Q & A: A Full Goblet Of Wine (Part II)
Question: I’ve noticed that some people fill their kiddush and havdallah cups to the point that they overflow. Is there a halachic source for this practice? Doesn’t it amount to bal tashchit?
Bernard Gold
Q & A: Prayer And Its Origins (Part III)
Question: The Gemara in Berachot teaches that the Sages authored our prayers. If so, it would seem that we did not pray before this time. Did we pray before their innovation or not?
Menachem
Via Email
Q & A: Tzedakah (Part XIX)
Question: When a stranger approaches a congregant in shul asking for tzedakah, should the congregant verify that the person’s need is genuine? Furthermore, what constitutes tzedakah? Is a donation to a synagogue, yeshiva, or hospital considered tzedakah?
Zvi Kirschner
(Via E-Mail)
Q & A: L’David Hashem Ori (Part III)
Question: In L’David Hashem Ori – which we recite from the beginning of Elul until Shemini Atzeret – we read the following: “Bikrov alay me’re’im le’echol et besarai – When evildoers approach me to devour my flesh.” Why does the verse use the word “me’re’im”? Why not use “resha’im” or “anashim ra’im” instead?
Tzila Kleinbart
Brooklyn, NY
Q & A: Reciting Kaddish Properly (Part II)
Question: In the many shuls that I've attended, I observe that there are people who recite the Kaddish silently. Is this correct? I’ve also seen Kaddish recited by some at a cemetery without a minyan. Is there any reason to sanction this?
Charles Rosen
Via Email
Q & A: Mourning In A Leap Year (Part I)
QUESTION: When does a mourner complete the year of mourning during a leap year?Zev Stern(Via e-mail)
Q & A: Was The Torah Ever Forgotten?
Question: The Gemara (Sukkah 20a) states that the Torah was forgotten for a period of time. This seems to be quite difficult to understand. Weren't the people of earlier generations greater than those of later generations?
Zvi Simon
(Via e-mail)
Q & A: Saying ‘Amen’ Right Before Shema (Part I)
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: ‘The Scepter Shall Not Depart From Judah’ (Part IV)
(Please note: The question has been modified to reflect amendments suggested by a reader, Yisrael Levi, in last week’s column.)
Q & A: Amen (Part VI)
What is the exact meaning of amen and where does the word come from?
David H.
(Via E-Mail)
Q & A: Why Fault Man?
Question: Since G-d knows the future, isn’t our choice very limited? If so, how can man be faulted for any missteps he makes?
Zvi Kirschner
Q & A: Sabbath Shuttle? (Part VIII)
Question: Is it permitted on the Sabbath or holidays to take a shuttle to synagogue? The neighborhood shuttle runs from 9-5 daily, is driven by a gentile, has a designated stop schedule, and is free of charge.
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: Is An Electric Menorah Good Enough? (Part I)
Question: Does one fulfill the mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles with an electric menorah? Can one recite the blessings before lighting it?
A. Gordon
Q & A: Ayin Hara (Part VI)
Question: I know there is a dispute in the Gemara regarding ayin hara, the evil eye. Can you discuss the origin of it?
Ben Glassman
(Via E-Mail)
Q & A: Pet Therapy (Part I)
Question: My young daughter was recently diagnosed with autism. She does not function well socially and is extremely introverted, but we have noticed that she reacts very well to small animals. We reported this to her therapist who suggested that we get a dog or cat as a pet. We know that most religious people frown upon having pets, but we hate to see our daughter suffer and want to do anything that would make her happy. Would it be okay to own a pet in the circumstances we described?
Her Loving Parents
(Via E-Mail)
Q & A: The Lunar Leap Year (Part II)
Question: Why is there an extra month in the Jewish calendar every few years? And who decides whether a particular year should be a leap year or not?
