Panorama of Halacha Panorama of Halocho

1)    May one who is allergic to wheat rely on rice for קידוש במקום סעודה?[1]

2)    I often hear the question (on your shiur and elsewhere): "Am I obligated to give maaser on..." and many similar. But isn't maaser today just an optional minhag?[2]

3)    One weekday morning in our Shul, a Kohen visiting from EY went forward to say Birkas Kohanim. Should we go along with it or should we tell him that it’s not done in Chu”l?[3]

4)     Is there flexibility to allow a Bar Mitzva to have his Aliya one day early?[4]

5)     Feedback on not being Yoitze the full bentsching
by reciting Al haMichya:[5]

6)     Why is it Chabad custom not to wear a watch on Yomtov?[6]

7)     Feedback on attaching a key to a belt on Shabbos:

8)     Re. Kol Isha: The Alter Rebbe continues the Kol
HaRagil category with "even Kol Zemer" and proceeds with conditions. This aspect was not mentioned; am I misunderstanding the Alter Rebbe?[7]

9)     What was presented on the screen (week 30) appears to discuss the issue of a father hearing his daughter singing, not about a sister. The same re. the
second snippet regarding hugging and kissing. In week 31 it was mentioned briefly that there is a Posek that allows some level of affectionate contact between siblings. But Shulchan Aruch Even Haezer 21:7 only permits this between father/daughter mother/son?

10)  I laid Tefilin with a man. He later tells me that he’s a leftie. So, I put on the Hand-Tefilin on his right arm. Does he repeat the brocho?[8]



[1]  ראה שו"ע או"ח סי' רעג ס"ה ובנו"כ; שוע"
שםס"ז; פסקי תשובות שם אות ח.

[2] ראה שו"ע יו"ד סי' רמט ס"א; ס' צדקה ומשפט פ"ה
ס"ב. באם מבקשים
ממנו צדקה – זה שיעור לפוטרו!

[3] ראה שוע"ר סי' קכט ס"ב.

[4] ראה שו"ע קמג ס"א; סימן רפב ס"ג; כף החיים שם אות כב.

[5] שאלה זו הובאה באגרות קודש (ח"ד
ע' כד), שם הביא מס' ליקוטי מאיר [בנט, ברדיוב תרצ"ב, ע' 49] וס' ברכת יעקב
[רוזנבוים, לובלין תרצ"ד, ע' 104] בשם ס' עקרי הד"ט (או"ח סי' ט
סעיף לו) ושו"ת תשורת ש"י (אות תקעא) שצריך לחזור ולברך, "ואין
ספרים הנ"ל תחת ידי, אבל כנראה, טעמם מפני שאין בה ברית ותורה". ואכן כן
הדבר לגבי עיקרי הד"ט הנסמן שם [בשם שו"ת אגורה באהלך, שלוניקי
תקמ"א], אבל בתשורת שי שם רק הוכיח מזה שלא הקילו לפועלים לברך מעין ג' במקום
ג' ברכות, ש"מ דלא סגי בהכי.

[6] ראה זכרונות של סבי ע"ה משנת תרפ"ח;
זכרונות התמימים משנת תרצ"ב (הערה"ת מונטריאל פג-פה; סיפור על ר' יענקל
כ"ץ ע"ה; כן עם ר"מ הארליג ע"ה (בית חיינו ה ע' 448).
וראה שדי חמד ריש מערכת יו"ט (כרך ו ע' א'שלא) נטה להקל.

[7] השואל הבין
ש"קול זמר" נכלל ב"קול שרגיל בו". ואינו, כי אם ש"אפילו
קול זמר" שלא שייך בו ההיתר של "קול הרגיל בו", אעפ"כ אם יכול
לכוין בתפלה בענין שאינו שומע קול הזמר, מותר להתפלל.

[8] ראה פסקי תשובות
סי' כז אות יב.

1)     In bentshing on Motzei Shabbos I included Retzei. Do I have to repeat? [1]

2)     A woman who is expecting sometimes feels exceptionally thirsty. In such an event, is she permitted to drink water: a) before Kiddush/Havdolo; b) in the bathroom? [2]

3)     What is the reason why we aren’t allowed to count Jewish people? [3]

4)     May I bake bread or cake in a meaty oven?[4]

5)     What is the source to allow the use of a kli shlishi where a kli sheni isn’t okay? [5]

6)     According to the Rambam, wine flavoured with sugar
is unfit for Kiddush. Is this something I should be careful about, even if the unflavoured wine isn’t as good? [6]

7)     My Shlichus is with young professionals, and
we have a monthly Friday night meal. During the summer, is it okay to start Shabbos early that week and on the other weeks to start Shabbos closer to sunset?[7]

8)     A T-shirt with a Posuk printed on it; must it be removed before entering a bathroom?[8]

9)     Feedback re. Hagbeh: How recent is the minhag of Chabad to replace the Sefer Torah on the Bima after displaying the script to the congregation? [9]

10)  Feedback re. singing: The Divrei Yatziv addressed a daughter, not a sister.

