Panorama of Halacha

​1)      Someone travelling abroad during Chanukah stops at the Ohel on his way to JFK. Is there any value in him lighting Menorah at the Ohel? [1] 2)      A boy who turns Barmitzva during Chanuka , can he light Menora before nightfall? [2] 3)      I said a brocho over a dairy knish and then realized that I’m fleishik . Should I eat a drop of knish? What if it’s within an hour from when I ate meat...

​1)      I put on a pair of Tefilin early in the day, to recite Shema .I later put on a different pair of Tefilin , for Shacharis . ShouldI recite a brocho when donning the second pair? [1] 2)      Does a polyester-fabric shower-curtain present a problem for use on Shabbos (with cold water)? [2] 3)      Is it okay to pour boiling water from a parev kettle into a meaty cholent? [3] 4)      Is a glu...

​1)      How to react when seeing an unfamiliar Jew smoking on Shabbos ר"ל: 2)      One who said Retzei in bentshing after Melave Malka ,does he have to repeat? [1] 3)      A person observed a specific chumrah , believing that it was standard practise in his community. He the learned that it isn’t so. Does he need Hatoras Nedorim ? [2] 4)      On Shabbos someone broke apart chopsticks, used f...

​1)      If a chutznik visits Eretz Yisroel between the 7th of Cheshvan and the 5th of December, he says ותן טל ומטר. But there are different opinions whether he continues doing so after having returned to Chutz lo’Oretz. What’s our guidance? [1] 2)      Can water for Negel Vasser be kept under the bed? [2] 3)      I live alone in a small apartment and I own a cat. When leaving my dwelling on Shab...

​1)      Story about the brocho to be said when eating rice: [1] 2)      For the chapter of Tehilim said according to one’s age, what should a Ger do? [2] 3)      May I call up to the Torah one whose brocho is unintelligible? [3] 4)      When lighting candles for Shabbos , following the custom of not extinguishing the match directly, may one place the burning match on a flat surface (which will ca...

​1)     When davening alone and therefore omitting the י"ג מדות, the words ושם נאמר seem disconnected and therefore out of place? [1] 2)      Disused Shul furniture, can they be ‘bought’ for a nominal sum and then disposed of? [2] 3)      May a man roll up his beard on Shabbos? [3] 4)      What is the correct brocho for Malawach? [4] 5)      Is a divorced woman obliged to cover her hair? [5] 6)   ...

​1)      When was the brocho הנותן ליעף כח (drawn from last week’s Haftorah ) instituted? [1] 2)      Why is the poem ויאתיו not brought in the Chabad Machzor? [2] 3)      May I rinse dishes on Shabbos after each course, to make it easier to wash later? [3] 4)      May I stack dishes in the dishwasher on Shabbos? [4] 5)      The Shul where I daven Shabbos morning I don’t return to that evening. Is...

​1)      Is it okay to empty the Negel Vasser into the kitchen sink? [1] 2)      May one eat food that was touched by someone who had not washed NegelVasser ? [2] 3)      I spent Succos this year in New York, enjoying the rain and all. Is sheltering the food in a box the same as if the food was indoors? [3] 4)       Halocho requires the covering of a married woman’s hair. What if part of the hair...

​1)      Clue in this week’ Sedra to list of days when entire is recited: [1] 2)      Is reheating moist food on Shabbos the same as reheating liquid? [2] 3)      May we use frozen chips that are semi-cooked in the factory? [3] 4)       Taleisim and Taleisim-Ketanim that are no longer in use,must they be placed in Genizah [AKA Sheimos ]? [4] 5)      Having made Havdolo for my family, I wish to go...

1) On Succos I realized that I hadn’t lifted the Schach after it was placed by a non-Jew:[1] 2) What is the after-brocho for a snack-bar made with mashed dates?[2] 3) Should one rise for ברוך ה' המבורך לעולם ועד at the beginning of each Aliya?[3] 4) May the Arovos of the Lulav be used for Hoshanos? [4] 5) How do the Hoshanos-poems relate to their respective days?[5] 6) Which is more correct: ב...

​1)       What is the Torah source for the Beis haShoieivo celebrations? [1] 2)       Several years ago, a friend cleared out his garden of several fruit trees. His home has since been ridden with persistent problems. Thinking the above issues are connected: Is there a way to repair the spiritual harm brought on by destroying a fruit tree? [2] 3)       Why is עלינו included in the Chazan’s Musaf o...

1)       Does a door that is shorter than 10 Tefochim have bearing re. Heker Tzir ? [1] 2)      A Jewish man was married to a non-Jewish woman, and they had a daughter together. The man now wishes to provide food for his [biological] daughter. May he buy treif food? [2] 3)      We have no local Shochet. What’s preferred for Kaporos : fish or money? [3] 4)      I was appointed to blow Tekios Meumad...

​1)      One saying Selichos alone is advised to omit the paragraphs in Aramaic. How about the Aramaic verses in uVo leTziyon ? [1] 2)    The Oshamnu confessional prayer follows the Alef-Beis sequence but is divided into four sections. This becomes significant when it is sung over Yom Kippur . Why is it divided this way? [2] 3)      In Selichos for Day Three, in poem beginning אין כמדת בשר מדתך, t...

