Questions tagged [posek-psak-decisor-ruling]
Questions about halachic deciders and their rulings.
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Why is it necessary to ask a Rabbi?
In various places on this site, including the FAQ, we have the following disclaimer:
Like Wikipedia, this site makes no guarantee of validity, and does not offer professional (particularly rabbinic)...
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SE Challenge: Halachot in which rulings range from permissible to Torah violation? [closed]
Inspired by my previous question regarding heating up soup on Shabbat, I present a challenge to the Judaism StackExchange community --
List halachot which have halachic decisions ranging from ...
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How do you CYLOR after posting on judaism.stackexchange.com?
We recommend CYLOR. How do I:
ask the OR a shaaloh that one has already posted on judaism.stackexchange.com. Should I acknowledge its use when asking?
introduce the concept of judaism.stackexchange....
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Am I allowed to answer my friend's Halacha question?
Preface: Assume I am not an ordained Rabbi.
Suppose I'm having lunch with my friend and he asks me "do I have to say a bracha on this dessert?" or "when's the last time I could daven mincha today?" ...
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"Silk-Screened" Sifrei Torah
What are the halachic issues with Silk-screened sifrei torah? I am interested in a summary of concise halakhic rulings of multiple authorities on the prohibition or permissibility of HaRav Yitzchak ...
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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 ...
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What is the meaning of psak?
I have asked many people this question, and not yet got a comprehensive answer: What is psak?
Like, let's say I have a certain piece of food of uncertain status. If I ask my 6 year old kid if it's ...
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The Ability to Pasken
What gives someone the ability to Pasken? At what point do we say that he is knowledgeable enough to decide questions on a topic? Does this have to do with "Semicha"? Does it have to do with being a ...
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Yerushalmi Versus Bavli in Halacha
The halacha we have today is mostly sourced in Talmud Bavli(the Babylonian Talmud),Medrash and Zohar. I would like to know what Halachot in which we rule according to the Yerushalmi (the Jerusalem ...
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Why are people going back to paskining like the Rambam?
I have heard personally (and seen in chat) people (who are not Teimanim [for whom there is a tradition to rule like the Rambam]) ruling like the Rambam. I have heard that he has the authentic ...
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Posek vs. Rabbi?
It seems to me obvious that certain sheilos are best dealt with by only the leading Rabbanim. At the same time colloquially we often say a Rabbi has "paskened" a sheilah when the answer is fairly ...
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Can one follow the Mishnah Berurah without asking a shaila?
When one has a question in halacha and finds an answer in the Mishneh Berurah (or Aruch HaShulchan, or similar work), why can he follow the answer provided? Why doesn't he need to ask his rabbi first? ...
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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 ...
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Why has the Mishnah Berurah become the Authoritative Halachik Work instead of the Aruch haShulchan?
Hirhurim just had a post about this topic, where he discussed some reasons that people should follow the aruch haShulchan. Yet in many circles, people just follow the Mishna Berura and rarely even ...
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May I rely on the halachik leniency of others?
If "Reuven" believes the halacha to be one way and "Shimon" believes it to be more lenient may Reuven rely on Shimon to do something for him based on this leniency?
Here is a 100% fictional ...
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What evidence is required to indicate mamzer status?
It seems to me that just about every possible shadow of doubt is used to prevent halachic rulings that would classify a person as a mamzer. From my understanding after having read this paragraph on ...
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Why do different halachic authorities arrive at conflicting rulings?
Rabbi A says strawberries are ha'adama; Rabbi B says that strawberries are Ha'etz.
The halachic texts are replete with such differences in "opinion". What's the underlying reason that different ...
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Stipulations based on "correct" halacha vs. "לא בשמים היא"
It is my understanding that halacha is determined by individual p'sak. That is, there is no divine body of halacha which we are trying to determine with poskim issuing their p'sak based on what they ...
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How to go about finding a personal Rav
The mishna in Avot (1:6) tells us:
יהושוע בן פרחיה וניתאי הארבלי קיבלו מהם. יהושוע בן פרחיה אומר, עשה לך רב, וקנה לך חבר; והוי דן את כל האדם לכף זכות
When living in different areas I have gone ...
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obligation of someone who reads a Psak Din sign in the street
Suppose I read a sign in the street headed Psak Din which says that such-and-such a thing is forbidden (these signs never say such-and-such is permitted), with the names of a list of rabbis at the ...
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Asking another Rabbi
What are the parameters and conditions of when one is allowed (and not allowed) to ask another Rabbi once he/she got a Psak from the first Rabbi?
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Rav vs. Rabbi in Talmudic Times
I was reading about the life of Rabbi Zera, and it said he was originally a Rav. The Rabbis of Eretz Yisrael offered to confer on him the title of Rabbi and at first he refused, until they told of ...
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Magen Avraham - Practically no Plag HaMinḥah or just no Plag HaMinḥah in winter?
Calling all science and math-oriented Judaism.SE-ers!
According to the website MyZmanim.com, today's Halachic times where I work are as follows (only a handful of times are shown because the question ...
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Are there unresolved ‘tekus’ in the Talmud later resolved in responsum?
Often in the Talmud questions are asked which do not yield a result. These non-answers are called ‘teku’ (תיקו).
Frequently, the questions which are left with teku are those which are far-fetched.
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P'sak halacha by AI?
How good does artificial intelligence need to be before we can turn to a robot for piskei halacha?
The accepted reason that even the most knowledgeable people need to ask legal advice from poskim is ...
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Aiding what you consider sin but he doesn't
There is an action. Let's call it "hoobling".
