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1 vote

Folding chairs/tables on Shabbat

The source quoted by @The GRAPKE says מותר לפתוח עגלת ילדים, שולחן מתקפל, כסא מתקפל, מיטה מתקפלת ולול של תינוקות, מפני שהכל שם עשוי ומחובר מערב שבת ורק פותחים אותם בשבת (שו"ע שטו, ה). That is, ...
Avrohom Yitzchok's user avatar
4 votes
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Folding chairs/tables on Shabbat

Refer to the Peninei Halacha: מותר לפתוח עגלת ילדים, שולחן מתקפל, כסא מתקפל, מיטה מתקפלת ולול של תינוקות, מפני שהכל שם עשוי ומחובר מערב שבת ורק פותחים אותם בשבת (שו"ע או"ח שטו, ה). One may ...
Dov's user avatar
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2 votes

What is the explanation of And don’t let the evil inclination assure your that the grave will be a place of refuge for you mean

Refer to the Maharal from Prague in his commentary "Derech Chaim": Meaning to say, since we have already said, "and the living are to be judged"; so since he is in the netherworld ...
Shmuel's user avatar
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0 votes

Web-hosted Baby/Security Cams - tzniut?

https://www.yeshiva.co/ask/59434 according to this Q&A, it seems the general Halacha is, when you are pretty easily seen by other people (such as through a clear window in a region with people ...
Kirk's user avatar
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1 vote

What type of enemies are being spoken about in Shaar Habitachon?

Chovot Halevavot describes seven categories of bitachon (faith). Before getting to the discussion you quote on dealing with adversaries, he first establishes the basic obligations of man and describes ...
mbloch's user avatar
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5 votes

Is replacing a jamb that had a mezuzah obligates to bless again for the mezuzah

If more than a day has lapsed since it has been taken down one would make a bracha. Refer to the Aruch HaShulchan YD 289:4 who speaks in a different context about taking down mezuzos to be checked. If ...
Dov's user avatar
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3 votes
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Winnow of piles with objects that just fell

Winnowing (zoreh) is similar to selecting (borer) in that it involves separating waste from food but uses the wind as its mechanism. There are long discussions in halachic works regarding spitting in ...
mbloch's user avatar
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4 votes
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Lashon harah about someone who leads people astray

Subject to certain conditions if the Loshon Hora is being spoken to keep people away from the influence of those who lead others astray not only is it allowed, it is a mitzvah. Ask your LOR if it is ...
Schmerel's user avatar
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9 votes

Can the Sandak be a non-Jew?

Shu"t Divrei Malkiel (וע"ד שמושיבים נוצרי לסנדק) writes very strongly against it. He says the sandek plays a crucial role in the bris, and it's completely inappropriate to appoint someone ...
shmosel's user avatar
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6 votes

Halachicly sound ways to bookmark on Shabbat

As I wrote here, folding the corner of a page is permitted and a good way if you don't mind "damaging the page" a bit. Still your question goes beyond, and you note the issue of marking a ...
mbloch's user avatar
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1 vote

Chesed and food - healthy or tasty?

This is just my perspective, and it isn’t halachic, but as I understand Jewish ethics It depends. If the food is actually unhealthy, even if tasty you should probably prioritize health, based on the ...
Kirk's user avatar
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3 votes
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Shiluach haken on injured birds

Yes, and it applies even if the kosher spicie bird is definitely treiffed. See SAY"D 292:1 The sending of the nest is only practiced with clean birds, even if the mother is torn, and even if ...
Nissim Nanach's user avatar
2 votes

Scam baiting in Halacha

It's permitted for tzaddikim to out-swindle swindlers. שרי להו לצדיקייא לסגואי ברמאותא עם רמאי Sefer haMidot - Emet #4
Nissim Nanach's user avatar
3 votes
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Hilchos Shabbat shiurim recommendation

If by "etc." you include books, I can recommend some excellent ones. Since the laws of Shabbat are very extensive, it is unlikely you can cover all these laws in a structured way outside of ...
mbloch's user avatar
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2 votes

Hezek re'iyah and dina d'malchusa

Hezek re'iyah indeed includes laws preventing one neighbor from adding to his house in a way that it now allows him to view his neighbor's property. The classical case is to prevent a neighbor from ...
mbloch's user avatar
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2 votes
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Texting/phone calls greetings and business

One should not go to someone to greet him before morning prayers, as it shows this person is more important than God, although one can greet someone when meeting him (some say it is best not to use ...
mbloch's user avatar
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1 vote

Status of food fried with oil that was previously used for meat

The Tur (Yoreh De’ah 89) writes that one does not have to wait between a meat dish and a dairy dish if neither one contains actual meat or milk. The Bach notes that while Semak allows one to eat ...
Gershom Menachem's user avatar
2 votes
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Birkat hamazon for chametz on Passover

Shulchan Aruch (OC 196:2, 204:9) says we make the usual blessings when eating non-kosher out of necessity. Presumably the same would apply to chametz on Pesach.
shmosel's user avatar
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2 votes

Socialising children - what does the Torah say?

