Question: Who gets maftir a chosson by his ufruf or a person that has yarhzeit? Answer: Hello, Before answering your question, it should be noted that both the chosson and the yahrtziet are not a chiyuv to specifically get the maftir. They both should get an aliya, but there is no obligation for any one […]
Author Archives: Rabbonim of the Beis Hora'a
Oats for challah
Question: The only grain I can properly digest is oats. If I grind oatmeal flakes into a flour and bake it into a loaf, can I make a motzi bracha on it and use it for Shabbat? Thanks, Answer: Hello, Can definitely use it for Hamotzei and for Shabbos meals. Any one of the five […]
Home improvements during Sefira
Question: Can a person make home improvements like painting or buying new furniture during Sefira? Answer: Hello, It is permitted to paint one’s home or do other types of home improvements during sefira, (see sources). Regarding buying new furniture, there is discussion among the poskim regarding saying Shehechiyanu during sefira, and many poskim permit […]
Requesting Payment to a third party
Question: Someone purchased something from me. I have a few thousand dollars in a maaser account, and told them to send me 3 checks for various tzedakas-that way they can get a relax deduction (they asked for it). The customer is late in paying; can I already use the money in my maaser account or […]
Matanos levonim and maaser
Question: Hi Rabbi, I donated to a Purim Fund that distributes funds on Purim and says on it that it fulfills matanos levonim. However, I had in mind that this is Tzedakah for matanos levonim. I only just now learned that matanos levonim is supposed to be separate and cannot be tzedakah. Does this mean […]
Megillat Esther
Question: I would like to know if I’m allowed to read the Megillah aloud for myself. I am not comfortable hearing it in Shul. Each and every time I listen in Shul I miss too many words and can’t always recite them because then I don’t hear the next word. I also am not comfortable […]
Why did and does G*d create or allow suffering?
Question: Shalom. Thank you for answering my question. Also, if you have any suggestions for books that answer this question, please let me know. Take care Answer: Hello, The question you are asking is age old, and has been asked even by King David in Psalms. There are a number of books on this […]
Stopping in middle of Az Yashir
Question: If I just started Az Yashir and the chazzan starts Yishtabach, and I know if I finish to the end of Az Yashir I won’t catch up the tzibur in time to say shmone esrei, am I allowed to stop in the middle of Az Yashir and just start Yishtabach? Or once I started […]
Paying late
Question: The Torah says that one must pay a worker by nightfall. Does that apply when one purchases something? For example, if one orders a cake and doesn’t pay on time, is there a Torah law that is violated(of course if one eventually pays as otherwise that would be stealing). Answer: Hello, The mitzva […]
Matanos Le’Evyonim through someone else
Question: When giving Matanos le’Evyonim if I give the money to an individual or an organization to distribute the Tzedakah do they also get a merit of the mitzvah. Answer: Hello, Yes the person you give it through, since he also assisted in the mitzva will be merited. However have no fear, Hashem has […]
Eating matzah a month before Pesach
Question: I need to eat Matzah to settle my stomach. A month before/ or 2 weeks before Pesach one should stop eating Matzah so that Matzah will be “precious” to us for the Mitzvah at the Seder. Can a person eat EGG Matzah and or Matzah that is Chametz before Pesach? Answer: Hello, There […]
Woman reading the Megillah
Question: Hello, May a woman read the megillah out loud to herself on Purim eve and Purim morning? Answer: Hello, It is preferable that women should hear the megillah from a man who is reading it. However, if this is not possible, she may read the megillah out loud to herself, and even read it […]
Finding person collecting tzadakah
Question: if someone is thinking of giving tzadakah for someone/something with an amount, but he is in the middle of davening so he can’t give it, later he doesn’t see him anymore, or he forgot to give him, does he have to search for him because he had the solid thought to give him ? […]
Collecting tzedkah for a yeshiva and pocketing it to cover owed wages
Question: Can someone who works for a yeshiva, and is owed a lot of back pay, collect for the yeshiva let’s say on Purim, and pocket what is owed without ever giving it to the yeshiva. I am aware of the Rama in Yoreh Deah 253:12 that doesn’t allow debt to be collected from tzedaka […]
Attending a Wedding Between Two Women?
