Question: A lot of the world’s chocolate and coffee is made from raw ingredients that were harvested using slave labor. What are the Halachic sources forbidding the use of cruel… Read more »
Category: Uncategorized
Mozart for Babies
Question: Hi, Thank you for this forum. I heard that listening to Mozart, Beethoven, etc. is good for babies brain development. (Is there any truth to this,) and on a… Read more »
Yoga lessons of irreligious people
Question: Dear Rabbi, My brother and sister are both intermarried and practice yoga. Neither is kosher or a practicing jew. Does this help perpetuate harm feelings in Jacob and his… Read more »
Firstborn daughter “Bechora”, in yiddishkeit
Question: What significance is given to a firstborn daughter “בכורה” in yiddishkeit? I know the Chazal “בת תחילה יפה לבנים”. Are there other relevant Chazal? Is there even such a… Read more »
Shmarya or Shmaryahu?
Question: What is the correct name – Shmarya or Shmaryahu (also Yeshaya or Yeshayahu)? Also, what is the source and meaning of the name? (On the Chazon Ish’s matzeiva it… Read more »
What name to use when davening for a sick person
Question: Shalom Many people do have 2 names: a jewish name and a civil name. These people are mostly called on an everyday basis by the civil name. When one… Read more »
Age of person in olam haba on his/her birthday
Question: Hi I was “told” that when it is the birthday of a deceased person one doesn’t say that they would have been for eg. 100 today…? Thanks! Answer: I… Read more »
Does this website need to be closed down?
Question: I know this is a funny question, but how is it Muttar to publish peoples questions (and then your answers) that are asked on this site? Isn’t it a… Read more »
Chatas vs asham
Question: Hi Rabbi, Can you pleae explain the difference between a korban chatas and a korban asham? They’re both brought for aveiros, so what are the general criteria for an… Read more »
What happened to your website?
Question: it was down for like a week! Answer: The Ribono Shel Olam wanted this to happen. I guess it was partially in order for all of us to appreciate… Read more »
Listening to Rabbis regarding elections
Question: I live in Bet Shemesh. As you probably know from the last time there was elections (X2) it’s a very touchy subject. Anyways, as an American, i was always… Read more »
Kidnapping in modern times
Question: When Beit Din grants full custody of small children to one parent and the other parents steals the children from school and disappears with them, is this biblical kidnap… Read more »
hachnosas
Question: What is the actual meaning of the word “hachnosas” Answer: To help enter, or to help bring in. it is used in the context of helping a bride get… Read more »
Can a Noahide man marry a non Noahide woman?
Question: Can a Noahide man marry a non Noahide woman? Answer: Yes he may. Being a Noahide is not a different type of religion, because according to Jewish law, and… Read more »
Permissibly of prostate biopsy
Question: Is there any Halacha issues with having a biopsy of the prostate? Answer: There might be a potential issue, of making the man a krus sufcha, which is a… Read more »
“Birthday”
Question: Good day, So far the question was not found by me in the archive. Traditionally Birthday wasn’t celebrated. Nowadays… Isn’t partying birthday only hedonistic? sincerely Answer: You are right…. Read more »
The blessing beneath a new house
Question: Good day Rabbi, Does exist the Jewish tradition or requirement to bury a bottled text beneath a new house for good auspice? Does “Heaven Pina or Even Pina” ring… Read more »
Crass algebra
Question: Dear Rabbi, When we study the reform today, we note so many who are off the kilter of even basic jewish tenets. There is nil mikveh use and full… Read more »
unify the name yud-kei with vav-kei
Question: In counting the omer, unify the name yud-kei with vav-kei in perfect unity what is the meaning “yud-kei”and :vav-kei” Answer: One of the names of H-shem that we may… Read more »
Women’s voting rights and vote
Question: Dear Rabbi, I have some odd thoughts these days that our world in the early 1900s which granted women the right to vote may have been a pure liberal… Read more »
Torah perspectives on mental illness
Question: What does the Torah say about mental illness, like bipolar disorder? What does the Torah say about manic spirituality? Many, many people experience spiritual euphoria when they have symptoms… Read more »
Impressions of the space programs
Question: Dear Rabbi, I am interested in the orthodox commentary and feeling about the space program we are witnessing. Interesting I have noted that of course we have landed on… Read more »
Thank you.
