Tag: Rabbi Cohen

The CEO of the (U.S.) Chevra Hatzalah ambulance service resigned amid allegations that he conspired with William Rapfogel, the ex-CEO of the Metropolitan Council...

Question: What is unique about Modern Orthodoxy?

Question: May one support kosher sechach in a sukkah by placing it on a davar she’mekabel tumah, an item that can receive impurity (i.e., metal)?

Question: Should a person recite kiddush standing or sitting on Sukkot? If he stands, should he sit down after saying the berachah of leshev ba’sukkah or remain standing?

Question: Is it prohibited to listen to music in the privacy of one’s home (or car) during the Nine Days?

Question: Is it prohibited to listen to music in the privacy of one’s home (or car) during the Nine Days?

Question: It is known that some sephardim generally arrive at a simcha a few hours subsequent to the time noted on the invitation. Is there any logic behind this custom?

Question: Why don’t women wear tzitzit and tefillin?

Question: Someone tried to observe Shabbat but could not hold out from violating its laws in the latter part of the day. Does he receive a reward for the amount of Shabbat he observed? Or is reward based on the principle of “all or nothing”? In other words, does Shabbat observance require a total commitment such that partial observance is comparable to not observing Shabbat altogether?

Question: Why do we celebrate when a boy becomes bar mitzvah?

Question: Whenever a yom tov starts on Sunday (like this year), synagogues generally forego their Seudah Shlishit, eaten after Minchah on Shabbat. But why? If one is supposed to eat a third meal every Shabbos, why skip it if a yom tov starts that night?

Question: When should women light yom tov candles?

Question: At the conclusion of the Amidah, should the chazzan say “Yiyu leratzon imrei fi… – May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable before you, G-d, my Rock and Redeemer”?

Question: I have heard that some halachic authorities disapprove of placing a silver atarah on a talit. Is this true?

Question: During Kriat HaTorah, many congregations recite a general prayer for ill people. What is the source of this custom? Also, in many congregations, instead of the gabbai announcing each name, all of the shul’s members are asked to silently say the name of the ill person to themselves while the gabbai remains quiet for several moments. Is this proper?

Question: If a person has a number of personal concerns that need to be thought out and analyzed, can he go to shul to do this?

Question: How much matzah must one eat at the Pesach Seder?

Question: What is the basis of the custom to refrain from eating matzah for a period of time before Pesach?

Question: If someone passes away on one day but is buried the next day, when does the son stop saying Kaddish and when should he observe the yahrzeit – 11 and 12 months, respectively, after the day of death or 11 and 12 months, respectively, after the day of burial?

Question: When we pray, are we requesting or demanding that God fulfill our wishes?

Do older Jews have a rebbe?

Question: Is there any halachic rationale for men to shake hands with women?

Question: Is there any halachic rationale for men to shake hands with women?

Question: Are there limitations to the mitzvah of chinuch?

Question: Are there limitations to the mitzvah of chinuch?

Question: Are there limitations to the mitzvah of chinuch?

Question: Are there limits to the mitzvah of chinuch?

Question: What should a person do if he brings a relative to the hospital on Shabbat and is asked to sign his name? Can he sign if the hospital will not admit the patient otherwise?

Question: Normally one may not eat or drink after Birchat Hamazon of Shalosh Seudot until after Havdalah. What is the halacha, however, if one schedules Sheva Berachot for a Shalosh Seudot meal? Should the groom and bride drink from the wine of Sheva Berachot or not?

Question: Why did Sarah – one of our four righteous matriarchs – laugh when she heard the angel prophesy that she would give birth to a son? How could she have doubted God?