יום שני, ג׳ תשרי תשפ״זMonday, September 14, 2026
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Is it appropriate to read works of fantasy – say, Harry Potter, for example?
For Want Of A Miracle ‘Levi Taught: [It Is The] Liquids of the Altar’ (Pesachim 17a)
Mr. Poupko felt that all owners, from both sides of the building, should contribute. "The sewage line serves the building in general, and is considered joint property," he reasoned.
Gam zeh yaavor is a beautiful Jewish wisdom. Nothing lasts forever. Not the good and not the bad. This difficult time will pass.
The practice of the Vilna Gaon was not to have the challah on the table at all during Kiddush (Masseh Rav 118). Why don't all Jews act similarly?
Is having a natural birth advisable, inadvisable, or a value-free decision?
Rabbi Dayan said, To replace the juice from the mini-bar with a bottle from the store would be cheating the hotel.
Accepted Custom ‘We Burn at the Sixth’ (Pesachim 11b)
A Matter Of Resolve ‘The One Who Searches [For Chametz] Recites A Berachah’ (Pesachim 7a)
One day, the elderly Mrs. Miller returned from some errands and found that the house had been robbed. When word got back to Mrs. Rosen, she asked the Millers to pay her the value of her stolen jewelry.
Should you give money to a panhandler on the street (or a subways car) if you have no idea if the person really needs it or not (e.g., he may take the money to buy drugs)?
Out Of One’s Box ‘All May Enter the Heichal to Build, Repair…’ (Eruvin 105a)
Accordingly, the Gemara [Bava Basra 21a] states that a person who rented a house from a person who isn’t the owner must pay the true owner when the house is intended for rent, but not when it isn’t.
Tosafot indicates that one can fulfull the precept of shalosh seudot by eating all three meals on Shabbat day.
Should you read the Rambam’s Guide for the Perplexed if you aren’t perplexed?
But would that be fair to the other person? Eli asked. You asked me first for payment, but he lent me first and he might ask me soon to pay him back.
As we got into the car, we made a decision. We would go to see my zaida and my bubby, whom we called Mama, a"h. I needed their brachos, I needed to receive their blessings.
I have heard eyewitness reports of individuals mistakenly performing melachah immediately after the conclusion of an early Maariv - exactly the scenario about which the Maharshal was concerned.
Should a person daven a long Shemoneh Esrei if others around him might consider him arrogant (or holier than thou) as a result?
The following evening, the mohel came by. "Unfortunately, the baby is still yellow," he said. "We have to delay the bris.”
Elevated Train Tracks As An Eruv ‘Pi Tikra Reaches’ (Eruvin 94b)
Is it okay for a young man to leave his parents’ mesorah and join another (e.g., for a chassid to become yeshivish, for a dati le’umi/Modern Orthodox Jew to become black-hat, etc.)?
Who’s Fridge? ‘If The Owner Retains a Holding There’ (Eruvin 85b)
Is it ever appropriate for a husband to put his foot down with his wife or a wife with her husband? Or is compromise the answer no matter what the issue is?
Detached Or Unrelated ‘He Made an Asheirah Tree Into a Ladder…’ (Eruvin 78b)
I can post a sign about the sefer, said Moshe, but I’m hesitant about the money. It's a big city with a wide variety of people; I don't want to start getting phone calls from strange people asking me about an envelope of money.
Is following sports a waste of time or harmless pleasure?
Do Hotels Need Eruvin? ‘A Separate Contribution From Each Company’ (Eruvin 72b)
Is it appropriate for a man to wear cologne?
Spreading The Wealth ‘Giving to Only One Poor Person’ (Eruvin 63a)
Even if for some people the esrog is kosher, if it’s pasul for the buyer, it’s also mekach ta’us.
If Albert Einstein had been frum, should he have become a rosh yeshiva rather than a scientist?
If Mr. Amitai isn't called up, he doesn't have to honor his pledge - unless he decides to award the aliyah to someone else.