Question: Thank you with all my heart for answering my questions and listening to my concerns and reassuring me about the same things over and over. This website feels like… Read more »
Miracle workers livelihood
Question: Hello DIN online, I have seen references and stories regarding rabbis and others who would receive contributions for assisting people by healing them, their relatives, influencing events in the… Read more »
Cramming for study
Question: Dear Rabbi, Are there halachaic comments on study cram? What about jobs that require you to keep hours longer than a normal sleep-wake cycle? I do realize that on… Read more »
Will the Moshiach
Question: Hello How Are You! Lately I’ve been thinking or wondering about since the Torah says Hashem wrestled with Yisrael and changed his name from Jacob to Yisrael I believe… Read more »
Pouring backwards
Question: Is there an ענין not to pour backwards/underhanded because that is what the chevra kadisha does? If so why do we refrain from tahara-like activities? Answer: I don’t know… Read more »
parnassa
Question: can i read parashas hamann every day twice a day if i need to pay off my debts and student loans quicker. Answer: I haven’t even heard of this… Read more »
Transporting a Sefer Torah
Question: If you are driving with a Sefer Torah long distance do you still say tefillat haderech? Answer: I don’t see why you shouldn’t.
הסתכלות
Question: עבודה זרה דף סה. אזל אשכחיה דיתיב כו׳ וקיימן זונות ערומות קמיה כו׳ לכאורה צריך לומר שרבא ובר שישך יצאו מן המרחץ כדי לדבר,(אולם לא משמע כן מלשון הגמרא)… Read more »
What am I supposed to do?
Question: What is my obligation when everything I tried failed? I don’t have any more fight left in me for mental health battles. Nobody knows how bad it is and… Read more »
Is there maris ayin in ordering a drink from a non-kosher restaurant?
Question: Is there a problem with maris ayin to enter a non-kosher restaurant and order just a drink? Let’s say that in the first case the restaurant in question is… Read more »
Halacha of science monitoring
Question: Dear Rabbi, Odd question. I made a purchase of a barometer digital. Seems neat. It did not fully work but had sunrise set times. Now I wanted that feature… Read more »
dream meaning
Question: To the Reverend Rabbi: I ask Your Reverence to advise me on this subject: I dreamed that inside my room was a small hole in the ground, and from… Read more »
Guarding your eyes
Question: Dear Rabbi, When a man observes a woman in pants, should he mind the aggression? The fear of G-d is clearly marked off. How does Jacob exist when women… Read more »
How should we respond to the shooting in Florida?
Question: How should we respond (physically, monetarily and emotionally) to the shooting in Florida? Answer: You are asking a very important question. As Jews we certainly have to respond to… Read more »
Which item is more important
Question: If you want to buy more tzitzis (you already have at least one kosher pair you just want to buy more ) or a gemara and you only have… Read more »
Preventing bad things by doing a bad thing?
Question: DISCLAIMER: Hypothetical only, but on my mind a lot these days. What is the Torah view regarding someone doing something terrible on purpose with the intention of preventing any… Read more »
Smartphone
Question: Son is Israel wants to work for Hatzalah. They need to give him a Smartphone with מושגח on it. can I rely on this hechsher? Attached: Attached file 1… Read more »
Funeral Home actions
Question: If a Funeral Home advertises itself as following traditional Jewish values, and an orthodox rabbi is acknowledged as associated with it on their website …. 1) Isn’t t the… Read more »
Pashtun people
Question: Are the Pashtun people in India part of the tribe of Efraim? They have many customs similar to Halachic laws and purport to be part of Efraim. Answer: There… Read more »
Is it okay for a man to go to mikveh at night?
Question: Is it okay for a man to go to mikveh at night? Like when your going to visit a tsadiks kever at night… Answer: As far as I know… Read more »
Agencies ctd.
Question: In effort considered with your clarification, I had considered America a deist nation because of separation of church and state. Is an agency like the CIA an outlet by… Read more »
Agencies
Question: Dear Rabbi, Can jewish applicants apply to societies or organizations in America who use a christian bible verse as their motto? I would say no, but today I discovered… Read more »
Closing a broken window
Question: If a window is broken and can’t be fixed Can you board it up with wood That window is in an un finished basement but part of my house… Read more »
Bad care
Question: Dear Rabbi, All family eats treif. I do not. I got sent for psychiatric evaluation which family endorses. No soul refuses abomination and Torah is forbidden. This is real…. Read more »
Reading a conservative book
Question: I recently became fascinated and developed a strong interest in learning Midrashim and Aggadah. I’ve head about the work of Louis Ginzberg who is the author of Legends of… Read more »
Drowning children
Question: Is there a law that if both your son and daughter are drowning, and you have the ability to save either one but only time enough to save one… Read more »
Doubts in brachot
Question: I have many doubts in brachot that consume my time. I feel stuck in cases when I have a saphek about a law from the Torah (such as fulfilment… Read more »
Who Eats First?
Question: Should a wife serve her husband or her guests first at a home meal? What if they are guests at someone else’s house and she is helping serve who… Read more »