Question My son is very sick and cannot speak. Is it better for him to be yotzei tefillah by listening to chazoras hashatz or by thinking the words in his head? Thank you. Rav Auerbach In your case, it is better to daven through shomei’a k’oneh than through hirhur . If one davened with hirhur , he may still daven again regularly.

Question Last week, I asked about how to deal with the electric doors here in the hospital on Shabbos . Rav Zafrani explained to me that the best course of action is just to stand by the doors until someone realizes that you need to get through. Most of the time, Jewish nurses were buzzing the door open for me. This got me worried: Am I not causing another Jew to sin? Thank you. Rav Auerbach While obviously the best option would be for a non-Jew to open the door, I concur wi

Question My daughter is in the psychiatric ward of Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Israel, as she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and hears voices telling her to commit suicide. Because of the delicate condition of my daughter and many of the patients in that ward, they are locked in with double doors that are secured by an electric lock. During the week, when a visitor needs to enter or leave the premises, they ring a bell and one of the staff buzzes open the doors. Sometime

Question I am a convert of many years and have the following question. Before I was born, my non-Jewish father was hiking in a forest in Canada when he was attacked by a frenzied grizzly bear. My father miraculously escaped, and this experience led him to become more spiritually inclined, which in turn influenced our family and ultimately led me to convert to Judaism. The attack occurred in a national park and was an anomaly, as it is generally considered quite safe there. My

Question I was taught when I got married that when benching licht , I should wave my hands around the licht three times before covering my eyes and making the brocha . I recently heard that there is no source for this and that there is no need to do it — that the only thing I need to do is cover my eyes. Is it correct that there is no inyan to wave one’s hands around the candles? And if that is the case, should I stop doing so, even though it seems to be a well-established

Question My friend and I both merited to purchase apartments in Eretz Yisroel in the same building. The building was completed right before Sukkos , and we were both ecstatic about the thought of spending Sukkos this year in our new apartments, each of which included a built-in sukkah porch. We both arrived in Eretz Yisroel right after Yom Kippur , and while we were overjoyed to make a brocha on our new homes, we quickly discovered a major issue. Although both sukkah porches

Makeh B'patish with Aluminum Trays Question One of the common items found in a Jewish home (at least of those located in one of the...

Sporty Orthopedic Shoes on Yom Kippur , Shabbos and Weekdays Question I am a rosh kollel , and I recently purchased a pair of MBT...

Extending and Shortening a Fast on a Plane Trip Question Ever year I travel from Israel to the USA to give chizuk to Yidden in America...

Question I have a large family and we generally have many guests for Shabbos . We have a limited amount of plates and silverware, and...

1. Participating in a Yom Tov Sheini Seder I live in Rechovot in Eretz Yisroel, and be’ezras Hashem I will be having my bar mitzvah...

1. Participating in a Yom Tov Sheini Seder Question While in the United States, my wife and I will be keeping only one day of Pesach ....