Name Withheld
Toronto, Ontario
Q & A: Getting Married During Sefira (Conclusion)
QUESTION: My friends are getting married on Rosh Chodesh Sivan. I tried to convince them to do otherwise, as many people have a minhag (custom) not to attend weddings until three days before Shavuot. They told me they spoke to rabbis who allowed it. Is this right? May Iattend?Name Withheld by Request
Q & A: Relative Sanctity Of Various Holy Books (Part I)
Question: Because of the Torah’s sanctity, we do not place any object on top of a Torah scroll, except for its mantle or a tallit during the Torah reading. Is it a violation to put a siddur or other sefer (holy book) on top of a printed Chumash when these are placed on shelves or tables?
Alex Poultman
Via E-mail
Q & A: Calling One’s Parent By Name (Part I)
Dear Rabbi Klass,
I hope this finds you well. In a recent Daf Yomi Highlights column (1-15-21), you explain that Yitzchak was permitted to bless Yaakov by saying: “May Hashem grant you the blessings of Avraham” even though one is forbidden from using a parent’s first name, since the name Avraham itself is a “respectful title.” But this raises the question: How could Yaakov say to Yosef: “The G-d before whom my fathers Avraham and Yitzchak walked... bless the lads ... and may my name be declared upon them, and the names of my forefathers, Avraham and Yitzchak.” (Genesis 48:15-16).
Your explanation would explain why it was proper for him to use the name Avraham (presumably one is not permitted to call a grandparent by a first name just as one is forbidden to call a parent by his first name) but it seems Yitzchak is no more a respectful title than any other name, so how did Yaakov use his father’s first name twice?
Leonard Ziegler
Via email
Q & A: A Mohel’s Dilemma
Question: May a mohel perform a bris for a non-Orthodox couple who adopt a Gentile infant whom they wish to raise as Jewish?
Name withheld
Los Angeles, CA
Q & A: More Sefirah Questions (Part I)
Question: Is there a requirement to say “Hineni muchan u’mezuman…” before Sefirat HaOmer? Also if a person arrives late for Maariv, should he count sefirah first with the minyan or proceed immediately to Maariv?
Moshe Jakobowitz
Brooklyn, NY
Q & A: Sefirat HaOmer – When To Start Counting (Part I)
Question: Why do we start counting sefirat ha’omer in chutz la’aretz on the second night of Pesach when the omer in the times of the Beit Hamikdash was cut on Chol HaMoed?
M. Goldman
(Via E-Mail)
Q & A: Praying In Other Languages (Part IX)
Question: When reciting a berachah in English, does a person fulfill his obligation if he says “Hashem” instead of “L-rd” or “G-d”?
Yosef
Q & A: Forgetting To Mention Rain In The Amidah (Part I)
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
Q & A: Arabs Circumcise At 13 (Part XVIII)
Question: If Abraham was commanded to circumcise his descendants on the eighth day, why do Arabs – who claim to descend from Abraham through Yishmael – wait until their children are 13 to circumcise them? I am aware that this is a matter of little consequence to our people. Nevertheless, this inconsistency is one that piques my curiosity.
M. Goldman
(Via E-mail)
Q & A: The Lunar Leap Year (Part I)
Question: Why is there an extra month in the Jewish calendar every few years? And who decides whether a particular year should be a leap year or not?
Name Withheld
Toronto, Ontario
Q & A: The Five Inuyim (Afflictions) Of Yom Kippur
Question: I am aware that there are five pleasurable activities from which we have to abstain on Yom Kippur. Can you explain them? Are they of equal importance?
Martin Wainman
Via Email
Q & A: Mechirat Chametz And Chametz She’avar Alav HaPesach (Part IV –...
Question: I would like to have a better understanding of a practice that I and many others are a party to every year before Passover. How does the sale of chametz to the gentile take effect if it returned to the original owner within a very short period after the festival’s conclusion?
M .Goldblum
Miami Beach, FL
Q & A: Netilat Yadayim If One Didn’t Sleep At Night (Part I)
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