Twin Cities ‘A City Is Given A Karpif’ (Eruvin 57a)
How does a person let go of a grudge against someone who harmed him or her egregiously?
A Sage View ‘It Needs An Iron Partition To Divide It’ (Eruvin 47b-48a)
There is still a mitzvah of hashavas aveidah in this situation, and using the towel without permission could constitute theft.
Should rabbis recommend that people vote for a particular candidate?
The Maharil explains that the custom of Tashlich – like many other Rosh Hashanah minhagim – is intended to evoke G-d’s mercy by recalling Akeidat Yitzchak.
An Early Navigational Instrument ‘Rabbi Gamliel Used His Tube To Measure…’ (Eruvin 43b)
When things are tough, most times it is a reminder that we need to improve ourselves.
From a hashkafic perspective, is it important for a Jewish man to have a beard?
Similar To Carrying In A Karmelis ‘This Shall Be Tithed When Night Falls’ (Eruvin 36a)
Like Rabbi Pappenheim, Rabbi Aharon Marcus connects “te’ne” to “eitun,” but he argues that both words are actually of Egyptian origin. Master etymologist Rabbi Dr. Ernest Klein (1899-1983) also maintains that “te’ne” is an Egyptian loanword.
"I'm not out to cause you an extra expense," said Mr. Meyers. "It's not like you're at fault. The storm was unusually strong. There was nothing you could do. I'll split the cost with you."
How would you advise fulfilling the mitzvah of “you shall surely rebuke your fellow”?
"Can we count what you paid as tzedakah?" Moshe's wife asked. “Gershon really seems to be poor now.”
When Life Is A Zoo ‘The Greater Part…Is Regarded as a Garden’ (Eruvin 23b)
In his ethical will, Yehuda ibn Tibbon, a famous 12th century translator and physician, encourages mastering Arabic and the sciences.
At what age would you advise parents to allow their children to have a cell phone?
The driver managed to unload the elevator, but it wouldn’t budge afterwards. A serviceman came and said, "The elevator was overloaded. The brakes have to be replaced."
Confirming A Gadol’s View ‘Majority Rules’ (Eruvin 16a)
In the case of a non-serious violation of procedures, it is better to address the violation in private.
While they were talking, Nachman's camper dropped his gift, which broke as it hit the ground. The camper was visibly distraught although he wasn’t able to speak.
Carrying At The Kotel ‘Sratya u’Platya’ (Eruvin 7a)
Is it proper for a Jew to propose on one knee?
Waiting For Kiddush ‘Mazal Bears No Influence…’ (Shabbos 156a)
The Shach [Yoreh De’ah 151:17] doesn’t understand this statement, however, because we commonly see non-Jews bringing icons into their homes on a permanent basis!
By Tzvi Fishman
While Rav Kook's love for the Jewish people knew no bounds, one should not think that he was some sort of liberal, reform rabbi who believed that everyone was free to do his own thing, G-d forbid.
What should one do if one hears about persecution of a people in a foreign land?
What are you going to do? Rabbi Dayan's son asked him. You're outnumbered, but it seems ridiculous that the ruling should follow two kollel students against you!
Out On A Limb ‘The Halacha Is One May Reset a Fracture’ (Shabbos 148a)
If a person who is asked about someone remains silent because he doesn’t know with certainty that a certain rumor is true, the questioner understands from his silence that there is room for concern.
Is it proper, l’chatchilah, for a young married couple to apply for government welfare programs like food stamps and section 8?
Treif Cows Milk? A Toldah of Dash (Shabbos 144a)
Some maintain that if the contract can be legally upheld in court, the late payment clause is halachically valid as a kinyan situmta (common commercial practice) and is not considered asmachta; hence, there is no concern of ribbis.
Lashon hara is considered a grave sin because it poisons society and inter-personal relations to the point that our Sages compared it to the three severest sins together: idol worship, incest, and bloodshed.
