Questions about Jewish customs and traditions.
6
votes
1answer
159 views
Is there a custom to color eggs on Lag Baomer?
I heard from an old Lithuanian/Polish Jew (frum from Lithuania/Poland). He says that he had a custom to eat colored eggs in his shtetl, and everyone did it.
Is this custom documented anywhere, and ...
6
votes
2answers
244 views
Why Do Converts Change Their Names?
Rabbi Avigdor Miller said that it used to be that gerim (converts) and baalei teshuvah (repentants) who had been given non-Jewish names did not change their names when they became part of the Jewish ...
6
votes
1answer
163 views
Washing Kohen's Hands
Following kedusha during mussaf on a day when there is birchas kohanim (duchening), the Leviyim and Kohanim assemble at the sink and a Levi washes each Kohen's hands.
What procedure of hand-washing ...
6
votes
3answers
276 views
No Dairy on Pesach
Someone told me that there is a Minhag (by some) not to eat dairy the entire Pesach. I was wondering what the reason is?
6
votes
1answer
90 views
Explanation for couple not seeing each other before the wedding?
What is the source and reason for a couple not to see one another before the wedding?
6
votes
2answers
108 views
Pirkei Avos on shabbos during mincha?
It seems clear from the Rama, MB, and other sources (as well as from most printed siddurim) that Pirkei Avos is said in the synagogue at Shabbos Mincha as part of the tefillah in the summer months, ...
6
votes
2answers
162 views
How historically accurate is Josephus?
How accurate is the writing of Josephus? Can we rely on any of his writings to establish authentic Jewish practices or in areas of halacha?
6
votes
3answers
139 views
Bedikas Chometz - why use a wooden spoon?
The common custom that I am aware of is that a Bedikas Chometz set has a wooden spoon. Why do we use a wood spoon by Bedikas Chometz?
6
votes
2answers
140 views
Rubbing the Havdalah wine
Is there any source for the practice of not only dipping one's fingers into the Havdalah wine that was used to extinguish the fire and rubbing the eyes with it, but also spreading it around onto other ...
6
votes
1answer
88 views
Stops in the Sidrah Leyning - Rishon, Sheni etc
Who instituted Rishon, Sheni, Shelishi etc in the leyning of the Sidrah?
When was this done?
What are the principles which were applied to determine where the stop should be?
One would have thought ...
6
votes
1answer
124 views
Yemenite shofar not from sheep
I've heard that Yemenite Jews follow the Rambam for halacha generally, and Wikipedia concurs.
The Rambam writes that one must use a sheep's horn as the shofar on Rosh Hashana. Shulchan Aruch is less ...
6
votes
1answer
79 views
Shalom Aleichem in Kiddush Levana to an Aveil
We do not say Shalom Aleichem to a Aveil. What about saying Shalom Aleichem to an Aveil (after the Shiva, during the year of Aveilus) during Kiddush Levana - do you or do you not? (sources please)
6
votes
1answer
90 views
Why Start Pirkei Avos With Kol Yisroel?
Why do we start off saying Pirkei Avos by first saying the Mishna from Sanhedrin "Kol Yisroel"?
6
votes
1answer
213 views
When is a Minhag no longer a Minhag?
It can be all too easy for people to underestimate the halachic significance of minhagim (traditions/customs). While there are, as I understand it, a variety of halachic issues/differences of ...
6
votes
2answers
245 views
Can you turn your back to the Aron HaKodesh?
I'm quite certain that it is mentioned in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch that one should not turn one's back to the Aron HaKodesh (ark which holds the Torah Scrolls).
Can anyone tell me where this is ...
6
votes
1answer
203 views
Walking around the house after shiva
I'd heard something about how some people, when getting up after the week of "sitting shiva" (mourning), take a walk around the outside of their house before going back to "normal" life. Has anyone ...
