Parashat HashavuaSeries'LibraryPiskei Din (Hebrew)Test YourselfEmbalming is the filling of parts of a dead body with (aromatic) substances to prevent decay & putrefaction. Egyptians, experts at this ancient art, believed an embalmed body insured a pleasant after-life. Some poskim hold embalming is allowed in certain circumstances, such as for a delayed burial like Yakov’s, due to honoring the dead (kavod ha-met).Others allow it only if no cuts are made in the body, while others prohibit any type of embalming whatsoever. This is the normative Halacha today, because the decay of the body is a necessary element in the granting of kapara, atonement. In fact, if the deceased left orders to be embalmed after his death, we disregard those instructions. As for Yakov & Yosef, both of whom were embalmed, some say Yakov asked to be embalmed; others say Yosef erred by allowing/ordering Yakov to be embalmed; still others say that, as VIP’s in Egypt, the ruling authorities would have insisted that these great men, like the Pharaohs, should also be embalmed.
People, who cannot read Hebrew at all, have no choice but to pray in the language that they can read and understand. However, anyone who can should accept the challenge of studying the prayers a bit at a time, gradually thereby developing both fluency and comprehension
The basic Halachot of Duchening, taking off shoes and washing hands, Why Is This Mitzvah Called Duchening? The connection between Duchening and dreams...
The mitzvah of gid hanosheh forbids us from eating the sciatic nerve, a sinew that runs from the lower back over the top of the hip and down the leg.
Another Mitzvah is not eating the Cheylev, some fats in an animal.
I recline in an armchair in the lobby of the hotel and look over the menu. After the crazy day I've had, I deserve to relax and enjoy a good meal. Suddenly, I am menaced by a disturbing thought: Am I really permitted to enjoy myself in this world?
The laws relating to Jewish converts are most astounding. Despite the criticism directed at the Jewish people on the grounds that Judaism is racist, the Torah teaches us that any non-Jew who earnestly seeks to join the Jewish people may do so.