographer we used ever since. Besides not fulfilling… Read more »
Bracha on Talis Katan before Tallis Gadol
Question: Can a person make a bracha on a Talis kattan even if later (10-15 or longer minutes) he will make a separate Bracha on a Talis gadol? Is it… Read more »
Classical Music During Sefiras Ha’Omer
Question: Your interesting answer to listening to Classical Music During Sefiras Ha’Omer is at http://dinonline.org/2014/05/07/classical-music-during-sefiras-haomer/. Your answer then goes on to say this: “Please see our article of last year,… Read more »