Database - AskTheRav

I am pregnant and have had to do an ultrasound as per Dr request. In such cases, should I ask the technician specifically not to tell me the baby’s gender? In other words is there a Makor for not finding out before birth?

One should avoid discovering the gender of the fetus. Sources: ראה ב״ר סה, יב: שבעה דברים מכוסים מבני אדם וכו׳ ואין אדם יודע מה בעבורה של אשה. וכ״ה…

Can one ask the cleaning lady on Shabbos to fill up the hot water samovar? And if it Is not permissible, are there any lenience’s to still use it for baby formula?

One may not ask a non-Jew to heat up water on Shabbos. However, if you have no hot water for the baby bottle or if needed for baby food,…

If the light is on in a child’s room and its a LED light, and it late (so it would be a challenge to find a goy), can a two year old be directed to turn the light off? [The AR says 334 that to extinguish even under Chinuch one should be Moche, but perhaps in a child’s room one can direct a child to the light.]

Where no other choice exists and it’s needed for the welfare of the child, for example, so that he should be able to sleep at night, he may be asked…

If someone told a cleaning lady on Shabbos morning that the Cholent Crock-Pot is too hot, she then went and turned the Crock-Pot off. When he saw what she did, he told her that is not what he meant, so she turned it back on to the lowest setting. Is this okay? Is it okay to eat from the Cholent?

If the cleaning lady made a mistake and you did not tell her anything, for example she mistakenly switched off the light and then she re-lit it, or she…

By לדוד אליך in Tachanun, do girls also cover their foreheads with their sleeve in the presence of a Sefer Torah?

Women are not obligated to recite Tachanun, yet they may do so if they wish, and many have the custom to do so. There are, however, many women who…

If I am visiting a community that has an Eiruv, and I do not want to (shouldn’t?) use it, can I ask someone to carry an object for me (to/from Shul for example)?

Firstly without knowing the Halachic status of the Eiruv it is difficult to answer. If you are referring to a metropolitan city Eiruv those issues are even more questionable,…

A Chabad guy sends me a daily inspiring message about Moshiach. Today this is what he sent: ”Since the leader of the generation, who is Moshiach, has been fully revealed, we can already rejoice as allowed only in the time of Geula (11 Elul 51)”. When I inquired him whether the law actually is different and how I was to understand this message, he suggested that I asktherav.com

AskTheRav cannot take responsibility for messages that other people send out. However, below are some very general observations about the matter. לכל לראש, כבר כתבו כו״כ שאינו איסור…

Bread was baked in a Fleishig oven. (In other words, meat had been roasted uncovered in the oven within 24 hours previously.) Someone, ignoring the warning sign on the bread package, cut off a slice of that bread and toasted it in a Milchig toaster oven to eat with cinnamon and sugar topping. The toaster oven probably was not used within 24 hours. Is there a Kashrus problem with the toaster oven? Is there a problem with the Milchig plate the hot toast was put onto? And what is the status of the Parve knife used to spread the margarine on the bread?

The toaster oven, the plate and the knife are all fine. Sources: רמ״א יו״ד צה, ב.

What is the source why we use an opaque veil for the Kallah and not a see through one?

There are a number of reasons why a Kallah wears a veil. The two reasons implied in Shulchan Oruch (Even Hoezer 31:2) are: 1. For the sake of Tznius.…

1. Can one touch flowers that are in a vase on Shabbos? According to Alter Rebbes Shulchan Aruch, 336:18; and 494:14, It seems like it is allowed since they were already prepared from Erev Shabbos. 2. Also, may one take flowers out of a vase with water on Shabbos? Would that be the same as Koitzer?

Moving flowers: Flowers and decorative leaves or branches which were cut and arranged prior to Shabbos are regarded as a decoration and are not Muktzeh. They may be handled directly. However, if…