Ask the Rabbi: “Cooked” and Sweetened Wine for Kiddush

Moral Culpability for Unintentional Actions on Shabbat

Unicycles on Shabbat

Eiruv Chatzeirot at a Hospital

May we make the Kiddush before Kri’at Hatorah?

Paying a Babysitter for Work on Shabbat

We need a babysitter for a few hours on Shabbat. Is there a problem paying her for Shabbat work?

Responsive Baby Bassinet

There is a special bassinet that provides motion and soothing noise and reacts to an infant’s crying by intensifying them. Is it permitted to use this bassinet on Shabbat, and if so, are there special instructions?

An Agent Showing a House on Shabbat

A congregant of mine is trying to sell his house. His non-Jewish real estate agent suggested doing an open house on Shabbat, a good time for many buyers. If the owner goes away for Shabbat, may he do that?

Shabbat Meal for Shema/Sefira

When we make early Shabbat, is it better, when nighttime falls, to recite Kri’at Shema and sefirat ha’omer during the meal or to wait until after the meal?

Disposing of Tea Light Leftovers

I read that one should not throw directly into the garbage mitzva-related objects. Should I wrap in plastic the leftover shell and wax residue from “tea light” Shabbat candles?

Raffle on Shabbat

May one hold a raffle on Shabbat?

Batim of Tefillin on the Floor on Shabbat

The “retired” tefillin batim (in which the parshiyot go) I keep in a closet fell to the floor on Shabbat, inside a flimsy plastic bag. I intuited that it was better to pick them up than to leave them in disgrace on the floor. Was that correct?