Question: i have a building could i rent it to a church Answer: It is good that you asked because, no, we are not allowed to rent our property to… Read more »
Category: Ask
Siyum Washing
Question: Shalom. What is the appropriate method when making a siyum and a seuda. Does one make the siyum first and then washes or washes then make the siyum? Thank… Read more »
beis ya’ar halevanon
Question: I’m looking at Melachim 1 10:16,17. Why make shields of gold even if there was lots of it? Would gold be more effective than iron in battle? What was… Read more »
Washed off some meat and a few drops went into the milk sink
Question: Hi 1. Someone in my household was washing off some meat and a few drops went into the milk sink. There were a few items in the sink. Does… Read more »
Must pay workers before Rosh HaShana: y/n?
Question: Does an employer have to pay his workers before Rosh HaShanah or does the normal pay date suffice? Answer: No. An employer must pay his workers after they finish… Read more »
Aron hakodesh
Question: REPORT: Aron Hakodesh is Hidden in Ethiopian Church; Researchers Claim to Have Seen Items Used in Bais Hamikdash This article above appeared on yeshivaworldnews. There was a similar article… Read more »
Do you have to tovel a glass 1.5 gallon water dispenser, if I reassemble it?
Question: Hi, I bought a 1.5 gallon glass water container that has a plastic spigot on the bottom, to dispense water/beverages. We don’t like the stock spigot and bought a… Read more »
Toiveled a glass bottle with a sticker on it
Question: It seems I have to toivel the glass bottle again, once I remove the sticker. With or without a bracha? Made the bracha the first time. Answer: You should… Read more »
Shaliach Lighting Menorah
Question: If I am a shaliach for lighting someone’s menorah, do I make שעשה ניסים twice (once when lighting for him and once for myself)? Does the same halacha apply… Read more »
Is it permissible to attend mixed gender social events/gatherings?
Question: Is it permitted attend mixed gender social events/gatherings (e.g holiday events at a bar/club, concerts (without seating), where men and women congregate and socialize together? Answer: Social intermingling between… Read more »
Match as a shamash
Question: Is there any reason you must use a candle or can one just as well use a long match to light the Chanukah menorah (so as to avoid dripping… Read more »
Jewish law
Question: Can Jews wear heart symbols on things? Like jewelry or clothes. Answer: A Jew may wear symbols etc. with the exception that a man may not wear a symbol… Read more »
Can I take a picture in front of a Christmas tree?
Question: Is it permitted to take a picture or have someone else take a picture of me in front of a Christmas tree at a shopping mall? Answer: Please see… Read more »
Maasrot and terumot
Question: When buying pure fruit juice do we need to be concerned whether the fruit used to make it is from Israel. Answer: If it is possible to verify where… Read more »
Holiday
Question: Rabbi, can one look in a store with Christmas decorations as long as I do not buy anything? And can I take pics in front of a decorated tree?… Read more »
My wife will be lighting Chanukah Candles.
Question: Hi, I am aware of the many sources that discuss the reasons a woman should or should not light, and rather her husband should be Motzei her. If my… Read more »
Sitting Shiva for a Non-Frum Sibling
Question: Must I sit shiva for my sister who is not shomer mitzvos? She grew up in a religious home but now as an adult she says, in effect, it… Read more »
Lighting chanukah candles late
Question: I am a college student. My last class of the day ends around 8:30 causing me to get home around 10 or so. May I attend all classes regularly… Read more »
Can a mashgiach borrow money from the restaurants that he supervises?
Question: Can a mashgiach borrow money from the restaurants that he supervises? Is not there a situation of submission? Should he find a problem, could he not be pressured, direct… Read more »
Onion cut with meaty knife and fried in milky pan
Question: Dear Rabbi, I accidentally cut an onion (don’t remember whether it was dairy or meat) with a meat knife on a dairy plastic cutting board. Then the onion was… Read more »
Pasta with cheese cooked in a meat pot and placed in dairy plates
Question: Dear Rabbi, I accidentally cooked pasta with cheese in a meat pot and then placed the pasta with cheese onto dairy plates. Can you please tell me what should… Read more »
Giving ma’aser money to Gift of Life
Question: There’s a organization called the gift of life. It’s an international public bone marrow and blood stem cell registry. It facilitates transplants for children and adults suffering from many… Read more »
Toaster oven
Question: Hello, I just bought the Breville toaster oven. How do I make it kosher please to use for my dairy cooking? Answer: All you need to do is to… Read more »
Response to “Giving a secondary reason”
Question: You write this week “In addition, if you state that you didn’t participate because you were indisposed you are not telling the truth, since you would not have attended… Read more »
Is the stock market called “gambling?”
