Questions tagged [contemporary-halacha]
Questions regarding halachot specifically relevant to the current era.
184 questions
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Do any Poskim still respond with full teshuvos/responsa?
It seems like until recently, it wasn't very hard to get a comprehensive teshuva to a shaila one had. Sefarim like Igros Moshe, Shevet Haleivi, Minchas Yitzchak, Tzitz Eliezer etc. are compilations of ...
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Can one kill lice on Shabbat?
(Inspired by this comment by @Ari)
In [Shabbat 12a], a difference in opinions is brought regarding whether one may kill a louse on Shabbat. The discussion culminates in a debate between בית שמאי and ...
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What would be the punishment for a pedophilic act/statutory rape according to halacha?
Would it necessitate capital punishment, public humiliation like flogging, or something less severe? Sources please.
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Territorial Disputes in Halacha
If 2 countries are fighting over possession/ownership of land, and a person legally owns land in the disputed area according to one of the 2 countries, what would be the Halachic status of such land, ...
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Kol Isha with adjusted pitch/chipmunked
What is the Halacha regarding Kol Isha if the music piece in question is adjusted to either raise or lower the pitch?
For example, playing the same music piece a few octaves lower can make a woman ...
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Remote melacha: remoting into a place where it is Shabbat or Yom Tov [duplicate]
VR control of robots in other locations is a thing. In fact, there is a concept of actually working this way. This article* describes a robot that can be manually controlled to stack shelves, and ...
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Should one pay more than one fifth (20%) for goods or services from a fellow Jew?
On a recent shiur, a Rov mentioned that one is supposed to spend up to a fifth (20%) more on goods or services provided by a fellow Jew. So for example, if you're in a Jewish bookstore and they're ...
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Does Judaism acknowledge and accept the principle of absolute, personal bodily autonomy as a foundation behind a right to abortion?
Currently, in the United States, there is a very heated and emotional debate going on over the subject of the right of a woman to an abortion and the principle of abortion on demand.
This is a very ...
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Surrogacy and forbidden relationships [duplicate]
What is the law if a woman is a surrogate for her sibling's fertilized egg? I.e. a sister is implanted with the blastocysts of her brother and sister in law. According to the halacha, the child is ...
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Lashon Hara in the modern day, when it can be immediately proven by public information
If someone has done something that makes them look bad, and there is proof - something very easy in the modern day, such as a video, or a message they wrote on social media - what is the halacha of ...
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What is prohibited in Idolatry: Form or Symbol?
Do the prohibitions related to idolatry, that concern bnei noach, apply to symbol or form?
What I mean by symbol or form:
Symbol: status of a concept that is worshipped
Form: physical being actively ...
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How to "pasken" that AI translations are good enough to be valid translations
It seems likely that at some point soon, AI will be good at translating hebrew, yiddish, arabic and aramaic into every other language, extremely reliably.
Right now, I imagine that the general "...
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כשרות of fins and bones
רש"י in his second note to ויקרא 11:11 states that the fins and bones of a not כשר fish are permitted. Do any contemporary פוסקים rule like this today and, if so, does it mean that (for example) ...
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Where does the Torah prohibit the killing of non-Jews?
Please provide one Halachic or other source from the Torah that prohibits Jews killing gentiles. The Rambam doesn't say it. Sanhedrin 57a even says a Jew who kills a gentile is exempt. The posuk that ...
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Espresso on Shabbos... ☕ Will this method work? [duplicate]
I've come across some fully-manual espresso machines, such as Flair 58x*. Assuming one holds like Rav Moshe Feinstein where there is no bishul in a kli shlishi, and one prepared his pre-ground coffee ...
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Are reels forbidden during the Omer because of background music?
I know there are already various opinions on recorded music but I'm interested specifically in posts on social media, where music is used in the background for complimentary rather than festive ...
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Why did the Teshuvos Avnei Yashfei quote Rav Elyashiv anonymously?
Rav Yisrael Pesach Feinhandler, author of the Teshuvos Avnei Yashfei, often quotes the psak halacha of a "Gaon Echad" who was eventually revealed to be Rav Elyashiv.
Why didn't he write in ...
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Is a shomer needed for each tefila
For one who davens each tefilla at a different time every day, is it halacha l'maysa that one must set a Shomer to remind them to daven, or else once the earliest zman for each tefilla comes, it's ...
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Why do some frum Jews go to college, even though the Lubavitcher Rebbe writes that it's completely forbidden for all Jews forever? [closed]
B"H
This question is clearly NOT opinion based because it is only asking for any official published justification for college from any rav or rabbi in response to the very specific points ...
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Is it okay to read Torah books by non-frum authors?
Background
You're browsing your local library's Judaism section. There are various books on matters related to Judaism, Jewish law, and the Torah.
Some of these books are written by Jewish authors ...
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Example of a strict Conservative halacha ruling
I know Conservative halacha is generally more lenient than Orthodox halacha.
I wanted to know if there's any example of a Conservative halacha ruling which was stricter than the comparative Orthodox ...
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Practical Garuf?
I am writing an article about Garuf and Katum. According to Chazal, one can perform Garuf, which most Rishonim interpret as removing most of the coals from the fire before Shabbos. This practice was ...
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Is Remilk dairy or pareve in Halacha
According to Halacha, is the animal free Remilk from Israel considered dairy for the purpose of seperating meat and dairy? Or no, since the milk is not from a live animal is it considered pareve and ...
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Is there liability for late delivery
According to halacha, if somebody orders something and the company which delivers it promises it by a certain deadline, is there financial liability if they deliver past that deadline? Assuming of ...
- 4,532
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Do blenders need to be kashered
According to Halacha, do blenders previously used for non kosher foods need to be kashered, or merely washed? Furthermore, do they need to be kashered if one plans to use it for fleishig and then for ...
