There is no Halacha that forbids us from giving presents, including birthday presents, during the Nine Days, with the exception of Tisha Be’Av on which it is forbidden to give a present.…
There is no Halacha that forbids us from giving presents, including birthday presents, during the Nine Days, with the exception of Tisha Be’Av on which it is forbidden to give a present.…
There is no need to have separate pots for fish and meat. While there is a danger to mix fish and meat together, Plaitas Kelim, the taste that remains…
Halachah speaks of four basic colors: shachor (black); adom (red); lavan (white); and yarok—which can refer to shades from blue to yellow and any combination of them in various…
There are certain foods that are forbidden according to Halacha on the basis of danger. For example, one is not allowed to eat fish that was cooked together with…
The opening phrase of the Tur (the 13th century halachic compendium that forms the basis of the Shulchan Aruch) quotes the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos: “Hevei Az Kanameir” (Be…
If someone in their struggle to quit smoking—or stop abusing drugs—made a neder (vow) to stop, but now wishes to have their neder annulled, should the beis din acquiesce?…
If a person undertakes self-imposed restrictions or obligations and they no longer wish to practice them, they must perform Hatoras Nedarim (The Annulment of Vows). Hatoras Nedarim should be…
If a person made a mental, even non-verbal, commitment to give tzedakah, this is called gomar b'libo, and he is obligated to fulfill that commitment. A common problem that…
If a married woman makes a neder (vow) placing a restriction upon herself, or she commits to a minhag tov (good practice)—which is tantamount to making a neder—the halachah…
Among the ways in which the Navi (Prophet) Yishayahu instructs us to distinguish Shabbos from the rest of the week is: “V’chibad’to mei’asos d’rachecha” (Honor it by [refraining from]…
A woman who is alone at home with a contractor or worker could run into a problem of Yichud, of being alone with a man. The Halacha of Yichud does not apply if Baala Be'Ir, her husband is in…
Regarding fasting on all fast days with the exception of Yom Kippur, the halacha is that a choileh she’ein bo sakana, someone who is not well but there is…
Poskim mention that a baal nefesh (pious individual) should be machmir (stringent) and take on the stringencies of Tisha Be’Av and Yom Kippur on other fast days as well,…
It is a commonly accepted custom not to eat the tip of the challah (or any bread) since it is assumed to be kasheh leshikchah (causes a person to…
When slicing the Challah on Shabbos, after slicing a piece of Challah for himself, a man should cut another piece of Challah, an even larger piece, for his wife.…
When Chazal institute takonos (enactments) or gezeiros (Rabbinic decrees), they use the principle of lo plug (“we make no distinction”), grouping all possible situations under a single model, without…
A chassan (groom) during his shivas yemai hamishteh (the seven days of celebration after his wedding)—and according to many opinions, his kallah (bride) too—is banned from melachah (work). These…
A ruling of our sages in days gone by called for covering water and other liquids due to the danger venomous snakes posed to drinking water. These days we…
The content of any legal document can be divided into two components: tofes (standard text) and toref (specific information). The toref aspect of a get (Jewish bill of divorce)…
Halachah states that a single man may not be a melamed (teacher of young children) because of the halachic boundaries that may be breached by regular interactions with the…
There are some mitzvos that involve women, often in crucial roles, although they aren’t obligated to perform them. One example is peru urvu (the mitzvah of bringing children into…
The halachah of bar metzrah grants the next-door neighbor priority to purchase a property or field that is adjacent to theirs; however, if the seller is a non-Jew, the…
The mitzvah of tzitzis isn’t a mitzvah chiyuvis, one that we are commanded to actively seek out, but rather a mitzvah kiyumis, one that becomes obligatory only if a…
The procedure of hafrashas challah (separating a portion of bread dough)* is to make the brachah, separate a piece of dough and to declare aloud the separated portion as…
There is a halachah in Shulchan Aruch that when dough for baking challah is prepared kedei le’chaleik, in order to divide and distribute it, “taking” challah is not required…
