Question #1: I am a medical resident who must be on hospital duty during Sukkos. May I eat full meals outside the sukkah, or must I restrict myself to eating snacks that do not require being in the sukkah? If I am able to eat in the sukkah while on duty, do I recite the [...]

Yossi, a very fine avreich, asks me: "I am looking to purchase my own shofar, and I have seen that the prices vary tremendously. One can buy one very inexpensively in the Arab shuk, at a much higher price at a seforim store, and if one buys one with a very good hechsher, the price [...]

Every year before Rosh Hashanah, Rav Goldberg reviews the halachos of shofar blowing with the shul’s Baal Tekiah (shofar blower, also called a master blaster). This year, the Baal Tekiah, Reb Muttel, had more questions than usual. “I have been a Baal Tekiah for several years now,” began Reb Muttel. “Each year, I feel a [...]

The source for this halacha is in this week’s parsha, Ki Seitzei.   Question #1: I work in a factory where many pungent chemicals are used. May I recite a bracha at work? Question #2: I changed the baby’s diaper and the room still has a foul odor. May I bensch now? How long must [...]

What does one look for when purchasing a pair of tefillin? In my earlier article, I presented some of the basics of tefillin manufacture. The four parshios in which the Torah mentions mitzvas tefillin: “Kadeish li kol bechor” and “V’hayah ki y’viacha” in Parshas Bo, “Shema” in Parshas Va’eschanan, and “V’hayah im shamo’a” in Parsha [...]

A Tefillin Shoppers Guide Question: I am in the process of purchasing tefillin for my son. This is a major purchase, since I hope that he will use these tefillin for many, many years to come, and tefillin are such an important mitzvah. Therefore, I have been making a lot of inquiries as to what [...]

Piyut Curiosities Question #1: “Many people tell me that the lengthy recital of kinos on TishaB’Av does not inspire them because they do not understand thepassages. Is the mourning of Tisha B’Avintended to be simply a day of much tedium?”   Question #2: “I once heard a ravgive a running commentary to the kinosof Tisha [...]

This week’s parsha discusses the mitzvah of immersing food vessels prior to using them. Before Pesach I sent out a different article on this topic. There is a small degree of overlap between that article and this one, but there is great deal of information here that I did not discuss in that article. Question [...]

The three-week period between Shiva Asar B’Tammuz and Tisha B’Av is kept by Klal Yisroel as a time of mourning. In this article, I will review and explain the halachos that apply during the Three Weeks. WHAT HAPPENED ON SHIVA ASAR B’TAMMUZ? The Mishna teaches us that five tragic events occurred on the 17th day [...]

Questions: I live in a predominantly Ashkenazic community where the “Three Weeks” are observed with no music, and certainly no celebrations or weddings. A Sefardic family in the neighborhood has scheduled a wedding for the 20th of Tamuz. (A) May they do so? Should we stop them from breaking the community’s custom? (B) May an [...]