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…
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…
There is a prohibition in the Torah of “Lo sihyeh lo kenosheh” (Do not act toward him as a creditor). If after asking the borrower once whether they have…
Must I give tzedakah to anyone who asks? It is a Mitzvah to give tzedakah to anyone who asks for it. One is not allowed to turn them away…
Yichud Hashem, the unity and oneness of Hashem, is a fundamental mitzvah, “Ikar hagadol shehakol talui boi,” a primary principle upon which practically all of Yiddishkeit is dependent. We…
The Rambam considers “Ve’halachta bidrachav” (You should walk in the ways of Hashem) a mitzvas aseh min haTorah (positive Biblical commandment) and lists it as one of the 613…
There are times when we are required to recite Shemoneh Esreh (the silent Amidah prayer), even though by doing so, there is a possibility that we are saying the…
I should have realized a free chocolate bar would make problems... Now I’m stuck: I recited the brachah of shehakol, but as I was about to take a bite,…
There is a principle in halachah: sfaika d'Rabbanan l'kula (when there is doubt regarding [observance of a] Rabbinic law, it is ruled leniently), as opposed to sfaika d’Oraysa l’chumrah…
The first of the Aseres Hadibros (Decalogue, Ten Statements Hashem said at Har Sinai), “Anochi Hashem Elokecha” (I am Hashem your G-d), has been understood by many Rishonim as…
Sfaika d’Rabbanan l’kulah (a Rabbinic law associated with doubt is ruled leniently) and sfaika d’Oraysah l’chumrah (a Biblical law associated with doubt is ruled stringently) are guiding principles in…
