Ask the Rabbi

Question: Before leaving a mourner who is sitting shiva, one says, “HaMakom yenachem et’chem betoch she’ar aveilei Tziyon ViYerushalayim – May you be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem. What is the source of this pasuk? Zelig Aronson Via email

Question: Where I live, in a small out of town community, we have only one Orthodox synagogue, but the bimah is in the front on the stage with the Aron HaKodesh. My question: May one daven in a synagogue in which the bimah is not in the center? Y.S. Via email

Question: Should one stand or sit for the Ashrei recited after Keriat haTorah, and is the answer to this question affected by the requirement to show kavod, or respect, to the Torah scroll, which is being wrapped up as Ashrei begins? Anonymous

Question: Should one stand or sit for the Ashrei recited after Keriat haTorah, and is the answer to this question affected by the requirement to show kavod, or respect, to the Torah scroll, which is being wrapped up as Ashrei begins? Anonymous

Question: Should one stand or sit for the Ashrei recited after Keriat haTorah, and is the answer to this question affected by the requirement to show kavod, or respect, to the Torah scroll, which is being wrapped up as Ashrei begins? Anonymous

Question: The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch states that a person should first put on his right shoe, then his left one, then tie the laces of the left shoe, then tie the laces of the right shoe. He explains that the right side always comes first except in the case of tying, which is why tefillin are wrapped on our left arms. My question is: Since we wrap tefillin with our right hand, couldn’t one argue that there is no exception to the rule and we should tie our right shoe first? Y. Malinsky

Question: Many people are accustomed to staying awake Shavuot night and learning Torah. Is this recommended even at the expense of having proper kavanah at Shachris the next morning? Wouldn’t it be far better to get a good night’s rest and then learn with more fervor the next day? No Name Please

Question: Is it true that one can fulfill the mitzvah of reciting Keri’at Shema merely by saying its first verse? Ariel Schwartz

Question: If on the evening of the 33rd day of the Omer, a person mentions that it’s Lag BaOmer (e.g., “It’s Lag BaOmer, let’s dance!”), has he technically counted sefirah with his statement so that he can’t count more formally later with a berachah? M. Goldblum Miami Beach, FL

Question: Why do some people eat matzah on Pesach Sheni? Harry Koenig

Question: Why do some people eat matzah on Pesach Sheni? Harry Koenig

Question: What if one forgot to count Sefirah Thursday night and didn’t remember until Friday eve after accepting Shabbat early? May he count at that point before it turns dark and then continue saying the berachah for the Omer the next evening? Pesach Bernstein

Question: Why do we read Shir HaShirim on the Shabbat of Passover? Also, why don’t we recite a blessing before reading it as we do before reading Megillat Esther? Menachem

Question: My family custom is not to don tefillin on Chol HaMo’ed. What should I do if I come to a shul where it’s the custom to don tefillin on these days? M. Jakobowitz

Question: Since Erev Pesach is on Shabbos this year, when does one burn the chametz? Also, can you discuss some of the other Pesach laws unique to Erev Pesach that falls on Shabbos? M. Aronowitz

Question: Since Erev Pesach is on Shabbos this year, when does one burn the chametz? Also, can you discuss some of the other Pesach laws unique to Erev Pesach that falls on Shabbos? M. Aronowitz

Question: I would like to know why there are four special readings of the Torah from the beginning of Adar until Pesach. Also, why do we call each of those four Shabbatot by a special name? Finally, when did the practice of reading a parshah every week start? Celia Gluck

Question: I would like to know why there are four special readings of the Torah from the beginning of Adar until Pesach. Also, why do we call each of those four Shabbatot by a special name? Finally, when did the practice of reading a parshah every week start? Celia Gluck

Question: Is one allowed to use an electric slow cooker (such as a Crock-Pot) that fits into another pot for the purpose of maintaining hot food on Shabbos? M. Goldblum

Question: Is one allowed to use an electric slow cooker (such as a Crock-Pot) that fits into another pot for the purpose of maintaining hot food on Shabbos? M. Goldblum

Question: Is one allowed to use an electric slow cooker (such as a Crock-Pot) that fits into another pot for the purpose of maintaining hot food on Shabbos? M. Goldblum

On days that we recite Hallel, why do we do so before Keri'at HaTorah? Shouldn’t the Torah reading come first based on the rule that whenever two matters face us, we do the more frequent one first (tadir v’she’eino tadir, tadir kodem)? Menachem

On days that we recite Hallel, why do we do so before Keriat HaTorah? Shouldn’t the Torah reading come first based on the rule that whenever two matters face us, we do the more frequent one first (tadir v’she’eino tadir, tadir kodem)? Menachem

On those days that we recite Hallel, why do we do so before Keriat HaTorah? Shouldn’t the Torah reading come first based on the rule that whenever two matters face us, we do the more frequent one first (tadir v’she’eino tadir, tadir kodem)? Menachem

Question: Is one permitted to use an electric hot water urn controlled by a Shabbos clock to boil water on Shabbat? Yisrael W.

Question: Is one permitted to boil water in an electric hot water urn on Shabbos if the urn is controlled by a Shabbos clock? Yisrael W.

Question: I am an Ashkenazi Jew. I daven nusach Sefarad, but lately I find myself in a congregation that davens nusach Ashkenaz. May I join them in prayer and, if yes, in what manner? Name Withheld by Request

Question: I am an Ashkenazi Jew. I daven nusach Sefarad, but lately I find myself in a congregation that davens nusach Ashkenaz. May I, and in what manner, join them in prayer? Name Withheld by Request

Question: The Gemara says the menorah should be placed outside the front door of one’s house but can be placed inside if one is worried about anti-Semitism. But how does placing the menorah solve this problem? Won’t the candles be seen through the window? And if the gentiles are really hostile, can’t they search our homes? Menachem

Question: Recently the chazzan in my shul created a stir when he didn’t include the proper mention of rain during chazaras hashatz. Our rabbi didn’t require him to repeat the Amidah, but many congregants felt the rabbi erred and murmured their discontent. Who was right and how can we, in a tactful way, prevent such a lapse from occurring again? A Concerned Congregant