- Halacha
- General Questions
Some Questions of Chozeret Btshuva
Question
Dear Rabbi
I am a young jewish woman that was born to a jewish mother and a catholic father, In the last few months I started connecting to my jewish roots and I become a "Shomeret Mitzvot" and I keep learning and learning more and more about the Mitzvot of the judaism and I never felt so close to Hashem and I feel very happy about it.
However there are few questions that bother me a little and I would like to ask your oppinion about them:
1. I noticed that some people wait 3 or 4 hours between meat and diary meals while most wait 6 hours, How much hours should I wait then? What does it depend on?
2. Am I allowed to hug and kiss my non jewish father? I am a Shomeret Negiah and I don’t really know if im allowed to or not.
3. I heared that because of my father not being jewish I am not allowed to marry a Cohen.. Is this true?
4. Is it a Mitzvah to kiss the mezuzah everytime you walk in or out the house?
5. Are the Reforms concidered jewish or not?
Thank you very much
Answer
1. According to the Talmud, one must not eat milk after meat until the following meal. This gives rise to various interpretations. The most common is that the time until another meal will be at least six hours, but other opinions exist and various customs have developed.
If you know your mother's background and can trace a clear custom from your forbearers you may follow that, or you may accept the custom that is most prevalent in your community. However, you are not obligated to one of these choices, and I would strongly recommend speaking it over with a rabbi who will understand personal considerations.
2. There is no prohibition since you grew up in your father's home from an early age and this behavior was accepted and natural. However hugging shouild be limited to the degree it shows parental respect.
3. Correct, the decision of the Shulchan Aruch and all modern poskim is that a Cohen may not marry a woman whose father is not Jewish.
4. Kissing the mezuzah is a custom. It is not necessary every time entering or leaving a room, though many do so. It is more important to think about what is written in the mezuzah, the acceptance of HaShem's dominion and Torah.

Hebrew last name for convert
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Elul 3, 5773

The Rainbow's Sign
Rabbi Yoel Lieberman | Tammuz 26, 5781

Difference between woman/converts in Srarah issues?
Rabbi David Sperling | Nisan 1, 5781

Naming a baby girl Romi
Rabbi Ari Shvat | Nisan 18, 5774

Rabbi Chaim Tabasky
Rabbi Chaim Tabasky teaches a shiur in gemarah at the Beit Midrash program of the Machon Hagavoah l'Torah at Bar Ilan University. He is also a certified examiner of STa"M (Sifrei Torah, Tefillin and Mezuzot) and a narrative therapist.

Dates,Years,Centuries
20 Iyyar 5764

Can a Male Ger Become a Rabbi?
12 Av 5764

Chumrot
19 Sivan 5764

Crossing the International Dateline
20 Iyyar 5764

Mezzuzah for Non Jew
Rabbi David Sperling | Iyyar 18, 5773

Tehillim for a deceased parent
Rabbi Yoel Lieberman | Tammuz 8, 5773

Tehillim for a deceased parent
Rabbi Yoel Lieberman | Tammuz 8, 5773

Keeping 1 or 2 days Yom Tov in Israel
Rabbi Jonathan Blass | 23 Nisan 5766
converting to Jewaism
Rabbi Gideon Weitzman | Elul 25, 5783
