שואל את הרב
אינדקס השו”ת
אנחנו עוד עובדים בכדי להשלים את האינדקס.
הערה – כעת, רוב השו”ת היא באנגלית.
Birkhoth Hashahar/Morning Blessings
- Is the correct nusach “hamekadesh shemo berabim” or “hamekadesh et shimcha berabim”? Should it be said with HASHEM’s name?
- Should “hamekadesh et shimcha berabim” be recited?
- When should birkot hashachar and birkot hatorah be said if one sleeps during the day and is awake at night?
Birkath Hamazon
Blessings Before Eating
- Is a bracha to be recited before and after taking medicine?
- Should “ha’etz” or “ha’adama” be said on 100% fruit or vegetable juice?
- What blessing should be said on vegetables grown in hydroponic containers?
- When does one say “Boreh Minei Kesanin”?
Blessings After Eating
- Is it correct to say “boreh ph’ri” or “boreh p’ri”? How about “hagefen” or “hagafen”?
- Should one say a blessing on the wine over which one says birkat hamazon?
- What is the correct nusach of boreh nefashot?
- When should one say Birkat haMazon over a kos?
General Questions about Berachoth
Miscellaneous Blessings
- Should one say a bracha upon taking vitamins?
- Should one say “HaTov VeHametiv” over a girl’s birth?
- Should one say the prayer/address to angels before entering the bathroom that is mentioned in both the Talmuds?
- When is one obligated to say the bracha “Dayan HaEmet”?
Sheheheyanu
Birkath Hamazon
When should one say Birkat haMazon over a kos?
Blessings Before Eating
Is a bracha to be recited before and after taking medicine?
Should “ha’etz” or “ha’adama” be said on 100% fruit or vegetable juice?
What blessing should be said on vegetables grown in hydroponic containers?
When does one say “Boreh Minei Kesanin”?
Blessings After Eating
Is it correct to say “boreh ph’ri” or “boreh p’ri”? How about “hagefen” or “hagafen”?
Should one say a blessing on the wine over which one says birkat hamazon?
What is the correct nusach of boreh nefashot?
When should one say Birkat haMazon over a kos?
General Questions about Berachoth
When is an incomplete blessing a bracha levatala?
Miscellaneous Blessings
Should one say a bracha upon taking vitamins?
Should one say “HaTov VeHametiv” over a girl’s birth?
Should one say the prayer/address to angels before entering the bathroom that is mentioned in both the Talmuds?
When is one obligated to say the bracha “Dayan HaEmet”?
Sheheheyanu
When should one say “shehecheyanu” on new clothes?
Hanukah
- Does the type of light that one lights matter for Hanukka, Shabbat, and havdala?
- If one is staying in a hotel that doesn’t permit flames, may an electric menorah or a lightbulb be used?
- Should one light an incandescent menorah while traveling, or is one exempt?
- What non-obligatory minhagim are recommended for Hannukah?
Pesach – see separate tab
Purim
- Can one answer amen over a live broadcast?
- Can one bring children to the synagogue to hear the Megillah if it is likely that they will make a lot of noise?
- Can one fulfill one’s obligation to hear the Megillah over a live Zoom broadcast?
- Can one pray the Amida after drinking some alcohol on Purim?
- Can/should one merge the Purim meal with the Shabbat meal? If so, how would one do so?
- How many times is one required to listen to the Megillah? Is one more important than the other?
- How should Purim be celebrated when it falls on erev Shabbat? When should the meal be held, and should it be held at a different time if Purim does not fall on erev Shabbat?
- If a single word was misheard, should the entire Megillah be re-read?
- In which cities in Israel should Shushan Purim be celebrated, apart from Jerusalem?
- Is it permissible to pray the Amida in costume?
- Is it preferable to wear Shabbat clothing on Purim, as opposed to fancy clothes or weekday clothes? How about costumes?
- Is there a mitzva to drink wine on Purim? Is red wine preferable? Do other alcoholic beverages count? How much should be drunk?
- Is there a problem with kids’ dressing up as cartoon characters or superheroes?
- May one write vowels and tropes into the Megillah?
- Should Tachanun be said when people in other cities are celebrating Purim?
