27 Jul HONORING AN OTD PARENT
I. Whom to Honor Is a child obligated to honor a parent who leaves Torah observance? We are speaking here of the child’s obligation and what is best for the child,...
13 Jul HAVDALAH ON TISHA B’AV
I. Havdalah Options Havdalah separates between the sanctity of Shabbos and the regular nature of the week. We must observe the prohibitions of Shabbos until we say Havdalah. Additionally, we...
06 Jul WEALTHY NO MORE
A charitable pledge con-stitutes a vow that must be fulfilled. However, like many vows, it can be nullified if proper regret is presented to a religious court, if it is...
29 Jun FOR THOSE WHO DON’T SMELL
I. No Smell After Shabbos ends, we recite havdalah on wine, a special candle and spices for smelling, each item with its own blessing plus a blessing on separation itself marking...
22 Jun THE HERETIC’S SEFER
I. The Heretic’s Torah The Gemara (Gittin 45b) says that we must burn a Torah scroll written by a heretic. In contrast, if a gentile wrote a Torah, then we either...
15 Jun THE SHAVING OF A BA’AL TESHUVAH
During many eras in Jewish history, Jews converted to other religions, whether due to physical, financial or social pressure or otherwise. Many of these wayward Jews returned to the Jewish...
08 Jun DO YOU NEED A RABBI FOR A WEDDING?
I. What A Rabbi Does Most of us have been to enough Jewish weddings that we know how they work. We can easily officiate. Even without a big crowd, all a...
01 Jun TZITZIS FOR MA’ARIV
Should we be careful to wear tzitzis when praying the evening ma’ariv service? Rav Mordechai Eliyahu (Responsa Ma’amar Mordechai, vol. 2 no. 3) explores this question. I. TZITZIS WHILE DAVENING The argument...
25 May ATONEMENT FOR THE DECEASED
Our time in this world is limited. We strive to do all the good we can and avoid doing wrong. When we sometimes misstep, we try to do teshuvah and...
19 May DOES G-D FOOL US?
I. Misleading Messages One of the approaches to respond to the biblical challenge of the age of the universe is the theory that the world was created fully grown, so to...