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Author Archives: Admin-EN
Naming a Child After Grandparents
I have a question regarding giving a name to a baby. I have to name my baby after one of the grandparents, but I dont want to call the baby that name. Can I split up a name (if a grandparent has two names) and than add one of my own? Giving three names sounds like […]
Working on Tisha B’Av
May one work on Tisha B’Av? Answer: It is permitted to work after halachic noon (chatzos). However, one should try to avoid such work and dealings that cause a person to be distracted from mourning; Chazal state that one who engages in work on Tisha Be’Av at the expense of being distracted from mourning will […]
Tisha B’Av
Why is Tisha b’Av a day of such severe mourning?
Five major tragedies happened to the Jewish nation on Tisha b’Av:
It was decreed upon the generation of the wilderness that they would not enter Eretz Yisroel.
The first holy Temple was destroyed.
Ironing in the Nine Days
Can I iron something during the Nine Days to wear on Shabbos? Thank you Answer: The accepted custom is to forbid ironing in the Nine Days, even for Shabbos. However, some are lenient with regard to home (non-professional) ironing, and if there is nothing else to wear one may press the clothes with a cold […]
Tasting Food for Shabbos
Is it permitted during the nine days to taste the meat and cholent before shabbos in order to check if it tastes good? Answer: It is permitted to taste a meaty dish to check its taste. Although some permit swallowing the food, it is preferable to not swallow it, but take it out of one’s […]
Non-Jew Carrying Baby on Shabbos
1. Is it permitted to ask a gentile to take a baby on Shabbos to a kiddush? Answer: Unless there is a great need and concern for a major loss, it would be forbidden. Although many authorities write that our public domains do not have the status of Torah public domains, in which case asking […]
Erev Tisha b’Av
Do any restrictions of Tisha b’Av begin on erev Tisha b’Av?
After halachic midday, the following restrictions apply:
One may not take pleasure walks.
According to some opinions, one ma
Chopped Spinach
Can one use supermarket frozen chopped spinach? Answer: If the spinach is finely chopped (this is usually the case), it is permitted for consumption. If the leaves are cut but not finely chopped, they must be thawed and soaked for three minutes in soapy water, after which they should be rinsed and checked.
Changing Nusach
Is it a halachic requirement for children do act in the minhag and derech of their parents. Can a boy decide to take minhagim and act chasidish if his parents are from Lithuania and follow litvish minhagim and nusach? Answer: A person should not change from the custom of his ancestors, the more so with […]
Check Made to Cash for Tefillin
Is there any halachic problem with paying for a religuous article such as tzitzis or tefillin for example with a check made to cash–when this is requested by the seller. What if a Jew wants to do everything right, for example he wants to buy the most mehudar tallis possible, made lishmah, with no stone […]
Yom Haveset
If a woman’s yom haveset falls at night how many and when should she do (a) bedikah(os)? What about if the veset is during the day? Answer: If the yom haveset falls at night, she should do one bedikah, before she goes to sleep. If during the day, one bedikah is sufficient (during the day), […]
Refund for Root Canal
A frum dentist has a professional relationship with a goyish specialist where the specialist comes in monthly to do his patient’s root canals. If the specialist does not perform the root canal properly (he left a piece of the nerve in the canal and the tooth and bone got infected afterward) and the procedure had […]
Closing Up a Doorway
R’ Yehudah Hachassid advises against blocking up a window. What about blocking a doorway between two rooms? Answer: Although it does apply to external doorways, the instruction of R’ Yehudah Hachassid would not appear to apply to a doorway between two rooms. Sources: Bris Olam, p. 363, citing from Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Rav Auerbach […]
Kashering the Microwave
When kashering my microwave, does it matter if the vessel is milchig or fleishig? What happens to the vessel when the microwave becomes kosher? Answer: Several authorities have written that a microwave can be kashered by ensuring that it is completely clean, leaving it unused for 24 hours, and then turning on the microwave with […]
Buying and Selling Jewelry in Nine Days
Is it permitted to buy jewelry during the Nine Days? If not, is it permitted to sell or is it lifnei iver? Answer: One should not buy jewelry in the Nine Days, because it is a type of purchase that brings the buyer joy, and one recites the blessing of “shehechianu” upon buying it. However, […]
Shaving not to lose job
I work at a Sephardic camp where shaving is done until the week of tisha be’av. Last summer I was almost fired because of my beard. Can I shave in order not to lose my job? Answer: If it would mean losing your job, it would be permitted to shave until the week of tisha be’av. However, poskim […]
Not Kosher Medicine
I take a special medicine voluntarily called Creon. It is an enzyme meant to break food down easier in the digestive system. I just found out it is made of pork proteins. Is this assur? Is this relevant to the question concerning gelatin? i am Sephardi who is makpid on Ashkanazi shitos, and I am wondering if […]
Davening to Secular Tunes
A shaliach tzibbur kavua has begun to incorporate tunes from secular sources in the Shabbos davening. For example, he sang kedushahto a popular broadway song. Some people sang along and enjoyed the innovation, but others claimed that he was bringing the theatre into shul, and fiercely objected. Are there halachic sources on this matter? Answer: Rav […]
Mixed swimming for children
Until what ages can girls swim with boys (for non-relatives as well as brothers & sisters)? Answer: The problem associated with “mixed swimming” is the question of immodestly dressed girls in front of boys (added to the general issue of boys and girls mingling). A girl must not swim with boys from the age that […]
The 9 Days
All forms of rejoicing are forbidden. One must also refrain from certain activities as a sign of mourning. The main restrictions are:
Making improvements to one’s home or garden.
