Tagged Questions
11
votes
2answers
181 views
May a Jewish cemetery refuse a body?
Based on a recent news item wherein cemeteries have been refusing to inter the body of one of the (alleged) Boston bombers, found here I was curious if a Jewish cemetery's operators were allowed to ...
2
votes
0answers
68 views
Is a Jew able to go hunting?
What is the Halacha in regard to whether or not a person can go hunting? What have Poskim said on this issue?
5
votes
1answer
63 views
May one say kaddish for a non-Jew?
I have read that Jews recited kaddish on behalf of Abraham Lincoln after he was assassinated. What is the halachic basis for this and has kaddish ever been said en-masse on behalf of other non-Jews?
6
votes
1answer
64 views
Do cremated remains contaminate with tumas mes?
If a body is cremated, do the ashes transmit tumah as do other human remains, or does cremation render the body no longer tamei?
5
votes
1answer
53 views
How to handle cadavers
My fiance is going to university, working towards a degree in dentistry. For about a year, she will be required to handle cadavers in the classes. First of all, is this forbidden in Torah? Secondly, ...
2
votes
1answer
45 views
Resuscitation of Aged Nursing Home Patients
Recently, there was a story about an 87-year-old woman who suffered a heart attack in a nursing home. The nursing home called 911 and the dispatcher begged the nurse to do CPR on the patient until the ...
0
votes
0answers
30 views
brit-milah for dead infant [duplicate]
Recent tragedy in NY, young haredi couple killed in auto accident.
Wife pregnant with baby boy.
Doctors delivered the baby but, tragically, he also didn't survive.
Before burial, a brit milah was ...
2
votes
1answer
108 views
Postmortem organ donation in halacha
I know we generally accord respect to our dead, which includes not mangling their bodies. On the other hand, obviously saving lives is more important than, well, almost anything, including respect for ...
1
vote
1answer
55 views
Onain saying Kadish for parent's Yahrzheit
An Onain is not obligated to do Mitzvos Asei. An Onain does not Daven, nor make Brachos. Suppose a person is an Onain, and that day is his father's or mother's Yahrzheit, does he say Kaddish for them? ...
2
votes
0answers
55 views
Should I rend k'riyah if I witness the death of a non-relative? If so, what's the procedure?
In "Must EMTs and others rend Kriyah each time they see a patient die?", Chalutznahal cites Yoreh De'ah 40:5, which says that when I witness a fellow Jew die, I must rend my shirt out of sadness. And ...
8
votes
2answers
135 views
Does one make a blessing if preparing to die al kiddush Hashem?
If one is reasonably sure that he is about to die al kiddush Hashem does he make a blessing before fulfilling this mitzvah? What would the nusach (text) of this blessing be?
Note: I realize that even ...
1
vote
1answer
70 views
What are the halachos following a miscarriage? [closed]
I was told that if the miscarried fetus was a boy it is given a bris milah. Why is this so? What are the other halachos related to a miscarriage? Do we differentiate between a baby that dies within 30 ...
4
votes
2answers
139 views
Killing insects on Yom Tov
Is one allowed to kill an insect on Yom Tov that is "bothering" them (causing some sort of tzar)?
(I'm inclined to think, based on the Halachic concept of "m'toch", that since we are allowed to shecht ...
7
votes
2answers
122 views
Cryonics in Judaism
I was recently reading an article about cryogenics, there are around 200 bodies frozen in cryogenics labs around the world, and in the article they said that in the near future they may be able to ...
4
votes
1answer
88 views
Is “You Shall Choose Life” ever interpreted literally?
Inspired by Did people ever place actual physical stumbling blocks before the blind?
In Devarim 30:19, we are told by G-d to "choose life":
This day, I call upon the heaven and the earth as ...
6
votes
1answer
304 views
What are the halachot of suicide?
It used to be that a person who committed suicide was buried in a separate part of the cemetery and the relatives did not sit shiva (see Shulchan Aruch YD 345). We no longer do these things and we ...
7
votes
1answer
200 views
May a non-Jew have an abortion?
Are non-Jews permitted to have abortions? (Consider the gemara in Sanhedrin 57b where "a baraita brings in the name of Rabbi Yishmael that a Ben Noach gets capital punishment if he intentionally ...
3
votes
1answer
101 views
Learning near a dead body
May a person learn torah near a dead body? Does it matter if the corpse is Jewish or not? Please cite sources.
8
votes
2answers
270 views
Are Jews permitted to martyr themselves?
Are Jews permitted to martyr themselves? For example, if it is a question of converting or being killed, is the Jew permitted to sacrifice himself rather than convert?
Separately: which would be ...
9
votes
1answer
190 views
Is it a sin to escape the death penalty?
If someone is sentenced to death by a Jewish court and is being held prisoner until the sentence can be carried out, if he escapes, is that a sin for him?
11
votes
3answers
347 views
Is it better to kill 1 person or let 5 die?
I was recently reading about the Trolley Problem
A trolley is running out of control down a track. In its path are five people who have been tied to the track by a mad philosopher. Fortunately, ...
7
votes
1answer
140 views
Halakhic problem with indirectly effecting posthumous Mormon baptism?
Would there be any halakhic problem with using LDS resources to do family history research, if you knew it would result in deceased Jews being named in posthumous baptism rituals? Or is this ...
6
votes
1answer
286 views
How to Tear Kriyah
What is the proper procedure for tearing Kriyah (e.g. for Aveilus* or visiting the Kosel)?
* May we never have to do so
5
votes
1answer
88 views
Can Yizkor obligations be paid from Maaser money?
When a person goes to Shul to say Yizkor they obligate themselves to give Tzedaka in memory of the deceased. Can this obligation be paid from Maaser or does it have to be paid from the persons ...
11
votes
4answers
1k views
Can you be buried in a Jewish Cemetery if you have a tattoo?
Can you be buried in a Jewish Cemetery if you have a tattoo?
I.e., is it just urban legend that you can't?
4
votes
1answer
87 views
התראה by phone?
Can warning for a capital crime be accomplished by telephone?
Hello?
Are you aware that it is currently שבת where you are?
Yes. I am aware of the punishment and prepared to do it anyway.
Are ...
2
votes
1answer
252 views
is it OK to kill bugs? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Tzar Balay Chaim- Killing Flies?
if someone has pests like mice or bugs. is it OK to kill them? why?
3
votes
2answers
84 views
Can one person say Kaddish for two different deceased people?
Can one person say Kaddish for two different deceased people?
7
votes
2answers
178 views
History of Capital Punishment
When is the most recent documented occurrence in Jewish history of a beit din carrying out the death penalty? Or if historical documentation is lacking, when is the most recent time in Jewish history ...
7
votes
1answer
132 views
Kohen Gadol Yibum
Is it ever possible for a Kohen Gadol to perform the Mitzvah of Yibum. After all, every case of Yibum involves a widow which the Kohen Gadol is not allowed to marry?
4
votes
1answer
158 views
Kohen following a Mes into a tunnel
We know a Kohen can not be in the same ohel as a dead person. From what I learned, a moving vehicle does not block the tumah from coming into the car/van/plane etc. So, if one is traveling in a ...
2
votes
2answers
323 views
Tzar Balay Chaim- Killing Pests?
Are you allowed to kill flies and other pests (mice, mosquitoes, etc.) or would that go under the prohibition of Tzar Balay Chaim?
8
votes
2answers
131 views
Davening for someone to end a painful life
Are you allowed to daven for a person to die because he is in a lot of pain?
