Article #1: Can a Non-Jew do it on Shabbos? It is absolutely forbidden to ask a goy to turn on the lights in one’s home on Shabbos. The Shulchon…
Article #1: Can a Non-Jew do it on Shabbos? It is absolutely forbidden to ask a goy to turn on the lights in one’s home on Shabbos. The Shulchon…
Amirah l’nachri (telling a non-Jew [to perform prohibited work on Shabbos]) is an issur d’Rabbanan (restricted by Rabbinic decree) and is forbidden, unless there are specific extenuating circumstances. Being kovea melachto (contracting his…
If a woman or girl forgets to light Shabbos candles, there is a Knas, a penalty, that she must light an additional candle from the following week onwards. There…
Ezra HaSofer instituted Takanas or Tevilas Ezra. According to this takanah (institution), men who are in a state of impurity may not engage in learning Torah until they have purified themselves by toveling in the mikvah. Later…
Question: I bought a chicken that has an area of blood coloring with small pieces of congealed blood. Is it Kosher? Answer: The bloody areas should be cut…
Brachos: The brachos recited before and after eating doughnuts fried in oil are mezonos and al hamichyah, respectively. This is because the brachos for any of the five types of grain (wheat, barley, oats, rye and…
Who can perform the mitzvah of tevilas keilim (immersing vessels in a mikvah)? Any male or female over the age of bar or bas mitzvah may perform the immersion,…
I’m in shul and I’m about to begin davening when I realize I’m holding someone else’s tallis! May I make a brachah on a “stolen” tallis? From a strictly…
We may use another’s tefilin if we do not have our own pair, since the halachah is, “Nicha lay l’inish layavid mitzvah bemamonay,” a person is glad when a…
One may not draw lots on Shabbos or Yom Tov since it can lead to weighing or writing, and because it is similar to mikach u’mimkar, buying and selling. The following forms of drawing…
Rabbi Yehuda HaChossid writes in his tzavaah (will) that one should not completely close up doors or windows in one’s home. If one wishes to close up a door or a…
Article: A Brachah on Rivers The brachah of Oseh ma’aseh bereishis (thanking Hashem for the wonders of creation) should be recited when we see a large river that has been around…
Article #500: Staring at a Wicked Person According to halachah, there are a number of things that one is assur l’histakel (forbidden to gaze at): Assur l’histakel bifnei rasha (it’s forbidden to…
Making A Brachah Acharonah when Eating Less than a Kezayis The minimum amount of food that requires a brachah acharonah, an after-blessing, to be said after eating it, is a kezayis,…
Question: I walk a long distance on Shabbos, in the winter my hands get chapped and sore if they are exposed to the cold, Is there a way in…
Question: My kids under Bar/Bas Mitzvah, know how to make themselves fried eggs or other simple things in the kitchen, are they allowed to check the eggs themselves? If…
There are laws in many countries that forbid the use of wireless service belonging to another without permission. In the United States, federal and state laws restrict "unauthorized access of…
Question: If I ordered a taxi for 5:00 in the morning and The driver came and waited. But I did not wake up, do I have to pay for…
Start Time: The morning Shema can be said anytime from misheyakir, a time when one can recognize a friend, until three halachic hours in the day have passed. Both…
We may often see a product with a hechsher, but it is important to be vigilant, because some hechsherim rely on leniencies that are not in accordance with…
