NOTE: Like Wikipedia, this site makes no guarantee of validity, and does not offer professional (particularly rabbinic) advice. Treat information from this site like it came from a crowd of your friends. // Jewish law. Specifically, the legal process beginning with the written Torah and continuing ...
6
votes
1answer
138 views
Peer-to-Peer Lending Websites
There are websites (such as Prosper.com or LendingClub.com) which allow laypeople to lend money to borrowers with interest.
For example, a typical listing posted by a potential borrower is one in ...
6
votes
2answers
101 views
What is the reason for שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום?
What is the reason for שנים מקרא ואחד תרגום?
Why must it been done in that form of twice reading the verse and once reading the תרגום?
The Gemara in ברכות דף ח states that one who does שנים מקרא ...
14
votes
6answers
403 views
Dairy that you have to wait 6 hours after eating it
Which dairy is considered sharp and requires you to wait 6 hours afterwards, prior to eating meat?
2
votes
0answers
123 views
Is playing with Legos© permissible on Shabbat? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Lego on Shabbos
I have wondered this for a while. It would seem that it would be forbidden under creative building. Is there a difference regarding whether one tears ...
4
votes
6answers
131 views
Tzedakah Websites
If one is looking to give tzedakah without leaving her chair, which reliable Jewish organizations accept donations on their websites?
6
votes
3answers
141 views
Birchas HaTorah - everyone was awake all night
Suppose everyone in the Shul remained awake the whole night of Shavuos. What do you do regarding Birchas HaTorah?
13
votes
6answers
334 views
When do you become “Israeli” as far as the laws regarding doing only 1 day of Hag?
What are the laws that define when should someone do only one day of Yom Tov (Shavuot for example) or 2 days?
For example, how long do you have to stay in Israel? Are there other factors?
8
votes
2answers
171 views
Davening early Maariv first night of Shavuos
I have always heard that on the first night of Shavuos you should wait till Tzais HaKochavim for Maariv in order to have Temimos - 7 complete weeks of Sefira. Recently I heard that Harav Ovadia Yosef ...
5
votes
1answer
135 views
Twelve Months of Mourning During a Leap Year
For those who are mourning a parent for the requisite twelve-month aveilus, would Adar 1 and Adar 2 count as two separate months towards the twelve? Or does one year mean a full year, i.e., from ...
7
votes
2answers
256 views
Edim Zomemim - Why Not Believe Them?
There is a concept of Edim Zomemim (Wikipedia has it translated as "Collusive Witnesses") (עדים זוממים).
Basically, if two witnesses testify about someone, and then two other witnesses come and say ...
14
votes
1answer
890 views
Mixed swimming in a pool?
What are the issues with mixed swimming, from a tzniut point of view? Does it make a difference if the swimmers are or aren't Jewish? For example, are there issues with me swimming with my wife and a ...
3
votes
1answer
125 views
Why do people outside Eretz Yisroel keep 2 days Yom Tov for Shavuos? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Second day of Shavous
Shavuos is one Yom Tov that has nothing to do with the day of the month. It is 50 days after the first day of Pesach. Even in the times of making ...
8
votes
1answer
443 views
Male tzniut: Swimwear
Seeing as summer is coming, I thought I'd clear up a few questions about male tzniut with regards to swimwear. Namely, my real question is: what is required? I live in southern California, so outside ...
6
votes
1answer
130 views
Do you attach tzitzit on a borrowed garment? If so, do you later remove them?
I have a poncho that is a four-cornered outer garment with a neck hole. I'm a woman so I've never had to worry about tzitzit. The garment is unisex, not specifically feminine. If a man were to ...
8
votes
2answers
268 views
Bracha on frozen grape juice
For a cold dessert, I often like to freeze a cup of grape juice and then eat it with a spoon like an Italian ice. What is the appropriate bracha to say before and after eating this delicacy?
3
votes
2answers
107 views
Interrupting birkas hamazon
For what prayer responses (e.g. amen, baruch Hu uvaruch Sh'mo, y'he Sh'me...) may one interrupt his own recital of birkas hamazon?
12
votes
6answers
748 views
Why is Soy milk considered Parve and not Milchig/Halavi?
Considering that milk is forbidden with chicken (as stated in this answer), because chicken could be confused with meat, why isn't soy milk considered milchig as well?
