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Sukkot Guide – Building the Sukkah

Chapter One Building the Sukkah When should one begin to build the sukkah? According to most opinions, one should begin on the day after Yom Kippur. It is praiseworthy to make a small start on motzaiYom Kippur in order to go immediately from one mitzvah to another. If this will not leave him sufficient time to complete […]

Vayikro-The Permissibility and Perils of Keeping a Store Open on Purim

    Keeping a Store Open on Purim Question: May I keep my store open on Purim? Answer: This is really two questions: (1) Does the halacha permit working on Purim? and (2) If it does, is it proper and advisable to work on Purim? The Gemara (Megilla 5B) concludes that Purim is not a […]

Parshas Devorim Taking a Mortgage on Behalf of a Relative

  By Rabbi Yosef Fleischman     Question: My son is in the process of purchasing a house. In order to arrange the financing he needs to take a mortgage. However, he is still young and doesn’t have much of a credit rating. Therefore, the bank isn’t willing to lend him sufficient funds. May I […]

What is the halacha of use of a challal (empty space) located directly under their apartment?

Question: We live in a multi-family apartment in Israel (just beyond the green line). Our apartment building was built on a hillside so it is setup in such a way that all minus floors (we live on fl. -2) have a chatzer (large yard). We discovered that located directly under our house was a large […]

Is one advised against learning the Moreh Nevuchim?

Question: I’ve heard many conflicting opinions as to who should, or should not learn the Rambam’s Moreh Nevuchim, is there an audience that it wouldn’t be appropriate for? Is there any reason one should not learn it? Answer: Nowadays there are many that are of the opinion that we should not learn Moreh Nivuchim. The […]

Retail chain

Question:   I own a retail chain that sells men’s and lady’s apparel. Each of my stores is run by a manager – reliable, trustworthy people who worked their way up from a regular salesman to an outlet manager over a number of years, after having proven themselves trustworthy and reliable. One night, about a […]

Pay in Advance

  Question: My daughter wants to take piano lessons. The music school has a policy that parents have to pay for the whole year in advance. Is that permitted? I will not be receiving any discount because of my early payment. It’s just the school’s policy. Answer: Paying in advance for a course is permitted, […]

Fly Away, Fly Away

Question:   Hello, My mother, may she live and be healthy, decided to buy two parrots for herself and my father in honor of their wedding anniversary. Those parrots were really cute and all the grandchildren came over to see the little colorful birds. I guess I was too excited about them and when I […]

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שלום כבוד הרב, יש לי עסק פרסום. אנו מדפיסים חוזרים המכילים פרסומות של אנשים, סיפורים כמה מתכונים כדי שאנשים אוהבים לקרוא “העיתון” שלנו. ביום בשבוע כרגיל אנו להדפיס כ -4,500 עותקים ויש לי שליחים קבועים, ויעבירו אותו בתים ובניינים. רוב הזמן אנשים לקרוא את זה אבל לפעמים זה מסתיים בזבל ואני בסדר עם זה -. […]

Damages

Question:   My name is Channie. I just recently got my license but I don’t own a car, and the only car I drive is my parents’ car. One day I went to my friend Raizel. She is still in the middle of taking Drivers’ Ed, but her parents, since she is their only child […]

Adar and Purim

“משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה” Purim is a festival of joy, of simcha, a holiday full of faith in Hashem. In Adar, we are commanded to rejoice even more than usual. for the upcoming Adar and Purim,  We collected for you articles related to the month of Adar, Purim, Fast of Esther ,reading the Megillah, Machatzis Ha-Shekel, gifts to the poor – Matanos La’Evyonim, sending portions one to another – mishloach manos and all the other issues and questions about the month […]

Parashas Yisro – The Righteous Convert

Acceptance of Mitzvos as Part of the Conversion Procedure Two aspects of this week’s parashah connect the weekly reading with an issue that has recently made headlines in Jewish society worldwide—and in Israel in particular: Conversion to Judaism. Yisro was the first person to convert to the nascent nation of Israel. Additionally, the giving of […]

Parsha Ponderings – Yisro – Don’t Just be Moved, Move!!!

וישמע יתרו כהן מדין חתן משה את כל אשר עשה אלקים למשה ולישראל עמו   And Yisro, priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moshe, heard all that God had done for Moshe and Israel, his nation. Yisro, the quintessential truth-seeker, finally heard something that drove him to take the plunge and join the Israelite camp […]