Questions tagged [moshe-feinstein]

Famous Lithuanian-American Rabbi and Posek, 1895-1986

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Does the Igros Moshe hold like the Gra on use of Chomesh Money?

Here they quote the Igros Moshe https://dinonline.org/2021/11/18/uses-for-chomesh-money/ That while Maaser money is only for the poor Chomesh money on the other hand can also go to Mitzvas other than ...
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Rabbi Moshe Feinstein's opinion on the age of the universe

B"H There are posts about the age of the universe according to the Torah, but this question intends specifically to only ask: Are are any sources that reveal what the opinion of Rabbi Moshe ...
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Do we know how Rabbi Moshe Feinstein felt about Malbim's commentary on Nach?

Igros Moshe OCI:157 says one can make a siyum on any book of Tanach "provided it was studied with our Rishonim; not those latter-day commentaries who make up new stuff and show contempt for the ...
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What does halacha say about the timing and conditions of the Jewish divorce ceremony?

According to halacha, what conditions need to exist before a husband can give his wife a gett (Jewish divorce), or before a wife can accept a gett from her husband? In the letter below from Rabbi ...
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Source in Darash Moshe on own understanding

It is said that in Darash Mose דרש משה Parashas Korach, the following quote can be found from Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt'l Korach thought that every Jew is entitled to fulfill the laws of the Torah in ...
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Why specifically did Rav Moshe Feinstein serve as rabbi in Ohio for a while, per his visa? [closed]

Rabbi Feinstein's family write (beginning to Igros vol. 8) that Rabbi Feinstein had a relative in Ohio who arranged for a pulpit opening, which led to Rabbi Feinstein entering the US on a religious-...
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Rabbi Moshe Feinstein member of Sanhedrin

On page 198 of "Reb Moshe" published by Artscroll, it is told of Reb Moshe that he "needed a cardiac pacemaker inserted in his chest....Reb Moshe said, 'I know that I am not worthy to ...
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Can a witness at Kiddushin have had committed inconsequential crimes?

I remember hearing in the name of Rav Moshe Feinstein that a criminal who-- by normal and objective standards-- should be invalidated from testifying can still be considered a Kosher witness if his ...
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Blessing for indistinguishably unrecognizable corn

Halachic authorities rule that very similar products, such as different brands of Corn Flakes, have different blessings. See, e.g., Rabbi Dovid Haber, writing for the Star-K, and citing Rav Moshe ...
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How does Rav Moshe calculate the "50 minutes" between שקיעה and צה"כ?

For New York, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein maintained that the time between שקיעה and צה"כ is 50 mins (corresponding to walking 4 mil), unlike in Europe where it is 72 mins (see here): ... the calculation ...
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Is it correct to say that, according to Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, lesbian relations beetween Gentiles women are not forbidden?

I'm an Italian noahide. Through the link http://www.hakirah.org/Vol13Rapoport.pdf I read the article "Judaism and Homosexuality: An Alternate Rabbinic View ", written by the English Orthodox rabbi ...
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Is there an online compendium of Rav Moshe teshuvos in English that exists?

I see and hear lots of Rav Moshe's teshuvos quoted, mostly the "famous" ones. For example, a number of notable Rav Moshe teshuvos can be found on Rav Moshe's Wikipedia page: Does an English online ...
alicht's user avatar
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Shacharit Lechatchila

I have heard from a very reliable rav that Rabbi Moshe Feinstein held that the only shacharit lechatchila is vatikin. This means that davening shacharit before sunrise and after sunrise are equally ...
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Minhag Hamakom in America according to R' Moshe Feinstein

I've heard that R' Moshe Feinstein said there's no Minhag Hamakom (Minhag of the area/Community) in America. Where can I find this? Is he saying that there is no one "unified" Minhag Hamakom that ...
Orion's user avatar
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According to R' Moshe regarding the location of the Bimah in a shul, what is defined as the "center" of the congregation?

This is based off of my lengthy answer here regarding the location of the Bimah in a shul. As a result of that research, I was left with one question. In that answer, I quote R' Moshe Feinstein in ...
DonielF's user avatar
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Did R. Moshe Feinstein misquote the Mishna Berura?

