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There are some times on this site where questioners will be directed to "ask their Rabbi." While it's always optimal to have such people discuss the question with their own Rabbi (and such action should be stressed), there are times when people either don't actually have a Rabbi [yikes], or are embarrassed to ask such questions to their own Rabbi.

What are some useful and reliable websites to get practical Rabbinic advice?

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Aren't you afraid of promoting seriously non-ideal methods of getting pesak? – Isaac Moses Jun 15 '11 at 19:04
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@Issac are websites like askmoses that bad? – yydl Jun 15 '11 at 19:05
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@yydl askmoses, in particular, actually does not provide pesak. They are careful to only answer in general terms. For those who do, isn't it seriously non-ideal to get pesak from a rabbi who doesn't know you, via one-message-each communication? I suppose embarrassing topics could be a worthwhile area for this, given the inherent issues associated with talking to a rabbi whom one knows, and that a possible entry for that could be yoatzot.org/ask.php – Isaac Moses Jun 15 '11 at 19:11
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Before we get carried away with resorting to innovative methods of eliciting p'sak I think the emphatic pronoun in the question deserves some elaboration. Although this whole discussion is based on the famous words of Y'hoshu'a ben P'rachya to "make yourself a teacher", my understanding is that we interpret this directive practically as allowing for (or preferring) making multiple decisors for oneself - to pertain to particular areas of expertise. . . – WAF Jun 15 '11 at 21:26
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. . .In selecting one's rav, one considers the degree of comfort one will have in asking for practical advice from that person. If that threshhold is reached for most questions, but not all, then it behooves the person to find a rav who is both expert and comfortable in the neglected area, without violating the aforementioned instruction. – WAF Jun 15 '11 at 21:31
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migrated from meta.judaism.stackexchange.com Jun 16 '11 at 17:45

11 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

For all sh'eilos, if one does not have a personal rav, or one's rav is not available, Star-K initiated the "Institute of Halacha", run by R' Mordechai Frankel of Baltimore and endorsed by R' Moshe Heinemann. Questions may be emailed or called in during certain hours. See here for email address and phone number.

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That's quite generous of them. – Isaac Moses Jun 16 '11 at 18:48
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the cRc also provides such a service: crcweb.org/answers_to_shaalos.php – Curiouser Jun 20 '11 at 18:20
@curiouser perhaps add that as its own answer – HodofHod Dec 26 '11 at 0:34
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For Yeshivas Rabbenu Yitzchak Elchanan (RIETS/YU) alumni and RCA members only there is a very reliable responsa service on http://rabbanan.org

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For those who want to ask in Russian, both halacha and hashkafa, as well as personal relationships:

  • www.toldot.ru - Toldot Yeshurun, a network of very knowledgeable Russian rabbanim, including R' Asher Kushnir and R' Reuven Kuklin. They also often bring in family psychologists to answer the questions as well. They guarantee your question will be addressed by someone.
  • www.evrey.com - R' Eliyahu Essas
  • 7:40 - R' Isroel Zelman, seems to me that all questions are answered as well, sometimes with a slight time delay.
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Thank you for these additions. Do you have personal experience with these sites? Do you read Russian? – Monica Cellio♦ Dec 27 '12 at 22:56
@MonicaCellio Yes, I have experience with the first two, and know R' Zelman personally, as well as some rabbeim from Toldot, as well as some talmidim of R' Essas... Russian is my mother tongue... – gt6989b Dec 28 '12 at 15:45
Great, thanks for the further information! – Monica Cellio♦ Dec 28 '12 at 21:25
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Halachipedia (Rabbi Yitzchok Levy (see comments section below)) - http://www.halachipedia.com/index.php?title=Ask_the_Rabbi

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Who's behind the website? – Shmuel Brin May 11 '12 at 21:49
Yitzchak "Ike" Sultan is the creator of Halachipedia. I'm not sure which rabbi is the rabbi asked. – Adam Mosheh May 11 '12 at 21:54
for the same expense, one can also ask here. – Shmuel Brin May 11 '12 at 21:55
Why can't one ask here? Mi.Yodeya is a great resource. – Adam Mosheh May 11 '12 at 22:01
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  • Rabimeir.com (you can go to the Shu"t section on the menu - but you have to ask in Hebrew) - HaGaon HaRav Meir Eliyahu Shelit"a

  • Doresh-tzion.co.il (you can go to shu"t behalacha section on the side menu - but you have to ask in Hebrew) this is the Q&A of HaGaon HaRav Bentzion Mutzafi Shlit"a (a Posek)

  • Kisse-r.co.il - Answered by staff members at the esteemed Kisse Rahamim Yeshiva in Bene Berak headed by HaGaon HaRav Meir Mazuz Shelti"a (a Posek); occasionally he will answer the questions.

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up vote 2 down vote

http://revach.net/ask/ but they don't always answer every question.

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up vote 8 down vote

The Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation has a number you can call with halachic questions relating to sh'mirat halashon, or proper speech. It's 718-951-3696, and it's available from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

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Hello G Moses, and welcome to Judaism.SE! Thanks for the topic-specific recommendation. – WAF Aug 16 '11 at 1:32
Is that eastern time? (I'm guessing, based on the area code.) – msh210♦ Aug 16 '11 at 4:23
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In Israel, there are a few resources. Eretz Hemdah is one in English and they refer difficult questions to senior poskim.

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Personally I've had trouble understanding the English in some of their replies in the past; maybe it's a lost-in-translation thing. – Shalom Aug 16 '11 at 1:43
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http://www.aish.com/atr/

http://www.dinonline.org/ask-the-rabbi/

http://www.chabad.org/asktherabbi/default_cdo/jewish/Ask-the-Rabbi.htm

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Din Online is from one of the best. They have an amazing group of Talmidei Chachamim there to help with all the shailos. – Yehoshua Dec 27 '12 at 20:17
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For Choshen Mishpat and ribis questions, I've had the Business Halacha Institute recommended to me. It has an ask-the-rabbi service (via e-mail or, I think, phone) it calls "Halacha Hotline".

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