Question: If gambling is a bad thing in both halacha and hashkafa, what is the heter to “play” the stock market? What is the difference between gambling and investing in… Read more »
Out of Business
Question: Hi, My son was recently riding his bike near a home goods store in our neighborhood and accidentally knocked down an item being displayed outside the store, breaking it…. Read more »
Re: Land Contracts
Question: I want to clarify Land Contract payments are usually with interest calculated into the actual monthly payment even when there is no late payment. Is that not a problem… Read more »
Heter Iska when buying with a land contract
Question: Do you need a Heter Iska when buying a property through land contract? Answer: Essentially it is a sale, and would not need a heter iska, but if there… Read more »
kesuva and maaseh yadayim
Question: A husband and wife are planning on divorcing but are living in a house together. If the husband pays for the rent, car lease, insurance, her cell phone and… Read more »
The Earth and other planets
Question: Why might the Earth be the only inhabited planet in our galaxy? Out of the planets in our solar system (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto), Earth… Read more »
Parsha Question
Question: Shalom. In Sefer Shmot, Parshat Va’Eira, Chapter 6, Pesukim 14 to 25, the Torah begins to outline the Genealogy of Klal Yisrael in Mitzrayim. Why does the Torah only… Read more »
Hebrew birthday on December 25th
Question: My Hebrew birthday is 17 Tevet, which this year falls on December 25th, a major non-Jewish holiday on which we usually refrain from celebrating or studying Torah. May I… Read more »
Motzaei Shabbos
Question: Dear Rav, I wanted to know whether what I’ve been doing is correct: I finish Shabbos at 72 minutes as a chumrah, but I do derabannans from 60 minutes,… Read more »
Investing in a non-kosher establishment
Question: I was wondering if one is halachically allowed to buy stock in a company that sells some kosher and some non kosher products, even if I wouldn’t eat there…. Read more »
What brocho do u make on wheat/rice cakes
Question: What brocho do you make on rice cakes 60% whole wheat Answer: According to most poskim the bracha is hoadomo, even though it is mostly from wheat. The reason… Read more »
Reasons for Conversion to Judaism
Question: Is it a valid reason for the mother to convert to Judaism “to see what the Jewish religion is like because the child wants to be Jewish, i.e. for… Read more »
Who was Eliyahu
Question: I’m looking at Melachim 1 17:1. With most prophets in Tenach, I believe we’re told their father’s name or tribe. Why are we told nothing about Eliyahu? 16:1 tells… Read more »
Sous vide on shabbos
Question: Does one need to toivel a sous vide machine? It does not touch the food, but rather just a means of cooking. and also, could one leave it on… Read more »
cat in the house
Question: Our cat wants to go outside but we dont let it go because it gets into fights with other cats. I dont know if this cat is domestic but… Read more »
Hashkafah of Rashi
Question: When Rashi says in the beginning of Bereishis that the world was created for Torah and the Jewish People, does that really mean that the rest of the world… Read more »
Doing work for a Charedi client who is selling statutes on Amazon
Question: I run a U.S. business that files trademarks for frum businesses. We have a Charedi client from Monsey who sells a number of products on Amazon and has used… Read more »
Washing mouth out after eating
Question: Its more then 6 hours since I ate fleshigs but i never washed my lips after eating and licked my lips and maybe swallowed too. Can I eat Milk… Read more »
playing piano during aveilus
Question: I am at the beginning of my aveilus for my father, z”l and I am a piano player. I’m not a professional, but it is s significant hobby. When… Read more »
Does Hashem ever unforgive?
Question: If I sincerely do teshuva and ask for forgiveness and H-shem forgives me, but then I have a change of heart in a bad way and start thinking of… Read more »
Chanukah get together
Question: What is the halacha if we want to get together on chanukah for a supper siblings and children in the year for our father Answer: R’ S. Z. Auerbach… Read more »
Divorce Obligations
Question: Halachikly speaking, are there additional financial obligations to the wife besides the kesuva amount? For example, paying for her apartment rental or moving expenses back to her city. Or… Read more »
Currency Ketuva Amount
Question: Is the written tosefet ketuva amount that is written in the ketuva debatable? Meaning that the tosefet ketuva was specified in US dollars & not the currency where the… Read more »
Davening in front of a picture of a woman
Question: Is one allowed to say a bracha in front of a picture of a woman who is not tznius, and by scale it would be more than a tefach,… Read more »
Bris / Pidyon Haben
Question: I know the issue of inviting to a bris as opposed to just informing. Why is there no issue when inviting to a Pidyon Haben? Answer: The source of… Read more »
בשר בחלב
Question: לכבוד מו״ר הרה״ג שליט״א שלום וברכה! מישהו חתך בצלים עם סכין פרווה. אח״כ נתן הבצלים ומים כו׳ לתוך יורה בשרי שאינו בן יומו. לאחר שנגמר הבישול לקח המרק ונתן… Read more »