The Mishna Berura (299:1) rules that one may begin eating until one half hour before tzeis hakochavim on Shabbos afternoon/evening. R. Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe O.C. 4:69:6) writes that the Mishna ...
Alex's user avatar
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Rav Moshe Feinstein and chodosh in the Diaspora

I'm searching for some clarification regarding what Rav Moshe Feinstein, z"l, held with regard to chodosh in chutz la'aretz. My father-in-law recently attended a lecture of a student of Rav Reuven ...
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R Moshe Feinstein on Chalav Stam [closed]

When does R Moshe's heter apply - is bshaas hadchak required? If so, what would constitute bshaas hadchak? Is it a minhag, or plainly Halachic, to insist on chalav yisroel where it is hardly available ...
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Is there a topic index for Igrot Moshe?

There are several topics that I offhand recall having seen in Igrot Moshe, but I have a tough time locating them. Is there a topic index, or even better an online search that I can do to locate ...
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Sefer on Igros Moshe

I was told that a while back a Sefer came out that went through a couple of the teshuvot in Igros Moshe and refuted some of the answers given. Due to some harsh remarks the author made in the ...
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Rav Moshe Feinstein's opinion on the State of Israel

I was wondering if there is any document which states Rav Moshe's opinion regarding the existence of the state of Israel. Did he consider the state a good thing or bad thing. I ask this because we ...
sam's user avatar
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What is מדין שני בתי דינים בעיר אחת? Regarding different minhagim in New york

What did Igros Moshe 1.158 mean by the words "מדין שני בתי דינים בעיר אחת" ("from the law of two courts in one city")? What is דין שני בתי דינים בעיר אחת?
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Rav Moshe's Psak on Fertility Treatments

I recently read an interview with Rav Dovid Feinstein and he referenced a two year period of Rav Moshe's life that were troubling due to backlash he received following a controversial psak regarding ...
Mordechai B.'s user avatar
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2 answers
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Igros Moshe citation: prohibiting giving a lighter to a smoker

In this recorded lecture, Rabbi Akiva Tatz mentions that R' Moshe Feinstein (who famously did not prohibit smoking, though see here) forbade a person from handing a lighter to a person who smokes ...
MTL's user avatar
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Writing Responsa in English

I was reading the introduction to Rabbi Yehuda Henkin's book "Responsa on Contemporary Jewish Women's Issues" and he wrote something that I found interesting: Whether Halachic response should be ...
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Does an unknown Ikkur require a blessing?

This question is taking for granted the position of Reb Moshe Feinstein that a food which has two ingredients such as chocolate covered peanuts gets two brachos (blessings) being that both ingredients ...
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Rav Moshe's Chanuka additions to Baruch Hashem Yom Yom

This morning in Shul I saw a pamphlet that said as follows. The song Boruch Hashem Yom Yom, the sixth stanza is referring to Chanuka. It said in this pamphlet that Rabbi Moshe Feinstein Zatzal would ...
Gershon Gold's user avatar
22 votes
1 answer
4k views

Which sections of Igros Moshe are in which volumes?

In Igros Moshe, the classic compilation of responsa by R' Moshe Feinstein, each of the published volumes contains one or more collections of numbered responsa, each concerning a specific area of ...
Isaac Moses's user avatar
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3 answers
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Rav Moshe and Giving Your Time for Charity

I recall hearing that Rav Moshe Feinstein rules that one should donate a tenth of his time to learn with other Jews, in addition to the more commonly accepted 'tithe' of money. The only source I was ...
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Photocopies of R' Moshe's tefillin

The answers to this question discuss photocopies of the R"T tefillin used by R' Moshe Feinstein. Are scans of these photocopies available on the internet?
Noach MiFrankfurt's user avatar
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1 answer
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How is Rav Feinstein's psak regarding subway travel and the sexes distinguished today by those wanting to sit separately on buses and planes?

Other questions have been asked about riding public transportation in close proximity with persons of the opposite sex. It was cited that Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt'l, permitted men to ride on crowded ...
Bruce James's user avatar
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1 answer
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Rav Moshe Feinstein and showers in the nine days

Someone who I would consider reliable enough to be worth checking told me that Rav Moshe Feinstein would send a message to summer camps to ensure that the campers were showering during the 9 days ...
Yishai's user avatar
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Rav Moshe on mechitzah and kalus rosh

I read somewhere in the Igros Moshe that a mechitzah is required at every wedding. Does anyone know where in the Igros Moshe it says that the reason we have a mechitzah at a wedding is to prevent ...
Chiddushei Torah's user avatar
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1 answer
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Is eating veal permissible?