Some pos'kim say hoobling is permitted and others say it's forbidden. (Note: not "say one should ideally be strict". They say it's forbidden.) Suppose ...
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How do you weigh authority in halacha?
Are there any hard and fast rules as to how to assign relative importance of one authority over another in formulating a psak halacha? For example if the Rambam and the Rashba argue over a specific ...
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What's the practical difference of what Maveh means?
In the gemara in Bava Kama on Daf 3b there is a discussion about what the word Maveh (מבעה) in the Mishnah [on 2a] means. The gemara brings a dispute: Rav holds that Maveh means "man" (i.e. ...
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Where can a gentile seek guidance? [duplicate]
Jews have rabbanim to provide them with guidance. What about gentiles? Where can they go to seek guidance when they are unsure of how to conduct themselves?
While one could argue that the Noachide ...
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Are there any Sefardi Posekim that permit the consumption of Chodosh in Chutz LaAretz?
Are there are any Sefardic Posekim that permit the consumption of Chodosh in Chutz LaAretz just like the Ashkenazim's Heterim?
Preferably Aharonim or contemporaries.
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Yoreh Yoreh vs. Yadin Yadin
I've heard a lot of people talking about the two different semichahs that one might receive: יורה יורה ("Yoreh Yoreh") and ידין ידין ("Yadin Yadin").
What is the difference between them?
[Sourced ...
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In the days of the Sanhedrin, was one able to hold of his own opinion in private?
Back in the days of the Sanhedrin, after a psak about a particular halacha was issued, were you able to still hold of your own opinion in private? If you were confident in your own interpretation of ...
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Is there such a thing as dispassionate p'sak?
(Inspired by P'sak halacha by AI?)
Much is made of the need for poskim to be well-experienced people who have been involved in a number and variety of Jewish legal situations commensurate with ...
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Situations where your own opinions define Jewish law
I am asking this question to evoke a list of situations in which one's personal feelings, intuitions, beliefs, and/or tastes have a role in creating the halacha.
I can think of a few on my own. With ...
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Precut fruit is kosher but not lemon?
I'm confused by what I'm reading here:
Fresh fruits and vegetables grown in chutz la’aretz are kosher whether bought whole or cut. Therefore, you may purchase a fresh fruit
salad in any ...
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Is becoming a "Talmid HaRambam" limited to the Rambam?
This answer explains (very nicely) the justification and practice of those who consider themselves followers of the Rambam, as opposed to any other opinion. In the cited responsa of the Beis Yosef, ...
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Halachoth whose rulings range from obligatory to a (Torah) prohibition
Inspired by this question ( SE Challenge: Halachot in which rulings range from permissible to Torah violation?) , I thought I'd go further. Can you think of any Halachoth whose rulings range from ...
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Who do B'nei Noach turn to for psak?
My understanding is that there are a few organized groups of non-Jews who strive to follow the Noahide laws. Just like Jews, B'nei Noach might have situations where the correct action to take is ...
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How to answer practical questions on the street
I don't know how common this is, but I've occasionally been approached on the street by regular people whom I do not know (who presumably make the assumption that since I wear a kippah, I'm a rabbi) ...
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Sephardic Readers of Mishnah Berurah
Do you know of any books that help Sephardic readers with the Mishnah Berurah (i.e. by telling them when Sephardic Poskim hold differently)?
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Retroactive psak and conversions
B"H
I constantly read about Orthodox conversions which are retroactively nullified by the Israeli Rabbanut, sometimes affecting multiple generations. I am not writing this question to express nor ...
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What's the procedure for seeking a psak?
I need a psak on a complicated (to me) halachic issue. I'm not currently affiliated with a shul, so I have no daily contact with rabbanim, and I've never needed a psak before. How does one do this? ...
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How does "getting a heter" work?
I have heard of the concept of "getting a heter" to do something that is not ordinarily permitted, but I don't have a good idea of what it means. I am interested in explanations of what this process ...
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Is there any contemporary posek who says you can deviate from the wording in the shmona esrei?
I am reading Kavvana: Directing the Heart in Jewish Prayer by Rabbi Dr. Avi (Seth) Kadish. There he makes the argument that the Anshei Kneset Hagedolah never established the exacting wording for the ...
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When can you turn a dispute into a safek?
In this answer, I proposed that since there is a machlokes rishonim on a certain issue, it counts as a safek (doubt), although the Shulchan Aruch rules strictly. DoubleAA commented, saying that he ...
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If two rabbis tell you opposite things which do you listen to?
If you ask two rabbis the same question and they give you opposite answers (one says mutar the other says assur). Which do you listen to?
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How could (or why did) Raba follow Rav's stringencies but not his leniencies?
Eruvin 6 amud 2 says someone who follows the stringencies of Bes Shamay and of Bes Hilel is a fool walking in darkness: rather, it says, one should follow the one or the other, both when it is lenient ...
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Make for yourself a website?
Can a site like mi.yodeya.com be used for one to fulfill our sages mandate of "Make for yourself a Rav"?
Obviously I meant this facetiously. Of course a website cannot take the place of a rav, but ...
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Can a person decide the Halacha (pasken) for him\herself?
Request for sources: Assuming one does not have semicha, (ordination) but is learned: Can one decide the Halacha for him\herself (after analyzing the issue and investigating the sources), or is one ...
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Pinchas and Halacha In Front Of One's Rabbi
The Gemara in Eiruvin 63a,b learns that one is not allowed to paskin a halachah in front of one's Rebbi.
Multiple examples and details are brought. In particular, Elazar haKohen taught the soldiers ...
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