It is Minhag Haolam, and unfortunately became a custom among Yidden too L’havdil, to make various pranks on the Secular calendar day today, under the name “April Fools”. is there any Heter to do such a thing? Is this clear out Gneivas Daas? an example, people would say something like “guess what? I won a raffle and I’m going to Eretz Yisroel next week. I have one free ticket. do you want to join?”

  It is definitely not Mentshlich and not fit for a Yerai Shomayim to engage in such activities. There may be an exception if the intent is just to make…

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I grew up knowing that there was a Jewish Hamsa and the hand of Fatima, the Arabic Hamsa. My grandmother who lived in North Africa was very adamant not to let the hand of Fatima in our house. The later has 2 thumbs but the Jewish Hamsa has only one thumb. Are there any sources for this? Today all one can find and sees everywhere is the hand with 2 thumbs.

  While there are some traditional Jewish sources mentioning the Hamsa, none make the distinction that you have mentioned. Indeed, there are available ancient Jewish Hamsas which have two symmetrical…

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Someone got possession of a church’s furniture, and donated the tables and chairs to a Shul. The Shul does not know where it came from. Someone who knows the source of the furniture is asking if it’s OK for the Shul to use it, or does he have to tell them where it’s from?

There is no need to notify the Shul.   Sources: ראה פמ״ג קנד במ״ז סק״ח שהביא דברי המג״א קנג, טו שספסלים הם בגדר תשמיש קדושה. ועכ״ז כת״ש שעשה מעשה להיתר…

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