Questions tagged [halacha]
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 through the Mishna, Talmud, and the legal codes (e.g., Rambam, Tur, Shulchan Aruch).
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Beracha achrona on yogurt?
Do you make a boreh nefashot on yogurt according to sepharadim? Is it treated like a liquid, like ice cream, or as a solid? This is in relations to the time needed to eat it. If it's liquid, you ...
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Resolving a dispute where the customer denies that the product is theirs
If someone left something at the dry-cleaners', for example, and later returned to pick it up, but it seems to not be the same item that they left, what does halacha say about resolving it?
Both the ...
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What to do with discarded shemittah produce of co-workers
I currently work in an environment where colleagues (irreligious and/or not Jewish) are consuming produce that has shemittah sanctity. They often throw their left over food directly in the bin with ...
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Can an unknown Reform Jew be counted for a minyan?
Orthodox Judaism treats someone as a Jew if their mother is Jewish, or they underwent an Orthodox conversion. Reform Judaism will count someone as Jewish even if their only connection is through their ...
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Holidays south of the equator
When Jews first started establishing communities south of the equator, they must have noticed that the holidays fell completely at the wrong times of the year. (For example, Pesach, referred to as hag ...
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Is there any halachic problem with providing a service (e.g., matchmaking) to someone for free, when others pay for it?
I recently got an interesting email from a shadchan (matchmaker), which I've paraphrased here:
I have a potential match in mind for you. However, it is a halachic problem if I set you up with this ...
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Can a Jewish owned business sponsor (or own) a non-Jewish football team?
In recent years, big businesses (including the airlines Emirates, Etihad and Qatar) and wealthy people (including Sheik Mansour) from UAE and Qatar have been sponsoring or purchasing some of the ...
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Havdalah: mistake in the bracha
If a person saying havdalah began the last bracha (benediction) without mentioning sheim umalchus (God's name and dominion) i.e. he said ברוך אתה השם המבדיל בין קודש לחול וכו׳, skipping אלוקינו מלך ...
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A rebellious spouse in Beis Din today
The Rambam describes how to handle a case where a couple is divorcing and one spouse claims the other is rebellious (refusing marital relations) and the other is insisting that this is not the case (...
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Listening to music during the 3 weeks?
There are many types of music which some authorities permit listening to during the Omer:
Rav Shlomo Zalman allows classical music and chazannus. (Halichas Shlomo)
The Chelkas Yakov allows recorded ...
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Is Mi Yodeya allowed to tweet on Shabbos?
I recently signed up for @StackJudaism tweets, just to see what's going on here when not logged in. These tweets are automatically sent out by the Stack Exchange, which is done for every SE site.
...
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Cutting nails before Yom Tov
BSD
I know that it says in Shulchan Aruch one shouldn't cut one's nails on Thursday (really two days before Shabbat) in deference to the Shabbos.
Does this apply to Yom Tov as well? Meaning, should ...
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Are there communities that follow the Rambam?
At one point, many Sefardic communities followed the Mishneh Torah. As time went on, it seems that the sefardim accepted the Beit Yosef.
Besides for Yemenites, were there any communities that, until ...
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What is the stance on reading and writing non-Jewish literature?
So, I'm guessing that secular study books (e.g. Biology, Math, etc) are fine and I've heard that reading something like Fantasy is not. What genres of literature are allowed and not allowed to be read ...
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Heter to decorate the shul in a humorous way in Adar?
I am bias here, I was raised to treat a beit k'neset (shul) with utmost respect; not to use the sanctuary as a shortcut, avoid mundane discussions there etc. I now live in a community which festively ...
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makhloket poskim and hatarat nedarim
Recently, the OU decided to certify quinoa for Pesach. Formerly, the OU held by the view of Rav Yisroel Belsky that quinoa is kitniyot, or at least that Rav Belsky's view created sufficient doubt to ...
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Are gold (or silver) jewelry charms considered avodah zarah?