- What are the basic requirements for mishloach manot and matanot le’evyonim?
- What is one obligated to do in a city that might have been walled in the time of Joshua?
- What is the minimum amount of Matanot L’Evyonim?
- What is the point of drinking on Purim?
- When should “Shehecheyanu…” be said on the Megillah?
- Which day of Purim should a resident of Jerusalem keep when visiting other places, and vice versa? Can one ever be obligated in 0 or 2 days?
Sefirath Ha’omer
Baking Massoth
- Can one bake matzah using an electric stove?
- Does the addition of oil, honey, eggs, or salt affect the rate at which dough ferments? What is the time limit for making matzah ashira?
- For baking matza on baking stones on a grill, must one kasher the grill (and if so, how)? Would the matzah be basari/fleishig?
Kashering for Pesach
- Does one need to kasher a hot plate or plata for Passover? How?
- Can Corelle be kashered during the year and on Passover?
Mechirath Hamess – Selling/Giving Hamess to a Non-Jew
The Seder
- Apart from the korban pesach, how would a seder according to minhag eretz yisrael look like?
- At what degree of severity of an allergic reaction is one exempt from eating foods during the seder? Should one take Benadryl before the seder to eat the foods, if it allows them to?
- Can people hit each other with scallions and onions during “Dayenu”?
- Can the karpas be part of a larger dipping course?
- Closing thoughts on the Seder
- How can a type I diabetic fulfill their obligation of drinking four cups?
- How much karpas should be eaten, and should a blessing be said after it?
- How quickly must one drink the wine of the four cups?
- If one does say the blessing after karpas, what is its correct nusach?
- May one eat roasted meat on the seder?
- Must the cups be filled all the way up, or just for a revi’it?
- Should a fifth cup be poured for Hallel haGadol?
- What does the Rav think of multiple people reading different parts of the haggada?
- What does the Rav think of spilling 10 drops of wine for the plagues and then washing them off?
- Which of the four cups should have blessings said before and after them?
What Items are Kosher for Pesach to Eat/Own
- Are baking soda, baking powder, or any types of yeast chametz? Do they need a hechsher?
- Can one eat a jam made before Passover with non-kashered stainless steel utensils on the holiday?
- Can one have protein powder with dextrose on Passover?
- Can one own vinegar, acetic acid, or ingredients containing them on Passover?
- Do single-ingredient products need a hechsher for Passover, like dried fruits, coconut oil, and kitniyot in open bins?
- Does non-kosher for Passover alcohol not from chametz need to be disposed?
- Does pure corn (or any non-chametz) alcohol have to be kosher for Passover?
- Does sunflower oil (and oils in general) need to have a hechsher for Passover?
- During Passover, can one eat non-chametz food that had been made before the holiday with utensils that hadn’t been kashered yet?
- Is there any reason to be concerned about the matzah ashira one finds in shops?
- May one own stocks in companies that sell non-kosher food or chametz?
- Should we be eating imitation chametz products on Pesach? What about children?
Jewish Calendar
Jews who Deny G-d
Respect for Torah/Talmud Torah
Kosher Food
- Are cows that had C-sections unkosher?
- Is it enough to look at an ingredients list to determine if an item is kosher?
- Is one obligated to buy mehadrin chicken, or does a rabbanut certification suffice?
- Is one obligated to eat Glatt Kosher red meat?
Meat and Dairy
- Do the properties of davar charif apply today?
- Does a kosher kitchen need to have two ovens?
- Does one need to wait between cooking meat and milk in a normal oven?
- Can a clay oven be used for both meat and milk?
- How long should one wait between meat and dairy?
- How should one make dairy bread if more than one meal’s worth of it is being baked?
- Is it permitted to eat meat and fish together?
- Under what circumstances can one bake dairy bread?
Tevillath Kelim
Wine
Beginning and Ending of Shabbath
- How to make sure a guest doesn’t say kriyat shema before tzait hakochavim if Shabbat is brought in early?
- Is there a mitzvah to extend Shabbat after tzait hakochavim?
- Should one extend Shabbat on Saturday evening?
- What should be done if one’s synagogue is running late for a plag minyan on Shabbat?