6
votes
2answers
138 views
“Tzon k'doshim!” ―“Baa!”: source/provenance
In some synagogues, on Simchas Tora, someone will shout "Tzon k'doshim!", meaning "holy sheep/goats", or "Tzon kadashim!", meaning "sheep/goats of sacrificial-offering sanctity". He's replied to with ...
6
votes
1answer
95 views
When is “vesain tal umotor” said in Australia?
When is "vesain tal umotor" said in the Southern Hemisphere eg Australia?
6
votes
2answers
155 views
wording of the invitation to birkas hamazon
I know some Ashk'nazim say rabosay n'varech, some rabosay mir velen bentschen, and some hertzi rabosay mir velen bentschen. (Any other forms?) Is there any particular reason given for one or another?
6
votes
1answer
107 views
Where does the custom to spill of from a drink come from?
I had a lubavitcher classmate in high school who used to spill off from his cup whenever he would drink anything. He claimed it was a minhag.
What is the reason/source for this practice?
6
votes
1answer
150 views
Is there a source for not buying things for a baby before it is born?
Is there any source for the custom to not buy things for a baby before it is born? I have heard that the reason is due to averting ayin hara, but I would like to know if there is any recorded source ...
6
votes
1answer
478 views
Different traditions in Hebrew pronunciation
The theme of Hebrew pronunciation is one that facinates me and, as such, I want to get some feedback on some issues I've been thinking about for years. I have already discussed some of these issues ...
6
votes
2answers
298 views
A Convert taking on customs of ashkanazim or sephardim
When someone converts is there any determining factor on what minhagim (customs) they will take upon themselves in terms of Ashkanazim or Sephardim? Should it be dependent on the Beis Din they ...
6
votes
1answer
115 views
Dropping a phone siddur or chumash
If you have a siddur or chumash on your phone and you drop it, do you kiss it if...
the siddur is not open
the siddur is open, but shem hashem is not showing
the siddur is open and shem Hashem is ...
6
votes
1answer
63 views
To sing or not to sing - Piyutim on Shabbath
Some Piyutim recited on Shabbath are widely (in the Ashkenazi world) sung by the congregation (usually in unison, but in some rare instances in the Ashkenazi world they are sung responsively). Among ...
6
votes
2answers
226 views
Why do some women light additional shabbat candles for the past weeks they didn't light?
Some women have the custom to light an additional shabbat candle for every week which, for whatever reason, they did not have a chance to light shabbat candles in the past. For example, if a woman ...
6
votes
1answer
80 views
All these verses to say before havdala
Before saying the blessings relevant to havdala on motzei shabbos, we (Ashkenazim) include a bunch of p'sukim:
"הִנֵּה אֵל יְשׁוּעָתִי אֶבְטַח וְלֹא אֶפְחָד כִּי עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ יְהוָה וַיְהִי ...
6
votes
1answer
125 views
Why a formulaic greeting on ליל ראש השנה?
On Rosh Hashana night, it is customary to greet one another with "לשנה טובה תכתב (ותחתם)" (Rama 582:9, MB). People (in my experience) and machzorim (Rosh Hashana prayer books) treat this as ...
6
votes
1answer
157 views
how to call up a kohen/levi as acharon
Shulachan Aruch (OC 135:10) holds, and Rama (there) seems to also hold, that if a kohen (or levi, m.m.) is called as acharon then the gabai should say "af al pi shehu kohen". The purpose of this is to ...
6
votes
1answer
147 views
Hand movements when lighting shabbat candles
When women light shabbat candles I often see them making hand gestures. These look like two or perhaps three circles around in the air. What is the source for this practice? Is it a law or custom? Is ...
6
votes
1answer
49 views
Hatoras Nedarim for wife taking her husband's Minhagim
According to Minchas Yaakov 112:2 and Darchei Teshuva 112:94, one who is always careful with Pas Yisrael and now wants to start eating Pas Paltar would have to be Matir Neder. Suppose a girl who was ...
6
votes
1answer
116 views
Origin of the nine days
I just learned a gemara (taanit 30a) that seems to pretty clearly state that the mourning for tisha b'av starts the beginning of the week that tisha b'av falls out on, and ends with tisha b'av itself.
