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Author Archives: Rabbonim of the Beis Hora'a

Can a kohen visit Har Herzl

Question: bs’d are the kohanim allowed to visit mount herzl? Answer: It seems that visiting Har Hertl is problematic for kohanim, as there are many graves there, and trees hanging over graves. If you need further assistance, you can call Rabbi Munk at 972-50-413-7625, in Israel (He speaks Hebrew, but he said he will try […]

Answering amen to someone davening Shemoneh Esrei loudly

Question: Someone in my shul tends to Daven his quiet Shemona Esrei a bit too loud that i could hear him. Am I supposed to answer Amen if I hear the end of his Brachos? Answer: According to most poskim you should not answer Amen to his brachos, because he is not supposed to be […]

Charity obligations for one who has debts

Question: If I have debts of bank loans and credit cards let say of $50,000, do I still have the mitvah of tzedokoh and how much per year? Answer: Assuming that the debts etc. are in excess of any investments or other monies, since you have debts you are not obligated to give tzedakah, and […]

Why is Binyamin sometimes spelled with two yuds and sometimes only one?

Question: Why does Binyamain’s name sometimes have 2 yuds and sometimes 1? Answer: See Rashi Bereishis 35-18 that Binyomin was called Ben –yomin, to signify that he was born in Eretz Yisroel, whereas all the other brothers weren’t, and whenever the posuk want to bring out this point it says his name with two yuds. […]

Rashi and Rabbeinu Bachya on Bereishis 34:31

Question: What does Rabbeinu Bachya find so difficult with Rashi’s comment? Answer: He wants to know what is bothering Rashi and in what way is he helping us by telling us the targum.  The Rabbeinu Bachya from Mossad Harav Kook brings an answer, that here were different versions of the targum here and Rashi is […]

Davened mincha and remembered afterwards that he already davened, good for maariv?

Question: A person davened Mincha Gedola, forgot that he had done so, and came to shul to daven Mincha 10 minutes before shkia. He finished davening. May one consider this tefilla to be Maariv, or do we say that he made 19 blessings in vain, and is obligated to daven Maariv? Answer: This is an(other) […]

Praying to do well on an exam that was already taken

Question: May one pray to do well on his final exams even after the exams are over, as there is still some professorial leeway and subjectivity in grading? Or is this a vain prayer? Answer: It is still possible to daven for something like that since it is not dependant on something that physically already […]

Who has the rights over a logo made by a worker for a company.

Question: Hello Chaim is working as secretary in a company. Also, in his free time he works private in graphics. He made a logo for the company a few years ago (he didn’t get special paid for it, he did it as secretary), & the company is using it on all letters, envelopes etc. If […]

Do we accept the view of the Abarbanel?

Question: I recently learned that Abarbanel (Bereishis 1-27) said that women are not created in the image of G-d. Yet it seems all discussions with contemporary rabbis nowadays consider women to be created in the image of G-d so apparently in the past there were others who rejected Abarbanel’s view. So how do we know […]

Is a kohain allowed to visit the ohel of the Lubavitch Rebbi

Question: is it permissable to use fenced in pathway to go to ohel of labavitch rebbi for kohain? Answer: I cannot say definitively if you can or can’t go, as I have never seen it. However in general; if there is a fence that is 35 inches high (10 tefachim) that separates the any graves […]

Repeating SE when forgot to say Ata Chonanantu

Question: One forgot to recite ata chonantanu on motzoi Shabbos. Prior to reciting Havdalah on a glass of wine, one transgressed a rabbinic prohibition (whether through handling muktzah, or any other rabbinic sin). Is it necessary to repeat SE? Answer: If a person didn’t say ata chonantanu in ma’ariv on motzei shabbos, and he also […]

Attending a social event for work purposes in year of mourning for a parent

Question: Hi, I am a writer by profession, and have been asked to cover a women’s event for a chesed organization so I can then write up about the event. Our Rav paskened that for work purposes I can attend – but to try not to enjoy the evening. My question is – what is […]

Defining the Heter of using an overturned pot

Question: Good Afternoon. Can the Rav please define what has to be done to reheat a Kugel on an eletric hotplate. I have seen from the Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasa that I should use an overturned pot. After trying it, I can confidently say that it is useless. Can I use metal hangers, arranged in a […]

Sheitel is wrong color. Can I get my money back?

Question: I bought a sheitel last minute for my sons bar mitzvah. On the afternoon of the simcha, I went to have it set and realized that the color was very dark and I am blond. I had no other wig set and complained to the sheitel macher. She refused to wash my other one […]

Is there any basis for the old practice of burying dishes outside for a period of time (days?months?years)?

