136 Lessons
Various Subjects The Why’s and Whey’s of Gevinas Akum
Animals and interactions between Jews and non-Jews both figure significantly in this week’s Parsha, which I use as my excuse to discuss: Say “Cheese!”
Kashrut Must I Immerse a Candy Dish?
I have a gift business in which I sell glass candy bowls filled with candies, fruits, and nuts. Must I toivel these dishes before I fill them?
Kashrut The Milky Way or Does Chalav Yisrael Apply Today?
I do not understand why some people keep chalav Yisrael today. Do they really think that someone is adding pig's milk? My friend quoted his rav that it is more important to keep chalav Yisrael today than it ever was before. How could this be?
Shehecheyanu & Hatov Vehametiv Brachos on Good Tidings
What brocha do we recite when it rains? Do we recite a brocha upon hearing of the birth of a new grandson?
Sefer Torah & Hashem's Names Using Hashem’s Name
“I have a disturbed neighbor who often spews out abusive invective. I am concerned that her cursing may bring evil things upon me. What should I do? A close friend of mine often makes comments like ‘for G-d’s sake,’ can he be a witness in my wedding?
Kohanim The Paw, the Jaw and the Maw
Why does the kohein receive the femur, if, in any instance, we are accustomed not to eat the hindquarters? Can the kohanim really corner the market on kosher tongue? How many of a cow’s stomachs does a kohein receive?
Ekev How much must I Bensch?
I mistakenly recited al hamichyah, when I was required to bensch. Am I now required to bensch?
Swears and Oaths My Vows I Shall Fulfill #2
Can performing a mitzvah be a liability? What is hataras nedarim? How does Kol Nidrei work?
Matot My Vows I Shall Fulfill
Can performing a mitzvah become a liability? What does it mean that I am doing something “bli neder”? “My friend Billy Nader says bli neder on almost everything. Is this being too frum?”
The Melachot Can there be Smoke Without a Fire?
May I place cold frankfurters on top of a hot pot to warm them on Shabbos? May one derive benefit from a cheese dog, which is a grilled hot dog with added cheese and chili sauce? I will be traveling overseas for Yom Tov and Shabbos, and it will be difficult for me to have cooked food ready for an eruv tavshillin. May I use lox as my eruv tavshillin?
Naso Birkas Kohanim
Why is the bracha for duchening so different from all the other brochos we recite before we perform mitzvos? If a kohein is suffering from laryngitis, how does he fulfill the mitzvah of Birkas Kohanim? If the chazzan is a kohein, may he duchen?
Kohanim Finding a Compatible Place for Our Family’s Outings
My sister and her family are coming for an extended summer visit! We need to figure out all the logistics of having everyone together– where will everyone sleep, and how to arrange sufficient seating space and chairs.
Tazria Believing is Seeing
May I be mekadeish levanah now, although I am indoors, and I am also obviously looking at the moon through a window? The brocha of borei me’orei ha’eish on an electric light - could one do this when a lightbulb must be encased in glass for it to burn? What do the above questions have to do with this week’s parsha?