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Posts by manassehkatz
As I understand it, generally speaking: If you count the correct number of days (ideally also weeks, but days is the most important) in any way (e.g., "tonight we count...") after Tzeis Hacochav...
As I understand it, the Tevilah requirement comes in when: A vessel for use with preparing or eating food is manufactured by a non-Jew A vessel for use with preparing or eating food is owned by...
Anecdotally, if people know you're a Baal Koreh, they will often let you - or ask you to - Layn your Aliyah. Many years ago I used to help a Sephardi Minyan (I am 100% Ashkenazi) with anything from...
during the week,one does not say tachanun in the house of a mourner (or, if the mourner must daven in shul, in the shul). (Emphasis added to the key phrase.) Except, that's not the case, at least...
Shavuos is about the weeks. That's the easy one. Sukkos is about more than one Sukkah. Not just that we need to build more than one to celebrate the holiday, but because Vayikra 23:43 refers to th...
One possible reason, but I have no source for it being a requirement in any way, is that we have two different categories of Maror. One is things like horseradish - immediately and unequivocally bi...
Fortunately, I live in an area that has had an active Eruv for the last few years. For the first few months of the pandemic, this was actually not much of an issue. Local regulations prohibited gro...
The amount that matters varies depending on the particular Zman, the time of year and location on this planet and on your specific concerns. For a simple example, the circumference of the Earth is ...
I have seen this a few times. Really quite simple. Just like the Gabbai will, unless he knows everyone, ask "Is there a Cohen?" or "Is there a Levi?" when it comes to Layning, he will do the same, ...
The Bracha on salt, as listed in Mishneh Torah, Blessings 8:8 is Shehakol. I have found confirmation in modern generally accepted Halachic sources. According to Mishneh Torah, Blessings 8:7 spices...
TL;DR Shabbos starts at the generally accepted astronomical definition of sunset, and the 18 minutes is before that time. There are a few separate issues here: Halachically, when is "Shkias Hacha...
It is actually very much the same thing, at least ignoring the "sleep in Sukkah" part which most people don't do these days for a variety of reasons, especially outside of Israel. Basically, with ...
TL;DR Is Shaimos an issue to be concerned about in posts, and if so, what policy should we set? This question contains (at the moment) a name of God in Hebrew that is considered Shaimos, requiring...
My LOR was extremely resistant to the idea of a strictly online "no physical Kinyan" sale until last year. We came up with a form (the only option last year, this year he allowed people to contact...
As noted by others, there are many (both historical and current) people who make a point of eating Matzah on every day of Pesach based on the Pasuk. In addition, depending on location and the day o...
The first statement matches what I have heard this year from numerous sources, both Ashkenazi and Sephardi. I have heard a number of the items below from Rabbi Dovid Rosenbaum of Young Israel Shom...
Note: I have references for many of these things, but Friday morning stream-of-consciousness at the moment. References later if I get a chance. There are a lot of different issues here, though all...
My understanding is that even an actual Sefer Torah - i.e., full text, written on parchment, etc. - written by an apostate (Jew or non-Jew with the "wrong" intentions) is not Sheimos. This would ce...
Generally speaking, cooking - including Bishul but also Afiah (baking) and other variants - is about "improving food through the application of heat". The key words include: Improving - e.g., if...
Yaakov didn't come up with the scheme on his own. If he had done so, it would have required relying on a miracle without any expectation of one - he would have been better off working for "normal" ...
My Rabbi approved the following post: https://wp.yise.org/shofar/ which includes some basic Halachos and a short video by Craig Simon. Craig blew all over the neighborhood today (as did others - th...
Nusach and Minhagim This may seem trivially obvious - basically pick from Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Nusach Sephard, Chabad, and a few others. But you may find a Shul that has more than one (mine has Ash...
Official rabbinical guidance from my Shul Young Israel Shomrai Emunah of Greater Washington: One of the most cherished practices in this time of year is the blowing of shofar in shul during the mo...
Looking from the practical Halacha, Avinu Malkenu is clearly linked to, if not an actual part of, Tachanun. On Taanis Esther, which usually takes place on the day before Purim, Avinu Malkenu is no...
My opinion: Should we allow users to write questions in non-English languages? No. The primary language of the site should be English, so each question should be substantially English for the f...
