Adapted from a Shiur by Rav Yosef Greenwald Murder in the Park Victor Melo, 16, began his afternoon listening to music in the sprawling national park in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia. At some point a classmate of Victor’s, standing nearby, had her phone stolen. She thought Victor did it and called out for help. Her friends, assisted by onlookers from whom a pair of … [Read more...]
Daf Yomi in Halacha Topics Parshat Beshalah
Meseches Chulin Daf 52 Daf 53 Daf 54 Daf 55 Daf 56 Daf 57 Daf 58 … [Read more...]
Halachot of Daily Living
What is the reason we recite Birkot HaTorah? There is a disagreement among the Rishonim as to whether Birkot HaTorah is a Torah obligation or a Rabbinic obligation. Sefer Pene Moshe 1:1 (Benvenisti) writes that the Ramban, Rashba and Sefer HaHinuch maintain that there is a Biblical obligation to recite Birkot HaTorah daily. This is derived from the verse (Devarim 32:3) “When … [Read more...]
Ribbis: Matters of Interest
AREV: GUARANTEEING A LOAN (COSIGNERS) In certain instances, where a home buyer does not meet underwriting criteria, the bank may require a cosigner to guarantee the loan. The current practice of banks is to stipulate that they can collect from either the borrower or guarantor at their own discretion. Such a guarantor is referred to in Halacha as an “Arev Kablan” (equally … [Read more...]
The Hametz Index: Owning Shares of Companies Dealing in Hametz
A Parashat Beshalah Audio Shiur Summary by Dayan Shlomo Cohen We are not allowed to own any Hametz over Pessah. The custom in most communities today is to sell the Hametz in our possession to a non-Jew over Pessah. What happens if you own shares in companies that deal with Hametz? Let us explain how corporations work. According to law, a corporation is … [Read more...]