HaRav Netanel Levihim - Question: I took my mezuzah off the doorpost to have it checked by a sofer. He informed me it was completely kasher. Do I need to recite a new berachah when re-installing it? Answer: The question is rooted in a broader debate about Talit. The Tur (Orah Haim, Siman 8) rules that removing a Talit with intent to return does not require a … [Read more...]
Statues, Pictures, and Sheitel Heads
HaRav Yishai Natan - Nehash HaNehoshet This week is a double parashah. Since we are a week behind Eretz Yisrael, we catch up by reading two parashiyot. In Parashat Hukat, the pasuk says that Mosheh Rabbenu made a copper snake, the Nehash Nehoshet. Whoever was bitten would look at it and be healed. This raises an obvious question: How was Mosheh Rabbenu allowed … [Read more...]
Canceling the Kallah Teacher
HaRav Yishai Natan - I hired a kallah teacher for my daughter, who is getting married soon. I asked around and heard good things about her from many people. After I had already hired her, I spoke to a close friend who told me that she used her for her daughter and did not have a good experience. She suggested that I not use her. I called the kallah teacher to cancel, … [Read more...]
Rent Paid Late?
HaRav Yishai Natan - I rent an apartment from a fellow Jew, and the rent is due on the first of each month. I often forget to pay on time, or for different reasons I end up paying a few days late. When I mentioned this to someone, he suggested that I may have been transgressing the issur of Bal Talin each time this happened. Is he correct? Am I over the averah of Bal … [Read more...]
The Betty Crocker Mix-Up
In yeshiva we have two Betty Crocker pizza makers, known as “Betties” — one for halavi and one besari. Someone accidentally put eggs and cheese into the besari Betty. The question is whether the eggs may be eaten, and whether the Betty has to be thrown out. After verifying that the Betty was not used for meat within the last 24 hours - eno ben yomo, and that it didn’t have … [Read more...]