...
6
votes
0answers
88 views
Father being Matir Neder for himself: does it affect the family?
If a father is Matir Neder on a minhag (gebroktz, let's say) for himself for a valid reason, does that include his whole family? Are they now also permitted to eat gebroktz because that is now the ...
6
votes
0answers
79 views
Do some communities still allow more mingling between the sexes on Tu B'Av?
Do some communities still allow more mingling between the sexes on Tu B'Av? I understand that this used to be a custom, in addition to allowance of a more relaxed approach to women's tznius on that ...
6
votes
2answers
180 views
Wearing Gold On Yom HaKippurim
Besides for the minhag that one should not wear jewelry on Yom HaKipurim because of the "fear of the judgment" there is also the minhag to not wear gold (even as a decoration on a tallis or kittel) ...
6
votes
1answer
111 views
Can you sing during the sheva brachos?
I have been to weddings where, during the recitation of the seventh bracha under the chuppah, the congregation sings "asher bara...". Sometimes it is along with the one reciting the bracha and other ...
5
votes
12answers
385 views
What is the most widespread Israeli Minhag?
What is the single most widely practiced minhag among Jews in Israel today? By "widely practiced" I mean practiced by the most people.
5
votes
6answers
286 views
fish before meat - why?
To the best of my knowledge eating fish after meat has the same Halacha as eating meat after fish. You are supposed to eat a cracker and take a drink to seperate between them. Why is it most common ...
5
votes
3answers
322 views
Hair dyeing for women
What are the halachic issues involved in hair dyeing for women? Most importantly, does hair dye constitute a chatzitza for mikvah?
Also: are there any communities that forbid hair dyeing altogether? ...
5
votes
6answers
142 views
Apple on Rosh HaShanah
There is a custom of eating an apple dipped in honey on first night of Rosh HaShanah (among the other foods) as a sign that we should have a sweet year. Why is this done specifically with an apple and ...
5
votes
2answers
255 views
Why is it customary for Jews to grow beards?
What is the reason for growing one's beard? Many rabbis have beards. Why?
5
votes
4answers
690 views
Wearing a Kittel at the Seder
I grew up with my father wearing a Kittel at the Seder. My father wore a Kittel at the Seder immediately from when he got married. Over the years I have heard that some people do not wear a Kittel the ...
5
votes
3answers
305 views
Source of Burning Lulav with Chometz
What is the source of the custom to keep the Lulav untill Erev Pesach and burn it with the Chometz?
5
votes
3answers
118 views
Megilas Esther by day - why is it done after Kriyas HaTorah?
We read Koheles on Succos, Shir HaShirim on Pesach, and Rus on Shavuos, and we always read it prior to Kriyas HaTorah. Then why do we read Megilas Esther on Purim day after Kriyas HaTorah?
5
votes
2answers
106 views
How/why does kaparot work?
The ritual of kaparot [lit. atonement], which is usually done just prior to Yom Kippur (usually the day before), where one waves a chicken or an [unspecified] amount of money over one's head in a ...
5
votes
3answers
171 views
Have not gone to parents grave in seven years
A friend recently mentioned that she has not gone to her parents grave in over ten years due to its distance and when she wanted to go she was told by a Rabbi that if she has not been there for over ...
5
votes
3answers
246 views
5
votes
4answers
352 views
Kiddush cup handoff
Why do some Jews (Sephardic, Hasidic, et al.) place the kiddush cup into the hands of another?
5
votes
2answers
126 views
Yemenite Sefira
What is the source for the custom that Yemenite Jews people count Sefira in Aramaic? and why do they do it?
5
votes
4answers
141 views
Why do we stand when we do toward the end of Tachanun?
In the Tachanun prayer, it's traditional to sit for most of the core of Tachanun, but then to stand three words into the last paragraph, between "Va-anachnu lo neida'" and "ma na'aseh" ("And we won't ...