1) When I lift the Sefer Torah (AKA Hagbeh), should I: a) rotate to my right or to my left;

b) turn to the degree that those in the front of the Bima are able to see the script?

2) May a brother listen to his sister singing?

3) Thinking of helping to form Minyonim for Krias haTorah later in the day of Shovuos:

Does it work for someone to decide that “I’m not going to be yoitze with my hearing

the reading in Shul in the morning”?

4) Feedback on the Dikduk discussions: Two comments from the Rebbe:

5) At supper I ate bread. In error, I said the After-Brocho על המחי'. Do I still have to say

the full bentsching?

6) On Monday night I forgot to count Sefiro. On Tuesday I was present at an early

Maariv, and after I answered Borchu I remembered to count last night’s Sefiro. May I continue counting Sefiro with a brocho?

7) Feedback (from R’ Dovid Wakser) re. Shabbos-belt:

Yehuda Clapman (the sofer) once told me that he had fashioned a “belt” by drilling holes in the two ends of his glasses and used a string or elastic to wear them on Shabbos. Once, Rav Zalman Shimon Dvorkin saw that, and told him, “In this matter, you should be able to carry a pot of cholent”!

1) Exploring a הערה of the Rebbe to a Maamar:

2) If there’s a Bris on Shabbos Mevorchim Sivan, is אב הרחמים omitted?

3) I run a Shabbos group for children. We give them tokens as incentives, and they redeem these tokens for items of nosh. Is that permitted?

4) To enter our Shul we need an electronic-chip card. May we hand the card to a Goy?

5) One the 2 nd night of Shovuos, if we eat early evening, when should the candles be lit?

1)     We avoid the use of medication on Shabbos, unless one would
otherwise be indisposed. May one use medicated mouthwash on Shabbos?[1]

2)    Isthere a concern for Shabbos to wear a luminous watch?[2]

3)    I awoke on Motzei Shabbos at 2:15 AM - after alos hashachar. I davened maariv (was that correct?[3]). At Havdolo, do I say the brocho over the spices and over the flame?[4]

4)    I purchased a small Blueberry bush and planted it in my garden. Do I have to now count three years for Orloh?[5]

5)    I am repairing a used Tallis. May I remove the silk lining from where it is and put a new lining at the other end of the Tallis, effectively turning the Tallis upside down?[6]

6)    In our Sidur in Modim, we sometimes have the word המרחם and sometimes we have והמרחם. Please clarify:[7]

7)    I bought some groceries at Sainsbury and used the self-service check-out. Once home I realized that I hadn’t paid for a few items. Do I have to return and pay for them?[8]

8)    Feedback re. does answering Borchu at a weekday Maariv make it night for me?

9)    Feedback on Kli Shlishi:[9]

10)  Feedback re. Mezonos / HaMoitzi: Waffles for breakfast: HaMoitzi?[10]

A weekly shiur by Dayan Levi Yitzchok Raskin, Rov of Anash in London, explores interesting Torah questions and halachic dilemmas.

The following issues are discussed by Dayan Raskin in this week’s episode:

This week’s Shiur is dedicated by Mr & Mrs Pinchas Rabin שיחיו in honour of the engagement of their son הרב מרדכי שאול שי' to Miss Etty Halperin תחי' of Monsey.

1)In the Annotated edition of the Chabad Sidur, in the word דקודשא in Kaddish, has sometimes an asterisk above the second ד' – denoting a Sheva-Na, and sometimes there is no asterisk – denoting a Sheva-Nach. Which is correct?

2)Another Dikduk question: In the 1st portion of the Shema, should one say Uv-kumecho, or U-veKumecho etc.?

3)I have a Shabbos-belt. Is it necessary to clip the keys into place before Shabbos, or may I do so on Shabbos?

4)May I transport my reading-glasses from home to Shul via a belt around my waist?

5)Does a walk-in fridge or freezer room require a Mezuzah?

6)Where should I place the Mezuzah for a set of sliding-doors to the outside of the house? There are two such sets in the same room; both have one panel that is fixed in place and the other panel slides. In one set it is the outer panel that slides, in the other set it is the inner panel that slides.