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1
vote
2answers
139 views

Electronic sliding doors on shabbat

What can a person who is staying at a hotel which has only electronic sliding doors that open when one walks near them do to avoid any issue on shabbat? Wait for someone else to enter and ...
5
votes
1answer
41 views

Korbon tomid whilst Jews were travelling (as opposed to camping) in the desert

The benei kehos carried the miizbeiach whilst the Jews travelled. It would seem improbable that the mishkon was erected every day whilst they journeyed. What happened with the sacrifice of the Daily ...
0
votes
1answer
120 views

V'Sain Tal U'Matar for someone from Eretz Yisrael in Chutz L'Aretz (and vice versa)

In Eretz Yisrael we start saying V'Sain Tal U'Matar on the 7th of Cheshvan. If someone from Eretz Yisrael will be in America on the 7th of Cheshvan and will be flying back to Eretz Yisrael a few days ...
12
votes
2answers
322 views

Is it permitted to take extra food from a buffet?

If you're at a hotel and there is a buffet meal, and you can take as much as you want, is there any problem taking a few extra rolls or any of the food back to your room for later? I assume if I'm not ...
6
votes
2answers
144 views

Can we visit the Temple Mount?

I heard that even though the Temple Mount is under muslim authority, tourists are allowed in specific hours. My question is from a Torah perspective - since this place was for the Kohanim, are we ...
8
votes
8answers
403 views

Kosher accommodations in out-of-the-way US places

Are there any non-urban vacation areas in the United States with full-service kosher food available? I realize that the following are not hard to find: Kosher restaurants in some urban centers. A ...
3
votes
3answers
78 views

Why did the Torah list all the stops the Jews made in the Wilderness?

What is the significance of the stops that the Jews made in the desert, that the Torah had to name them?
3
votes
0answers
35 views

Making bedikas chometz early — ossur in malacha, eating, learning?

When someone leaves their home within 30 days of Pesach without someone to be bodek it from chometz, they themselves have to be bodek it early (See Siman 436.) In the normal case of bedikas chometz ...
5
votes
0answers
79 views

What is the significance of Eliyahu haNavi's travels prior to being taken up into heaven and Elisha haNavi's travels afterwards?

If I am reading and understanding the text correctly, in chapter 2 of II Melachim (2 Kings) Eliyahu (Elijah) and Elisha haNevi'im travel from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to across the Jordan. After ...
3
votes
2answers
90 views

What route did Bnei Yisrael take through the Midbar? Seeking sources

The question of which route the Israelites took from Egypt to the Holy Land has been asked for centuries and discussed by pseudo-historians and pop-sci documentarians in the History Channel age, and ...
5
votes
3answers
393 views

Horse back riding for women

Is it permissible for an Orthodox woman to do horseback riding in an ordinary saddle, or does she have to use a sidesaddle? Furthermore, would she be able to use women's trousers made for horseback ...
4
votes
6answers
218 views

Which Biblical and Talmudic personalities visited Heaven and returned to earth?

In the Haftorah to Parashas Yisro, Isaiah 6:1 - 7:6, we read of Isaiah's prophetic vision where he visited Heaven. What Biblical and Talmudic personalities are said to have visited heaven and ...
12
votes
4answers
656 views

Fast days and time zones

If I fly westward on a fast day, and travel through one/several time zone/s, thereby going back in (clock) time, must I then fast until it ends in my current time zone? What if I fly eastward, thereby ...
9
votes
3answers
347 views

Time dilation and waiting between meat and milk

Suppose Ploni eats some meat. He then gets in a spaceship and accelerates to some significant percentage of the speed of light for a short trip into outer space, and then returns home. At the time ...
3
votes
1answer
102 views

Is visiting Antarctica permitted for a Jew?

Antarctica can have very short days or very short nights. As discussed elsewhere on this site, finding the right time to pray can be difficult. Is it permissible to visit places like this?
4
votes
1answer
375 views

Is it permissible to use a Hotel's Drinking Glasses?

