Question: Hi Rabbi, I put down a deposit on a car at a dealership. The dealer said that the previous owner was a Catholic Church. Am I allowed to buy the car?… Read more »
Category: Ask
Sefer to look up vort for bar mitzva
Question: Shalom Harav I’m looking for some divrai torah for my son bar mitzvah that he can say it over on Shabbat & his bar mitzvah party would you know… Read more »
Order of dress
Question: Does the order of dress apply to women? If one puts on an undershirt and then underpants and then starts to put on regular bottoms but remembers and goes… Read more »
Praying using specific terminology
Question: When we pray we are taught to be as specific as possible. This is one of the reasons why we invoke the mother’s name as opposed to the father’s… Read more »
Chilul Maaser Sheni
Question: Could you please explain the phrase in hafrashas trumah and maaser where we say hu vechumsho mechulal al haprutah. Where is there a chomash ? Chomesh is when you… Read more »
Paying for job I didn’t agree to pay for
Question: Hi I was trying to get a appointment in a government office to register my child that she is getting married, (apparently there is a long waiting list), I… Read more »
tviloh
Question: My children painted ceramic bowls in a paint-it-yourself place in Beit Shemesh and they were then glazed and put in an oven to become usable. I’m unsure of where… Read more »
Intrusive Thoughts
Question: Hi Cvod Harav, I struggle a lot with intrusive thoughts, especially about regretting mitzvot. It makes me very worried I can lose them. What does the Rav suggest that… Read more »
Attaining peace at the expense of honouring parent
Question: My father has a sister who hasn’t been in contact with him for many years, they had a disagreement a long time ago and no longer speak to each… Read more »
Bishul Akum/Shabbos Induction burner
Question: Hello, According to my understanding an induction burner doesn’t cook with fire rather with magnetic energy (whatever that really means) I know when it comes to cooking on Shabbos… Read more »
Egged bus missing stops
Question: שלום וברכה, Occasionally when boarding an egged bus the Rav Kav processing system is down and the driver waives you onto the bus. I assume the correct thing to… Read more »
Is it an halachic problem for women to sleep with pajamas?
Question: HI Is it an halachic problem for women to sleep with pajamas? Thanks Answer: No there is no problem with women sleeping with pajamas, in fact it is better… Read more »
Touched mouth before washing hands in the morning, do I have to wash it now?
Question: “A person should not touch one’s mouth, nose, ears, or eyes before washing hands in the morning” What if one touched the nose without thinking while half sleeping? Then… Read more »
Elbow touched clean clothes- wash them?
Question: If one’s elbow touches clean clothes before washing in the morning, are the clothes okay to wear or must they be washed? Answer: The clothing are fine and there… Read more »
I bought a frying pan and made it non-stick on my own. Does it need Tevillah?
Question: I bought a frying pan and made it non-stick on my own. Does it need Tevillah? Answer: Yes it does. Since the frying pan is made of metal and… Read more »
Genetically modified fish
Question: BS”D Shalom, if a person makes a genetic modification by crossing (introducing DNA) from a kosher fish to another kosher fish, would the result be a kosher fish, thus… Read more »
Tevilla on pottery
Question: There are places where one can go and buy a piece of pottery (that is usually ceramic etc.) and paint it yourself according to how you want it to… Read more »
Kiddush and Sundown
Question: Dear Rabbi, Last week I awoke late after mother and father lit candles and they had burned out. I proceeded to do a kiddish with just the bracha for… Read more »
yichud
Question: I am staying with my mother in law in their hoilday house. My wife will have to return to the city. I am I able to stay with her… Read more »
Shellfish spray on bananas
Question: Hi, many bananas are sprayed with chitosan, which is made from shellfish. Some can leak into the fruit itself. Does this present a problem for kashrut? Are organic bananas… Read more »
Ruach Ra on hands
Question: bs”d Thank you for providing this wonderful service to Klal Yisroel. I have a 17 y.o. daughter that unfortunately is challenged in her observance of mitzvos. It is unclear… Read more »
Hybrid fruit
Question: Are all hybrid fruits acceptable? (grapefruit? orange?) How, given the prohibition of crossing seeds? Answer: Yes it is permitted to eat he grapefruit etc. even though they do originally… Read more »
Late fee for rental
Question: B”H thank you so much for your quick reply. 1. If a person rents an apartment from a large real estate corporation that (I assume) has both Jews and… Read more »
Why should we not take revenge?