Carrying/Hossa’ah/Eruv
- Can religious people on an apartment floor create an eruv without the non-religious ones being mevatel their reshut? Are separate floors considered as separate courtyards for this issue?
- For the purposes of carrying, what type of domain are covered areas in the main street in the town of Harish?
- How should a Shabbat belt be worn? Can a normal belt be worn over it decoratively?
- Is it permissible to eat food that was carried in an non-kosher eruv on Shabbat?
Food Preparation on Shabbath
- Are there any cases when one can not open a package of food on Shabbat?
- Can one open bottles with metals or plastic caps on Shabbat?
- Is there an issue of borer in pouring off gravy from a chicken? How can it be avoided?
Havdallah
Miscellaneous
Ner Shabbath
- Can Shabbat candles be lit before plag hamincha so one can make it to an early Shabbat minyan?
- Does the type of light that one lights matter for Hanukka, Shabbat, and havdala?
Shabbath Meals
Shabbath Prayers
- Can one turn around and bow during Lecha Dodi?
- Does the type of light that one lights matter for Hanukka, Shabbat, and havdala?
- Is it permissible to eat a light breakfast before shacharit on Shabbat?
Walking a Dog
General Questions on Shmitah
- Can cuttings from an outdoor perennial herb be potted during shmitah?
- Can one buy produce from a shop owner that weighs the produce when selling it during shmitah?
- Does Shmitta apply to mushrooms? How should one grow mushrooms in a Shmitta year?
- Is it desirable to buy produce with a card or check instead of cash during shmitah?
- May one buy produce for more than three meals of food during shmitah if one can’t buy on a daily basis?
Orlah
Ssissith/Talith
- Can the sides of a tallit katan be sewn together? Can a tallit katan be worn directly on the skin? What materials are obligated in tzitzit? Can the tzitzit strings be trimmed with metal?
- When is a garment obligated in tzitzit? What is the minimum size? Can one wear a tallit smaller that the minimum size on Shabbat?
Tefillin
- Can “Lishmor Chukav” be said at sunset after not having worn tefillin for several hours?
- Can one eat, work, and drink with tefillin on?
- Can the blessing of “Lishmor Chukav” be said at night if one wears tefillin into the night?
- Is there a correct way to wrap tefillin?
- Should one wear Rabbeinu Tam tefillin?
- What is the minimum level of concentration for tefillin?
Bowing and Proper Conduct During Tefillah
- How should one bow in the amida?
- How should one hold one’s hands during prayer?
- Praying & bowing in a synagogue not facing Jerusalem?
Hazarath Hashass
- Can one say birkat kohanim from outside a synagogue?
- Should one do netilat yadaim for chazarat haShatz?
Tefillah
- Can one turn around and bow during Lecha Dodi?
- If one is already standing, should one remain standing for kaddish?
- Repeating Mincha said between chatzot & mincha gedola?
- Should one say Eizehu Mekoman at the beginning of prayer?
- Should one sit or stand for kaddish? What if the synagogue has a certain practice? What if the Ashkenazim all stand and the Sephardim sit? How should “brikh hu” be responded to?
- What parts of prayer must be pronounced correctly?
- What should be said during tachanun? When and how should one do nefilat apayim?
- When can Arvit be said between plag hamincha and shkiya?
Qriy’ath Shema
- By what time must kriyat shema be said at night? How about hamapil?
- How to make sure a guest doesn’t say kriyat shema before tzait hakochavim if Shabbat is brought in early?
- Must one sit/lie down during kriyat shema al hamita or ever repeat it?
- Should the 3rd paragraph of the Shema be said at night?
- What should be said during bedtime Shema?
Army/Self Defense
Hinuch
Proper Pronunciation/Havara
Tzedaqah/Charity
- Is one obligated to give tzedaka? Do taxes or school tuition count?
- Is there a fixed percentage of income that needs to be given for tzedaka?
Tzniyut
- Are shorts for men in keeping with the laws of tzniyut? For boys? If they’re at a beach or playing sports?
- Is a bride obligated to cover her hair at her wedding?
- Is a divorcee or widow obligated to cover her hair?
- Is a single woman required to cover her hair?
Yihud