Until when on Friday can one go to a cemetery? Should women go to a cemetery? Answer There is no reason not to go to a cemetery on Friday, even after Midday, although then one should not say Tzidduk Hadin or Hashkavah, only Tehillim. The prevalent custom is to go before Midday on a Yahrzeit, […]
Author Archives: Admin-EN
Sleeping with feet towards the door
Should we not sleep with our feet or head facing the door? & why? Answer There seems to be a custom not to sleep with one’s feet pointing towards the door, and it is said that the reason for this is that when a person who has passed away is lain awaiting burial, he is […]
Harav Moshe Halberstam Zatza”l
Harav Naftali Nuesbaum Shlit”a
Harav Moshe Ze’ev Zorger Shlit”a
Harav Zalman Nechemia Goldberg Shlit”a
Hagaon Harav Ya’akov Perlow Shlit”a- The Novominsker Rebbe
Tovelling a coffee machine
What is the halacha if one buys a coffee machine that has metal piping inside it but I am afraid if I toivel the entire machine that it will break? Answer The coffee machine must be Toivelled in a mikveh. (For safety reasons, one must take care that it is completely dry – inside as […]
Fallen mezuza
When I was putting up my mezuza the parchment fell to the ground by accident. Does one have to fast for a fallen Mezuza parchment? Does one have to fast if the mezuza fell in the Mezuza case? Answer Magen Avraham (44:5) writes that there is a custom to fast if Tefillin fall on the […]
Form for lending a Sefer Torah
I am lending a Sefer Torah to a Shul. Do you have a form for this? Answer The text should read something like the following: Agreement Mr ………………………….. hereby lends to the shul …………………………….. in the city of ………………………………………….. the Sefer Torah that he owns. The Rav aמd Gabbo’im of the shul are responsible for […]
Wigs
Is a women allowed to were wigs al pi halacha? Answer There is much debate amongst the Poskim if this is permitted. The majority of kehillos are accustomed to permit it, but everyone should follow the custom of his/her community.
Lashon Horah on frum websites
There are a few frum, Jewish news websites. They publish news from our community, and from the general population. They claim that nothing they publish is lashon hora, but sometimes I feel very confused about that. I want to know if they are allowed to publish certain kinds of news, but more importantly, if I […]
Sirtut on tefillin
Why don’t sofrim make a sritah beneath the last line of writing in t’fillin and mezuzos, as they do in other sifrei qodesh, in order to be m’qayyem the shittah requiring 4 sirtutin, or a y’riah m’surgeles, which is brought down l’halachah by the Rama? Answer The Halachah of making 4 sirtutin refers to the […]
Taking employee from competition
Hello, Our company provides a installation service for home. we usually subcontract the installer to do the actual work. we were in need of a new installer so we put up a ad on Craigslist hoping to find the right installer. sure enough the right guy came responded to our ad. problem is that he […]
Kohen in a tunnel
This question has been bothering me ever since I went to a Kohen shuir. If a Kohen is driving in a car and about to enter a tunnel. Just before he enters the tunnel, he sees a funeral procession entering the tunnel. He is 100% sure that the nifter is a Jew. Can the Kohen […]
Fish/meat on grill
I have a kashrus question as follows: I used a George Foreman Grill last week for fish and I wanted to know if its okay to grill meat on it? or does it cause a problem to my George Foreman Grill? Answer You may use it for meat, as long as it has been cleaned […]
White sheets
Does my wife have to makpid to use white sheets during shiva nekiim if she never stains? Answer Yes. However, if she wears tightly fitting white underclothing when she goes to sleep, a white sheet is not mandatory, although it is customary to use a white sheet even then.
