Question: B”H May a person do teshuva at night or does it need to be in the daylight? Thank you Answer: There is no difference between doing teshuva at night… Read more »
Category: Various matters
olam haba
Question: Why did Hashem have to create the feeling of embarrassment when we receive a gift without having done anything? If he hadn’t create it then we could have gone… Read more »
Hiring non Jewish/non frum school teachers
Question: ואין מוסרים להם תינוק ללמדו ספר או ללמדו אומנות דמשכי ליה למינות Based on this rama (Y”D kuf nun gimmul- aluf) what is the heter to hire non Jewish/non… Read more »
Rabbi decrees
Question: How and/or why did it happen that there is so much unclarity both in the Gemara and in the Poskim about the details of Rabbinic decrees? Why wasn’t the… Read more »
Separating Maasros Batman hazeh
Question: One bought fruits from a store and is mafrish the one percent plus a little more (for Terumah and Trumas maaser). If there is a possibility that SOME of… Read more »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Tabletop Shtender
Question: If I have a tabletop shtender which I use to learn, can i use it to read my textbooks for university as well or do i need to buy… Read more »
Can I become Jewish even though my name is Aryan
Question: Can I become Jewish even though my name is Aryan? Answer: Your present name would not affect your becoming Jewish. If you are indeed serious about becoming Jewish and… Read more »
lekavod shabbos kodesh – shaimos?
Question: HI, We print a weekly list of things to do for Shabbos and at the top of the page its says “lekavod shabbos kodesh”. 1) Is it a problem… Read more »
Does a woman strengthen her emunah from learning about emunah?
Question: Dearest Rabbi: Is it beneficial for a woman to study about emunah and bitachon, to help strengthen her emunah and bitachon? Answer: Definitely! Not only is it beneficial, it… Read more »
Extended mechila insincerely
Question: Hi, In advance of Yom Kippur and in the spirit of the chag, I approached a friend who I thought had wronged me and told him I forgave him… Read more »
Selling a property in Israel to a non-jew.
Question: Thank you for the informative article on this topic. I found that article because I am being faced with exactly this shailah. We live in a mostly secular /… Read more »
Asking forgiveness
Question: B”H Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to help answer my questions. Regarding asking forgiveness, ideally the other party says “I forgive you.” If I… Read more »
Alternative to Teshuva
Question: I feel I struggle excessively with an aveira and therefore cannot commit sincerely to not doing it again, are there any alternatives to Teshuva that one may do (commit… Read more »
What is the yetzer hara
Question: What exactly is the Yetzer Hara and Yetzer Tov? Are they angels? Are they spiritual ‘impure’ and ‘pure’ forces inside us that convince us to do bad or good?… Read more »
Lashes from besdin
Question: Where does bais din get the power to give lashes on dini derbanan from? Answer: Thank you for your question. During the time when Klal Yisroel was governed by… Read more »
Ultraorthodox view of law
Question: What is the difference between how orthodox jews and ultraotrthodox jews view the origin of halacha? Answer: Thank you for your question. Before answering your question it is important… Read more »
How to Beseech Hashem
Question: Hi Rabbi, For quite a long time I’ve felt quite unsatisfied with the course of my life (I am a teenager by the way), often I feel socially isolated… Read more »
Engaging with antisemites
Question: Is there any good reason why a Jew should not waste his time engaging with anti semites either in real life or online? Thank you. Answer: Isn’t you question… Read more »
Knas for neder
Question: I made a neder to hashem that if I do zera levatala without distracting myself for 30 minutes first ill pay 350$ knas and if I distract myself for 30 minutes than… Read more »
Times of Divine Judgement and Mercy
Question: I’m having some trouble comprehending the Kabbalistic concept of HaShem’s different attributes at different times of day. Supposedly HaShem’s Divine Mercy occurs after midnight (hence why there is the… Read more »
Hagra on sukkot
Question: shalom. On sukkot there’s maybe something with yahrzeit of elijahu ben salomo zalman. Apart from that, do you know – or can you redirect to – any source of… Read more »
forgiving or ignoring a narcissist
Question: Hi, there’s a lot of background to this question that’s nec. to show where I’m coming from for, so PLS read it all first! the question(s) is at the… Read more »
Black Hebrew Israelites
Question: There have been many Black people believing they are the real Jews because there have been certain spiritual leaders claiming that Jews come from all kinds of people and… Read more »
Teshuva for speaking Lashon Harah
Question: How can one do teshuva for speaking Lashon Harah about all Jews, or about all the Jews of a particular city? Answer: A person that spoke lashon hora about… Read more »
Terumos and Maaser on Mushrooms
Question: Are mushrooms obligated in terumos and maaser? Thank you Answer: They are not obligated, even though they might appear as if they were planted on the ground, they grow… Read more »
Vow annulment on zoom
Question: B”H Thank you for your help. Is it ok to do vow annulment this year via zoom? Would there be any option to “postpone” doing a vow annulment for… Read more »
Zera on paper?