Yes, don't socialize them. Unless they need help and some subtle suggestions or intervention they'll be fine. Likutei Etzot - BaNNim, Children, #15: It's better for your children's development that ...
Nissim Nanach's user avatar
1 vote
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Colonialism and Halacha

I gather from the excellent comments above, that it is proper and morally right, for a nation to colonize another people and land if it will bring them to the knowledge of the True Tzaddik or if the ...
Nissim Nanach's user avatar
2 votes
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Does one act as an Onen if he can't bury his dead for the foreseeable future?

Answering your question, R Chaim Binyamin Goldberg writes (Mourning in Halacha, p. 81) If a person was killed in a distant land, or in combat [and the body has not been returned], or was dragged off ...
mbloch's user avatar
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4 votes

Can Jewish owned animals have tattoos?

tl;dr it is probably not allowed to tattoo an animal, but only because of the mitzva of not being cruel to animals, but nothing to do with the lav of etching the skin (tattooing). CYLOR. According to ...
Rabbi Kaii's user avatar
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3 votes
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Can Jewish owned animals have tattoos?

Vayikra 19:28 "You shall not make cuts in your flesh for a person [who died]. You shall not etch a tattoo on yourselves. I am Hashem." The verse prohibits us from tattooing ourselves, and it ...
IsraelReader's user avatar
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3 votes

Socialising children - what does the Torah say?

It is hard to provide a definitive age, as it is very much dependent on the child, their maturity and a number of factors that I have already enumerated in the comments above. That being said, by way ...
Dov's user avatar
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9 votes

Pregnant woman with male fetus in a minyan?

The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 55:4) talks about adding a Katan to a minyan: יש מתירים לומר דבר שבקדושה בתשעה וצירוף קטן שהוא יותר מבן שש ויודע למי מתפללין ולא נראין דבריהם לגדולי הפוסקים וה"ה ...
Lo ani's user avatar
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1 vote

What are klipos that rest on your body when you're asleep?

I heard in a shiur a while ago that what we are discussing is insensitivity to others. Just like the nails are parts of our body that have no feeling and are "dead", so to we can be like ...
Rabbi Kaii's user avatar
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2 votes

Explicit shaimos printed in prayer books

The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 334:12) says: כל כתבי הקודש מצילין האידנא מפני הדליקה קורין בהם אפי' כתובים בכל לשון אפי' כתובים בסם ובסיקרא (פירוש מיני צבעים) ובכל דבר וכן מטבע ברכות שטבעו חכמים ...
Lo ani's user avatar
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-3 votes

Is there any special mitzvah connected with the upcoming “March for Israel” rally on November 14 at the National Mall in Washington DC?

בס״ד Today, Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 1 Kislev 5784, the Community of Israel (עדת ישראל) stand together, here in Washington DC, the Capitol city of the United States (ארצות הברית), which corresponds to the ...
Yaacov Deane's user avatar
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4 votes

Why is זֵכֶר לְמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית left out sometimes on Shabbat Amidah?

Shaar HaKollel, written by the great-grandfather of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, brings a source received from Kabbalah (quoted in Mishnat Chassidim) that says we shouldn't say the phrase in Shacharit. The ...
shmosel's user avatar
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4 votes

Is there an halachic basis for allowing attacks that may or even will result in civilian casualties?

The Torah has very specific rules about besieging an enemy city- how to offer peace to the inhabitants, not to destroy the fruit trees around the city, etc. A city- not a military base or a fort, but ...
יהושע ק's user avatar
5 votes

Using baby powder on Yom Kippur

Rav Moshe Feinstien Zt'l opinion is quoted in רשומי אהרן ח"ב או"ח סי' תרי"ד אות א that it is permitted in a case of need as baby powder is not considered anointing. As usual consult a ...
Moz's user avatar
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1 vote
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Ger Toshav and Chukot hagoyim

No a Ger Toshav bc he is Toshav he's dwelling he's not a Ger Sedeq of righteousness i.e.Yesod. The latter ought to avoid Chukot hagoyyim as other Yisrael do. Edit: Just a guess that Chok relates to ...
Nissim Nanach's user avatar
3 votes

Using baby powder on Yom Kippur

I can't find any proper sources, but I found a number of online rulings that it's permitted: https://helpfulhalacha.blogspot.com/2008/10/laws-of-yom-kippur.html It’s forbidden to use deodorants on ...
shmosel's user avatar
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5 votes
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Bishul akum on a dish whose ingredients are all eaten raw

