Q & A: Reading The Megillah (Part I)

Question: If someone heard Megillat Esther in shul and later reads it at home for his wife and family, must he recite the blessings? Menachem

Q & A: Offering Tefillin To Passersby (Part III)

Question: Where I live, I see Chabad shluchim offering Jewish passerby to put on tefillin, is this of any value if they are otherwise non-observant, additionally is doing so in a street – a public thoroughfare proper kavod for the tefillin? Menachem Via email

Q & A: ‘Ga’al Yisrael’ Aloud (Part I)

Question: In the course of my travels, I have discovered that some chazzanim say “ga’al Yisrael” right before Shemoneh Esreh aloud while others say it with their voices fading. Is one practice correct and the other incorrect? M. Goldman

Q & A: An Unusual Shehecheyanu (Part II)

Question: Why does the chazzan recite shehecheyanu on Yom Kippur night? Elimelech Feldman (Via E-Mail)

Q & A: Must Everyone Drink The Four Cups?

Question: I have two questions: 1) Why does each person recite Kiddush at the Seder when only the head of the household does so the rest of the year? 2) Why do we eat an egg at the Seder? S. Schwartz

Q & A: The 15th Of Av (Part I)

Question: What is the significance of Tu B’Av, the 15th of Av? David Bernstein Via email

Q & A: A Missed Torah Reading (Part VIII)

Question: If a person was ill on Shabbos and unable to go to shul to hear Keri’at haTorah, must he have someone read it to him in shul upon his recovery? Sincerely, Isaac Greenberg

Q & A: Internet Filters For The Orthodox Jew

In light of all the attention that the recent Internet Asifa garnered, we thought it wise to offer this analysis on the subject by Rabbi Gil Student, founder of TorahMusings.com and former managing editor of OU Publications.

Q & A: Idol Worship? (Part II)

Question: What did our sages mean when they said that anyone who resides outside the Land Israel is like an idol worshipper? Is that what all of us residing outside Israel are – idol worshippers? M. Goldblum (Via E-Mail)

Q & A: Netilat Yadayim If One Didn’t Sleep At Night (Part II)

Question: Should a person who only went to sleep after dawn say a berachah after netilat yadayim when he wakes up? M. Goldman Miami Beach

Q & A: A Sefirah Dilemma (Part II)

Question: As the shamash in a small community shul with an aging population, I am faced with numerous challenges. The following is only one of them. During sefirah, different people daven for the amud for Ma’ariv. Once, a bar mitzvah was one of them. On another occasion, a very recent ger lead the service. Were these individuals allowed to lead the congregation in counting sefirah? I also wonder, in general, if everyone should be trusted to lead the counting. What if someone forgot to count on one of the previous nights but does not inform anyone of this? No Name (Via E-Mail)

Q & A: Chazzan And Congregation (Part XIV)

Question: What should the chazzan do when he reaches Kedushah and Modim? Some chazzanim say every word of Kedushah out loud and some only say the last part of the middle two phrases out loud. As far as the congregation is concerned, some congregants say every word of Kedushah and some say only the last part. Finally, some chazzanim and congregants say Modim during chazaras hashatz out loud and some say it quietly. What is the source for these various practices? A Devoted Reader (Via E-Mail)

Q & A: Saying ‘Amen’ Right Before Shema (Part VIII)

Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman

Q & A: Harsh Punishments (Part III)

Question: I find it very difficult to understand the punishment of death that was meted out to Rabbi Akiba’s students. If he was so great, we can assume that his students were of a superior caliber as well. If so, why did they deserve such a harsh punishment? Zelig Aronson Queens, NY

Q & A: Sidra Or Parasha?

