Question: Are there problems with naming a baby after someone of the opposite gender (already done, curious if it’s a problem and how to address it). The name is not… Read more »
Category: Various matters
Are you permitted to invent your own tefillin minhag?
Question: The method in which a man wraps the strap of the tefillin shel yad around his arm and hand is generally passed on from father to son. So in… Read more »
Cat on table with seforim.
Question: Is it ok to let the cat be on a table with seforim? Source? Answer: I can’t say that it is forbidden, however it is definitely preferable not to… Read more »
Erasing a Shiur
Question: Is one allowed to delete a shiur from one’s ipod? Answer: Yes, because it isn’t written, but it is only a digital code. Sources: Shulchan Shlomo Shabbos 340 ftnt…. Read more »
Tochacha after being humiliated
Question: If A shames B and causes shame and public humiliation what is the correct approach? Should B approach A and tell him of his feelings? Even if B feels… Read more »
Zionism and conversion
Question: Can someone’s stance on zionism impact ones geirus? My cousin, who only has a Jewish father is currently going through a geirus. He has a strong attachment to the… Read more »
Is mental illness an impediment to conversion?
Question: I work for a mental health agency and have a client who is passionate about converting to Judaism to be more spiritually aligned with his family and friends. This… Read more »
Learning a proper dress code
Question: Dear Rabbi, I am a ba’al teshuvah. I have grown up and continue to exist in the communities that are not yeshiva trained or with much if any jewish… Read more »
Questions regarding Hydroponics
Question: Concerning hydroponically grown produce. What is the correct Bracha? Shehakol? Borei Peri HaAdama? If grapes are hydroponically grown, can they be used for production of Yayin? Can the Yayin… Read more »
Is there a possibility that I’m Jewish?
Question: Hello , I took a DNA test which only tested my maternal family tree. Results tell me I have relatives in Switzerland , Germany , Italy , USA ,… Read more »
Makor for mi yehudi
Question: What’s the source for the fact that we consider anyone born to a Jewish mother or converted according to Halacha to be a Jew? Answer: The source is from… Read more »
Rashba’s Cherem
Question: Does the Rashba’s cherem still aplly to learning the sciences? Can I read my anatomy or other science books on the side (assuming no objectionable material) even for interest?… Read more »
How to repair an Avera of a Ben Nida?
Question: Shalom, Baruch Hashem, I’m very soon approaching the 9th month of pregnancy. However, it should be noted that by the time we conceived, we weren’t keeping the laws of… Read more »
Convert wedding
Question: Can a woman who is converted still dance with her non-Jewish father at her wedding? And what other things would be different at the ceremony? Answer: Yes she may…. Read more »
Lo Sechaneim
Question: When it comes to giving matanos to goyim, is it enough to have a personal benefit to dispel the issur of lo sechaneim even if one’s main intention is… Read more »
The beginning of Shulchan Aruch vs. the beginning of Mishnayos.
Question: The Torah says: ‘Vayehi erev vayehi boker” (mentioning night before day). The Talmud also starts out by discussing the dinim of krias Shema at night. Why, then, does the… Read more »
Relationship with gentiles
Question: I’ve been wondering about these questions: How can there be a m”d that stealing from goyim is muttar and why isn’t there a mitzvah to save the life of… Read more »
About weddings and Jews giving food to goyim
Question: If a Jew has a wedding, and invites goyishe people, can that Jew give him (free) food? I heard from a Rabbi that a Jew can’t give a goy… Read more »
kiddush Hashem
Question: There are some circumstances where a Jew has to give up his life if there is a minyan there and he is being forced to do an aveira. Question:… Read more »
Golem
Question: Hi, I have to write a paper on the Golem of Prague. Looking into it, I couldn’t find any good sources that it existed. What is our take on… Read more »
Moshiach, Techiyas HaMesim, and Olam Habah in Tanach?
Question: Are there sources for the concepts of Moshiach, Techiyas HaMesim, and Olam HaBah in Tanach? Thank you. Answer: Sure there are. Regarding Moshiach the Nevi’im are full of it…. Read more »
trimming margins of sefer Torah
Question: We’re a retirement community. We have the opportunity to acquire a very nice sefer Torah that was lained from just a few times, at a reasonable price. However, the… Read more »
Can I receive forgiveness for stealing?
Question: I think I am done for. I borrowed earrings from a friend and lost them when I moved a couple of times. Also, I tried to prevent a coworker… Read more »
I am a Hebrew roots Christian believer and wondered if I should redeem my first born
Question: I am a Hebrew roots Christian believer and just wondered if I could or should try to participate in the redemption of the first born. We believe that we… Read more »
Children taking revenge to prevent bullying
Question: I heard Beshem a mechanech that a child who is bullied can or perhaps should resist or retaliate in a physical manner in order to prevent future bullying. Speaking… Read more »
Disposing of tzitzos
Question: Can I double wrap old pasul tzitzus and throw them out instead of giving them in to sheimos? Answer: If the tzitzis are indeed pasul, they are considered tashmishei… Read more »
Is it good/permissible to make a deal with Hashem?