Question: May you, kindly, explain to me why we should NOT seek vengeance and keep grudges, as specified for us not to do, in Leviticus 19:18? Todah Rabah. Answer: You… Read more »
fruit tithe outside Israel
Question: B”H If someone has fruit of unknown origin, may they eat it by assuming it did not come from Israel? Also, is there any obligation to tithe a single… Read more »
Pre-Seminal Fluid From Bad Thoughts
Question: Cvod Harav, If one releases pre seminal fluid from bad thoughts, is that considered wasting seed? Thanks Rav Answer: Although the bad thought are forbidden to have and one… Read more »
“Sealed” kosher bread
Question: B”H Is it ok to eat kosher bread, wrapped in a twist tie type of closure, that is delivered by a non-jew? Thank you. Answer: The twist tie is… Read more »
Heter iska
Question: I am refinancing my house and will be signing a heter iska. Do I need to make sure to sign it before signing any of the other mortgage documents,… Read more »
Modaah & Giluy Dat
Question: Cvod Harav, I’m replying to questions 59650 and 59669. Here is a copy of the Ben ish Chai’s ZTL modah & giluy dat: והריני מגלה דעתי ורצוני לפני הקדוש… Read more »
Can we copy ideas and sell them?
Question: Sarah, a famous painter, goes to an art gallery and sees a painting that she really likes from an unknown artist. When she goes home she decides to recreate… Read more »
Question about archeological dating pre-Flood or pre-Dor HaFlagah
Question: Shalom Kavod Harav, I have a question about archaeological dating (which, as we know, is notoriously imprecise & often just the archaeologist’s best guess colored by the archeologist’s own… Read more »
Tachas yereichi
Question: I’m not sure if this question is one for your site (and if so, I apologize), but in last week’s sedra according to Rashi, Eliezer put his hand to… Read more »
Eating on Shabbat
Question: 1. If eating ice cream on Shabbat: would licking a cone or scooping it out to eat it be “smoothing”? 2 If it has chocolate chips and one takes… Read more »
Sending a link to a not tzanua picture
Question: My father would like to buy me, his daughter, an exercise machine. Unfortunately, he is not knowledgeable/careful with halacha including what he sees. I chose a machine and he… Read more »
Wash after meal
Question: Hello, I recently came across mention of washing after meals. I see that some say it is obligation, others say custom and that there is also a difference of… Read more »
Kriya shma at night
Question: Is it proper to say kriyas shma al hamita (ribono shel olam until adon olam, excluding shema and birchas hamapil) a while before going to bed? Sometimes I am… Read more »
Milky mouth to fleishig sink
Question: When we were baking, my children put the mixing spoons in their mouth and then back in the mixture (after they had been drinking milk). The ingredients were pareve… Read more »
Is a wedding dress Muktza on Shabbos?
Question: Is a wedding dress Muktza on Shabbos? If yes, what category of muktza? Answer: It is controversial if it is not muktza at all and similar to food, or… Read more »
Tefilin and Shema
Question: If one misses the zman for Kriyat Shema and Shachreit and doesn’t put on Tefilin and therefore in the afternoon decides to say Shema with Tefilin, May they do… Read more »
bedikas tahara
Question: Is it a problem when, on the first day of the shivas neki’im, one only does a bedike in the morning and not in the afternoon before Shkie? If… Read more »
Shemonah Esrai when possibly not clean after bathroom
Question: If an individual flatulated before the Amidah and then again after the Amida and when he went to wipe that area noticed that it was brown (on the paper… Read more »
Bracha given for false judgement
Question: I was taught in my yeshivah (back in the day) that when a person falsely accused someone for something they didn’t do… it’s a mitzvah to give a bracha…. Read more »
Interest
Question: B”H Regarding paying a Jewish person for their services, I used an online payment service that said they would charge the seller about $3.20 in fees. I sent payment… Read more »
Giving an animal to a secular Jew- lifnei iver?
Question: I’ve been caring for a kitten and would like to find it a permanent home. Am I allowed to give it to a secular Jew, given the halachos involved… Read more »
Not telling seller the value- Eisav and Yackov
Question: If your buying something very valuable but the seller doesn’t know do you need to inform him first? I’m also thinking about the sale of the bechora from Eisav… Read more »
Dangerous Oaths
Question: I read the following article on Halacha and suicide The Torah Approach to Suicide There is a Halacha is Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Sh’vuot, chapter 5, Halacha 17 If a… Read more »
“Damage” to a shiur handout?
Question: I was recently at a shiur. The Rav printed handouts (pages of a sefer, printed from otzar hachachma). During the shiur, I was absentmindedly touching the papers with a… Read more »
FORGOT TO DAVEN MINCHE
Question: WHEN I DAVEN MAARIV I EXPECT TO MAKE IT UP QUESTIONS: WHICH COMES FIRST REGUALR MAARIV and then the makeup or vice versa? Do I say Yaale Vovou Thx… Read more »
turning off a nebulizer on shabbos
Question: This past shabbat our young son suddenly developed a frightening kind of breathing and cough which is supposed to be treated with a nebulizer. We assumed it was okay… Read more »
Niddah and Substances
Question: Hello Rav, I am not sure if my last question came through. I am sorry if this is a repeated question. I have asked before about the concept of… Read more »