Is one allowed to use the glass cups provided by a hotel (usually in the bathroom) for drinking? Or is there a Kashrus problem?
4
votes
1answer
337 views

Being a houseguest in a non-frum or non-Jewish home

I'm Jewish, so I have to keep many laws in mind. Kashrut, tefillin, yichud, kol isha, and more. When staying as a houseguest in a non-frum or non-Jewish home, what are some of the issues I might ...
5
votes
1answer
151 views

Imagine a non-Jewish hostel has a male and a female dorm. Does yichud allow me to sleep in the male dorm?

I'm male. Imagine I arrive at a youth hostel where I'm the only Jew. There's a male-only dorm room; down the hallway, there's also a female-only dorm room. Assume that all the doors are unlocked. ...
3
votes
3answers
325 views

In what countries is chalav yisrael not required for milk?

The Talmud says milk is not kosher unless a Jew supervises the milking, to be sure it's just kosher-animal milk. Assuming one goes by the ruling of R' Moshe Feinstein and others that "knowing" is ...
3
votes
0answers
38 views

Best practices for long-distance Nihum Aveilim and Kavod HaMeith

What are some best practices for people who learn from afar of the passing of an individual (not immediate family) and who want show their respects to the deceased and the surviving family? If they ...
5
votes
1answer
60 views

Moving Sefer Torah with Tallis (source?)

Often times, when someone will move a Sefer Torah from one place to another, on top of what the Sefer Torah is already normally covered with, he will put an additional covering of a Tallis-Gadol. ...
9
votes
2answers
217 views

Shliach Mitzva money

Many people give their friends money to give to Tzedakah when they are traveling. The reason they do this is that it says "Shluchei Mitzva Ainom Nizakim". If someone is travelling to Eretz Yisroel ...
1
vote
1answer
54 views

Kabbalos Pnei Rabo

That which it says in the Gemorah (Rosh Hashana 16b) that one has a obligation of "kabbalos pnei rabo" (to go see ones rebbe) on holidays - when is the obligation? Is there an obligation every day, or ...
4
votes
1answer
108 views

Moving close to the Shul

How close to the shul would a Rabbi generally require congregants or a prospective convert to move (in kilometers please!)?
0
votes
2answers
111 views

Any reason not to put your tefilin inside your car's spare tire when driving?

For cars that store their spare tire in a well inside the trunk, that seems like a good place to put my tefilin while driving -- it takes up no extra space (if they fit in the middle of the tire), ...
3
votes
1answer
245 views

In a non-Jewish youth hostel, is it problematic to stay in a mixed-gender dorm instead of a male-only one?

I'm male. Say I stay in a non-Jewish youth hostel dorm room which is mixed-gender instead of male-only. Might I encounter yichud problems? Might I encounter any other halachic problems? What's your ...
10
votes
1answer
290 views

What halachot does an American traveling to Israel have to be made aware of?

I'm planning to go to Israel for the first time, b"h, in just over a month. I'll be going on an organized trip and then I hope to stay until after tisha b'av. What halchot do I need to know about? (I ...
17
votes
2answers
580 views

Riding the Subway on Shabbat

Assuming that there are no problems regarding paying for it (either you entered the system before Shabbat, or a non-Jew paid for you): What are the halakhic issue with riding the subway on Shabbat? ...
14
votes
1answer
260 views

The new TSA airport scanners and tznius

Is it OK as per Halacha to go through the new TSA scanners where they see you as if you are naked?
4
votes
3answers
231 views

Davening on an airplane

Often times on flights to/from Eretz Yisroel there are people who put together a Minyan at the back of the plane. I for one always Daven at my seat as I feel it can easily come to a Chillul Hashem. Is ...
3
votes
1answer
59 views

UvLechtecha VaDerech? With Kavanah?

How can one maintain Kavanah reciting Keriath Shema' while walking along the way? Or is the requirement waived in this case?
11
votes
5answers
420 views

Halakhic International Date Line issues

According to halakha, where is the international date line? More specifically, I have heard that some people say you should observe Shabbat on Sunday in Japan & New Zealand and/or on Friday in ...
7
votes
2answers
388 views

Why do we give tzedakah money to someone to pass along in Israel?

