It wasn’t the pot that was great, it was the controversy! But — how can a crock pot be controversial? It can be if it is Jewish, or at least owned by someone Jewish, as those who followed Jewish events about twelve years ago will remember!

Question #1: I am having a lot of company for Shabbos and we have a small house. During Shabbos, I would like to remove the extra leaves from the table and set up the “porta crib,” and then in the morning fold up the crib and put the table leaves back. May I do this on Shabbos?

Question #2: I have an adjustable shtender that I usually leave at the same height. May I adjust it on Shabbos?

“My daughter came home from school telling us that she was taught that we cannot make deviled eggs on Shabbos because adding mustard and shaping them is considered ‘kneading’ the yolks. But I remember my mother always mixed hard boiled eggs with minced onion and oil on Shabbos morning shortly before the meal. Could my mother have been wrong?”

In our parsha, the midwives tell Pharaoh that the Jewish women handle their own childbirths without any assistance. Such women would have no need to go to the hospital on Shabbos. However, the rest of us need to know what to do about Shabbos emergencies. I once received the following communication: “As an active member [...]