QUESTION: I have noticed that some refer to the weekly Torah portion as Parashat Hashavua while others refer to it as the week's Sidra. Which is correct?Eliyahu TewelVia E-Mail

Q & A: How Does One Observe Pesach Sheni? (Part II)

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

Q & A: A Kohen’s Prayer (Part II)

Question: Sefer Chareidim (ch. 67) cites a Midrash that Eliyahu once testified that a certain kohen who begged G-d for righteous sons merited to see all of them serve as high priests, and none of them died during his lifetime. Where exactly is this Midrash? Nathan

Q & A: ‘The Scepter Shall Not Depart From Judah’ – Redux (Part IV)

Question: The famous Iggeret of Rav Sherira Gaon references Yerushalmi Kilaim 9:3 and Kesubos 12:3 and states that Rabbi Judah the Prince descended from Hillel who, in turn, descended from the tribe of Binyamin – not Yehudah. The Iggeret also discusses how the Mishnah was written and how Rabbi Judah worked on it. Had Menachem read this Iggeret by Rav Sherira Gaon – who, incidentally, was a direct descendant of King David – I don’t think he would have asked his question. Yehuda T. (Via E-Mail)

Q & A: ‘The Scepter Shall Not Depart From Judah’ (Part I)

Question: As Shavuot is fast approaching – a holiday on which we dwell on the story of Ruth and the origins of the royal house of David – I was wondering if you could help me resolve something. Some people say that Rabbi Yehudah HaNassi, the redactor of the six orders of the Mishnah and a scion of King David, purposely kept any mention of Chanukah and the Hasmonean kings out of the Mishnah because the Hasmoneans improperly crowned themselves and ignored the rule that all Jewish kings are supposed to come from the tribe of Yehudah. Is this true? Menachem (Via E-Mail)

Q & A: The Sandak (Part X)

Question: I was at a brit where the father and grandfather of the boy argued over who should be sandak. The grandfather had served as sandak once before, but he persisted and, as they say, “might makes right.” I am curious as to your view on this matter. M. Renkin (Via E-Mail)

Q & A: The Leap Year At Adar (Part III)

Tosafot (Sanhedrin 12a) offers a scriptural reason: to ensure that Adar will remain the twelfth month, as it is referred to in Megillat Esther (3:7).

Q & A: Waving The Lulav

Question: In which direction should a person wave the lulav first? Menachem

Q & A: A Missed Torah Reading (Part XIII)

Question: If a person was ill on Shabbos and unable to go to shul to hear Keri’at haTorah, must he have someone read it to him in shul upon his recovery? Sincerely, Isaac Greenberg

Q & A: A Sabbath Desecrator Leading Services (Part I)

Question: May someone who desecrates the Sabbath lead the services if he has yahrzeit? If yes, can he replace someone else who has yahrzeit? Hayim Grosz (Via E-Mail)

Q & A: Kiddush Levanah And Repeating Verses Three Times (Part II)

Question: I have numerous questions about Kiddush Levanah. First, why is this prayer called Kiddush Levanah? Shouldn’t it be called Chiddush Levanah considering that the prayer concerns the renewal – not the sanctification – of the moon? Second, why do we greet each other with the words Shalom Aleichem at Kiddush Levanah and why do we repeat the greeting three times? Is it because we have not seen a new moon for a whole month? Third, why does Kiddush Levanah – and other prayers – contain verses (aside from the Shalom Aleichem greeting) that we are supposed to say three times? Please elaborate on this mitzvah. Ira Warshansky (Via E-Mail)

Q & A: The Difference Between Mention And Request (Part I)

Question: Can you explain the different starting times of Mashiv haruach u’morid hagashem and Ve’ten tal u’matar livracha as opposed to Morid hatal and Ve’ten beracha, and why they are said as part of particular berachot in the Amida, as found in the siddur? S. Dorman Via email

Q & A: Noy Sukkah – Sukkah Decorations (Part I)

Question: Is decorating the sukkah part of the mitzvah, or does the mitzvah only require the sukkah itself? Moshe Jakobowitz Brooklyn, NY

Q & A: Wherefore Ne’ilah?

Question: Why do we recite a fifth prayer – Ne’ilah – on Yom Kippur but on no other day of the year? G. Goodman

Q & A: The Hereafter – Olam Haba (Part XII)

Question: How do we know that there is an olam haba – a world to come? L. Papirmeister

Q & A: The Arba Parshiyot (Conclusion)

Question: Why do we read four special Torah sections between Purim and Pesach. Also, why do we call each of the four Shabbatot on which we read these sections by a special name – such as Shabbat Shekalim, Shabbat Zachor etc.? Celia Gluck (Via E-Mail)

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