If a treif piece of flatware got mixed in with identical kosher ones, one should ideally kasher all the utensils. However, if the utensils can’t be koshered, or there…
If a treif piece of flatware got mixed in with identical kosher ones, one should ideally kasher all the utensils. However, if the utensils can’t be koshered, or there…
Our elders often caution us not to walk around the house without shoes. Is this just a bubbe meiseh (grandmothers' tale), or does it have a source in halachah?…
A basic criterion for deciding many halachos is the concept of following the rov (majority of circumstances) versus mi’ut (minority). However, mi’d’rabanan (by rabbinic decree), mi’ut hamatzui (a minority…
Rishonim (early halachic authors) mention the custom of giving the aliyah of Maftir (the last of the “going-up” portions of the Torah reading on Shabbos and holidays) to an…
It is a minhag (custom) to sell the various kibbudim (honors) and aliyos (being called up to the Torah)—even the right to pay for maintenance and utilities—to the congregants…
The prevailing custom among chassidim is to immerse in a mikvah every day before davening (with the exception of Yom Kippur and Tish’ah B'av), and especially on Erev Shabbos…
There is a popular myth that one can use a keli, a vessel or utensil, without toiveling it in a Mikvah, without immersing it, the very first time, or…
It is obligatory for aveilim (mourners [within the first seven days]) to sit on very low chairs or on the floor, but they do not have to be sitting…
There is a mitzvas asei in the Torah of “Vekidashto” to sanctify Kohanim, which means to honor them. We fulfill this mitzvah by giving them precedence over others with…
The mitzvah of yeshiva b'sukah, sitting in the sukah, includes other activities besides eating in the sukah, such as learning Torah, spending time there leisurely, etc., which fall under…
It is a mitzvah to daven with a minyan (ten men thirteen years of age or older), and according to one opinion it is a mitzvah de’Oraysa, a Biblical…
Chazal tell us that the days of Chol Hamoed were given to us primarily to enable us to spend additional time learning Torah, as well as rejoicing and eating…
The recitation of Hallel on Yom Tov and Rosh Chodesh was instituted primarily within the context of a minyan (prayer quorum [of at least ten men]). On Sukkos, the…
In addition to the mitzvah of sitting in the Sukah throughout the Yom Tov of Sukos, it is a mitzvah de’oreisa (a mitzvah from the Torah) to eat a…
May a child sit in a sukkah that isn’t kosher? According to most poskim, the halachic obligation of chinuch (education) is that the katan (minor) perform the critical requirements…
According to halacha it is permissible to prepare food min hamincha u'lemaala, late in the afternoon of Yom Kippur for after the fast, so that people should be able…
Whereas we are required to afflict our bodies on Yom Kippur, it does not apply to our sense of smell. Therefore, we may smell all types of scents, pleasant…
Vidui (confession) is a part of the process of teshuvah (returning to Hashem), accomplished through verbalizing our sins. The vidui procedure was an essential aspect of bringing korbanos (sacrifices)…
The mitzvah of giving tzedakah should be done in good spirits and besever panim yafos (with a smiling countenance), besimchah (with happiness). Certainly not with an unhappy face, which is a…
The three cardinal aveiros (sins) that call for mesiras nefesh (giving up one’s life) rather than transgress them are avodah zarah (idol worship), shfichas damim (murder), and giluy arayos…
During the Aseres Yemei Teshuva, the Ten Days of Repentance from Rosh Hashana to Yom Kippur, in the third brocho of Shemonei Esrei, instead of saying Hakeil Hakodosh, we…
[לגרסת לה״ק לחץ כאן] There’s an interesting discussion in poskim regarding the question of t’nai b’mitzvos (mitzvos done conditionally), where one declares that a mitzvah being performed may or…
According to the Ramban, one may only use red wine for the mitzvah of Kiddush. According to many poskim, including the Rambam, one may not make Kiddush on yayin…
Poskim tell us, based on Talmud Yerushalmi, that if one sleeps on Rosh Hashanah by day their mazal will be asleep as well. It says in the Zohar, based…
A person who is blowing shofar, whether in shul or for people who cannot make it to shul, has an obligation to ensure that he is familiar with all…