Question: Is it permissible to attend a wedding between two women who were born and raised as and still consider themselves Orthodox and will have performed for them the traditional ceremony with a Rabbi, etc., where one of the women is my wife’s sister’s niece? If it is not permissible to attend the ceremony, is […]
What is the feminine equivalent of the masculine Rabbi
Question: Feminine equivalent of rabbi Answer: Hello, Amoung the orthodox women do not assume Rabbinic positions, however a scholarly woman, or the wife of a Rabbi will be called a Rebbetzin. By the Reform they will call a male or female Rabbi, Rabbi. Best wishes
Eating after Shabbos candle lighting…
Question: I appreciate your response, but that created another question. I was taught that girls, who don’t light candles are Mekabel Shabbos with the mother’s candle-lighting..and so they cannot eat and drink after candle-lighting…Is this not so? Can a girl not be Mekabel Shabbos with her mother’s lighting??..so that she can still enjoy a piece […]
Duplicate order
Question: Hi, I received a double order of an item that I ordered online a few months ago. (Approx $50). I reached out by email 3 times, the only contact information available, to return the item with no response. There is no address listed. Do I keep the item or no? Answer: Hello, Assuming […]
Paying the Plumber
Question: I hired a plumber to install the plumbing for a new bathroom I was making in my basement. I was doing all the work personally, except for the plumbing, and when he came for the estimate I suggested that it should be a cheaper job, as anything other than the piping (and a few […]
Lost Wife’s calendar
Question: We lost part of our calendar. We are missing a month many months ago from what we were able to recover. Do we just continue going? Do we put in onah beinonis for that month? Answer: Hello, If the date that was lost wasn’t a very recent month, but only a few months […]
One kli needing hagalah mixed with others
Question: I had one fork that became treif and needed hagalah and it got mixed in with the other kosher forks that look the same. Do we pasken they all need to be kashered now? Answer: Hello, The halacha is that the fork that needed tobe kashered is now mixed with the other forks, and […]
Fully cooked Cholent and crockpot
Question: Does a person need to line the crockpot with silver paper /and silver paper extending over the crockpot and remove the knob if the cholent is fully cooked before the onset of SHABBOS? Answer: Hello, You do not need to put silver foil etc., if the food in the crock pot is fully […]
Does Pas shacharis no longer apply?
Question: I was told quite recently by a Rav-posek that pas shacharis does not apply nowadays. That a person does not necessarily need to eat at that time, and that certainly one does not need to eat bread. That the food and health prescriptions stated in the gemara and the rishonim do not apply nowadays […]
Visiting grave of spouse after remarriage
Question: Can a widow after remarriage visit the grave of her former husband? Answer: Hello, This idea is not brought down in the basic halacha seforim, however it is mentioned regarding a custom that a widow goes to the grave of her first husband before remarrying, and that after the wedding she doesn’t go […]
Pas Shacharis
Question: A woman wakes up around 7am..davens, does housework, listens to a shiur – – at about 11 am, sometimes later, she washes eats her breakfast and benches. Is she yotzei the mitzva of Pas Shacharis? Is the mitzva of Pas Shacharis only at a certain time in the morning? (til when, then?) Answer: […]
Winding clever dreams
Question: Dear Rabbi, I would seem that every time I ask others to keep kosher, I am met by the same tantrum. You can’t change people they say to me. Reasonably, I have been right. I refused further co tact with the reform clergy and the remaining people Hashem has built my years around have […]
Remembering the BAIS HAMIKDASH
Question: I’m painting my home. Where do I leave an empty spot for Bais Hamikdash? By my entrance or by my table where I eat? Should I frame it as a remembrance, i.e. the non-painted empty spot? How big of a space should it be, in inches or feet? MAY THE BAIS HAMIKDASH and Jerusalem […]
Yichud between cousins
Question: Can 2 male cousins and 1 female cousin ( all three are cousins) sleep in a hotel apartment that’s has 1 bedroom with two beds for the boys and a living room with 1 sofa bed for the girl They are singles ages 19-21. Answer: Hello, Such a situation is yichud. This is […]
My wife isn’t dressing the way I want her to
Question: Hi I am married to my wife b”h we have a few children, but I have a problem. My wife dresses in clothing that is weird and very simple, and extremely unappealing to me. She also doesn’t put make-up on only for Shaboss or simchus. I asked her politely and explained to her about […]
Heating up food on Shabbos
: Rav, Question In your answer in https://dinonline.org/2012/01/05/covering-challah-on-pot/ my question is, can I put challah directly on top of a crock pot lid to warm it up on Shabbos? Or do I need to place something between the Challah and the crock pot lid? Thank you Answer: Hello, As far as hilchos Shabbos, it […]
Tax Exempt #
Question: Are you a 501C3 for tax purposes? Answer: Yes we are –the number is 20-0899773 All the best Yosef Fleischman
Kibbud extent for an elderly aunt
Question: Is a niece or (married) nephew, who could afford it financially, meant to take into their home an elderly aunt, who has no children of her own, who needs looking after, and who would like to be taken in by one of them, and who does not want to go into an old-age home. […]
Bar Mitzva seuda bo bayom?
