Hot answers tagged priorities
10
If appearing at the minyan without hat would disturb the other people (or their standard practice), then you have a question.
Otherwise (e.g. most people at shul don't wear hats), this should be straightforward; daven with the minyan. Shulchan Aruch says "one should strive very much [yishtadel me'od] to daven with a minyan." You won't find anything about ...
10
It's not either/or but "both, and".
Judaism has a system of rules, halacha, by which we are to live our lives. Halacha is not negotiable, so that might sound like "all or nothing". Instead, think of it as what you aspire to, even if it's not what you currently do, which is closer to "do what you can" (but not a free pass :-) ).
As Dan noted, there are ...
9
Traditional Judaism regards the oral law as the primary means of interpreting the written law - i.e. the Pentateuch and the rest of the Old Testament. The oral law is a combination of specific laws which the Tradition says were transmitted by God to Moses at Sinai and a code of various methods of exegesis by which to derive laws from the Bible.
This second ...
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Judaism is indeed a religion with a large number of rules, but it is certainly not "all or nothing." On one hand, the mitzvot are not considered to be simply guidelines. They are strict rules that every Jew should be careful to follow. So, in your example, Judaism says that you should not go to work on Shabbat. We have faith that we will be able to care ...
8
In the words of the esteemed sage Jerry Garcia:
Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.
I'd advise the individual to get out of the situation as best as he can. There's a similar legend has it regarding Ridbaz, who was a rabbi in Chicago in the early 1900s. He found himself "accidentally" locked into a freezer when ...
8
Quoting from נטעי גבריאל: הלכות והליכות בר מצוה והנחת תפילין,
פרק כו הלכה ב
נעשה בר מצוה בחנוכה רשאי להדליק נ"ח מבעו"י להנוהגים להדליק נ"ח תמיד לפני השקיעה, ונכון להדליק בבין השמשות
[One who] became a bar mitzva on Chanuka may light the candles during the day [if he is among] those who always light before sunset, but it is correct to light ...
8
Firstly, I don't know of anyone who requires a kippa as opposed to some other head covering. So if at work he could wear a beret, hard-hat, baseball cap, coonskin cap, deerstalker, you name it, by all means do that.
There's the issue of head coverings for praying; for making blessings; for eating; and then at all other times.
Much of yarmulka as we know ...
7
I work at a job in sales where I deal with contracts and large amounts of money. I am also one of the few people on the team who are Jewish.
My rav reasoned that due to the fact that some people are unhappy with the service we provide (and would immediately blame the fact that I was Jewish on their dissatisfaction) that wearing a kippah would cause a ...
6
From here (based on Maimonides Commentary on the Mishnah, Avot 3:15) :
The Chofetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisrael Meyer HaCohen Kagan, says that this explains how we should give Tzedakah, charity. He says it is better for an individual if he or she gives 100 individual dollars to 100 poor people, than all to one person. This way, one becomes accustomed to fight ...
6
Same answer as Gershon, just with more English:
"Mincha gedola" (earliest mincha) is 12:30PM assuming 6AM sunrise 6PM sunset. It's the earliest time for Mincha.
"Mincha ketana" is 3:30PM on a 6-to-6 day. Theoretically the ideal time to say mincha is mincha ketana or later; however, often schedules work out that it's better to get it in earlier, in which ...
6
This is the psak of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan in the third Biur Halacha on Siman 58.
Of course when davening alone, it is still advisable to go to a minyan later to hear all the dvarim shebekdusha that you missed, like kaddish, kedusha, barchu, and keriyat hatorah.
6
I asked this question just this week to HaRav Zundel Kroizer. I asked if I could fly to EY knowing I would miss minyanim and kadeshim during the flight, but improve my learning here. He said the zchus of learning was far greater.
6
First, Mazel tov on your new home!
A rabbi once told me that the order should be: outside doors, then bedrooms, then dining room, then living room, then kitchen. I don't have sources on this, but here's a list of all rooms that biblically require a mezuzah: http://www.mezuzadepot.com/tag/rooms-that-require-a-mezuzah/
Entrance into a house
Bedroom
...
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ואם לא מל, חייב כרת. הגה: ובכל יום עוברים בעונשין אלו.
And if he was not circumcised, he receives Karet (Spiritual Excision). Gloss: And he receives this punishment each day. (Shulchan Aruch YD 261:1)
CYLOM for a practical ruling, but it seems from the above that the milah should be scheduled as soon as possible to avoid excessive Karet.
(I'll ...
6
The Mishnah Brurah (549:1) explains that the main point of a fast is to do teshuvah, and not the fast itself: By Ninveh, concerning G-d undoing the decree to destroy them, it says "And G-d saw their actions," not "And G-d saw their fast." The fast is merely a preparation for the teshuvah. He continues, quoting the Chayei Adam, that those people who spend the ...
