A day of fasting in the Jewish calendar – such as this Sunday's Fast of Tammuz – is not one of dieting, but rather a day of introspection and teshuva (contrition and remorse). We are not fasting for something far-removed from ourselves, but rather for our situation this very day.
I joined a “stock exchange” for crypto coins, in which I can buy and sell, and have a linked service that enables me to create “bots” to find and carry out deals 24/7. If I do not shut it off for Shabbat (which is easy), it will almost certainly find profitable trades. May I let the bots run on Shabbat?
What Bracha Do I Make Before Smelling the Shavuos Flowers?
My husband brought me beautiful roses for Shavuos. Should I make a
bracha before smelling them? I have noticed that sometimes there is no noticeable
fragrance.
Rabbi Yitzchak Meir elaborated upon a Talmudic text dealing with Tu BiShvat. The Rebbe of Kotzk said to him, “Were we in the land of Israel, it would be sufficient to go out to the fields and look at the trees in order to grasp Tu BiShvat's meaning.”
Did Jews fast over the destruction of the First Temple when the Second Temple stood? Must pregnant and nursing women abstain from eating and drinking on minor fasts? Rabbi Eliezer Melamed addresses these and other important questions.