Question: Is it good/permissible to make a deal with Hashem? Example: “I will learn an hour every shabbos for a month if I get above a 90 on my exam… Read more »
good vs evil
Question: My inspiration in life was a man that told me about the forces in life that can be used for good or bad. There is a light and a… Read more »
Learning Torah and do Mitzvos to help others
Question: Are there any classical sources saying that one can learn Torah and do Mitzvos to help others eg the sick? Answer: There are numerous sources for learning torah and… Read more »
I fell
Question: I have been clean from wasting seed for over 5 months and today I fell. I don’t know how I can possibly do that to Hashem who gives me… Read more »
May a giores kiss or hug her Biological father?
Question: If a baby was converted at birth by adoptive parents, and the girl later in life (25+ years) finds her non-Jewish biological father, are they allowed to have any… Read more »
Burial traditions in judaism
Question: Was it tradition between jews in 1 century AD to bury a person with doned tefillin? Is it possible that Jesus Christ had put a tefillin when he was… Read more »
Maternal DNA
Question: I took a DNA test that came with a result of being 7% European Jewish. I do not believe it is accurate to state that I am Jewish because… Read more »
Giving a hitch to yeshiva bochurim
Question: When driving by a bus stop in the cold, one sees a few yeshiva bachurim and wants to give them a lift so that they don’t have to wait… Read more »
Is it halachically permissible to build a gym – cardio and weightlifting – in the bottom of a synagogue?
Question: Is it halachically permissible to build a gym – cardio and weightlifting – in the bottom of a synagogue? Answer: It is permitted, since there are only prohibitions with… Read more »
Is a reform male rabbi a valid rav?
Question: Is a reform male ‘rabbi’ who is halachically Jewish a ‘rav’ from our (Torah-observant) perspective or is his semicha invalid? Answer: Unfortunately the Reform movement does not recognize and… Read more »
Birth control
Question: Hi my name is Alaijha. In health class we are working on projects due March 3rd and the topic I chose is the beliefs about birth control between Catholics… Read more »
Depression
Question: Hi, I’ve asked many Halacha shallow to you before. I’m sorry to involve you in this, but my cousin, a 21 yr old girl suffering from depression, and stays… Read more »
Why should we daven if Hashem knows best and gave this to me?
Question: I’m a little confused about prayer. Hashem is only good. He only does good to us, and gives us things for our ultimate benefit. If someone has a medical… Read more »
Mitzvos Bein Adam Lachaveiro to Non-Jews
Question: Why is it that so many mitzvos bein adam lachaveiro do not apply to non-Jews? Which mitzvos are we chayav to non-Jews? Answer: I once heard a very nice… Read more »
Judging Favorably
Question: I’m having trouble trying to understand “judge everyone favorably”. If I turn a blind eye and I don’t use my mind and say “he’s a tzaddik, he’s correct he… Read more »
Do the dead see?
Question: Hi, What do we Jews believe as far as whether or not people who have died can see the past, present and future happenings in this world? Thank you…. Read more »
Learning Hebrew or learning Torah?
Question: A baal teshuva who BH has made great progress in learning, especially in the realm of practical halacha, but he does not read Hebrew or even know the aleph-beis… Read more »
Abortion and Chillul Hashem
Question: I am a German Jew not raised in temple and did not know torah. I am now age 34 and being punished from God and still suffering in exile… Read more »
Sefer Torah Additions
Question: Would it be technically mutar to make any kind of note on the klaf of a sefer torah? (For instance, marking where the aliyah ends) If not, what would… Read more »
Sadness at health and smoking
Question: Dear rabbi, I smoked cigars for six years and am now concerned with the worst health. No diagnosis has yet been made but I suspect laryngeal cancer and have… Read more »
Learning Moreh Nevuchim
Question: I am 18 years and have many questions about the existence of G-D. (I believe in G-D and the Torah but my deeper questions about how G-D exists often… Read more »
Spilling someones blood
Question: If someone embarrasses another person is that considered shfichas domim? Answer: Yes, there is an element of shfichas domim there. The gemorah Baba Metzia 58b says that when a… Read more »
raise your hand
Question: I heard that based on kabbalah, one is never to raise his hands above his head except in prayer, such as when blessing al netilas yadyaim. May one be… Read more »
College professor who says things that are forbidden to hear
Question: When attending a college class with a professor who says things that are forbidden to hear [e.g., he says that the Exodus never happened], what is the appropriate response… Read more »