37 Lessons
Sheva Berachot Every Day of Sheva Berachot?
Is it necessary, proper, or at least recommended to have a sheva berachot celebration every day of the week of Sheva Berachot?
Rabbi Daniel Mann | Adar I 14 5782
Stories from the Mikveh
Translated by Hillel Fendel
Two small stories on how keeping the family purity Halachos come with devotion.
Various Rabbis | Tevat 10 5782
A Layman's Guide to Marriage
I was told that I should not include quotations from pesukim on my daughter’s wedding invitation. Yet, I see that ‘everyone’ does! Could you please explain the halacha? "I wish someone could walk me through all the halachic steps that we need in planning our daughter's wedding. I am afraid I'll forget to take care of something.
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Cheshvan 24 5782
Is It a Jewish Custom to Wear White at a Wedding?
Rabbi Stewart Weiss | Sivan 22 5781
How Can I Improve My Spouse?
Translated by Hillel Fendel
My husband comes from an anti-religious family, and it took me a long time to help him overcome the obstacles and agree to build a traditional home. Unfortunately, I have still not been able to convince him to wear tefillin. Do you have an idea how I can help him to want to do so?
Rabbi Yitzchak Grinblat | Sivan 21 5781
An Intimate Conversation
Is there any problem with having an intimate conversation with a woman who isn't your wife? Does it harm the connection with one's wife? Based on an article by rabbi Yoni Lavi.
No Rabbi | Sivan 13 5781
When Compassion & Holiness Come to a Head
Translated by Hillel Fendel
Two issues have surfaced recently. Public calls have been made, to allow occasional light physical contact between spouses during the period of niddah, and to officially accept same-sex couples into our communities. How does the Torah instruct us to deal with them?
Rabbi Azriel Ariel | Iyar 11 5781
the Book of Complaints
My wife and I labored long and hard over the invitation list and over the seating arrangements for the wedding dinner. We invested a great deal of effort and energy in trying to make sure that, to the best of our ability, everyone would be satisfied, and no one would be unduly disappointed.
Rabbi Berel Wein | Iyar 3 5781
A Tale of Two Weddings
Rabbi Berel Wein | Cheshvan 7 5780
Partial Participation in a Wedding
If one does not have enough time to take part in a whole wedding, is it better to come for the Chupa or for the meal?
Rabbi Daniel Mann | Kislev 4 5780
Fasting on the Wedding Day
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Sivan 9 5779
Do the Chatan and Kalla Need to Eat at Sheva Berachot?
Must the chatan and kalla eat (bread) at Sheva Berachot (upper case for the week and the meal; lower case for the berachot recited) in order to recite the berachot? (Sometimes one does not feel well and eats little or nothing.)
Rabbi Daniel Mann | Kislev 6 5779
Is Your Kesubah Kosher?
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Kislev 4 5777
Filling in a Copy of the Ketuba Late
A mistake was made in filling out my ketuba and the identical copy for the certifying beit din. We had a spare ketuba but not an additional one to use as a copy. Now, several days after my wedding, can I ask the witnesses to sign a copy with the same information, including the date of the wedding? (The mesader kiddushin and witnesses are talmidei chachamim but not poskim, and they encouraged me to ask this shayla.)
Rabbi Daniel Mann | Adar I 21 5776
A Woman who Relinquished Rights to her Ketuba
Sarah relinquished her rights (mechila) to her ketuba in order to encourage her husband, Reuven, to give her a get. Now she wants to back out of this step. Perhaps we should say that simple oral mechila without a kinyan is not effective when the creditor (i.e., the wife) still has a document (i.e., the ketuba) that states that the debtor owes her money.
Various Rabbis | Adar I 8 5776
Memories of Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt”l
Rabbi Elyakim Levanon
Heaven and Earth
(or How to Mix the Wine)
Our Rabbis teach us that when the couple stands under the chuppah, all their sins are forgotten. The custom to fast on the day preceding the wedding, and to recite the vidui (confession) prayer indicate the parallel between a wedding and Yom Kippur. In the mixing of the two cups of wine, that of Birkat Hamazon and that of the blessings for the couple, we see another parallel, this time to the sacrificial service of Yom Kippur.
Rabbi Chaim Tabasky
To Connect or Divide
(or Where the devil comes in)
Was Chava formed from Adam's rib, or was rather separated from his backside. What is the meaning of such a process?
Rabbi Chaim Tabasky
Sheva Brachos at the Seder
What happens when there is a Sheva Brachot at the Seder? On which cup do we say the Brachot?
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff