Question: B”H Thank you so much for your help. 1. If someone bought vitamins during the 9 days, and realized that maybe they should not have purchased during the 9 days, do they need to be returned and then repurchased after the 9 days, or may they be kept (and perhaps used if they are […]
Author Archives: Rabbonim of the Beis Hora'a
Parents unpaid tuition
Question: My parents still owe tuition money for yeshivas that I went to as a Bachur and are slowly paying it back. Should I be the one to pay the tuition since it was for my education? And can Masser money be used? Answer: If the reason your parents still owe the money is because […]
May one do alterations or fix ripping clothing during the nine days
Question: My son is leaving to camp before Tisha b’av. His pants are ripped. Are we allowed to sew this up during the nine days? Answer: It is permitted to fix ripped clothing, however alterations on new clothing is problematic. If you are stuck and your son won’t have what to wear, you can be […]
Is a husband allowed to leave his wife in his first year of marriage?
Question: Is there a halacha about the husband not being able to stay away from his wife in his first year of marriage? Answer: Yes there is such an idea, see Sefer Hachinuch Mitzvah 582. However if she is mochel, or for a mitzva, it is permitted, Sources: See Chochmas Adom 129-18, Shulchan Haezer 12-10, […]
Chomer of Eirusin
Question: Why is the onesh of znus with an arusah (Sekilah) more chamur than with a nessuah (checek)? Answer: Rashi in Sanhedrin 50a D:H Al Korcach says that the reason an arus is more chamur than a nesua is because on one hand she is considered married to the husband since she is an arusa, […]
Can one read, walk, visit with friends on Tisha B’Av?
Question: Can one read, walk, visit with friends on Tisha B’Av? Can one take a shower for cleanliness (not leisure) after the fast ends but before midday the following day? Answer: On Tisha B’av we are in active mourning, and we should not do things that will take our mind, and concentration off the destruction […]
Pregnant halachas
Question: Why can’t a pregnant woman sit on stone’ Answer: My apologies but I have never heard of such a thing.
Covering a package that arrives on Shabbos
Question: Is there any problem with covering a package that arrives on Shabbos? I have a package that might be arriving on Shabbos outside our apartment and I don’t want the box to be apparent to neighbors throughout Shabbos. Can I cover it with a towel on Friday night? Answer: It is permitted to take […]
clarification on embarrassing
Question: B”H Thank you for your help. It is always appreciated. My question is: if two people are in a home and one of them is on a video call, and the other person (in the house) laughs at something totally unrelated in another room, is there any risk of “embarrassing the person on the […]
Theft?
Question: B”H Thank you very much for your help. Good Shabbos. (This question is based on something that happened years ago, before becoming observant). I purchased a luggage item online and when it arrived, it was a darker color than it appeared on screen when ordered. I sought to return it, however I wanted the […]
Washing hands in the morning
Question: 1) If a person goes straight to the bathroom upon waking , how does he wash his hands afterwards and which brocha does he make 2) If a person goes to the bathroom right before having bread in a meal can he wash only once and say two brachot 3) If a person davens […]
Relying on mesiras moda’ah
Question: Hi, If I did a chumra three times and I no longer want to continue doing it, do I have to do hataras nedarim, or can I rely on the mesiras moda’ah that we make during hataras nedarim on erev r”h and erev y”k? Also, does the mesiras moda’ah work if during hataras nedarim […]
Wash hands in warm water 9 days
Question: Is it allowed to wash hands for cleanliness in warm water during the 9 days? Answer: It should be with cool water, unless there is dirt that can’t be removed without the warm water or a medical reason. Best wishes Sources: M:B 551-94.
