Sleep Study August 11, 2022 Q During the summer, I sometimes go to sleep before nightfall. Do I recite hamapil? A Although hamapil, which asks for peaceful sleep (O.C. 239:1), would be applicable to any sleep, Chazal instituted the bracha…
Door Jam August 4, 2022 Q We’re moving into our new home on a Friday. While affixing the mezuzos, I discovered I’m short one, but I won’t be able to obtain it until after Shabbos. Should I postpone the move?…
Mandatory Medical July 29, 2022 Q Is there an obligation to study medicine in order to be able to save someone’s life in an emergency? A Sefer Chassidim (1469) says that if one could have studied medicine and didn’t, and…
Median Income July 21, 2022 Q My daughter is engaged to my friend’s son. The father proposed the shidduch to me directly, without a shadchan. Do I owe him shadchanus gelt? A When a shadchan makes a shidduch, there is…
Getting Your Goat July 14, 2022 Q I bought a pregnant goat. Will its firstborn have kedushas bechor? A The Torah commands that a firstborn animal be sanctified, given to a kohein, and ultimately offered as a korban (Shmos…
Getting your Goat July 7, 2022 Q We swim on Friday afternoons, and we hang the wet towels and clothes on the porch railing to dry. May we bring them inside on Shabbos afternoon? A One of the applications of…
Lend-Lease July 1, 2022 Q: I would like to make a deal with my brother: He would use my apartment the first two weeks of August in exchange for me using his bungalow the last two weeks of August.…
The Right of Return June 23, 2022 Q: As a retailer, am I obligated to refund a purchase of defective merchandise if I know I will not be reimbursed, in turn, by my supplier? A: A seller is required…
Dental Car(r)ies By Dayan Yehoshua Grunwald June 10, 2022 Q May an orthodontic retainer be worn on Shabbos? If so, what about where there is no eiruv? A Chazal forbade most medical treatment on Shabbos out of concern that…
Service Area June 2, 2022 Q On a construction site, may I make a bracha in an area designated in the blueprints to become a bathroom? A Prayers, brachos, and words of Torah may not be spoken in the presence…