HaRav Yishai Natan - Q: What do Sephardic poskim hold about using an electric shaver? A: The Torah says, “velo tash’hit et pe’at zekanecha” — “Do not destroy the corners of your beard” (Vayikra 19:27). The Gemara (Makkot 21a) explains that the prohibition applies to giluah sheyesh bo hash’hatah — shaving that destroys the hair. A razor is the classic example because it … [Read more...]
Q&A: Lip Service Mehillah
Rabbi Yishai Natan: Question If I ask someone for mehillah, and he says he forgives me, but I know he is just saying it because he does not want to be embarrassed or look mean by not forgiving me, is that considered a valid mehillah? Rabbeinu Behaya (Bereshit 50:17) writes that verbal mehillah is very important, and it is not enough to forgive someone only in one’s … [Read more...]
Q&A: MEAL ON EREV SHABBAT AND YOM TOV
Question Are you allowed to eat a se’udah (meal) on erev Shabbat or erev Yom Tov? When is the right time to eat se’udah shlishit when Shabbat falls on the first day of Yom Tov? Answer The Gemara in Gittin 38a tells of a family that made a habit of eating a formal meal (kove’a se’udah) on erev Shabbat, and they were punished for it. The Rambam (Shabbat 29:4) therefore … [Read more...]
Q&A – TASHLICH ON SHABBAT
Question Do we say Tashlich when the first day of Rosh Hashana falls out on Shabbat? Answer The Rema (Orach Haim 583:2) writes of the minhag of Tashlich is going to a river and reciting the pesukim of “Ve'tashlich bimtzulot yam kol hatotam” (“And You shall cast all their sins into the depths of the sea,” Michah 7:19). The minhag is to say Tashlich on the first day of … [Read more...]
Q&A – Keriat Shema al HaMita, Should I say Shem Hashem in the beracha of Hamapil?
HaRav Netanel Levihim - The Gemara, Berachot 4b, establishes that reciting Keriat Shema al HaMita — the first paragraph of Shema upon going to bed — is a mitzvah. The Shulhan Aruch, OH 239:1, rules that one should say Shema and afterward recite the beracha of Hamapil. The Bet Yosef writes the reason it should be said close to sleep is in order to to fall asleep with the … [Read more...]