38
votes
Accepted
What makes a smart phone "kosher"?
A good question, let me outline the situation in Israel:
20 years ago everyone used the same 2G Nokias, Sonys, etc. Some 15 years ago, with the latest developments in phone technology, namely SMS, ...
- 25.7k
15
votes
Accepted
Is an on-call doctor allowed to read non-emergency text messages on Shabbat?
It is a Mitzva to desecrate Shabbat to save lives (OC 328:2), even if it is only doubtful if a life is in danger (329:3), and one should even do this Mitzva with alacrity (329:1).
The Shulchan Arukh ...
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11
votes
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Is there an online source for trope occurrences?
I don't have enough rep to comment above, but I'm the creator of quantifiedcantillation.nl, and since I saw a few referrals from this question I thought I'd stop by. It looks like my site should be ...
- 296
11
votes
Accepted
Davening with a Minyan in China
I don't know if there's such a system available at the moment but I came across a project on Kickstarter [ JPal ] that aims to automate this process.
According to the developers people can create a ...
- 126
11
votes
What makes a smart phone "kosher"?
For Israel and the USA:
TAG certifies individual phones in the USA with a holographic sticker. Israel has a vaad that prints their hechsher directly on the phone (as is appropriate to their stricter ...
- 5,312
10
votes
Microphone for Meggilah
R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach1 discusses the entire issue of recreated sounds in Shu"t Minchas Shlomo siman 9. His basic synopsis is that since the sound is being converted from sound waves to electrical ...
- 58.1k
10
votes
Jewish Minecraft instructions?
Here is a YouTube video of someone's actual Minecraft model of the (first) Beit Hamikdash.
If building based on that isn't enough, they provide some links in the video description. Disclaimer: I don'...
- 23k
9
votes
Accepted
Studying Torah while lying on a bed?
I saw this interesting answer by Rav Aviner to a similar question:
Q: Is it permissible to learn Torah while laying in bed or on a couch?
A: One must learn Torah in awe, fear and trembling (Berachot ...
- 289
8
votes
While playing a computer game, may I "worship" one of the game's "gods" to help me win?
A seemingly very similar question is posed by Rabbi Gil Student on his website https://www.torahmusings.com/2017/05/video-game-idolatry based on a version of the game Zelda. He goes through several ...
- 1,317
8
votes
Online tool for minyan management?
JPal should solve this issue.
Please check this thread on SE: Davening with a Minyan in China
Details:
Minyan On Demand let's you create a minyan anywhere in the world and
instantly have ...
- 324
8
votes
Accepted
Are there any contemporary "Gedolim" that prohibit the use of davening from a smart phone?
Before discussing praying on a smart phone, there is the question of even having it enter the synagogue. Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, R. Yitzhak Yosef (the son of R. Ovadia Yosef), considers some ...
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8
votes
Pirating software that has already been bought
When you purchase a DVD like you are describing, there is a 'terms of use' agreement, a 'terms and conditions' of sale and multiple copyrights (often in compliance with different jurisdictions around ...
- 13.8k
8
votes
Can DNA be used as evidence to prove that someone is Jewish?
The use of DNA testing has been hotly debated in a number of cases, e.g., proving parenting to obtain child support, checking if a person died to permit his wife to remarry, preventing inheritance, ...
- 45.6k
8
votes
Accepted
Trying to find a quote of the Cheshek Shlomo
The Chesek Shlomo(which is Rabbi Shlomo Hakohen) can be found in the back of the Shulchan Aruch (Melachim) (Kovetz Mefarshim) which has many meforshim on each siman.
Here is the text you are looking ...
- 40.7k
7
votes
Microphone for Meggilah
Rav Moshe in IG"M O.C.(2) siman 108 and O.C.(4) siman 126 notes that "some experts" say that the sound produced by a microphone is not the actual person's voice magnified, rather it's a new sound. ...
- 410
7
votes
Accepted
Sous-vide cooking for Shabbat
In a shiur you can listen to here Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz discussed some of the issues involved with sous vide which is begun before shabbos. They are:
Shehiyah.
Leaving foods on a heat source.
Garuf ...
- 33.2k
7
votes
Accepted
Comprehensive map/list of active Orthodox synagogues in the U.S
Check out this site.
Click on each state to get cities and then click on each city to get a list of just about (if not all) the minyanim in that city.
- 470
7
votes
Accepted
Are there any fonts that allow for the name of Hashem to be typed the way it is in Sephardi siddurim?
Yes, here are screenshots of Windows Character Map showing DBS-Frank, DBS-Keren DBS-Stam, and DBS-Vilna:
- 6,646
7
votes
Accepted
Can a robot count in a minyan?
R. Tzvi Hirsch Ashkenazi has a responsum (Shu"t Chacham Tzvi siman 93) about whether a being created using the Sefer Yetzira can count for a minyan, and his conclusion is that it cannot.
אלא ודאי ...
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6
votes
Pirating software
I cannot provide the name of a posek allowing the use of pirated software. Most Internet references to rabbanim allowing this are anonymous and along the lines of "a friend has told me", "I heard from"...
- 45.6k
6
votes
Can a smartphone count as a sefer for stacking purposes?
I don't have sources, but I offer the following reasoning:
There is no issue of erasing with digital representations of the divine name. Text on a screen is neither permanent nor writing.
Nobody (as ...
- 56.4k
6
votes
Accepted
Is it forbidden to use a sand timer on shabbos?
The issue at hand is measuring. See the Shulchan Aruch siman 308 siff 51 and the Ramma who says the accepted practice is to not use sand timers.
See also Rabbi Ribiat's 39 Melachos volume 4 page 979....
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6
votes
Accepted
Doing Rambam using audio shiur?
Chabad provide two audio shiurim for one perek a day here which strongly suggests that they feel that it fulfills the requirements of the Rebbe zatzal.
- 46.9k
6
votes
How did Abraham perform brit milah?
The description of Abraham's circumcision in the Bible doesn't say what tool he used. However, Joshua is described as having circumcised the Israelites with swords of stone (Joshua 5:2), and, as רבות ...
- 24k
6
votes
Accepted
Use of an automatic toilet on Shabbos?
Halachipedia brings a number of opinions permitting this
R Josh Flug (Sukkot To Go 5770, p. 27) writes that it is certainly permissible to use a toilet with an automatic flusher if no
other ...
- 45.6k
6
votes
Is it permissible to use the "Tahor" bedikah app?
First, some background information: Tahor is an application connecting women with rabbanim to answer questions on bedika cloths. The application uses various techniques to ensure proper color and size ...
- 45.6k
6
votes
Egg donation within a family
Nishmat's Women’s Health and Halacha deals with some of these issues.
The page on “Egg Donation & Surrogacy” contains this information:
There is no clear halachic consensus as to whether the ...
- 46.9k
5
votes
"Siri, sing to me" - Kol Isha?
The reason we are not allowed to hear woman sing is Because "kol isha airva" (The voice of a woman is nakedness) a womans singing voice is considered a part of her nakedness. It is forbidden to ...
- 346
5
votes
What technology did King Solomon have?
R. David Halevi Segal writes that Moses (theoretically) had the technology of printing:
Turei Zahav Y.D. 271:8
ואם איתא דמעשה הדפוס הוה חקיקה קשה מנא לן דהיה על ידי שמיר שהוא דבר שאינו מצוי דילמא היה ...
- 48.9k
5
votes
Accepted
Using the Coravin Wine Preserver on shabbat
Assuming the question is only regarding the insertion of the needle on shabbos, and not placed before shabbos, this particular device presents a few issues within the prohibition of “creating a ...
- 15.3k
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