Halachah

by R. Daniel Mann Question: Could you please review some of the rules and rationale of the practices of Purim Meshulash (Triple Purim) in Yerushalayim? [This is a re-edited repeat from 15 years ago.] Answer: When the fifteenth of Adar, celebrated as Purim in cities that were walled at the time of Yehoshua (notably including Yerushalayim), falls on Shabbat, when ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: If one who is not a ba’al koreh cannot make it to shul to hear Megillat Esther (e.g., if the pandemic will preclude one from coming), how else can he fulfill the mitzva of hearing it? Answer: (For those who can hear from a distance, not being in shul is not a problem; if they ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: [This question was sent by a European rabbi.] A business owner demands that his employees be vaccinated against Corona due to the type of work done and makes them sign a waiver of claims for damages stemming from the vaccine. Can an employer make such a demand and transfer risk to a reluctant employee?  Answer: ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: We like to keep our challot in a warm place until bringing them to the table after netilat yadayim so they taste their best. Must they be on the table during Kiddush?   Answer: The question to start with is: why do we (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 271:9) cover the challot?   The gemara (Pesachim 100a-b) mentions ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: We set our Shabbat table with a larger “charger” plate under the main plate. At the end of the meal, we clear off the dirty dishes and leave the charger plates. Is there a problem with borer (selecting)?  Answer: Avoiding suspense – it is clearly permitted. One reason for our confidence is that while charger ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: My neighborhood is filled with outdoor Covid 19 minyanim.  I was walking down the street on Shabbat and a minyan across the street was in the middle of Kedusha. In such cases, do I need to stop, keep my feet together, and respond to Kedusha until they are done, or may I continue walking? Answer: ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: If one does netilat yadayim (=ny) before eating rinsed fruit (without a beracha), and then decides to eat bread, should he wash again, with a beracha?  Answer: Your question is related to a famous yearly practice. The gemara (Pesachim 115b) says that at the Seder, the first ny (for karpas) does not preclude a second ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: I was told that the “Paybox” app that allows sending money enables payments only of full shekalim. So when my wife and many others use it to repay a friend who bought something at the grocery that has an agurot element, they must round the numbers. Is rounding up a problem of ribbit?  Answer: (For ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: My wife and I are relatively newly married. I am used to having fleishig Shabbat meals, whereas my wife is disgusted by meat (including poultry, mainly by the smell). Is it right for us to stop having meat at Shabbat/Yom Tov meals or should we try to figure out an arrangement that my wife can ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: As a gabbai, sometimes I do not realize either that a kohen is present and I give the first aliya to a non-kohen, or that a levi is present and I give the second aliya to the kohen. What do we do when this is discovered?  Answer: It depends. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 135:6-7) ...