I once heard that Rav Moshe Feinstein forbade eating veal due to Tzar Balei Chayim. Is it true? If yes, is anything different in the way veal is farm raised nowdays?
Yishaq's user avatar
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Rav Moshe Feinstein and tzitzis tucked in

I have heard that Rav Moshe Feinstein ztsl held that tzitzis should be tucked in. Can somebody give a nice summary of the reasons behind his ruling?
Yishaq's user avatar
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What was Reb Moshe Feinstein's view on electricity use on Shabbos?

Did Rabbi Moshe Feinstein hold that the ban on electricity use on Shabbos (where no other issur results) is a biblical prohibition, a rabbinic prohibition, or just a minhag?
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8 votes
4 answers
479 views

What is the response to Maane Ligros regarding Cholov HaCompanies

The Sefer 1מענה לאגרות (page 221) argues on R. Moshe Feinshtein's leniency allowing industrially produced milk to not be watched by a Jew during the milking. His basic argument is that the Ramo says ...
Yishai's user avatar
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Rav Moshe milk and tuna

Rav Moshe holds that tuna needs a masgiach timidi for it to be consumed,every fish needs to be checked for the simanim.However, by milk he brings a savarah that the government is sufficient and a ...
sam's user avatar
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Why was Rabbi Moshe Feinstein skeptical about allowing lift and cut shavers?

From Koshershaver.org It is important to mention that Rav Moshe Feinstein was very skeptical about permitting the use of a lift and cut shaver when it was first shown to him in his later years. One ...
Daniel's user avatar
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6 votes
1 answer
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Confectioners glaze - non alcoholic

Recently I read an article by Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff regarding confectioners glaze. Confectioners glaze is manufactured from shellac, "a glandular secretion of the lac insect, Kerria lacca, a ...
Gershon Gold's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
654 views

What does R' Feinstein say about eating kosher food in a non-kosher restaurant?

The last paragraph of Igros Moshe O.C. 2:40 discusses when you may order kosher food [such as a banana] in a non-kosher restaurant. R' Moshe Feinstein begins: ובדבר אם מותר לאכול ברעסטאראנט ...
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2 answers
192 views

Why have great rabbis written of their hard times?

Rambam: And that was a most terrible event as my brother drowned in the Indian Ocean, he had taken such care of me and now I was left alone and bewildered in a strange land. Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (...
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Can we argue with gedolim when we are sure that we are right?

I recently saw a teshuva by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, Ohrach Chaim Volume 1 Teshuva 109, that quotes a letter from Rabbi Menashe Klein asking a question on Rabbi Moshe's psak but saying that he does not ...
Yehuda's user avatar
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Was Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ever formally ordained? (Given semicha?)

Did Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ever formally receive semicha? From whom? I recall reading that he studied a great deal with his father, and that his first responsum was written "at his father's orders."
Shalom's user avatar
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What did a "don't-issue-rulings" semicha (ordination) look like?

Again from the biography of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein found in Igrot Moshe Volume 8 (emphasis added): Many approached [him] for ordination, and he was not difficult on them. Some ordinations were ...
Shalom's user avatar
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10 votes
1 answer
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Do we know anything else about the calculus problem solved by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein?

The biographical sketch of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein that appears in Igrot Moshe volume 8 describes the following (my translation): The Communist takeover meant the schools taught against religion. Some ...
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Did Rabbi Dovid Feinstein of Uzda wear tefilin that were Ktav Ari or Ktav Beit Yosef? What about his son?

The biographical sketch of Rabbi Moshe Feinstein that appears in the beginning of Igrot Moshe volume 8 states that his father, Rabbi Dovid Feinstein of Uzda, was born and raised Hassidic, but took on ...
Shalom's user avatar
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13 votes
5 answers
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Heter, esp. from R' Moshe, for shaving with a machine?

I have asked this question to many people without every getting an answer. Perhaps someone on this forum has some information. All of the achronim that I have found, who address the issue in writing,...
Aaron Shaffier's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
1k views

Who asked Rav Moshe about capital punishment?

There is an interesting t'shuva in Igros Moshe Choshen Mishpat vol.2 #68 (pt. 1 pt. 2) in which he explains the extreme rarity of capital punishment in Jewish law, especially in modern times. It is ...
WAF's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
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Splitting Sefira Mourning Practices According to Rav Moshe Feinstein

People hold of the restrictions of the seven-week omer period (shaving and listening to music, for example) at various times: some hold approximately the first five weeks; others, approximately the ...
Aaron M.'s user avatar