Many years ago, I started to buy small gold charms specifically with Jewish symbols for my mother who added them to a necklace, much like gold charm bracelets circa 50 years ago. Among them were tiny ...
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What does "p'ruath rosh" actually mean?
It says in the halakha that a married woman may not go out into the public market place with "p'ruath rosh."
I have heard that this means "with uncovered head," but this does not seem to match up ...
user3342
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responsibility for passing on a virus (medical)
Would one be obligated to pay any of the five types of damages paid upon wounding someone, if they were to infect that someone with a viral/bacterial disease, whether through:
Peshia (negligence)?
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Should you refrain from putting ash on your forehead if your wedding coincides with Ash Wednesday?
Some brides/grooms have a custom to put ash on the forehead at their wedding as a remembrance for the destruction of the temple. Is there any halachic discussion about avoiding this practice if the ...
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Bracha change on Tevilas Keilim
Yoreh Deah 120:3 one who Toivels a vessel should make the Bracha "Al Tevilas Keli". However if one Toivels two or more vessels they should make the Bracha "Al Tevilas Keilim". Aruch HaShulchan Yoreh ...
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Listening to Recorded Music *Privately* During the 3 Weeks
Do any of the poskim who rule that recorded music is assur during Sefirah/3 weeks distinguish between listening to recorded music in a public setting and listening to recorded music by oneself in ...
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Is a renter allowed to withhold rent if the landlord does not fulfill his duties?
If a landlord drags his feet on fixing things in his property, is the renter allowed to withhold rent until he does so? Alternatively, may the renter bring someone to fix it himself and pay from the ...
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Would adding buttons and button holes to a tallis gadol disqualify it?
I've seen fitted tallisim katanim with buttons connected the front and back for smooth wear. Could you also add buttons and button holes to a tallis gadol to hellp it stay on? Or would that ...
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Can "Three D'Rabbanans be 'motzei' "Two D'Rabbanans"
We know that when there is a case of someone that is obligated to perform a mitzvah m'drabbanan (and in fact there are 2 d'rabbanans together) they can't be "motzei" someone in the mitzvah who only ...
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Opened "please-take!" food items in a non-Jewish workplace
Is it alright to consume unsupervised food items at work that are open and available to anyone, assuming the items were initially known to be Kosher1 and there's no evidence of tampering?
Items that ...
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Do other Chasidic communities follow Shulchan Aruch HaRav?
The Maggid of Mezeritch told the Baal HaTanya to put together a Shulchan Aruch for Chasidim. The result is the Shulchan Aruch HaRav, which is used as a final authority for halacha in Chabad ...
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What if the Gabbai Tzedakah runs away?
Suppose a Gabbai Tzedakah passes our good friend Reuven while making his collection rounds. Reuven reaches into his pocket for his wallet and removes the money he wants to donate. By the time Reuven ...
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Cryptocurrency and Ribbis - Celsius Network
With the rising popularity of DeFi (Decentralized Finance) and cryptocurrencies I am wondering about the interest bearing wallets such as Celsius that will give returns for holding or staking coins.
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Permissible to light one Yom Tov candle from another?
In a two-day Yom Tov in the diaspora, is it permissible to light two Yom Tov candles on Yom Tov Rishon, one of which is a 24-hour candle, and then, on Yom Tov Sheini, to light two Yom Tov candles for ...
user18976
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May someone cordon of an area of a public place for his own use and not let others come within that area
May someone cordon of an area of a public place for his own use and not let others come within that area.
1- May one make a show performance etc. in a public place and only allow people who pay to ...
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Substitutes for "Today" in the omer count
Shulchan Aruch, OC 489:4 (in my own translation):
Someone whose friend asks him during twilight "How many days of the [omer] count tonight?" should tell him "Yesterday was such-and-such". For if he ...
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Electronic dance music (EDM)
I have two questions.
1. Is it permitted for a Jew to produce electronic dance music (no lyrics), which is usually played at clubs etc. where women and men will dance together (no gender separation ...