Reuven is planning a trip to Israel. Shimon, knowing this, gives Reuven money for tzedakah with the expectation that Reuven will distribute it when he gets to Israel. Reuven and Shimon both ...
6
votes
1answer
79 views

Why don't we say Hagomel after driving through a desert?

The Gemara says that four have to say Hagomel: One who went overseas One who went into a desert. One who was [deathly] ill. One who was in prison [on a capital crime]. Everyone (to the best of my ...
13
votes
2answers
170 views

When to say Tefillas Haderech on an airplane?

When is the proper time to recite Tefillas Haderech when travelling in an airplane?
3
votes
1answer
36 views

Is a metzorah oleh l'regel?

A metzorah has to sit outside the city (Mishna Keilim 1:7). Does this mean that he is exempt from the commandment to be oleh l'regel in yerushalayim?
1
vote
1answer
76 views

Signposts Ahead

Why do we go out of our way to put up roadsigns for unintentional murderers (Makkos 10a) while we do not for people going to Yerushalayim for Yomim Tovim (which is a Mitzva)?
5
votes
2answers
163 views

Return to Egypt: Allowed?

There is an injunction on returning to Egypt. Why was it and is it ignored? For example, how is it that the Rambam an even Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef lived there?
6
votes
1answer
168 views

Vacation and travel during the 'Omer

Not including issues related to the International Dateline and the Halachic Dateline, are there issues of concern when traveling, especially when traveling for pleasure/vacation, during Sefirath ...
2
votes
1answer
137 views

Searching for Chumatz before Passavor

If someone is going to be away for Passover, how many days before Passover can one search his home for Chumatz?
9
votes
3answers
174 views

Uman for Rosh Hashanah?

Why do people leave Eretz Yisroel to go to Uman for Rosh Hashanah? (It seems to me like leaving America for July Fourth.) In general what is the reason people go: is it Just a festival in the ...
9
votes
3answers
169 views

Can someone who lives in Israel visit Eilat?

Can someone who lives in "Halachic" Eretz Israel visit a part of Israel that is not part of its Halachic borders? For example, IIRC, people in Eilat keep two days of Yom Tov. Does that mean that a ...
6
votes
2answers
192 views

Is there anywhere in the world I can still get a hot chocolate without a hechsher?

~150 years ago in Eastern Europe, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch wrote that you could usually go buy a coffee, tea, or hot chocolate without having to worry about its kosher ingredients (or bishul akum). ...
5
votes
1answer
132 views

Travel on same plane as body to Israel?

After a recent death here in South Africa it arose in conversation that there is a problem for mourners to fly on the same plane as the body to its burial in Israel. Aside from Kehuna issues (which ...
13
votes
3answers
383 views

Am I allowed to fly from Australia on Motzei Shabbos?

If I take off from Melbourne on Motzei Shabbos, I will hit the Date-Line, loose a day, and end up flying on Shabbos for a short period of time until the sun catches up again. Am I allowed to do this? ...
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? ...
6
votes
1answer
265 views

How do I do the car-door-sukkah trick?

I know in theory, people on the road don't need to eat in a sukkah; at the same time, you're not supposed to go put yourself in that situation on purpose. ("Let's go take a chol hamoed trip -- oops ...
5
votes
4answers
74 views

Chanuka Candle Location

My whole family will be staying at a hotel over shabbos and the hotel management says that we are not allowed to light fires in our rooms. Nobody will be in our home. How can we fulfill the mitzvah ...
4
votes
1answer
101 views

What to do when visiting Kivrei Tzaddikim?

When visiting Kevarim of Tzaddikim, when are proper procedures to follow? I would hope an answer would cover: What and how to daven If there's any specific Tehillim to say If one should (or must) ...
3
votes
1answer
87 views

Halachos Related to Visiting the Kosel

When one is visiting the western wall, what are some specific halachos that he/she should be cognizant of? By "specific halachos" I mean halachos that only apply to the Kosel -- and not anywhere ...

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