Ask the Rabbi: Barchu Later than the Normal End of Tefilla

Trying on a Beged without Tzitzit

Ask the Rabbi: Shehecheyanu on Winning a Court Case

Can One Fix an Unwarranted Beracha on Netilat Yadayim?

I came out of the bathroom and did netilat yadayim for that purpose, but accidentally I recited the beracha of netilat yadayim. I tried to salvage the situation by indeed eating bread as fast as I could. Did that help?

Using Dishes of Unknown Type

How to Tell When Your Tefillin Need Adjustment

[Periodically, we re-issue our discussion on the proper position of tefillin shel rosh (last time, seven years ago). Many people do not realize that tefillin extending too far forward is a far more severe problem than being slightly off center. In Living the Halachic Process, I:G-1, we develop the halacha that the end of the tefillin must not go beyond the roots of the hair of the hairline. Upon visiting different shuls, from various elements of society, it pains me to see great numbers of fine Jews who are definitely donning their tefillin wrong and many others about whom it is hard to tell, especially when they have receding hairlines. Since even some talmidei chachamim get it wrong, I assume that knowing how to apply the halacha to one’s head is a big problem. We will focus here on tricks to figure this out.]

Dessert after Birkat Hamazon

How Much Should the Mezamen Recite Aloud?

Tasting Meat Liquids

When I cook for Shabbat, I like to taste the chicken soup and gravies to make sure they are properly spiced. Does that “make me fleishig”?

Mistake in Beracha on Delayed Laying of Tefillin – part II

After I fastened the tefillin shel yad, I realized that the beracha I had recited was not the one for tefillin but that I had instinctively said Yotzer Ohr. I continued davening with just the shel yad until the next semi-break, Yotzer Hame’orot, at which point I put on the shel rosh. Was that correct?

Mistake in Beracha on Delayed Laying of Tefillin – part I

After I fastened the tefillin shel yad, I realized that the beracha I had recited was not the one for tefillin but that I had instinctively said Yotzer Ohr. I continued davening with just the shel yad until the next semi-break, Yotzer Hame’orot, at which point I put on the shel rosh and the hand wrappings. Was that correct, and what should I have recited when?

Birkat Kohanim in a Shiva House

I was surprised to find, in a shiva minyan, an avel who did Birkat Kohanim. I didn’t know whether to tell him that I had never seen this before. Was it okay that he did so?

Mechayei Hameitim after Long Separation

I will soon see my son-in-law after a more than two year Corona-forced separation. We have been in frequent contact and have seen each other often on Zoom. Should I say the beracha, “… mechayei hameitim”?

Weak Prohibition Vs. Beracha L’vatala

If someone makes a beracha on a milchig food and then realizes that he is fleishig, should he eat a little of it to avoid a beracha l’vatala?

Age to Begin Wearing Tefillin

My son is almost twelve. When is it best for him to start putting on tefillin (he is a responsible, religiously eager child)? We are ba’alei teshuva (without family minhagim).

Beracha on Vegetable Soup with Soup Nuts

What beracha/ot do I make on vegetable soup into which I put soup nuts?

Beracha on Hearing Aids

I am excited to be getting hearing aids, which will improve my quality of life greatly, so that it deserves a Shehecheyanu. Considering that my family will find it easier to speak to me, should I recite Hatov V’hameitiv?

Hagomel for One Who Became Bar Mitzva after Flight

Our family will be going to Israel for our son’s bar mitzva. We will arrive a few hours before he becomes halachically bar mitzva, and the next morning, he will get his aliya. Should he recite Hagomel after his aliya?

When to Top the Bagel?

I said Hamotzi on a bagel, and after taking a bite, put on cream cheese and lox. A friend corrected me, claiming that Halacha requires that the first bite should be done when it is in its optimal form, so that after the beracha, one should cut open the bagel, put on the toppings, and then eat. Could that be?

Birkat Kohanim by Non-Kohanim

Is it clear that a non-kohen may bless his children or others with the blessings of Birkat Kohanim ?