Is trying to reconcile Torah with current scientific knowledge proper?
If the lender stipulated such a fine unlawfully, there is a dispute whether the borrower is required to pay it.
Circumcised At The Hand Of Heaven? ‘A Drop of Blood Must be Taken’ (Shabbos 135a)
Should an ordinary Jew endeavor to say Tikkun Chatzos? If not regularly, perhaps sometimes?
Damsel In Distress ‘A Woman In Labor Is Considered Critically Ill’ (Shabbos 129a)
He approached Mr. Stein. "Did you hide money in the wall by any chance?" "No, why?" laughed Mr. Stein. “Because I just found this envelope with $50,000 cash in it," replied Mr. Hyman.
May one enjoy good food or is the ideal to not care what one eats as long as it gives one strength to serve Hashem?
Neighbors To The Rescue ‘He May Tell Others: Come, Save For Yourselves’ (Shabbos 121a)
Is it proper to watch or enjoy the sport of boxing?
"I tried calling him but couldn't reach him," said Yoni. "What's the difference, though? He didn't limit how long I could use the drill and he doesn’t even know I returned it to you."
The Carpenter’s Folly ‘All [Worn-Out] Holy Writings…’ (Shabbos 115a)
Should the average Jew learn Kabbalah?
An obligation b'dinei Shamayim doesn’t just mean an ethical responsibility.
By All Means Rescue! ‘If One Removes a Fish from the Sea’ (Shabbos 107b)
Is it proper to let one’s children watch movies?
A Murky Dispute ‘Water Does Not Void a Partition’ (Shabbos 100a)
When Mr. Moses confronted the writer, the latter replied, "To the best of my knowledge, what I wrote was true." Mr. Moses vigorously disagreed, but the writer wouldn’t budge, so Mr. Moses sued him in Rabbi Dayan's beis din.
For hundreds of years, Jews in Poland fasted on the 20th of Sivan to commemorate the tens of thousands of Jews killed in the Chmielnitzky uprising of 1648-49. Yet, we don’t fast today for the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust. Why not?
Asking a factory to stay open on Shabbos local time while one is in a different (earlier) time zone is like asking a non-Jew to work on one’s behalf on Shabbos, which is not allowed.
Satisfaction Guaranteed ‘The Divine Presence Rests Only On One Who Is Wise, Strong…’ (Shabbos 92a)
For bar mitzvah boys: Should you give them a sefer in Hebrew, which they may not be able to read for another five years (or perhaps ever), or should you give them something in English?
Let’s Talk Size / ‘He Took Out Wood to Cook an Egg…’ / (Shabbos 89b)
Is it appropriate to share mother-in-law jokes?
The practice to wait until tzeit ha'kochavim has no basis in Chazal or Rishonim.
Sow The Seeds Of Repentance ‘This Potted Plant' (Shabbos 81b)
"They also just had their first boy," Mr. Jacobs said. "B’ezras Hashem, they will be doing a pidyon in another two weeks!"
When bad things happen to someone else, is it appropriate to speculate why?
The Gemara states that the rules of onaah apply only to movable items that have intrinsic value. This excludes real estate, which is not movable.
A Matter Of Intention? ‘The Primary Labors Are Forty Less One…’ (Shabbos 73a)
How does a young woman determine what is or isn’t immodest when it comes to clothing that falls in the grey area of tznius?... Ask her mother? A teacher?
For Whom The Bell Tolls ‘Royal Children May Go Out With Bells’ (Shabbos 66b)
If a person believes based on expert medical advice that wearing a mask on a quiet sidewalk is unnecessary, should he wear it anyways because of the chillul Hashem it will cause in some circles if he doesn’t? Does the answer depend on his motivation (convenience vs. making a political statement)?
Bar Hama was accused of murder, but Rav Papi advocated on his behalf, and he was exonerated. Bar Hama felt indebted to Rav Papi and committed to pay Rav Papi's taxes.
September 11, 2026 
