A Guide to the Observance of Mitzvos (with Explanations) Part 1: Brachos, Kiddush and the Shabbos Meals by Asher Bush There are five species of grains that the Torah considers to be the “official” grains for all purposes. These grains are wheat, rye, barley, spelt and oats.  While not spelled out in the Torah itself, the Mishna [1]Pesachim 35a, Challah ...

Possibly more than any other mitzvah, the lighting of the Chanukah menorah has undergone noticeable changes in how it is observed. Some of these changes have related to persecutions, others to weather and climate and others to lifestyle. In simpler societies work was closer to home and workdays typically ended at nightfall, enabling a timely menorah lighting. Today in our ...

Lost in Shul or: What to do with all of those coats that get left behind The Problem As a personal mitzvah, hashavas aveidah (returning lost objects) is generally easily fulfilled, often entailing little more than waiting for the return of the visitor who left his coat behind or returning a dropped wallet dropped to its nearby owner. However, this ...

Hanging Our Heads in Shame The past few years have provided the Orthodox Jewish community with far too many embarrassing moments, when seemingly good members were shown to have acted in ways that were anything but good. Most cases were matters of personal greed and corruption; a few went much farther. But none of those painful situations come close to ...

The Shulchan Aruch surprisingly refrains from addressing the now-common case of visitors to Israel on the second day of Yom Tov even though it clearly rules that even short term visitors from Israel are not allowed to do prohibited labors outside of Israel on that day.[1. Orach Chaim 496:3.] While this article will not address that question, it should be ...

I. Comments and Culpability The great importance of the internet in general and blogs in particular in communicating ideas raises important halachic issues. How much responsibility does a website’s owner bear for its use or misuse? Leading organizations in our community such as the OU and Aish HaTorah allow article comments on an ongoing basis. However, it is only the ...

Guest post by R. Asher Bush Rabbi Asher Bush is the rav of Congregation Ahavas Yisrael in Wesley Hills, NY and is a longtime member of the faculty at Frisch Yeshiva High School. He is the author of T’shuvos Sho’el B’Shlomo and serves as the Chairman of the Va’ad Halacha of the Rabbinical Council of America. On one hand, I ...