Halachah

by R. Daniel Mann Question: Is it better to do netilat lulav (=nl) in the sukka before one goes to shul or during tefilla (before Hallel)?  Answer: The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chayim 644:1) describes nl as being done before Hallel. One could have claimed that this is due to time concerns. Although b’di’eved one can fulfill nl from alot hashachar, ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: Is it indeed proper to wear white clothes and not wear gold on Yom Kippur? Is there a difference between men and women? Should one wear or avoid nice clothes on Yom Kippur? Answer: The Rama (Orach Chayim 610:4) cites two minhagim found in Rishonim, regarding white clothes. The Mordechai (Yoma 723) says one should ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: Is it permitted for an avel (mourner) to serve as a chazan for Yamim Noraim (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur)? Whose decision is it – the shul’s or the avel’s? Answer: The classical source on the topic is the Maharil (15th century, Ashkenaz), based on the Maharam. In contrast to the rabbi who asked him ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: I found a discarded wooden box, which someone who sold their apartment left outside a storage room. The neighbors want to throw it out. After opening it, I could tell it was used to store a small sefer Torah. What should to do with it? Answer: The gemara (Megilla 26b) says that a tashmish kedusha ...

by R. Yaakov Hoffman Many women would be aghast at the idea of omitting jewelry from their Shabbat wardrobe. It may thus come as a surprise that the Talmud unequivocally forbids women from wearing jewelry on Shabbat.1 Even pious women, however, seem to ignore this prohibition—a fact with which poskim have grappled since the earliest post-Talmudic times. Wearing adornments (tachshitim) ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: Unfortunately, I did not look at a siddur last night when reciting Al Hamichya. I made a couple mistakes along the way, and I remember specifically leaving out the words “al ha’aretz” in the chatimah (end part). Was I yotzeh? Answer: Indeed, it is important to either know Al Hamichya very well or have access ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: Are there sins that would cause a son to automatically lose his share? If a father is angry at a son, is he allowed to use a device to disinherit him? Answer: It is unclear whether this question is theoretical or practical. In any case, our answer is general. The Torah laws of inheritance are ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: My student asked me the following. Shimon buys a house from Reuven at a normal price even though he knows (and Reuven does not) that there are many gold coins hidden in the attic walls. Is the sale valid? Why/Why not? Answer: Before we get to the excellent conceptual question, we must briefly raise some ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: Is it permitted to email, WhatsApp, and use social media before davening? Answer: Emailing and other forms of electronic communication have two broad purposes – social interaction; technical/business-related. Each can be a problem before davening, but their parameters differ somewhat. We will deal with them separately before touching on “policy.” (We leave out the important issue of such activity ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: The last time my wife was away for Shabbat, my oldest daughter (under bat mitzva) wanted to light Shabbat candles instead of me. Can a minor daughter do so, and does she have precedence over me? Answer: The short answer is that you should be doing the hadlakat neirot and not your pre-bat mitzva daughter ...