Lamnatzeiach on Issru Chag
Upon what is dependant the machlokus whether one says Lamnatseiach in Shachris after the 2nd Ashrei on Isru Chag? Answer Most Poskim rule that one does not say Lamnatzeiach on Issru Chag, because it is a Yom Tov. However, Sefer Haminhagim (R’ Avraham Childik, 14th century) quotes R’ Yaakov be R’ Natan as ruling that […]
Leining on the day one becomes Bar Mitzvah
Does a bar mitzvah boy get an aliyah and possibly lein on the actual day of his birthday (if it falls on a Leining day of the week) or does he have to wait till he is a bar mitzvah and one day (or thereafter) to get an aliyah? Answer On the day that he […]
Short sale
Is it rabbinically permitted to buy a house on a short sale when you know that the owner is a Jew? I’m handling w/ a Jewish brokerage firm. They told me that the owner is willing to sell the house, but can the owner have any halachic rights after I purchase it? Answer I understand […]
Bracha on challoh kugel
What brocha should one make on Challah Kugel? The leftover challah was soaked until very soggy. The challah was then squeezed out and mixed with eggs and vegetables and then baked. Answer As the challoh is no longer recognizable (being broken down into small pieces), and there is more oil or eggs than water, the […]
Drumming during the Sefira
Is it permitted to drum in the sifra? Answer A drum is a musical instrument and so should not be played during the Sefira. However, one who is learning to play may do so during the Sefira. Drumming with one’s hands on a table etc. is permitted.
Water cooler on Shabbos
Is one allowed to use an electric water cooler (a standing water cooler with the water bottle on top, facing down, and below you press the valve and cold water comes out) on Shabbos? Answer You need to inquire about how the machine works. If by taking cold water out, the machine automatically turns on […]
Separating Challah
When separating challah for “hafrashas challah”. do you take off the part completely and then make a bracha? make a bracha on the whole dough and then take off the “challah”? make a mark in the dough where you plan on cutting it? if you are suppossed to take the “challah” off completely first and […]
Ki Sisa – The Greatest Commission in History
By: Rabbi Tzvi Price When we think of Moshe Rabbeinu and the role that he had in history’s most sublime moment – the Giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai – the title Prophet, Lawgiver, or Teacher might come to mind. All true. However, our Sages see another, more down-to-earth, aspect to Moshe Rabbeinu’s bringing […]
Vayikra – Confidentiality in Halachah: Can Beis Din Make You Spill the Beans?
By: Rabbi Tzvi Price In 2004, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada co-authored a book entitled Game of Shadows while they were reporters for the San Francisco Chronicle. The book documented the widespread use of performance-enhancing steroids among high-profile athletes and it dropped a bombshell on the sports industry. The book’s two authors received numerous journalism […]
Tazria-Metzora – Searching Ancient Walls, Solving Today’s Questions
By: Rabbi Tzvi Price Someone recently asked the Bais HaVaad the following question. The person had gone to a thrift shop that sold used clothing and had succeeded in finding a nice suit. While wearing the suit for the first time he reached into one of the pockets and found a hundred dollar bill that […]
Boiling eggs
When boiling eggs, how many eggs needs to be boiled at once? Answer Some have a custom to boil at least three together. (The idea behind this is that in case one of the eggs has a drop of blood in it, which cannot be discovered seeing as the egg will be eaten without inspecting […]
Ma’aser money
As a kalla, is there anything I am allowed to use my maaser money for? For example, my kalla tacher is a wife of a man still in kollel, and they have 8 kids. Can I use my maaser to pay for kalla classes, or at least add money to the normal amount people pay […]
Music on Lag B’Omer night
Are you able to listen to music on motzai sabbath lag baomer? Answer Rav Vosner (Shevet Halevi vol 8 siman 168) writes that since the Poskim write that the prohibition of having a haircut during the Sefira continues until the morning of Lag B’Omer, the prohibition of listening to music would also apply until morning. […]
Coffee machine
My non-religious boss brought in a coffee machine. The coffee he uses at the office is regular kosher coffee but I don’t know if it was always that way. He does clean the machine after use. Can I drink this coffee? Answer Yes, you can assume that all the coffee he used was kosher. On […]
Bracha on flaxseed
What brocha do you say on flaxseed? Answer Ho’adomoh עי’ חיי אדם ח”א כלל נא נשמת אדם ס”ז.
