יום רביעי, כ״ז אלול תשפ״וWednesday, September 9, 2026
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Rabbi Yaakov Klass is Rav of K’hal Bnei Matisyahu in Flatbush; Torah Editor of The Jewish Press; and Presidium Chairman, Rabbinical Alliance of America/Igud HaRabbonim.
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Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman
Where Beis Shammai And Beis Hillel Agree ‘One Must Not Take a Haircut Close to Minchah’ (Shabbos 9b)
Why Aren’t We Scared That The Mohel Will Carry? ‘His Hand Is Not At Rest’ (Shabbos 3a)
Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman
Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman
Pomp And Circumstance ‘Try to See the King’ (Berachos 58a)
Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman
The Lady Of The House “One Says the Blessing on the Wine First” (Berachos 51)
Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman
Shehakol Bread? ‘One Recites a Blessing on the Primary Food’ (Berachos 44a)
A Vicious Cycle ‘Many Different Kinds Were Set Before Him’ (Berachos 41a)
Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman
Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman
A Two-Way Street? ‘Joining Geulah To Tefillah Is Preferable’ (Berachos 30a)
Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman
No Cell Phones, Please! ‘A Kerchief Designated For Storing Tefillin’ (Berachos 23)
What About Ma’ariv? ‘The Bridegroom Is Exempt From Kerias Shema’ (Berachos 16a)
Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman
A Night-Day Dilemma ‘When One Reads Shema’ (Berachos 8b)
Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman
A Glorious Return ‘Tam V’nishlam’ (Niddah 73a)
Question: Should the congregation say “Amen” after the berachah of “habocher b’amo Yisrael b’ahavah” (right before Shema)? I have seen different shuls do different things. M. Goldman
Question: Why is there an extra month in the Jewish calendar every few years? And who decides whether a particular year should be a leap year or not? Name Withheld Toronto, Ontario
Sorrow And Joy 'Proclaim Your Troubles So Your Friends Pray For You' (Niddah 66a)
Question: Why is there an extra month in the Jewish calendar every few years? And who decides whether a particular year should be a leap year or not? Name Withheld Toronto, Ontario
Self-Evident? ‘What Uncleanness Is There In A Nasal Discharge?’ (Niddah 55b-56a)
Soul Food ‘It Comes to Include a Fragrance’ (Niddah 52a)
Question: Whenever an activity is prohibited because of kavod hatzibbur (the dignity of the congregation), may a kehilla decide that the activity does not offend them? Menachem
How do we schedule two bar mitzvahs in shul on the same Shabbos as well as two catered affairs on their birthday?... The Rabbi in a Small Community
You Can’t Have It Both Ways ‘A Minor Who Reaches Maturity’ (Niddah 46a)
How do we schedule two bar mitzvahs in shul on the same Shabbos as well as two catered affairs on their birthday?... The Rabbi in a Small Community
Rebirth Of Sorts ‘Immersing Impure, Emerging Pure’ (Niddah 42a)
The Great Switch ‘These Are The Sons Of Leah’ (Niddah 32)
Question: What did our sages mean when they said that anyone who resides outside the Land Israel is like an idol worshipper? Is that what all of us residing outside Israel are – idol worshippers? M. Goldblum
Missing In Translation ‘A Shesua Is A Creature…’ (Niddah 24a)
Question: What did our sages mean when they said that anyone who resides outside the Land Israel is like an idol worshipper? Is that what all of us residing outside Israel are – idol worshippers? M. Goldblum
Question: What did our sages mean when they said that anyone who resides outside the Land Israel is like an idol worshipper? Is that what all of us residing outside Israel are – idol worshippers? M. Goldblum (Via E-Mail)