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Seperating gelatin and dairy
According to poskim who hold gelatin is only as kosher as the animal whose bones are used (with whom I don’t personally agree) does the same meat dairy separation Halacha apply?
Or is there leniency ...
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To what extent does halacha dictate the relationship between a male rabbi and a female congregant?
Which, if any, halachot of "Tzniut" apply to the relationship between a rabbi and a female congregant?
From what I understand, it is common for a husband to bring his wife's undergarments to ...
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Clarifying exactly the halacha of Maaser [duplicate]
In the past several months I've been deducting 10% of my income and setting it aside. I'm starting to feel confused about whether I'm doing it correctly. I have some accumulated money ready to give to ...
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Egg donation from a mamzer
According to Halacha, is it permissible for a Jewish woman who is a Mamzer to donate her eggs to help a non-Mamzer Jewish woman become fertile? Or no, because Mamzerim are prohibited from “entering ...
- 4,532
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If a Jew got testicular biopsy, can Jews marry him
Testicular biopsy is when men get a portion of their testes removed to be scientifically tested, often for reproductive reasons. The Torah prohibits Jews having marriage with eunuchs, men with injured ...
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Baal Teshuva to Semicha
I have a bit of a unique question. I am a Baal Teshuva who is currently working on Semicha Yoreh De'ah through Lemaan Yilmedu. (you can find the curriculum here if you wish).
I have spent the last few ...
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Antitrust in Halacha
In Halacha, is there a notion of antitrust in the sense of there being a problem with a business starting up in an area to compete against another business and buying up that business? Antitrust in ...
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Do Noahide mitzvot apply in outer space
From previous questions and answers I’ve seen on this site, there are some (albeit a minority) of halachic opinions that mitzvot don’t apply off of earth and so Jews can’t leave earth to remove their ...
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Gardener on Shabbos, Mar’is Ayin?
If my deal with my Gardener is that I pay him for the month and he comes once per week and he decides to come on Shabbos this week, do I have to make a Macha’ah and tell him not to do his work on ...
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Is a parent allowed to take items from children over bar/bat mitzvah age but under their jurisdiction
According to Halacha, is a parent allowed to confiscate property from their children if that child is over bar/bat mitzvah age but the age they would be under the parent’s jurisdiction? So is it ...
- 4,532
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Using depilatory cream during mourning
Inspired by this question I was curious if it is permissible to remove hair with depilatory cream when mourning.
The reason is that there is a biblical prohibition against shaving hair (Deuteronomy 14:...
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Is carried interest ribbit
In Halacha, is carried interest prohibited as ribbit?
For instance say Jew 1 owns an investment management fund, and Jew 2 goes to him, pays for the value of the profit from the stock trading and in ...
- 4,532
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Is there a problem with gender pay discrimination
Inspired by this question I am curious if there is any issue in Halacha or anything else with paying (Jewish) women less than (Jewish) men or vice versa? Since there is a mitzvah to do business with ...
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Genetic engineering an animal with a different kind of animal’s dna
Does halacha permit or prohibit a Jew to genetically engineer an animal with the DNA of another kind of animal, or is this considered “Kilayim” the forbidden mixing of two animal species?
Sources for ...
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Is there any ruling on consuming works made by atheists and heretics? [duplicate]
Is there any ruling on consuming works made by atheists and heretics? Of course, some are just outright blasphemous (works by the likes of Dawkins and Hitchens) and heretical (i.e. Spinoza). I'm ...
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Berachot over flavored vaping/e cigarettes
Does Halacha require making a beracha after flavored vaping? To my understanding, the consensus practice is there is none over smoking. But if a Jew vapes a flavored e cigarette, do they recite a ...
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Is it kosher to invest in cToken loans if it might lead to Jews paying interest?
Certain advancements in the cryptocurrency ecosystem are revolutionising financial mechanisms, which no longer fit the traditional paradigms we have been used to (let alone the Sages before us).
One ...
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Onaah with variations of an item
There is a Halachic prohibition of Onaah, overcharging the price of a commodity in a market above market price (Choshen Mishpat 227).
Halacha does permit setting a high pricing on new types of goods ...
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When do fruits and vegetables need Hechser for being bug free [duplicate]
When and which fruits and vegetables need a Hechser for being bug free (which is necessary in kashrut). Sources for the Halacha please
- 4,532
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Learning to pasken modern Halacha questions
If somebody is interested, either looking to become a posek, or just interested in Halacha methodology in general, what is the best thing for them to learn if they want to understand how contemporary ...
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Permissibility of digital art of celestial bodies
According to Halacha, for Jews, there is a prohibition of portraying Celestial bodies in art, even if not for idolatry. (Generally, for noahides there is some concern, but the rules for what might be ...
- 4,532
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Moving baby stroller on loose dirt on shabbat [duplicate]
According to Halacha, is there any issue with pushing a baby stroller over loose dirt on Shabbat? What if you don’t need the dirt and this is only going to happen anyway? Would this be any issue of ...
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Eye donations in Halacha
According to Halacha, is it permissible to perform eye donations or not?
I ask because, unlike many other organs, the eye isn’t generally a case of Pikuach Nefesh, but there are many things in life ...
- 4,532
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Manual clothes spinner on Shabbat
There is a Halachic prohibition on squeezing wet clothes to launder them on Shabbat, however, would a manual clothes spinner that spins clothes to dry them such as this be permissible? Does the ...
- 4,532
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Insurance as kiddushin Kessef
According to Halacha, could insurance paid for by a man be given to a woman to count as a “Kiddushin Kessef”? Does it count as a value that the man owns that could legitimately be used. The reason ...
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