Using a swimming pool as a mikveh during quarantine
Question: Can I use our private swimming pool as a mikveh during quarantine? My husband was in the same location as a corona case at work and we are all in quarantine making public mikveh forbidden. Usually for women a pool would not count, but during quarantine is it allowed? Answer: A pool is not […]
Visiting kevarim before Rosh Hashanah
Question: In a place where there are not recognized tzaddikim per se, is there still an inyan to go and daven at the gravesite of family, friends, or communal leaders, etc? Regarding this specific minhag, is there still inyan to go earlier in the month? Thank you Answer: The main minhag is to go to […]
Home organizing during the 9 days
Question: Is home organizing/unpacking a problem during the 9 days? We moved into a new home about a month ago and now that we have summer vacation I would like to use the time to unpack properly and put things in their place. It is for functional purposes so things won’t be in as much […]
New Clothing Arriving during 9 Days
Question: I ordered new clothing for myself (I don’t know if it makes a difference, but the clothes are secondhand but totally clean) during the 3 weeks. They will be arriving during the 9 days (but not shavua sh’ chal bo). I assume that I cannot wear them during the 9 days even if they […]
My husband is Vaping
Question: Forgive me if this is the wrong forum to ask this question on but I don’t know who or where else to ask! My husband starting vaping (electronic smoking with different flavors of vape liquid which is meant for people who are trying to get off of cigarette smoking.) He did not smoke cigarettes […]
Being a good guest according to halacha
Question: Honored rabbis, my sheyla is a request for the basic halachic etiquette for a bokhur being a long-term guest in someone’s house. Because of certain world circumstances limiting movement, his best option is to stay for approximately six months in the guest room of a couple and their young child. He knows that he’s […]
Unwinding Metal Closure on Wine Bottle- Shabbos (Similar to metal twist ties)
Question: Hello this is a picture of a popular wine. The ring around the bottle is twisted closed. Before you open the bottle, the cork is in the top of the bottle and another wire wrapped enclosure is on top of the cork and hooks underneath the ring you see attached to the bottle. By […]
Grape juice during the nine days
Question: Can you drink grape juice in the 9 days ? Answer: Grape juice is included in the prohibition not to drink wine during the nine days. Although the reason for not drinking wine is because it brings simcha, and because it was used in the Bais Hamikdash, and grape juice, which doesn’t have alcohol […]
Picking up clothing from the dry cleaners during nine days
Question: If clothing were dropped off at the cleaners before Rosh Chodesh, and they were not ready until 2 Av, may one pick it up then and wear on Shabbos? Answer: If the clothing were given to be cleaned before the nine days, may be picked up during the nine days. Best wishes Sources: Nitei […]
Eating meat after davening maariv early on Rosh Chodesh Av
Question: If it is Erev Rosh Chodesh and you davened Mariv right after Plag , can you still eat meat until sunset. Please provide sources Answer: No. According to the Ashkenazi minhag of not eating meat from Rosh Chodesh, as soon as you davened maariv, the nine days starts. Best wishes Sources: Magen Avrohom 551-26 […]
Haircut and laundry after Tisha b’av which is on a Friday
Question: Normally the restrictions last until chatzos on Yud Av. Is this different when Yud Av is erev Shabbos like this year to do laundry and take a haircut? Answer: When Tisha B’av is on Thursday as it is this year (5780), it is permitted to do laundry needed for Shabbos and take a haircut on […]
Giving money to kohen for Pidyon haben.
Question: Hi, I did a Pidyon Haben for my son almost one and a half years ago. But, I am worried that there was a slight issue. please help clarify it: When I wanted to buy the silver coins that I would use for the Pidyon. The seller, being a Cohen, received the coins previously […]
May a man go swimming with his 8-year old niece
Question: 1. (the man is wearing an undershirt)? 2. If not, what about if she is wearing a tznius bathing suit? Answer: In general there is controversy among the poskim from which age a girl has to be dressed with tznius. Some poskim say from age 3 (Mishna Berura), while others say from around 5-6 or […]
Requirements to be a witness at a wedding
Question: I had the zechut of setting up two of my friends and they will be getting married in two weeks As a token of their gratitude they have asked me to be an eid under the chuppah Is there any special needs to do before being an eid, does one have to go to […]
Do you have ready made loan shtar.
Question: Do you have ready made loan shtar. Answer: Unfortunately we don’t have any specific text for a shtar, there isn’t that much that you have to know in order to write it. You write for example, “I Levi Abraham borrowed $1000 from Shimon Israel on Tuesday July 1, 2020. The due date for the […]
antiperspirant sprays on Shabbos
Question: According to Rav Moshe there is no question that deodorant sprays do not violate ZOREH. Are antiperspirant sprays [main ingredient Aluminum Chloride] a violation of the Rabbinic prohibition of Refuah? Answer: Thank you for your question. The prohibition of doing things for refuah, is only when the person is sick, a person applying deodorant […]
If a couple gets divorced while the wife is pregnant who names the baby?
Question: if a couple gets divorced while the wife is pregnant who names the baby? Answer: According to the Ashkenazi minhag the wife is the one who gets the first name, because she has the pain of the delivery. and according to the Sefardi minhag however the husband gets the first name.Under normal circumstances although […]
New bracha after taking tefillin off for bathroom
Question: If you took your tefillin off to use the bathroom, do you need to make the two brachos again before putting them back on? Answer: It depends on why you were using the bathroom. if it was just to use a urinal, or for urinating, the poskim say that we don’t make a second […]
A kohen remarrying
Question: Thank you very much for your thorough answer to question 57647 and for not complicating it with extraneous issues such as “is he really a Kohen.” If you are between, say, 30 and 75 years old, i.e., too old for never-marrieds and too young for widows (of course there are at least a few […]
Taking an online hair cutting course during the three weeks, and practicing on another person?