In Israel, chicken is ...
9
votes
3answers
147 views
Is it possible to convert a Rosh of a Rabeynu Tam Tefillin into a rosh of a Rashi Tefillin?
If I find a Rabeynu Tamm tefillin and I do not have another one , can I take it appart , and I know how to , and change the ROSH from Rabeynu Tam to a Rashi tefillin ?
7
votes
1answer
274 views
When praying alone, can one say Ma'ariv/Arvit before shkia (sunset)?
I have heard in the past that one praying alone may not say Ma'ariv/Arvit until shkia/sunset but that one praying with a minyan can start Ma'ariv as early as Plag HaMincha. Could someone provide me a ...
3
votes
1answer
186 views
What purpose does the repetition of the Shemoneh Esrei (Amidah) serve?
Does the repetition serve to ensure that everyone present has fulfilled the mitzvah of tefila? If so, does saying "amen" to all of the blessings work in substitution of the silent Shemoneh Esrei, in a ...
2
votes
1answer
135 views
Davening whilst on a road-trip, what must I do?
If I'm driving long distance on a road-trip, (approx. 400 miles, leaving house at 3am, arriving at approximately 9am) am I required to stop the car, get out, and daven Shacharit at or before sunrise? ...
5
votes
1answer
74 views
Haircuts on Friday when the 47th of the omer falls on Sunday
The Rema, commenting on the mourning of the first 33 days of the omer, allows haircuts on Friday, lichvod shabbos, when the 33rd falls on Sunday.
Does the same reasoning apply when the 47th falls on ...
8
votes
3answers
166 views
Saying Tanach by Heart
מִזְמוֹרֵי תְהִלִּים וְכֵן שְׁאָר
פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת מִתּוֹרָה נְבִיאִים וּכְתוּבִים
שֶׁאֵינָם שְׁגוּרִים בְּפִי הַכֹּל, אָסוּר
לְאָמְרָם בְּעַל פֶּה. אֲפִלּוּ מִי שֶׁהוּא
יוֹדֵעַ לְאָמְרָם בְּעַל פֶּה, יֶשׁ לוֹ
לִזָּהֵר ...
9
votes
2answers
202 views
Saving Parking Spots
Reuven calls Shimon to ask if Shimon may stand inside a parking spot and reserve it until Reuven gets there in five minutes. While standing there, Levi pulls up and directs Shimon to vacate the spot ...
5
votes
1answer
147 views
Why can people write Torah sheBal Peh nowadays?
This is a follow up to: Why was Torah sheBal Peh not allowed to be Written?.
The Gemara in Temurah (14b) states that one may not write Torah sheBal Peh. It then states an exception that was made so ...
11
votes
7answers
311 views
Which parts of the prayer service must be said clearly out loud?
I've heard a few different opinions on this. During longer prayer services, such as Shacharit on Shabbat, at least in Nusach Sefard, Pesukei D'Zimrah is quite long and there is a tendency for the ...
5
votes
3answers
118 views
Milchigs (dairy) on Shavuos - when is the proper time?
When is the proper time to eat dairy on Shavuos? (night meal, day meal, prior to day meal, Shul Kiddush)
7
votes
2answers
196 views
Berachos over food mixtures
My breakfast regularly presents me with a beracha conundrum. It usually consists of a bowl of bran flakes (mezonos), often sprinkled with raisins (etz) and/or sunflower seeds (adama), and ...
18
votes
4answers
662 views
Can a Jew lose their Jewish Status?
Can a Jew lose their status as being a Jew by performing any action (example: performing idolatry, disavowing core beliefs, converting to another religion, etc)? Or once a person is a Jew then they ...
0
votes
0answers
101 views
Riddle: Paradoxical Permission to Partake [closed]
Reuven smells a certain food, and it makes his mouth water. "That food smells so delicious," he comments. "Such a pity it's prohibited to eat it!"
Reuven's Rabbi overhears his comment, and says, ...
6
votes
1answer
192 views
Tefillin On Shabbos
Why do we not put on Tefillin on Shabbos?
Why is one not allowed to put on Tefillin on Shabbos?
And similarly, why is Tefillin Muktzah?
4
votes
3answers
289 views
What practices are affected by a belief in demons?