Leaving without making a brocho achronah and then returning
If one is eating and then leaves the house for a few minutes without making a Brocha Acharona, when he returns and wants to continue eating, does he have to make a new brocha? Answer If you had in mind at the time you left to continue eating, you may do so when you return […]
Working during Minchah at the office
When the men at work daven Mincha and I (a woman) am working, what are the Halachos on answering amen to Kaddish and Brachos? Do I have to get up for Kaddish? Do I have to stop working by the loud shmonei esrei? Answer You need not stop working during the loud Shemoneh Esrei; a […]
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Haircut on Erev Shabbos when Lag Be’Omer is on Sunday
Is one allowed to take a hair cut tomorrow Friday erev shabbos being that lag beomer is on Sunday? Answer: Yes [Remo”h in Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 493:2] This is also the view of Maharika”sh (Oholei Yaakov 98), quoted in Yabi’a Omer, (vol. 6, Orach Chaim 47). However, Kaf Hachaim (O.C. 493: note 32) writes […]
Mentioning mother’s name
My workmate has the same name as my mother. Am I allowed to mention her name when I talk about work? Answer If the name is unusual, one may mention the workmate’s name not in your mother’s presence, but in her presence you should not use this name. However, if the name is common, you […]
Practising Bar Mitzvah boy
1)Can a Sefer Torah be taken out of the aron kodesh so that a bar mitzva boy can practice the leining (in order simulate the environment that he will be leining in)? 2)Can a bar mitzva boy, when learning how to daven Musaf, use the Shem Hashem mamash (so that he doesn’t get confused when […]
Av Harachamim during the Sefira
During sefira we say av harachamim even when we bentch rosh chodesh. What’s the halacha if there is a bris in shul on shabbos during sefira? Do we still say it or do we omit av harachamim? Thank you for your help! Answer Some have the custom to say Av Harachamim on Mevorchim Hachodesh Sivan […]
Tachanun on Erev Pesach Sheni
Do we say Tachanun at minchah on Erev Pesach Sheni? Answer Yes [Shulchan Aruch Harav, Piskei Hassidur, end of Hilchos Krias Shema uTefilloh]
Laws of Counting the Omer
Chapter 1
The Mitzvah of Counting the Omer
1) In the Temple Era, when the Beis Ha-Mikdash stood and the Omer offering was
Wheelchair on Shabbos
Can a Jew wheel a Jew to shul on Shabbos in a place with no Eiruv? Answer Places that have no Eiruv can generally be classified under two different types of areas: Those that are Reshus Harabbim De’oraisah, and those that are considered Carmelis. (Most places today can be classified as Carmelis, though not all, […]
Counted the wrong day
May I please ask the Rav a Sha’aila? I counted Sefirah with a Beracha and realized just after I counted that I counted 25 instead of 27 – I did not speak and then corrected it by counting 27. Can I continue counting with a Beracha for the rest of Sefirah? (It is because I […]
Tuition fees from Ma’aser?
Can you use Maaser to pay tuition? Answer One may not use ma’aser money for anything that one is obliged to do, only for voluntary things. As a result, since teaching a child Torah is an obligation upon every father, he may not use ma’aser funds to pay for tuition. It follows that once the […]
248 words in a woman’s Shema?
Does a woman have to have 248 words in krieas shma? Answer Yes. Let’s first expound a little on the question. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 61:3) writes that there are 245 words in the Shema, and in order to make it up to 248, corresponding to the 248 limbs of a person, the Shliach […]
Honouring father, rav and father-in-law
Question Where is the Mishna that it say whos Kovod comes first your Rav’s or your father? Answer Bava Metzia 33a, one must return an avaidah of one’s Rav before the aveidah of a father. Question Where in Shulchan Aruch does it say you have to respect your father in law? Answer Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh […]
Overhanging branches
A neighbor’s tree has branches extending over my property and inhibit the growth of trees on my side of the property line. Am I allowed to trim back the neighbor’s branches that interfere without the neighbor’s permission? Answer Yes, if branches overhang your property, you may cut off any branches that are inhibiting the use […]
Repairing a Sefer Torah
Can I repair a tear in the klaf of a torah (not in the letters) with tape rather than gluing on the traditional piece of klaf? Answer If the tear is only on the klaf, in a place that does not render the Sefer Torah as possul before repair, one may use tape to stick […]
Forgot to Bentch
I washed and ate in a store. as I was walking home I realized I forgot to bentch but the store is already closed. what do I do now? Answer Bentch now, whever you are (preferably sit down first).
Preparing for a siyum
when making a siyum, does one have to leave over some of the last amud until the siyum. If yes, does that mean he can’t prepare it in advance? Or is there certain amount of time he can prepare it in advance? If yes, how much time? Answer One should leave the final part for […]