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Author Archives: Rabbonim of the Beis Hora'a

Foreign language in Torah

Question: What does it mean when it says that certain words in the Torah come from foreign languages? For example, in Vaeschanan, Rashi on the word Totafos. Answer: The words don’t come from foreign languages, because the world was created from the letters and words of the Torah. The meforshim say that these words were […]

What should be done with a kosher utensil that falls in a non-kosher sink?

Question: I hope all is well by you. Due to where I live, at times I have to wash kosher utensils of mine in a sink that is also used for non-kosher utensils. When I do so, I hold each item under the hot stream and wash them individually so as not to set them […]

I warmed up macaroni and cheese in my fleishig microwave by mistake.

Question: The macaroni and cheese I made was pretty dry and was not liquidy. I heated it in a plastic reusable bowl. The microwave was not clean and had dried food on the glass plate and some splattered on the floor. I’m not sure if the splattered food was actual meat. I am pretty certain […]

Releasing a son/daughter from Shiva and all other mourning dinim

Question: A parent has been ignored by his children without explanation for almost 10 years. The parent has a non-lethal thus far cancer, but nevertheless a very serious illness.No visiting, no speaking, complete withdrawal from being a child to both parents. The children have never called or inquired regarding his health in almost 10 years, […]

Removing garbage bag from garbage can on shabbos

Question: My understanding is that a garbage can is muktzah on shabbos, although the cover of the garbage can is not muktzah. If so, if it is necessary for someone to remove garbage from a garbage can on shabbos (i.e. graf shel re’i), how can one remove the garbage bag from the garbage can? The […]

Glass bottles like Snapple(Coke), They need Tevilah?

Question: BS”D Shalom dear Rabbi. Question: I recently saw that you have a machloket about the drinks, Snapple, if one should transfer the contents to another kli, and to do tevilah on a bottle of Snapple for a drink, as Rav Hershel Schachter. In the case of small coke, it comes in a glass bottle, […]

What is the halacha for a obese women to have a non jewish male personal trainor/physical trainor for weight loss in a gym?

Question: What is the halacha for a obese women to have a non Jewish male personal trainor/physical trainor for weight loss in a gym? Is that ok? Answer: It is definitely better to have a woman trainer, but if you don’t have a choice you can also have a man. You have to be careful […]

May one use maaser money for animal rescue?

Question: If one knows that 100% of it will go to rescuing and care of the wildlife in the Australian bushfires? Millions of animals there, large and small, need rescuing and care from burns etc. May one donate if one knows that it will 100% go for that cause using maser money? Answer: You are […]

Holding a child while davening

Question: If one is davening and needs to hold a child at the same time, what are the parts of davening in which this is permissible and what are the parts where this would be forbidden? Answer: During Shemona Esrei it is not allowed (see O:CH 96-1, M:B-4). If the child is crying and you […]

I found a new $5,000 gift card in the street of borough park, can I keep and use it?

Question: I found a new $5,000 gift card in the street of borough park, can I keep and use it? Answer: Thank you for your question. A gift card of $5000 is quite a rare find, and there are not that many of them around, therefore the card would be considered as having a siman. […]

Transferring Ta’am via a Container

Question: Scenario A: If someone cooked vegetable soup in a Parve pot and poured it, while hot, into a plastic ben-yomo meat container, and then poured that soup into a dairy pot to re-heat, what would be the status of the dairy pot? Scenario B: Same case as before but the soup was poured from […]

Chicken baked in dairy glassware

Question: If accidentally chicken was baked in a clean dairy glassware that had not been used for more than 24 hours. Do I have to throw out the chicken and the glass container? Or can the chicken be eaten? Can the glass container be Kashered and used again? Answer: The chicken can be eaten because […]

Cooking fleishig food on a stovetop with milchig residue

Question: Lets say one has wants to cook fleishig food in a fleishig pot on top of a gas stove top. The gas stove top was recently used to cook milchig food in a milchig pot, and some residue of the milchig food spilled. Now, there is no milchig residue on the part of the […]

Standing on a table

Question: What is the halacha regarding dancing/standing on a table? I see there are communities that do it at weddings and Hasidic places Answer: It is commonly said that a person should not stand on a table because “shulchan domeh l’mizbeyach”.  The source for this however is not very clear. There is a halacha (Rema […]

Overnight onions mixed with other food

Question: Hi, If an Israeli salad was made with onions and mixed and left overnight but no lemon or salt was added (only a tiny bit of oil was poured over and not mixed) is it considered overnight onions? In general, is mixing onions or garlic with other vegetables without any salt, lemon or oil, […]

Gemara/ Daf Yomi for women?

Question: Is is permissible for a woman to learn Gemara? And more specifically subscribe to the 8-Minute Daf Yomi videos? Answer:   Thank you for your question. It is nice to see that you want to increase your torah knowledge and grow in torah and yiras shomayim. In general women do not have the obligation […]

Learning for Ba’alei Batim

Question: There is an interesting Q&A posted on din.org.il (link below) regarding Chacham Ovadia’s psak on how Ba’alei Batim should allot their free time for learning. It is entirely in Hebrew so I can’t fully understand it, but am eager to read it. Is there anyone here that can provide an English translation of the […]

Extramarital relations

Question: If a Jewish woman, married to a Jewish man, has an affair with a gentle, is she permitted to her husband? Answer: Without knowing any specifics, on a theoretical level it could potentially be an issue, however it is dependent on certain conditions. If indeed you are referring to a specific instance, it would have […]

CARRYING SAFETY PINS

Question: If a person used a safety pin or a number of safety pins before Shabbos on a garment to attached 2 garments or to mend a garment for TEMPORARY purposes to keep things together, can it be carried outside without an ARUV? Answer: The safety pins that are needed to keep the garment together […]

New Years international change how to be comprehended?

Question: The Jewish people are known to only celebrate the Jewish new year. In addition, we also have an international new year for all states – 2020. Regardless, if the Jews keep the international New Years or not the year will still change. How can Jewish people not keep the year change celebration, if it […]

Hashem is Perfect and He created everything with perfection: Why couldn’t He create us without having to experience suffering?

Question: Hashkafah teaches us that Hashem created a system that involves us, His creations, working for our reward. The reason given is to combat Na’amna d’chsufah (sp?) lit., Bread of Shame; meaning, if we received our reward without challenges, suffering, etc., then we would not appreciate the reward. This is certainly true, given human nature […]

Telling people that you are ill?

Question: I want people to daven for me if I have a serious illness but I also know that some people feel that אין הברכה מצויה אלא בדבר הסמוי מן העין which they interpret to mean that it’s better not tell as if it’s hidden from the world you are more likely be cured ( […]

clean fleishig utensil used in hot milechig food

Question: We mistakenly used a clean fleishig utensil, that hasn’t been used in a while to serve hot cheesy food. What is the status of the utensil? and what is the status of the food? Thank you very much! Answer: The food can be eaten, since in retrospect we say that a vessel that was […]

Learning while entering a shul or beis medrash for other purposes

Question: I know that there is a halacha that if one wants to enter a shul or beis medrash to pass through, or wants to enter not for the purposes of Torah and Tefillah, one may still do so if they learn something. How much must one learn for the purposes of this halacha? Also, […]