16
votes
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Brush teeth on a Ta'anis
According to this article, most Poskim do allow one to brush one's teeth on the three minor fasts, especially if they are going to be in some level of discomfort.
..While the Kaf Hachaim (OC 567:13)...
- 6,069
13
votes
Cleaning blood from the temple
It is logical to think that the priests were careful, so that the blood only landed on the floor, and not on the actual curtains.
Regarding Beit HaMikdash, the whole place was covered with aqueducts ...
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11
votes
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Liquid soap on Shabbos
Rabbi Ribiat discusses this in The 39 Melochos (in the corrected edition, Misrad Hasefer 2004), Section 3/C/b-3.
He says that most poskim (notably, ערוך השלחן שכ"ו י"א) rule that one is allowed to ...
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11
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Cleaning blood from the temple
To supplement, not supplant, Cauthon's good answer, I'll note that the mishna (Midos chapter 3) says that the altar and its ramp would be cleaned every Friday with a cloth, because of the blood. (This ...
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11
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Germaphobes washing on Tisha B'Av and Yom Kippur
Regarding washing on Yom Kippur, the Tur (OH 613) writes:
ביה"כ...ואם היו ידיו מלוכלכות בטיט וצואה מותר לרוחצן שלא אסרו אלא רחיצה של תענוג ...וכן בכל היום אחר שעשה צרכיו וקנח או הטיל מים ושפשף ...
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9
votes
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Moving the fridge for Pesach cleaning
The Radvaz (Teshuvos, chelek aleph: 135) and the Chayey Adam (119:6) explain that the reason we clean cracks and crevices from chametz is because maybe we may come to eat it on Pesach (because it ...
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9
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Cleaning Tallis Godol and Tallis Koton
The Rema OC 21:3 mentions, that some have a custom of not giving a Tallis to a non-Jewish launderer.
The Beis Yosef (ibid.) notes that he never heard of such a custom.
Rabbi Zalman of Liadi in his ...
- 4,109
8
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Washing Tallit Katan
The best way to wash a wool tallit katan is by hand washing it. Washing machines and dryers can severely mess up a wool tallit katan if you're not careful. I would suggest hand washing the tallit ...
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7
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How long must clothes be worn before the 9 days for them to count as not fresh?
Today's HalachaText said that clothing should be worn for at least 30 minutes. I asked them for a source and they said this number came from Rav Elyashiv Ztl.
שוב מצאתי I was looking for something ...
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7
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Cleaning blood from the temple
In addition to the other answers, we have some evidence that blood did land on the veil in the Holy of Holies when the Kohein Gadol (High Priest) sprinkled it there on Yom Kippur, and that they weren'...
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6
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How should a tallit gadol be washed?
Buy something what is called WOOLITE. This is special detergent for wool, you can find it in every supermarket. Put your talis in the bucket, fill with warm, not hot water, add cup of Woolite and ...
- 159
6
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Cleaning a Torah Scroll
I relayed your question to the sofer who maintains our scrolls. Here's what he said (my notes from a verbal conversation):
The "dust" that came off of the scroll is white mold, not the parchment ...
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5
votes
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Crumbs of chametz that will not be eaten on Pesach but are easily accessed
The OP mentions "less than a kazayis" as well as "crumbs". It is proper to note that the two terms are not automatically the same in Halachah. A question can be asked as to when does a small piece of ...
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5
votes
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Are there any issues with blowing on your glasses to clean them on Shabbat?
R. Moshe Stern (Be'er Moshe 6:62) explicitly permits one to clean glasses on Shabbos, by both blowing on and wiping the glasses. He does not cite the Rema's ruling (OC 319:17) in which he finds ...
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5
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Drying a cup on Shabbos with a paper napkin
There are two melachoth that could be violated during an act of squeezing - dosh/mefarek (extracting) or melabein (cleaning). With regard to the former, your point is to absorb the moisture into the ...
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4
votes
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How should a tallit gadol be washed?
A similar question was posted yesterday, regarding a talis katan.
To quote from ezra's answer:
The best way to wash a wool tallit katan is by hand washing it. Washing machines and dryers can ...
- 5,529
4
votes
How long must clothes be worn before the 9 days for them to count as not fresh?
I got this in an email from a "dailyhalacha" service:
During the Nine days (beginning Rosh Chodesh Av) the custom is that
one does not wear freshly laundered clothing. Therefore, one should
...
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4
votes
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How do you wash a Kittel?
I always bring my kittel to the dry cleaner. It always comes back nice and clean (and freshly ironed).
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4
votes
Prohibition against leaving a laundry machine running into shabbos?
Probably the issue is hashmaat kol (leaving a noisy device running on shabbos that is considered a profanation of it's sanctity). - https://www.naaleh.com/hashmaat-kol-noise-on-shabbat-v5n9
- 17.2k
4
votes
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Pesach: Birds and Backyards
Your friend's explanation has its source in the Gemara Pesachim 8a. "Rava says: A courtyard does not need to be checked for chametz since crows are to be found there." This is the accepted Halachah.
...
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4
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Moving the fridge for Pesach cleaning
As long as there's no reasonable chance of encountering it on Pesach, then no. (This comes up more often as people try to find any chametz behind their fridge, but the same idea -- try sweeping ...
- 126k
4
votes
Are there any issues with cleaning glasses with microfibre cloth on Shabbas?
This answer to a similar question answers your question, too:
R. Moshe Stern (Be'er Moshe 6:62) explicitly permits one to clean glasses on Shabbos, by both blowing on and wiping the glasses. He does ...
- 5,529
4
votes
Accepted
Justifying housework / keeping one’s home clean and tidy
I don't know about the rest of the week, but as a starting point, we are enjoined to make an effort before the onset of Shabbat.
It writes in Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 262:1):
לקדש השבת בשלחן ערוך ...
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3
votes
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Advice - cleaning my shofar
Judaica101 lists six methods in order from lightest to strongest and suggests:
The best way is to start with the lightest cleaning methods and work your way to the strongest if necessary.
See ...
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3
votes
sources that neatness brings brocho/mazal
It says in Pesachim 111b " איסרא דעניותא נבל שמיה" "The angel over poverty is called dirt"
Rashi, however interprets it as being unclean regarding bread
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3
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Kashering a Hard to Clean Pot
The Shulchan Aruch HaRav writes:
סכין או אחד משאר כלים הצריכין הגעלה שיש בו גומא או סדק או נקב שאינו יכול לחטט בתוכן לנקרן ולנקותן היטיב אין הגעלה מועלת להם אם הן במקום שמשתמשין בו בקבע דהיינו מצד ...
- 39.9k
3
votes
Cleaning Tzitzis
I just bought this in Israel (it helps to keep the tzitzis from being tangled, similar to the sock method mentioned in one of the answers, but this allows the water to reach the strings so that they ...
- 9,349
3
votes
Cleaning Tzitzis
Great trick for keeping zizit from tangling.
My wife takes my cotton begged zizit and washes with other clothes, buy she has a great trick for making sure the actual zizit strings don't get tangled. ...
- 31
3
votes
What's the deal with showering on yom tov?
Most of his rulings are according to his Rebbe Rabbi Schacther
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How do you get oil residue off of a menora?
People have told me soaking it in ammonia also works. I soaked my oil glasses in ammonia for a couple of days and it worked pretty well. I did keep it outside while I was soaking it because of the ...
- 5,240
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