Lau
Meat for Children in Nine Days
Do children have to keep the minhag of not eating meat in the nine days? If yes, from what age? In addition does this apply even if they do not like milky products? Answer: It is permitted to give meat to children who are beneath the age of chinuch for mourning over the Mikdash. According […]
Hair-Wash on Rosh Chodesh
May I have my hair washed and blow-dried at the hair-dresser on Monday (Rosh Chodesh Av). I have very thick, unrulely hair, that I can’t manage adequately. There will be no cutting, just wash and blow dry with additional straightening with an electric heating comb. Answer: For Ashkenazim, washing hair is only permitted in the […]
Shirts for Nine Days
Can I try on more than 1 shirt for the 9 days? Answer: I understand that “trying on” implies wearing the shirt before the nine days, so that it will not have a fresh appearance and would be permitted for wear during the nine days. If so, you may try on even nine different shirts […]
Meaty Sponge for Parve Utensil
Can a parve utensil be cleaned with a fleishig sponge and still remain parve? Answer: The utensil would remain parve provided that one of the following three conditions were met: 1. Cold water was used to wash the utensil. 2. The sponge had not been used for fleishigs for twenty-four hours or more, and there […]
Wearing All One’s Jewelry
Is there an inyan zecher lachurban for a woman not to wear all of her jewelry? If so where is the mekor? And is it a chiyuv (obligatory), or is it just proper to do so? Answer: Based on the Gemara (Bava Basra 60), the Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 560:2) rules that a woman must […]
When Can the Shortened Minchah be Prayed?
Is there any halachic basis for doing a chazi kedusha shemoneh esrei (where the chazan says out loud until kedushah, the kehillah answers kedushah and then the kehillah davens the silent shemoneh esrei? If so is it lechatchila or bedieved (for example, we have a work minyan where people are pressed for time and often […]
Damaged Coin Machine
I put a coin into a gumball machine (which I assume was owned by a Jew since it was in a kosher restaurant) to buy a gumball, and the machine got jammed. Am I required to find out who owns the machine and pay him for the damage and/or the losses he incurred while it was broken? […]
Beracha “on the go”
If I made a shehakol on my water bottle at home, and then leave my house for different stores, do I need to make a new beracha every time I change locations? Thank you. Answer: In principle, a shehakol made at home does not exempt you from making a new blessing out of the home. Even […]
Cosmetic Treatments in the Three Weeks
May a woman (who got married 4 months ago) shave and tweeze during the 3 weeks? Thank you. Answer: It is permitted for a woman to undergo cosmetic treatment (shaving and tweezing) during the Three Weeks. Sources: The question of a haircut for women in the Three Weeks is disputed among authorities. Some maintain that […]
Washing on Small Pieces of Bread
At some weddings I have attended caterers only put out little tiny pieces of bread when people wash in the beggining of the meal. After the appetizers are served and the main dish is served the caterers bring out pieces of bread over a kzayis. Can one wash there hands and eat a tiny piece […]
Siddur on Cover of Sefer Torah
May one place a siddur on top of a cover of a sefer torah or is it forbidden just like one may not place a klaf of nevi’im on top of a sefer torah? Answer: It would not be permitted to place a siddur or a chumash on top of the cover of a sefer […]
Taking book out of bag with muktzah items inside
Is there a problem of taking a sefer out of a knapsack on shabbos when one knows that there are muktzah objects (e.g. pens, calculator, etc.) inside? And is there a difference whether one comes into contact with these muktzah objects? Answer: It is permitted to take the sefer out of the knapsak, even though […]
Guidelines to the Yamim Noraim
The Guidelines series, written by Rabbi Elozor Barclay and Rabbi Yitzchok Jaeger, has for almost ten years presented halacha in a clear question and answer format. Presented as soft-cover volumes, the topics of Yomim Noraim, Succos, Pesach, Shavuos, Sefiras Ha’omer, Yom Tov, The Three Weeks, Chanukah and Purim have been addres
Netilas Yadayim on Utensils in the Sink
If one is washing any kind of Netilas Yadayim and there are utensils in the sink at the time, is there any change in the status of these utensils that have had “tomei” water poured over them? Thank you/ JG Answer: It is permitted to wash netilas yadayim into the sink even when there are […]
