The Gemara uses harsh words to describe someone who is asked to join a seudas mitzvah (a meal celebrating a mitzvah) but refuses to participate. The Rema likewise cautions…
The Gemara uses harsh words to describe someone who is asked to join a seudas mitzvah (a meal celebrating a mitzvah) but refuses to participate. The Rema likewise cautions…
One of the rules of hafrashas challah is that if different batches of dough are placed in the same bowl, even if each individual portion is less than the…
When one separates challah in Eretz Yisroel, all the individual parts of the dough from which challah is to be taken have to be min hamukaf (nearby); according to…
We are Short of Beds. May I Sleep in the Bed of the Person who Passed Away? There may be a shortage of beds soon after a death in…
Separating challah from dough is the mitzvah, the obligation, of the woman. It is specifically her mitzvah, and she has priority to do it over her husband. In fact,…
Question: Is it preferable to bake challah every week for Shabbos even if it’s less than the shiur (minimum requirement) for taking challah, or to bake a large batch…
If we find a lost object we may keep it only if we are absolutely sure that the owner was already meyaeish (despaired) of ever finding it—thereby relinquishing his…
There are a number of halachic considerations regarding ripping writing paper, toilet paper, aluminum foil, etc., on Shabbos. There is a discussion in halacha whether such ripping falls under…
May Human Remains be Used for Implants? Dental and foot implants are often the product of human remains (allograft). This is potentially problematic on two halachic counts: issur hana’ah…
There is a minhag brought down in Shulchon Oruch that on Erev Shabbos and Erev Yom Tov a woman should bake challah out of respect for Shabbos and Yom…
Video surveillance (using CCTV, closed-circuit television) systems are increasingly prevalent both on public and private properties. This raises the question of whether being filmed on Shabbos involves the issur…
This is a reminder to make an eruv tavshilin. Whenever Yom Tov falls on Friday, we make an eruv tavshilin the day before Yom Tov in order to allow…
There is a custom to eat milchigs on Shavuos, and this is certainly appropriate. At the same time, one should remember that there is also a biblical obligation of…
One of many conveniences of a modern kitchen is the increasingly popular warming drawer, which functions as a separate unit or as part of a cooking range. Some warming…
The melachah (the prohibition) of bishul (cooking) on Shabbos includes any act that aids the cooking process. Therefore, a pot sitting on the blech (metal sheet used on Shabbos…
The lav (Torah prohibition), “Lo yilbash gever simlas isha” (a man may not dress in a woman’s garment) prohibits many types of adornments and beauty enhancements normally practiced by…
“Chased by a would-be assassin and a snake ready to strike, the victim passes a house of heresy,” conjectures the Gemara, ”may he enter?" Halachah clearly forbids a Jew…
According to the opinion of the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek, and many Acharonim after the Tzemach Tzedek have ruled accordingly, amongst them the Minchas Elazar, the Rebbe of Munkatch,…
Lag BaOmer is a day of great Simcha, happiness. Normally, the day of the passing of a Tzadik is not necessarily a day of happiness; in this case, it…
Even if you do not intend to cook food for Shabbos during Yom Tov you must nevertheless prepare an eiruv tavshilin on Thursday, Chol Hamoed, and recite the appropriate…
A kohen does not visit a cemetery, crypt, hospital morgue or any place where there are dead bodies, due to the lav (Torah prohibition) of becoming t’mei mes (impure…
Yoga and other forms of meditation are highly controversial according to Halacha as many of them are rooted in idolatry and Avodah Zarah. While the Rebbe encouraged those already…
There is a difference of opinion when the laws of Aveilus, the laws of mourning associated with Sefirah, the days of the Omer, cease to apply: Some people practice…
If a married man dies childless, chas v’sholom, according to halachah the widow’s brother must choose between two possible options in order to remarry. One is the mitzvah of…
“Of course I’m Jewish—my grandmother spoke Yiddish!” Before pursuing a shidduch we should ascertain that the candidate is actually Jewish, is halachically considered single, and is not one of…