Indeed when the majority of ingredients in a dish can be eaten raw, the food is exempt from bishul akum OU Kosher gives the details here Shulchan Aruch (Y.D. 113:2) says that if a non-Jew cooked a ...
mbloch's user avatar
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1 vote
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Polishing windows on Shabbat

I see three major concerns with cleaning windows on Shabbat putting water on a rag or sponge will generally lead to Sechitah (squeezing) which is a Torah prohibition, we are therefore very careful ...
mbloch's user avatar
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-4 votes

Under what circumstances (if at all) can excommunication be reversed and what is the process of the reversal if its possible?

There is no halachic process to reverse excommunication simply because in the Talmudic-Biblical tradition there is no such thing as theological heresy. Why would you need a process to remove something ...
Turk Hill's user avatar
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3 votes

Is there an halachic basis for allowing attacks that may or even will result in civilian casualties?

Even in a defensive war (which will be the presumed context going forward), first you offer peace. Then you offer anyone from the enemy who wishes to flee to be able to flee, and let them - both of ...
Rabbi Kaii's user avatar
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1 vote

Is there an halachic basis for allowing attacks that may or even will result in civilian casualties?

This probably depends on whether a war is considered מלחמת מצווה - a war that must be fought, or מלחמת רשות - a war that may be fought. A war fought to protect Am Yisrael is considered a מלחמת מצווה, ...
Lo ani's user avatar
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2 votes
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Can a Frum person attend Limmud

An eloquent presentation of the argument is found here where it writes: ...Limmud is pluralist. Speakers from Orthodox, Masorti, Reform and other backgrounds are presented on an equal footing. ...
Dov's user avatar
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2 votes
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Lashon Harah about a bully

The Chofetz Chaim is strict before allowing someone to speak badly about others and lays out many conditions (see Sefer Chofetz Chaim, The Prohibition Against Lashon Hara, Principle 10, here ...
mbloch's user avatar
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2 votes
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Netilat Yadayim with public water fountain

The more interesting question is how exactly to use said fountain. (Hopefully you have cup with you.) While you shouldn't do a mitzvah with a stolen object, there is no requirement for the water to be ...
Shalom's user avatar
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3 votes

Is there a list of kosher duck species?

According to the Chasam Sofer (shu"t YD 74) wild geese (ducks?) are not kosher, citing Tzemach Tzedek (Siman 29). The Star-K seems to rule in accordance with this position and will not certify ...
Naftali Tzvi's user avatar
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1 vote
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Halakha and practicality of a halachic state

I don't know if this directly answers the question (since I'm not clear on what the question is asking), but I find it remarkable that both Rabbi Shmuel Yaakov Weinberg and Rabbi Meir Kahane (debate ...
Naftali Tzvi's user avatar
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0 votes

Is someone halachically obligated if anesthetized? Comatose?

From the language of the SA OC 108:1 טעה או נאנס ולא התפלל שחרית מתפלל מנחה שתים One who erred or who, because of extenuating circumstances, did not pray Shacharit must pray Mincha [Shmonei Esrei] ...
mbloch's user avatar
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0 votes

Eating meat on Hannuka?

I don't know the source but there is a German custom to call the last night of Chanukah "Chanukas HaMizbeach and have a big yontif type of meal and serve meat and latkes. The traditional type of ...
DavefromBaltimore's user avatar
2 votes

Is there a translation of Rashi on Shas in English?

Yes, I often find myself using themercava.com. Click on the words of Rashi, and the translation of the highlighted line should appear at the bottom of the page.
ezra's user avatar
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1 vote
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Shehecheyanu on eyeglasses

Halachipedia writes (my bolding of its text) If one builds a new house or buys or receives a new vessel or clothing of significance a Shehecheyanu is required. [19] If one purchases insignificant ...
Avrohom Yitzchok's user avatar
3 votes
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Mezuzah on a store door?

The practice is to put up a mezuza without a blessing. The simple summary (from aish) is Some of the earlier authorities did not consider an office a true place of residence since we do not truly ...
mbloch's user avatar
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2 votes
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Minimum amount before obligation of Challah

There are different opinions. Since you asked for sources, here are a collection of them. According to Halachipedia, there are some differences. It reads: Ashkenazim custom According to Ashkenazim, ...
Shmuel's user avatar
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4 votes
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Swallowed medicine hechser

First of all, Consult Your Own Local Rabbi (CYOLR). Star-K writes with regards to taking non-kosher tablets: In tablets, the most common possibly non-kosher ingredients are magnesium stearate, ...
Shmuel's user avatar
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