1)       In a doorway between two rooms, the direction the swings ( Heker Tzir ) defines where to place the Mezuza . Yaavetz [1] extends this to sliding doors, i.e. that the room where the track is, that is the interior. Would that also applyto patio-doors, where one panel slides and the other is rigid? 2)      There is an issue with drying one’s wet hands on his shirt. [2] What about clothes that...

1)       For Kiddush Levono we wait until Day 7. Does that go according local time or according to the time in Yerusholayim? [1] 2)      My son is travelling to Yeshiva immediately after his Barmitzva, with no Krias haTorah in between. When should I say the brocho ברוך שפטרני? [2] 3)      At Krias haTorah for Mincha on Shabbos the BalKorei showed the passage כי תצא in last week’s Sedra – on the pr...

1)       Why in Selichos , when we first invoke the 13 Midos of Mercy, we preface with א-ל ארך אפים, whereas in thesubsequent invocations we preface with א-ל מלך יושב? [1] 2)      Is there any leeway to start Selichos on Motzei Shabbos before midnight? [2] 3)      If someone missed hearing Shofar during the day in Elul, is there any gain to do so after sunset? [3] 4)      What’s the Chabad positio...

1)       Why in Parshas Eikev does Onkelos translate ורגלך לא בצקה as מסנך לא יחיפו? [1] 2)      Does Pas Akum include bread baked in geothermal heat? [2] 3)      A doorframe has a diagonal lintel, the right doorpost being taller than the left one. When measuring the ‘top third’, do we measure the doorpost or the doorway? [3] 4)      Changes in the Pizmon שלוש עשרה מדות in Selichos of Erev Rosh ha...

1)       Let’s learn a Torah-idea of the Baal haHilula : [1] 2)      In the Musaf of Yom Kipur we mention ושני שעירים לחטאת – the additional goat being the one designated by the Goral as a sacrifice for Hashem . We then quote מלבד חטאת הכפורים. It seems like we’re mentioning the very same offering twice over: [2] 3)      May one hard-of-hearing wear a hearing-aid on Shabbos? [3] 4)      What are t...

1) In Ketores, Rabbi Noson haBavli says that a tiny amount of כיפת הירדן was included in the Ketores. Seemingly in the same breath he states that honey mustn’t be included. What’s the connection?[1] 2) Please explain the words of Bar Kaporo: Should honey be included in the Ketores, “none would be able to stand the fragrance”. But why don’t we add honey? ….[2]3) A Mezuzah-case that slides into posi...

​1)      Discuss the variations in minhag for Haftorah when the past Shabbos coincides with Rosh Chodesh : [1] 2)      On fast-days we incorporate the Selichos within Tachanun . Should there be a Baal Simcha present we won’t say Tachanun . What is the format then for Selichos ? [2] 3)      I want to buy a property for investment, but I’ve heard that one should avoid selling his first acquired prop...

1) Why do we say Hodu before Boruch sheOmar, unlike Nusach Ashkenaz? 2) I’m behind the minyan, saying Pesukei deZimra, and the Chazan and the congregation are saying the 13 Midos. Do I join in? 3) Cartons of fruit juice usually have a seal that gets torn open when twisting the cap to open. May these be opened on Shabbos? 4) I put up a property for sale and I have a buyer – whose purchase is contin...

1) Siyum on Rambam Sefer Haflo’oh: 2) In the passage אביי הוה מסדר, the word קודם is interspersed at each category, it is then dropped and then picked up again at the last stanza. Explanation of the Rebbe:3) For his medical needs, my father needs to drink often. May I wake him to do so? 4) In my father’s frail state, saying the full bentsching takes an hour. Is he allowed to doal hamichya instead...

1) In the 1 st brocho before Shema each morning we quote from Tehillim that HaShem creates the “large luminaries”. Ostensibly that creation was only short-term? 2) Some Poskim advise us to keep wearing our Tefilin until after Oleinu. Would that also be fulfilled if I switch Rashi Tefilin to RTs sometime before Oleinu? 3) In addition to the Challos being covered, is there an issue re. other foods b...

1)     Which Brocho should be said on frozen Grape Juice? [1] 2)    I wear a bandage on my ankle, to keep the ankle from moving when doing exercise. May I wear it in the street on Shabbos? [2] 3)    What should be the attitude of a Jewish child to his/her non-Jewish father? [3] 4)    And what a Jewish father and non-Jewish children? 5)    A Kohen married a divorcee; does their firstborn boy requir...

​1)    The Shai laMora Sidur writes that in an early print of the AR’s Sidur (Berditshev 5578), the word Shabbos in the Amidah and Kiddush is vowelized with a Komatz : Shabbos Kodshecho . This seems more accurate than the nikud in most Sidurim : Shabbas Kodshecho . Comment? [1] 2)    I need to buy a new Tallis. Is there any difference whether I buy from a local supplier or I buy online from overse...