Some have the custom to eat esrog jam on Tu B’Shevat. If one has not eaten esrog the whole year, does one make a Shehechiyanu on esrog jam? The Mishna Berura (225:16) writes that one does not recite Shehechiyanu on...
The ninth plague which Hashem brought upon the Egyptians was חושך – the plague of darkness. The Egyp- tians were plunged into darkness for six days, while Beneh Yisrael had light. The Rabbis teach that for three days,...
I. Important Mitzvah In Jewish law and tradition, redeeming a captive (pidyon shevuyim) is the highest form of charity. The Talmud (Bava Basra 8a) refers to it with the unusual term of “great mitzvah” and Shulchan Aruch (Yoreh De’ah 252:1)...
Rabbi Shimon Schwab Said: I Have A Dream The Torah teaches that “G-d placed the favor of the people in the eyes of Egypt” [Shemos 11:3]. Prior to leaving Egypt, the Jews obtained gold and silver utensils and articles...
”Ve’higadeta le’vincha – And you shall tell it to your children. (Shemos/Exodus 13:8) This week’s Torah portion, Bo, instructs us to share with our children the story of our people, the making of our...
Many people employ non-Jewish domestic help, and many halachic issues arise regarding this. We will deal with select areas, as this matter is a very large issue. It is beyond the scope of this article to discuss a live-in maid...
The great Rav Chatzkel Levenstein, zt”l, zy”a, made a very interesting observation about the saga in Egypt. He comments that the greatest miracle that occurred in Egypt was the fact that when we were ready to leave after 210...
THE JEWISH LEAP YEAR CHALLENGES US TO INTEGRATE CREATIVITY AND CONSISTENCY Two Roads Two roads diverged in the long voyage of our people. There were “Solar Jews” and “Lunar Jews.” There were always the people whose primary focus has been on holding...
Parashat Bo begins with the message that Hashem commanded Moshe to bring to Pharaoh before the eighth plague, the plague of hail. In in- troducing this message, Hashem told Moshe that Beneh Yisrael will one day relate to...
Should a hashgacha put on the product they certify the beracha one should make on that product? We at the OU are constantly getting calls about what’s the right bracha. I’d say the two...