Question: My friend put my sefarim in a bag that also had an underwear with zera in it I think some of the zera may have gotten in contact with… Read more »
Do I have to ask mechila for something that happened 45 years ago?
Question: BH Shalom kvod ha rav. 45 years ago I broked an advanced relation with a woman short before chatuna.No vort was done yet. She suffered. Afterwards both built happy… Read more »
Why do we still observe mitzvot without the Beit HaMikdash?
Question: Hi Rabbi, Reading the Parasha every week, it seems the bulk of the Torah, at least the Written Torah is composed of commandments we don’t practice anymore, and a… Read more »
Replica of utensils Beis Hamikdash
Question: Is there any halakha that banned the replica of objects and utensils from the Beis Hamikdash? Answer: Yes. The gemara says that we may not make a duplicate of… Read more »
Brachot In food in kosher
Question: Can a Bnei Noach make a brachar over a non-kosher food, even though he knows he doesn’t have to? Is there any halakha forbidding? Answer: I am not aware… Read more »
Building a library with kadosh and not kadosh books
Question: BS”D Shalom, I would like to know if I can write a brachar or a phrase for wisdom in Hebrew on the wall of a library I am building,… Read more »
Changing diaper in front of seforim
Question: Is one allowed to change a baby’s diaper and exposing the child’s body in front of seforim? Does it make a difference if the diaper is soiled with only… Read more »
Is olive oil with kedushas sh’vies batel in regular olive oil?
Question: What is the halacha regarding olive oil with kedushash sh’veis that got mixed into regular olive oil? Answer: It would have the same halachos as other oil that got… Read more »
Attaining Perfection in life
Question: Let’s say a person sets a goal (in my case the religious field) and NOT because of something or someone, is it possible that one day (future tense) I… Read more »
Igeret hagra
Question: Shalom Aleichem Rabbi, iggeret hagra is important for us Litvishe Mitnagdim. The original is – I suppose – in Yiddish. Can you find out if the Yiddish ~original text… Read more »
Soncino press
Question: Is it okay to use Soncino press? Are they considered heretics? Some of their books have Christian commentaries? Answer: I can not comment on all of the books as… Read more »
clarification on embarrassing
Question: B”H Thank you for your help. It is always appreciated. My question is: if two people are in a home and one of them is on a video call,… Read more »
Relying on mesiras moda’ah
Question: Hi, If I did a chumra three times and I no longer want to continue doing it, do I have to do hataras nedarim, or can I rely on… Read more »
Being a good guest according to halacha
Question: Honored rabbis, my sheyla is a request for the basic halachic etiquette for a bokhur being a long-term guest in someone’s house. Because of certain world circumstances limiting movement,… Read more »
Goyim and neder
Question: The goyim/Bnei Noach, They also do neder, and need to do Hatarat Nedarim? Answer: Keeping a neder is not one of the Noahide mitzvos, therefore the obligation to keep… Read more »
nedarim and shevuot
Question: How can we annul a neder or a shevuah, the easy way? Answer: Speak to your local Rov how to do this, because it depends on what was said… Read more »