6
Rambam, Hil. Avodas Yom Hakippurim 1:3 (from Yoma 12a-b):
זה שנכנס תחתיו אינו צריך חינוך אלא עבודתו מחנכתו
"The one who replaces him doesn't need any inauguration; his performing the avodah [of Yom Kippur, which is reserved for the kohen gadol] inaugurates him."
So he doesn't need anointing at that time (and not after Yom Kippur either, because as ...
5
There is an advantage to praying Mincha Gedola (mincha between 6.5 halakhic hours into the day and 9.5) as "Zerizim Makdimim L'Mitzvos" (alacritous ones are early to fulfill commandments). There is also an advantage to praying Mincha Ktana (from 9.5 until the end time (10.75 or 12)), as mincha k'tana more accurately projects the time of the Korban Tamid Shel ...
5
R. Ephraim of Vilna writes (http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=1405&st=&pgnum=94, bottom of left column and on) that "apparently, it appears to say that sometimes we find that it is appropriate to turn over an individual, even to be killed, in order to avoid some damage to the public...to prevent any stumbling block or difficulty for the ...
5
Hayom Yom (compiled by the Lubavitcher Rebbe from talks by his Father in Law, the previous Rebbe) says:
When my grandmother, Rebbetzin Rivka, was eighteen (in 5611, 1851) she fell ill and the physician ordered her to eat immediately upon awakening. She, however, did not wish to eat before davening; so she davened very early, then ate breakfast. When her ...
5
Rivivos Efraim 6:24 mentions a question he was asked with the questioner giving a few reasons why Tefilin is removed first.
A: It is done practically in order that the Talis should be available first when you put it on the following day. By putting away the Tefilin first the Talis is at the top of the bag.
B: Since on Rosh Chodesh and Chol HaMoed we remove ...
5
Proper procedure? I don't think there is a preference. Hamotzi does not exempt wine ever (Shulchan Aruch OC 174:1) and if you drank wine before the bread it continues to exempt wine drunk after the bread (:4). Also, the after blessing on the bread exempts the wine, even if wine was only drunk before the bread, and certainly if it was drunk during the meal ...
5
Don't forget that Kohelet said "For there isn't a righteous person on earth who does only good and never sins". Do as much as you can and always strive to do better. If not being able to keep Shabbat properly upsets you enough, you will find another job that enables you to keep Shabbat, and so on for all the rest. I heard once "How can a Tzaddik sin?" - and ...
4
The gemara in the beginning of Sanhedrin discusses how a Judge cannot be afraid of anyone and must rule justly even if it means ruling against a powerful person who may harm him in revenge. If he is afraid, he can avoid taking the case, but once he takes the case, he must rule correctly without favoring anyone.
Similarly here, the mashgiach can avoid ...
4
The Lubavitcher Rebbe told a story about his father, the Rov of Dnepropetrovsk:
"The city in which my father was a Rov, was in southern Russia [Dnepropetrovsk, now Ukraine] which had many wheat fields, which supplied the whole Russia with grain. Since he was one of the bigger Rabbonim, the hechsher on baking matzos was always under his hechser.
When the ...
4
A kohein gets preference in:
"open first" - in Torah reading or any matter of honor.
"bless first"- he gets first grabs at a zimun (alt- to make hamotzi)
"to take a nice portion first"
On the last example the Ran in Nedarim (62b) as well as Rashi in Gittin explain the case as splitting equal portions with a yisrael, where the kohen's choice is more of a ...
4
Well, here are the pros and cons as I see them:
Iceberg lettuce: PROS: It's easy to find at any supermarket and cheap. As far as bugs go, take off the 3 outermost leaves, quarter it, rinse it, and you're done. No bug-checking required. (The bug-checking thing can be heard from Rabbi Genack here.) It's said that R' Yaakov Kaminetsky's usual Marror was ...
4
With respect to the actual question, one is permitted to lie to protect another person from harm, which would include embarrassment. See Bava Metzia (23b) third item, where one may lie to protect a person from being taken advantage of.
See also Sanhedrin (11a) another story where a lie was employed to save another from an uncomfortable situation. See Sukkah ...
4
[Effectively] everyone agree's all else being equal it is preferable to daven in loshon Hakodesh (see M.B. 101:13), the holy language. It also must be borne in mind that in other languages one must understand what is being said while in loshon hakodesh you have fulfilled your obligation even if you did not (M.B. 101:14)
The issue is that we are told that ...
4
I wrote a piece on another blog about 3 years ago, that I think is still valid as a general rule with regard to wearing a Kippah at job interviews or at work. And I still believe that if an employer won't tolerate your wearing a Kippah you may not want to work there, but everyone needs to make his own decision. However, in your particular case, it sounds ...
4
There are conflicting opinions in the
Rishonim as to which of these time
periods is the preferred choice for
davening Mincha. Some Poskim, Rabbeinu
Seadya Gaon, Rif, Ritva, Rosh, Tur,
prefer Mincha Gedola, while Rabbeinu
Chananel, Rambam, Archos Chaim, Meiri,
hold that Mincha Ketana is the
preferred time to daven. As there is
no decisive ...
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