A Shabbos Treat ‘Snow Is Neither Food Nor Drink’ (Niddah 17a)
Somewhat Lacking ‘A Deaf Woman, An Imbecile…’ (Niddah 13b)
Question: What did our sages mean when they said that anyone who resides outside the Land of Israel is like an idol worshipper? Is that what all of us residing outside Israel are – idol worshippers? M. Goldblum (Via E-Mail)
Location, Location! ‘Uncleanness Is Determined by the Time the Body Is Found’ (Niddah 4)
Question: The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch states that a person should put on his right shoe first but tie his left shoe first. Why? Y. Malinsky
Spared Possible Punishments ‘Those Who Are New To The Ketores’ (Tamid 32b-33a)
Question: My custom is not to don tefillin on Chol HaMoed. What should I do if I go to a shul that has the opposite custom? M. Jakobowitz
Guarding The Temple – Even Today ‘Kohanim Stationed in Three Places’ (Tamid 25b)
Question: In which direction should a person wave the lulav first? Menachem
Kishka – Stuffed Derma ‘Intestines Are Not Meat’ (Me’ilah 20b)
Question: Why do we recite a fifth prayer – Ne’ilah – on Yom Kippur but on no other day of the year? G. Goodman
A Transfusion, An Element Of Life “Blood-Let Of A Sanctified Animal…” (Me’ilah 12)
Question: How should one do teshuvah during this Elul and Yamim Nora’im season? Zvi Unger
Question: How should one do teshuvah during this Elul and Yamim Nora’im season? Zvi Unger
A President Vacates The White House ‘Once Permitted To Kohanim, Me’ilah Does Not Apply’ (Me’ilah 4b)
A Bride and Groom On Their Wedding Day ‘Except for the Day after Yom Kippur’ (Kereisos 25a)
Question: I’ve always been intrigued by the large assemblage that gathers at the gravesite of R. Meir Ba’al HaNes in Tiberias on his yahrzeit, the 14th of Iyar. Why is such attention directed to his gravesite, in particular? F. Hager
Beware The Fruit! ‘A Misasek Is Excluded’ (Kereisos 19a)
Question: I’ve always been intrigued by the large assemblage that gathers at the gravesite of R. Meir Ba’al HaNes in Tiberias on his yahrzeit, the 14th of Iyar. Why is such attention directed to his gravesite, in particular? F. Hager
Seizing An Opportunity? ‘More Than 100 Witnesses’ (Kerisos 11b-12a)
Question: I’ve always been intrigued by the large assemblage that gathers at the gravesite of R. Meir Ba’al HaNes in Tiberias on his yahrzeit, the 14th of Iyar. Why is such attention directed to his gravesite, in particular? F. Hager
Temple Management 101 'The Rest Were Given To The Craftsmen' (Kerisos 6a)
Question: Why do some people have the custom to study Mishnayot for the departed? Also, does Pirkei Avot have five chapters or six? In my Mishnayot, it has five, but in my siddur it has six. Harold Klein
The Sons Stirred Within Her ‘The Fetus Is a Limb of Its Mother’ (Temurah 30b)
Question: If the fast of Tisha B’Av concludes the mourning period for the destruction of the Temple, why wait until the 15th of Av to rejoice? Sara Gutman
The Contradiction That Yielded 50 Explanations 'He Says to His Maidservant: You Are Free' (Temura 25b)
Question: Since learning Torah on Tisha B’Av is forbidden, why are we allowed to read from the Torah at Shacharit and Mincha of Tisha B’Av? (And is an aveil also forbidden to learn Torah?) Menachem
Was Shmuel Not The Greatest? ‘3,000 Halachos Were Forgotten’ (Temurah 16a)
Question: Why is saying Shehecheyanu prohibited during the Three Weeks? How is it different than other blessings? M. Jakobowitz Philadelphia, PA
Permission Granted? ‘Lo Yachlifenu B’Shel Acheirim…’ (Temurah 9a)
Question: May a person eat leftover Shabbos meat in the Nine Days so as not to violate the prohibition of bal tashchit (wastefulness)? Rabbi Yaakov Spivak Rosh Kollel, Kollel Ayshel Avraham Monsey, NY
September 4, 2026 