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Can one declare an area to be "not a shul" if it is in the same room as a shul?
Recently, my congregation moved into a temporary space while a new building is under construction. This space is essentially a single large room into which all the various elements of the old building ...
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Is it permitted for Jewish lawyers to defend those they believe to be guilty?
I am in (secular) law school and am exploring my professional options. One of those options is to become a criminal defence attorney.
In my country of residence, attorneys qualified in a specific ...
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Do you have to listen to the mikveh lady?
From what I understand when a woman goes to the mikvah there is another woman who watches her immerse (dubbed 'mikveh lady'). Apparently this is for practical reasons to make sure everything is done ...
user2110
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Practical עשה דוחה לא תעשה
There are a few examples frequently offered for the rule "עשה דוחה לא תעשה":
Someone whose garment has four corners and linen can nonetheless put wool tzitzis on it. This is unlikely nowadays, when ...
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If one gives a food gift on Shabbos, does the one who receives it need to use it on Shabbos?
The Halacha is that one may give a food gift to another on Shabbos. (See Dose of Halacha for more details).
If I give a bottle of wine, do they need to open it on Shabbos, or can they choose to keep ...
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Is "You Shall Choose Life" ever interpreted literally?
Inspired by Did people ever place actual physical stumbling blocks before the blind?
In Devarim 30:19, we are told by G-d to "choose life":
This day, I call upon the heaven and the earth as ...
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Gentiles praying in Hebrew
Can a gentile pray in hebrew, and recite the Psalms?
I am a Noahide (Chassidic Gentile) who is interested in going through the conversion process to Reform Judaism. Is it okay for me to pray the ...
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Chalitzah where Yibum is forbidden
The Tur, Even Haezer 169 (Hilchos Chalitzah), says that even where Yibum is not allowed, the parts of Chalitzah like "He refuses to do yibum" and "I do not want to marry her" must ...
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May one get an electric tattoo for blood pressure monitoring?
Researchers have recently found a way to measure blood pressure via graphene e-tattoos on the skin.
Would one be Halachically allowed to get such a tattoo, or would this fall under the category of ...
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Putting quotes from the Talmud/Torah on the wall
What are the halachic issues which might come up in printing verses of the Talmud and Torah and sticky-taping them on a wall? One example would be Taanit 20a:16 - 20b:3.
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Tevilat keilim - one item definitely needs a beracha, the others dont
When there is a safek regarding whether to do tevilat keilim on an item we generally don't say a beracha when tovelling the item since this beracha is d'rabbanan i.e., tovel without a beracha.
However,...
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What are some religious items that a gentile can make and still be kosher, if any at all?
I'm a gentile. I'm talking about items related to the fulfillment of mitzvot and there are some that are not so obvious to me, they are:
tefillin(just the boxes and straps)
tallitot
shofarot
sukkot
...
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Doctors losing their licence/ r'shut beit din
Various sources refer to doctors acting with the permission of the beit din; some suggest that this is a mandatory requirement and that it is forbidden to practice medicine without such permission (eg ...
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Venishmartem Halachic guidelines regarding large gathering of Jews
Following the horrible tragedy at Miron, where 45 Jews lost their lives in a stampede,
I wondered that large-scale religious gatherings are very indeed very frequent, especially in Hassidic ...
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The prohibition of "Bekhukoteyem" (in their likeness) and the Jewish architecture
"Rabbi Yehuda says: One who did not see the great synagogue [deyofloston] of Alexandria of Egypt never saw the glory of Israel: They said that its structure was like a large basilica, with a ...
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Can I edit my photo on a social media post to look better?
Could I edit my photo on a social media post to look better by applying filters to it, or would this be Gneivat Da'at?
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May husband and wife hug/kiss in front of their children?
The Rema in Even HaEzer (21:5) writes
יש אומרים דאין לנהוג אפילו עם אשתו בדברים של חיבה, כגון לעיין ברישיה
אם יש לו כינים, בפני אחרים - Some say that one should not do
affectionate things with his ...
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