Dragging Tzitzis on the Ground
Is there any problem with the tzizis of a tallis gadol touching the ground? For example if you are sitting in shule and the tzizis touch the ground, is that a halachic problem? Answer: Shulchan Aruch states that tzitzis should not be dragged [on the ground] while the tallis is worn. Magen Avraham suggests that […]
Fasting on Tisha Be’Av
What is the halacha pertaining to a woman in her 5th month of pregnancy in regards to the fast of the 9th of Av? Answer: A pregnant woman should fast unless her doctor (frum) has reservations over doing so. If a non-frum doctor tells her she shouldn’t fast, the reason should be requested, and a […]
Finding out gender of baby before birth
What is the inyan concerning finding out the gender of a baby before birth? Is it against Halacha or is it ok? Thank you. Answer: In terms of halacha there is no problem in finding out. In fact, there are several instances in Scripture where a baby’s gender is revealed (such as the birth of […]
Singing the Aleph Beis
There is an approach to teaching children to read Hebrew, which utilizes songs for teaching the letters and nekudos, in combination with other strategies. If a female apecial education teacher has had success teaching children this way, and a boy between 10-12 years old who still cannot read, wants to get reading help from this […]
Using a Thermos on Shabbos
Can I pour hot coffee into a thermos on Shabbos and put the plastic lid on it? Can I pour hot coffee into a thermos before Shabbos and open and close it later on Shabbos? Answer: There is no problem with pouring hot liquid into a thermos on Shabbos, or opening and closing its lid on […]
“Shoplifting” Books
When one goes to the seforim store and picks up a sefer we know that hagba is koneh but what is paying the money to the teller have to do with the maaseh kinyan. because everyone goes to the seforim store picks up a sefer and reads a little does the hagba really have any […]
Mold in Rented Apartment
I rent my house that I am living in. I noticed about 2 months ago that my bathroom was a little damp. I didnt mention it to my landlord as I figured that it might be from the kids. I didnt see it as a issue and also didnt want to make my landlord pay for […]
Using Pool as Mikva
On erev shabbos, or anytime, is it acceptable to use a swimming pool as a mikvah? Answer: It is preferable to immerse in a rabbinically approved mikva; however, when such a mikva is not available, or under extenuating circumstances, is it acceptable to use a swimming pool as a mikvah. This answer is specifically for […]
Time of Fast
what time does the actual fast start? Answer: The fast starts from Alos Hashachar, meaning from halachic “dawn” at whichever place you are in. Please see the calendar for the actual times.
Underpriced Water Bill
My wife and I don’t have children. We moved into a new apartment where the past tenants had a hanacha (reduction) from the water company for their baby. We just got our bill, and it says that we are still paying a reduced rate on account of the baby. Am I obligated to return the […]
Placing Kugel on a Hot Plate (Shabbos)
1) Taking kugel out of fridge on shabbos morning, and putting it on a hot plate on top of a upside down foil container: is this a problem? 2) Can one use ky cream on shabbos (a lubricant cream)? Answer: 1) It is permitted to place the food on top of a foil container. Sources: There […]
Wearing Two Coats
Is it mutar to wear an extra raincoat in rishus harabim in order to bring one over to a friend? Answer: The question of wearing two items of clothing for bringing one to a fried is a matter of dispute between Shulchan Aruch and Rema. According to Shulchan Aruch, it is permitted. Rema, however, rules […]
Who Owned the Ring
Dear Rabbi, When my wife and i were still engaged, before our wedding my wife suggested that I buy the gold ring that we used under the chuppah from an acquaintance of her’s who could get us a good price as she works in a jewelry store. My wife ordered the ring that I would […]
Davening for Specific Shidduch
I heard that a person is not supposed to have in mind a certain person they would want to marry, when they daven, because it might not be the right person for them. is this true or not? Answer: The Gemara writes that a person should not daven for a specific person to marry, because […]
The Seventeenth of Tammuz
Why is this day a public fast?
Five major tragedies occurred on this day:
* The first set of stone tablets were broken when Moshe Rabbeinu descended from Mount Sinai and saw the Jewish people worshiping the gol