Living the halachic process

Special Preparations for a Seder on Shabbat

There are two relatively minor issues that are worthwhile discussing. (We will not relate to general questions about...

Lack of Confidence to Make a Beracha on Sefirat HaOmer

Your idea to not say the beracha from the outset is based on the thesis that sefirat ha’omer...

Restrictions after Tisha B’Av

From the perspective of the gemara, the restrictions of the Nine Days end with the completion of the...

Eating Chezkat Chalavi‎ Foods after Meat

The Torah forbids eating milk and meat together only when they are cooked together. Chazal forbid eating them...

Pareve Food Cooked in a Meat Utensil

At this point, until you kasher it, your pan is fleishig. A fleishig utensil contains kosher meat taste,...

Pareve Food in Meat Utensils and then Milk Utensils

Questions of nat bar nat (twice-removed taste, i.e., taste that goes from food into a pot and then...

Tasting Unsupervised Wine

We must deal with a few issues. Some of the main kashrut concerns regarding agricultural produce pertain mainly...

Providing Non-Kosher Food for Non-Jewish Workers

The gemara derives from a pasuk that one may sell non-kosher species that come into his possession, but...

Working in a Non-Kosher Establishment

The question is general, and the answer follows suit. For the purpose of this halachic investigation, we are...

How to Tell When Your Tefillin Need Adjustment

The first rule of thumb is that someone who has not adjusted the knot of his tefillin shel...

Transferring Legal Ownership of a Sefer Torah

The rules limiting when and under what conditions one may sell holy objects are complicated; selling a sefer...

Changing a Shabbat Tallit into a Weekday One

We find in several contexts the concept of ma’alin bakodesh v’ein moridin – one may only raise the...

Taking a Yad into a Bathroom

We must first investigate the halachic status of a yad. The Terumat HaDeshen forbids using support rods of...

Disposing of Cups Used for Netilat Yadayim

The gemara states that tashmishei mitzva may be thrown away, as opposed to tashmishei kedusha, which require geniza....

The Halachic Propriety of Cosmetic Surgery

From both a halachic and a philosophical perspective, there is a significant difference between cases of needless surgery...

Leaving Eretz Yisrael for a Trip

The issue of leaving Eretz Yisrael has been discussed in many contemporary works written since we have been...

Fulfilling a Mitzva without Intention

The gemara discusses the question of whether mitzvot tzrichot kavana (a mitzva is valid only if performed with...

Public Acknowledgment of Sin

The gemara discusses the appropriateness of two related steps a person might include in the teshuva process. One...

Torah Knowledge for the Non-Observant‎

Your question is very thoughtful, and the open communication with your cousins is fascinating. We must distinguish...

Paying a Debt for a Poor Borrower in Place of the Guarantor

This is a case in which halachic intuition shouts from the outset that it must be permitted to...

Receiving Interest Payments from the Government

We will begin by summarizing a previous response that explains why it is permitted to buy Israeli bonds...

The Basis for a Meal of Thanksgiving

One of the korbanot the Torah describes is a Korban Todah (sacrifice of thanksgiving). However, the Torah does...

Respectful Disposal of Bread

First, we should mention that if one plans carefully, there should be little unusable sizable pieces of bread...

Selling Property Used as a Shul

Without being presented with the details by the two sides, we must not and will not discuss “Choshen...

Removing Hair from Eyebrows

The gemara forbids a man to shave his pubic and underarm hair. If the shaving is done with...

How Much Water to Use for Netilat Yadayim

There is a huge difference between the basic halacha and the practical application in this matter, and it...

Cutting Down Fruit Trees for Recreational Purposes‎

The Torah forbids cutting down fruit trees, which is the strictest application of the concept not to be...

Irresponsible Halachic Responses?

The good point you make is one that we do indeed consider very seriously, both in the responses...

Therapeutic Disrespect Toward a Parent

We cannot address every pertinent factor or provide full guidelines, but we will use halachic sources and logic...

Celebrating a Girl’s Birth

Presumably, you are referring to the colloquial usage of the term “Kiddush” – a celebration involving food, which...