Question: If a fleishig dish was by mistake cleaned in the milchig kitchen(or vice-versa) how to make it kosher again? If I remembered correctly my grandmother for the old continent told me they could be buried for a period of time and then voila they were kosher again…It there any opinion favoring this behavior? If […]

Can money raised at charity Torah teaching count towards maaser

Question: I teach Torah and am not wealthy, but give money daily towards maaser kesafim because I believe in the value of daily giving. I have been asked to teach a shiur, where all participants would give a small sum that would go to a tzedaka. Can I count this sum (or 90 percent of […]

Milky liquidiser in pareve soup cooked in meaty pot

Question: I accidentally put a cold milky (plastic) liquidizer into a hot parev soup that was made in a meaty pot. The liquidiser is rarely used for actual milky foods. How do I kasher the liquidiser? Answer: L’chachila this shouldn’t be done, however you do not have to kasher the pot or the liduidizer, since […]

Washed fleishing metal dish in milchig dishwasher, can I use it for tea at fleishig meal

Question: I use a metal teapot to make “tea essence” with teabags and boiling water before Shabbos. If I washed the teapot in a milchig dishwasher on Sunday, can I use it next Shabbos to make tea and drink it with a fleishig meal? Answer: Yes you may. The reason for this is because the […]

Owning a e commerce website on Shabbos

Question: I am considering investing in a website that serves as a link to other websites. If a consumer funds what they are looking for via my website and spend money I get s cut. Would this be a problem on Shabnos and Yom Tov? Answer: Sorry it took so long to get back to […]

Davening fast in order to make shemona esrei.

Question: If in order to make tefilla b’tzibbur, one has to daven Pesukei D’Zimra (abbreviated) + the blessings of krias shema extremely fast, should one do so, or should he daven at a normal pace and forego tefilla b’tzibbur? If one knows that the rabbi/ chazzan is waiting for you to catch up (before he […]

May one tear open the wrapping of a pack of plastic plates on shabbos if one has regular dishes

Question: May one tear open the wrapping of a pack of plastic plates on shabbos if one has regular dishes but prefers to use plastic Answer: It is permitted to rip open the wrapping on the plastic plates etc., even if you aren’t stuck, without any problem. The reason is because these wrappings are there […]

Washing netilas yadayim with the leftover water from someone else

Question: May I use leftover water in a cup to wash or must it be empty before i fill for washing? Answer: Yes you may use the leftover water to wash your hands and the water is not “tomay” (unclean), however the leftover water that was poured over someone’s hands may not be used for […]

Avel attending a bris and bar mitzvah of a son during aveilus.

Question: May the mother of the baby boy attend the seudah of the bris l’chatchila if she is still in the year of mourning for a parent. Also may the mother of the bar mitzvah boy attend the seudah of the bar mitzvah if she is still in the year of aveilus for a parent? […]

Drinking out of a plastic bottle during a milk meal when it was used for a meat.

Question: Is there an issue if someone drinks directory out of a plastic bottle after eating meat and then drinking out of the same bottle after having a milky meal? Answer: Very good point, yes there is. During the milky meal he should not drink from the bottle, since there is residue from the meat […]

If part of a food is forbidden to eat on Shabbos is it borer to remove it?

Question: If on Shabbos (or Yom Tov), one is presented (b’Shaas Achila) with a dish of fruit and it’s known that some fruit might be Tevel (or maybe Muchzak b’Tolayim) or a basket of Challa buns (and some buns maybe Chodosh), is it considered Melacha of Borer? Thanks. Answer: This is a very good question. […]

Eating before davening when halachically prevented from davening

Question: A person missed Shacharis deliberately (too lazy, etc.). Now it is after chatzos, but before mincha gedola. He did not daven Mincha yet, but he put on tefillin and said the morning brachos. Is it permissible for this person to eat? (One may not eat prior to davening Shacharis, but in this case it […]

Doesn’t remember if he made a mistake when davening mussaf on Rosh Chodesh

Question: If on Rosh Chodesh in Mussaf one cannot remember whether he said Mekadesh Yisroel V’Hazmanin or Mekadesh Yisroel V’Roshei Chodoshim, what should he do? Answer: If one doesn’t remember if he ended the bracha correctly or not, if he does remember saying the correct bracha, (in our case the mussaf text) then we assume […]

Made a bracha and then realized that the food was chodosh?

Question: If one accidentally made a bracha on chodosh (and he is makpid on yoshon, due to the fact that it is a chiyuv d’oraysa to be makipid on yoshon, according to the vast majority of poskim), what should he do? Answer: This is an excellent question. If someone accidentally made a bracha and then […]

Pareve vegetables stored in Meat container

Question: What is the status of containers which havent been used for fleishig but have sat in the fleishig sink with other meat dishes and liquids (I might have poured hot fleishig liquid into the sink when the containers were in there). If i cut vegetables with a pareve knife and stored them in these […]

What bracha is stuffing made out of small cubes of bread?

Question: I did a Google search on “What bracha is stuffing” and it seems that the consensus is that if the pieces of bread are less than a kezayis you would make mezonos. i have learned the siman myself in Mishna Berurah that bread looses it’s status of bread if it is cooked or fried, […]

Can I strain orange juice from oranges that some were found to have bugs in them?

Question: Dear Rabbonim, We recently harvested a clementine tree and it was later discovered that some of the clementines contained maggots. Since checking every orange is quite labour intensive is one able to squeeze and strain the orange juice, or should the entire batch be thrown out? Thank you in advance Answer: You may squeeze […]

Do I need a mezuza if I have a partnership in a business with a non- religious Jew.

Question: Dear Rabbonim, The advice previous in regards to a partnership with a non-practicing Jew was effectively to treat the situation as with a partnership with non-Jew vis a vis if they choose to work over Shabbos. Can I assume that this consideration does not extend to the obligation to fix mezuzas on the premises? […]

Unpaid internships

Question: Has the issue of the modern practice of unpaid internships ever been addressed by poskim? I’m referring to the situation in which an ’employee’ legally agrees to work without compensation in order to gain experience in the workplace. Does this present any halachic, besides ethical, problems for the employer? Answer: In Talmudic times there […]