Question: If a boy’s birthday falls on Friday, does one have to make the meal Thursday evening (bentching after Tzeis hakochovim) bo bayom? Or can one make the meal on Friday night? Answer: Hello, Essentially the seuda should be made on Thursday evening, unless one doesn’t have a choice, or this is your family’s minhag. […]
Eating after candle-lighting on Shabbos
Question: Is there a Halacha or is it minhag that one may or may not eat after lighting Shabbos licht? Does it apply to everybody or just the mother/women/girls? Answer: Hello, After being mekabel Shabbos, we are not allowed to eat or drink until we first hear kiddush. A married woman, or single girl, […]
Using an electric chair recliner on Shabbos
Question: Can I use an electric chair recliner on Shabbos if I do not use the electric controls? Answer: Hello, The chair is not muktza, and one may sit on it on Shabbos. Although the chair uses electricity, the main use of the chair is for sitting. It is however recommended that the controls […]
Female worker giving gift to male boss
Question: May a female worker tell her male boss mazel tov after birth? And what about giving a gift from all female employees? Answer: Hello, It is permitted to say mazal tov to a male boss that had a baby. Telling someone mazal tov is derech eretz, and doesn’t involve anything inappropriate. It is also […]
Kashrus – iruy kli rishon into tin containing a treif baby bottle
Question: Hi, When I became frum, my parents’ kashered their house. Recently, relatives who are Jewish but not shomer kashrus came over and brought a baby bottle with Similac formula and water in it. The people wanted to heat the bottle so they warmed water in a dairy pot, put the treif bottle in an […]
Ate eggs before a bread meal
Question: I made a shehakol on some eggs and then decided I wanted to have a sandwich after finishing the eggs. I forgot to say borei nefashos on the eggs before washing. I already said hamotzi and ate a sandwich. Should I still say borei Nefashos? Answer: Hello, If you ate some of the eggs […]
Inviting non-religious family to Shabbos meal and they will drive
Question: I am a baal teshuva, and my relatives are not yet religious. They know that we keep Shabbos and have festive Shabbos meals. I know that if I invite them for a Shabbos meal they will drive to me on Shabbos. I am afraid that if a long time elapses without me having invited them, […]
Seclusion in an elevator with a man
Question: Can a woman (the sole woman) be secluded in an elevator with a man or men, say going to the 52nd floor? Answer: Hello, It depends on how fast the elevator takes to get to the first floor that it might stop. Generally it is permitted for a man and a woman to […]
Working for company that does clinical trials
Question: Is one allowed to work for a company that does clinical trials Is testing drugs on humans that could potentially cause side effects something that is in the geder of the issur of causing pain to people? Answer: Hello, It is permitted to work for such a company. Even if it could possibly […]
No adult Levi in Shul
Question: Today (Thursday) by Shachris there was no adult Levi in the shul but there was a Cohen (who was called up for the first Aliya). In such a situation, is it better to call up the Cohen again for the second Aliya, or to call up the under Bar Mitzva boy? Thank you for […]
Baking cake in Meat oven, using milky utensils
Question: If cooking a parave item in a meaty oven (let’s say a cake), and one used milky utensils to make it. Would this present any issues (assuming that if being baked in a meaty oven, it would be best to use meat utensils, but in a case where this was not followed), would this […]
Mafrish challah
Question: Normally I am mafrish challah after it rose a bit and then braid them. Lately, after seeing people buy frozen unbaked Challos in the stores, I started freezing some of my Challas the same way and only baking just what is needed for that Shabbos. Someone mentioned I am not to take Challah on […]
Halacha of stacking books
Question: B”H. Can you please explain the halacha of stacking books horizontally on a table or vertically on a shelf? Is it ok to mix secular books with books about Torah or mitzvot? Is it halachically acceptable to place a Torah book on a seat or a book with the name of G-d on a […]
Reading Torah in bed
Question: B”H. If you’re very ill, can you read Torah in bed? Answer: Hello, Definitely so. We are allowed to learn while laying down, as the posuk says ” v’beshochbicha”,while you are laying down. Obviousely, if we can sit it is better and more respectable, but if it is easier to learn while laying […]
Jewish owned grocery store open on shabbos
Question: Can you but food from a grocery store that is owned by jews but it is open on shabbos Answer: Hello, Although it is preferable to patronize those religious Jews who close their stores on Shabbos, for various reasons, nevertheless you may still buy in the store during the week. Best wishes
Flooded Apartment
Question: I own an apartment in Israel that I do not use frequently. Due to the rain, the drain in the balcony was clogged and flooded my unit and the unit downstairs as well. Does fixing the water damage on the apartment downstairs my responsibility ? Thank you very much. Answer: Hello, Since the […]
The Urim
Question: In Numbers 27:21 what did he mean by the Judgement of the Urim Answer: Hello, The correct translation for the word “mishpat” over here does not mean judgement, rather direction, or directives. Best wishes
Celestial Bodied Purim
Question: Is it permissible for my children to dress up for Purim as the sun and moon? Answer: Hello, In general is should be a problem, of making a picture of the sun or moon. However, if you will give me some more details of what the costume would look like, we might discover […]