Inspired by R' Slifkin's new monograph, Wrestling with Demons, and acknowledging the fact that the existence of sheidim and other things magical in nature is an age-old dispute, I am wondering about ...
6
votes
3answers
159 views
Orla: are the leaves of the plant included in the prohibition?
I have recently planted a grape vine. The nursery insists that it is at least 1 year old (and the size of the plant suggests no less than 2 years old). It was planted with it's roots entirely ...
5
votes
2answers
306 views
Is there a purchasable copy of the Shulchan Aruch in Hebrew and English?
I'm looking to buy an actual Shulchan Aruch, not a Kitzur. I already own the Artscroll Kitzur and, while it is an amazing work, doesn't help very much when I want to research the actual halacha, where ...
8
votes
1answer
262 views
What happened to the Jewish practice of using burial caves?
A three-part question about funerary practices.
In ancient times, Jews used to bury people for a year or two, then, after the body decomposed, collect their bones and put them in a family cave. In ...
4
votes
2answers
176 views
arachin: dependance on age and sex
Why is the erech (Vayikra 27:1–8) of a woman less than that of a man? And why does erech depend on age? Sources, please.
10
votes
3answers
542 views
Heter, esp. from R' Moshe, for shaving with a machine?
I have asked this question to many people without every getting an answer. Perhaps someone on this forum has some information.
All of the achronim that I have found, who address the issue in ...
11
votes
4answers
200 views
Pesach Sheni when Moshiach has just come
Suppose Moshiach arrives between Pesach and Pesach Sheni - would we bring a Korban Pesach on Pesach Sheni as we did not bring one for Pesach or was there no Chiyuv in the first place and we would not ...
1
vote
1answer
45 views
Mentioning the number of the Sefira prior to saying it
Tha Halacha (Orach Chaim 489) http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14165&st=&pgnum=189 is that if for example on the Twenty eighth day of Sefira, you say "today is the Twenty eighth day" ...
12
votes
11answers
784 views
Why is techeles not universally accepted?
The Machon Ptil Tekhelet has (to my mind) some pretty compelling arguments as to why the Murex Trunculus is very likely the genuine chilazon from which techeles (blue dye) for the mitzva of tzitzis is ...
8
votes
3answers
144 views
Mezuza on an elevator?
Today I walked into a building and discovered that someone had taped a mezuza onto the "doorpost" of the elevator. The elevator is about 1m x 1m square - way too small for a room to justify having a ...
16
votes
13answers
1k views
How to tactfully circumvent opposite-gender handshake
Say you're a man in a professional setting, and a woman who isn't used to dealing with observant Jews stretches out her hand to greet you -- but your practice is to avoid shaking hands even in ...
7
votes
3answers
1k views
Shaving on Friday when Lag Ba'omer falls out on a Sunday
This year (2011) Lag Ba'omer falls out on a Sunday. I've heard from a few people that the halacha is, that you can shave on the Friday beforehand l'kavod Shabbos. Are there any sources for that? Any ...
7
votes
3answers
492 views
Kashering pot from meat to dairy/parev?
I know I've learned somewhere that you can't kasher a meaty pot for use with dairy (except for Pesach), but I can't find a source for it now. Can anyone provide a source? (The sauce would be a light ...
12
votes
2answers
303 views
Orthodontics and period between eating fleischig and milchig
Since orthodontics often impose many artificial little crevices and wires and generally make one more susceptible to having bits of food stuck in the mouth for extended periods of time, is it ...
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?
8
votes
2answers
661 views
What is Maris Ayin?
What is the precise definition of Maris Ayin, and to what cases does it apply? (i.e. what are the parameters for applying it)
4
votes
1answer
180 views
Following 'the spirit of the law' vs 'the letter of the law'
My question has several parts, and I'd love to hear your thoughts for all parts:
What are the responsibilities of a Jew regarding the following of laws in general?
Is it permissable to follow the ...
18
votes
3answers
673 views
bicycle on Shabbat?
Is riding a bicycle on Shabbat permitted within an eiruv, being ridden only on pavement (so no unintended plowing), for transportation and not exercise, and with the understanding that repairs aren't ...
8
votes
3answers
171 views
What is an Eruv?
For the uninitiated, and for those who are unfamiliar with the advanced halachic concepts the knowledge of which is required in order to understand hilchot Eiruvin — how would you explain the ...
