Based on “A Summary of Halachos of the Three Weeks” by Rabbi Shimon D. Eider This is a continuation of: The Laws of the Three Weeks The Laws of the Nine Days Tisha b’Av is a day of mourning and repentance on which we recall the destruction of the First and Second Temples, and other[…]
Based on “A Summary of Halachos of the Three Weeks” by Rabbi Shimon D. Eider This is a continuation of: The Laws of the Three Weeks In addition to the laws of the Three Weeks that apply to the entire three-week period, during the nine days between the 1st of Av until after Tisha b’Av[…]
Based on “A Summary of Halachos of the Three Weeks” by Rabbi Shimon D. Eider During the three weeks between the 17th of Tammuz until after Tisha b’Av, the custom is to observe some aspects of mourning over the destruction of the Holy Temple. The observance intensifies as Tisha b’Av approaches. (The following is according[…]
From: Sam in Chicago Dear Rabbi, This is my first time experiencing Shavuot in a yeshiva environment. I’m told that everybody stays up all night studying Torah, which sounds interesting, but at the same time I’m a little wary of doing so. In school I once had a paper due the next day that I[…]
From: Marsha in NYC Dear Rabbi, Why is Moses’ name not mentioned in the Haggada? Dear Marsha, The Torah attests, “Moses was the most humble person on the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3). It should be no surprise, then, that the world’s humblest person omitted his name from the story, and instead he attributed[…]
From: Neil Reznik in Valley Forge, PA Dear Rabbi, Why is the afikomen taken from the middle matza during the Seder rather than from the top or bottom matza? Dear Neil, On the first night of Passover, we say two blessings over the matza. The first blessing, “hamotzi”, is the usual blessing we say when[…]
From: I. M. Burns Dear Rabbi I am living with my parents now and they do not keep mitzvot nor Shabbat nor the holidays. They are respectful but they just don’t know and can’t be bothered to learn. Passover is coming up. I am trying to arrange with them to go out to a kosher[…]
From: Stephanie in Detroit Dear Rabbi, What is the significance of wearing costumes on Purim? Dear Stephanie, A simple Jew was once traveling on a journey. He arrived at a certain town near nightfall, and desperately sought lodgings at the town inn. To his dismay, he learned that there was no room in the inn[…]
From: Michael in Chicago Dear Rabbi, I saw an ad on campus about a Tu b’Shevat celebration. What is Tu b’Shevat and what is its significance? Thank you. Dear Michael, “Tu” is the word formed by the Hebrew letters ‘tet’ and ‘vav’. Since in the mystical tradition each Hebrew letter also has a numerical value,[…]
From: I.E. Dear Rabbi, If someone is sick and knows that he is going to have to eat on Yom Kippur, why not do so through intravenous? It’s my understanding that since intravenous is not the normal way of eating, it’s not technically a violation of the requirement to fast. If you tell me that[…]