Question: A 20 year old boy in the states is becoming successful as a home-visit haircutter and has no real training. He has the opportunity to take an online course today (in the three weeks but before Rosh Chodesh) which will improve his skills professionally. He is working to make his own money because his […]
Order of drying hands
Question: I know there is a proper order to wash body. Does this also apply to drying? Or is it okay to dry either side first? And is law or just preferred behavior? Answer: The idea of washing our bodies according to order of prominence is mentioned in the poskim (Shabbos 61a, and Darcei Moshe […]
Siyum if I don’t remember everything
Question: Hi. Over the course of the past year I have been learning a certain Mesechta. Now, I have about 20 Blatt left to go, but the thing is, I do not remember every single daf, and for some I don’t remember anything at all. When I make a siyum, do I have to know […]
Changing mind on purchase price of house
Question: About 15 years ago, while we were still living in Australia, we negotiated with an elderly Jewish lady to buy her house which was on the market. A couple of days before Pesach we made a verbal offer to her and we said that it was only valid until Pesach. We did this in […]
Injury due to negligence
Question: HI, My father in law lives in an adult home with his wife. After attending his daf yomi shiur, Sunday morning – he went to the elevator to go up to his apartment. The elevator doors closed on him and he fell back and was hurt quite badly. He needed surgery and was in […]
Preparing Clothing for the 9 Days
Question: If I will not be able to wear all of the clean clothes before the onset of the 9 days, it is acceptable to either put them on the floor for a few minutes or mix them with work clothing to “make them no longer freshly washed?” How would this apply to shoes that […]
bracha on tallis katan
Question: Hi. On Shabbos I put on my tzitzis when I wake up and then learn for an hour or more. Then I daven with a tallis. Should I say a bracha on tzitzis when I wake up? Answer: If you are making a bracha on the tallis later on, the minhag is that we don’t […]
Goyim and neder
Question: The goyim/Bnei Noach, They also do neder, and need to do Hatarat Nedarim? Answer: Keeping a neder is not one of the Noahide mitzvos, therefore the obligation to keep and hataras nedarim are not applicable to them. Best wishes
Poured crushed garlic salt from container over pan with hot dairy
Question: If there is hot dairy being cooked in a pan, and I pour crushed garlic salt from a plastic container over it while it is cooking, is there an issue with using that crushed garlic salt container with meat? Answer: It is for this reason that essentially it is preferable to have different spice […]
Grill
Question: Dם I have to toivel a grill? Answer: A grill that was made by a non Jew or was bought from a non Jew has to be toveled, with a bracha. This applies to the grate of the grill.
Woman dying her hair during the 9 days.
Question: Can a woman dye her hair during the 9 days? Answer: It should be done before the nine days. Although I haven’t seen anyone speak about this specifically, a number of poskim that I have been in consultation with said that it is similar to showering, which we don’t do during the nine days. […]
Going on a hike during 9 days
Question: Hi! During the nine days is one allowed to go on a hike that involves walking through water around knee high? Answer: It is not advisable to go on a hike during the nine days. The reason being, that since during these days our mazal is lower, therefore, whenever possible we try to avoid […]
nedarim and shevuot
Question: How can we annul a neder or a shevuah, the easy way? Answer: Speak to your local Rov how to do this, because it depends on what was said and a number of other factors. Best wishes Sources:
Hatarat Nedarim
Question: If a person makes a promise not to eat more meat for a while, but with this covid19 the person has to eat meat so as not to weaken his immunity, and the person ate the meat, does he have to do Hatarat Nedarim? Answer: It would seem that you should make hataras nedarim. […]
Biopsy during ben hamezarim
Question: Hi Rabbi, I have a biopsy scheduled for Monday20 July . It falls during the 3 weeks of Ben Hamezarim. Is it okay to do the test or should I postpone it? Thank you, Ayelet Answer: If it is possible to postpone it for after the three weeks, that is what should preferably be […]
Showering during the nine days
Question: I exercise on a stationary bike 3 times a week and then I need to shower afterward. What do I do during the nine days? Do I need to stop exercising? Answer: You can continue exercising. Regarding taking a shower I can’t judge your personal situation but the general guideline are that even if […]
Asnan question
Question: What would be the halakha if a prostitute brings a maaser kesafim to Beis Hamikdash? Answer: It would depend on different factors. see O:CH 153-21 and M:B there. Also see Biur Halacha D:H Aval. Best wishes
Carrying on Shabbos
Question: In the holiday cottage which we will be staying, which is in a remote area, there are 3 cottages, all belonging to the same owner. The area is clearly a reshus hayachid, as enclosed by fences, but I don’t know how to proceed to allow carrying in the whole area. Note, we are staying […]