To be counted towards the one hundred Berachot, must one personally recite the Beracha, or is it sufficient to respond amen to another person’s Beracha? It depends on the Beracha. If the Beracha is obligatory (such as Kiddush or HaMotzi) and a person fulfills the requirement to recite the Beracha by hearing it from another, the Beracha can be included in a person’s daily … [Read more...]
Ribbit: Matters of Interest
Learning with the Lender Reuven borrowed money from Shimon, and Shimon used the opportunity to inquire if Reuven would want to setup a Havruta session with him. Is this an issue of Ribbit? The Shulhan Aruch writes that a borrower may not tutor the lender, nor the lender’s son, unless he had been doing so previously. Some Poskim write that this is forbidden even if the … [Read more...]
MODERN DAY ERUVIN: RENTING FROM AN AKUM
Parasha & Halacha Shiur Summary on Parashat VaYakhel, by Rav Mordechai Lebhar One of the 39 Melachot which are forbidden on Shabbat is carrying from a private to a public domain. Enclosing a public domain with an Eruv can sometimes turn it into a private domain. Even in an enclosed space, in order to carry, all of the inhabitants of the houses must convene and … [Read more...]
WEBSITES ON SHABBAT
Adapted from an article by Rabbi Baruch M. Levine In today’s business environment, most companies understand that they can no longer rely on a storefront and local community marketing to survive and turn a profit. Globalization, large corporations, and the dominance of digital media have forced business owners to find ways to establish a significant presence on the web. Many … [Read more...]
Chairman of the Hoard: A Yeshiva’s Cash Cushion
Adapted from a Shiur by Rav Daniel Dombroff The case of the overstuffed chair Several Yeshiva boys sat recently in their Yeshiva’s dorm room. One was on an old upholstered chair that another boy had rescued from the trash a couple of years earlier. The chair felt uncomfortable, so he rose, flipped it over, and began to fiddle with it, inadvertently breaking open the … [Read more...]