Berachah after eating a blueberry

Hi,

One only recites a blessing after eating if one consumed an amount equal to an olive in volume. However, there is room to argue that one should recite a blessing after eating an entire fruit, even if it is smaller than an olive, such as a blueberry. Therefore, it is best to avoid eating an entire fruit which is smaller than an olive; one should either eat more such fruits in order to exceed an olive's volume, or one should not eat the entire fruit. In practice, though, one who ate such a fruit and did not exceed an olive's volume does not recite a blessing afterward.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:78)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Bentching by accident

Hi,

One who ate cookies or cake, such that he should recite an "al hamichyah" afterward, but instead recited Birkat haMazon by mistake, has fulfilled his obligation.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:73)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Bread from non-grain flour

Hi,

For bread made from a combination of non-grain flour and grain flour, such that the quantity of grain flour is less than an olive-sized amount in כדי אכילת פרס (the amount one normally eats in 8-10 minutes), one does recite HaMotzi beforehand, but the closing berachah is Borei Nefashot.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:70)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Would you like to have more?

Hi,

If a person is eating produce, and he finishes whatever is before him and then someone brings him more, he need not recite a new berachah unless:
a) He had specifically intended to stop eating, or
b) The newly brought produce is not the same species as the produce he ate earlier.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:67)

For more on this, please see Part II in this Daily Jewish Law.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Berachah on carrots

Hi,

Where people normally eat carrots both raw and cooked, one recites the berachah of "Borei pri ha'adamah" before eating them in either form.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:66)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Berachah on onions and garlic

Hi,

In lands where people do not eat onion or garlic unaccompanied, one who does eat them alone - raw or cooked - recites the berachah of "shehakol". However, one who cooks them with something which improves their taste, such as by frying them in butter, would recite "borei pri ha'adamah".

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:64)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Berachah on radish

Hi,

In lands where radishes are considered inedible alone, such that people do not normally eat them without bread, one who eats radish alone should recite the berachah of Shehakol.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:62)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Berachah on Turnips

Hi,

One who eats turnips recites the berachah "Borei Pri ha'Adamah", even if he also eats the leaves, and even if he specifically planted the turnips for the sake of the leaves.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Orach Chaim 1:60)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Leaving a wedding early

Hi,

The rule, normally, is that one who eats with others at a communal meal is considered a part of their meal. Therefore, one who eats with enough participants to trigger a mezuman [collective birchat hamazon] is required to stay until a mezuman is performed. At a wedding there is an increased obligation to remain for Sheva Berachot.

One who knows he will need to leave before Sheva Berachot should state explicitly [not necessarily to anyone, though] that he is not participating in the communal meal.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:56)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Churches, Synagogues and Mortgages

Hi,

A Jewish community may not sell its synagogue for use for idolatry. A Jewish community may not mortgage its synagogue, if the mortgage would empower the lender to convert the synagogue into use for idolatry.

However: If a bank holds a mortgage on a building and the building then becomes a synagogue, and then the community stops praying at that synagogue and instead wishes to start a synagogue elsewhere and the bank is going to sell the synagogue, individuals within the community are not obligated to pay the mortgage personally in order to prevent the bank from selling it for use for idolatry.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:50)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Churches and Synagogues

Hi,

A church should not be turned into a synagogue, unless significant physical changes will be made to the structure. However, bedieved one may use a synagogue which had once been a church, even without such changes.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:49)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Where the Torah should be kept

Hi,

When a Sefer Torah is not in use, including during Kriat haTorah [Torah reading] when there are two Sifrei Torah and one is not in use, it must be kept in a place which is protected, and which accords it honor.

Therefore, a Torah should not be put in a location where everyone can access it easily, or where children who don't understand how to demonstrate respect could touch it.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:38)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A synagogue next to a place of idolatry

Hi,

There is no problem with having a synagogue is located next to a place of idol worship, evening if bowing toward the Aron Kodesh results in bowing toward the place of idol worship. It is clear that one is bowing as is normally done in synagogues, and it is not considered worship of the building next door.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:47)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Flags in a synagogue

Hi,

Rav Moshe Feinstein wrote that flags do not belong in a synagogue sanctuary, as they have no inherent holiness. However, he also wrote that their presence in a sanctuary does not detract from the holiness of the space, and should not be used as grounds for forming a separate minyan.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:46)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Guide dogs in the synagogue

Hi,

One who needs a guide dog ("seeing eye dog") in order to get around is permitted to bring it into shul, even though we generally do not permit animals in shul. Ideally, such a person should sit in a place in which disruption will be minimized.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:45)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Leaving a Yad inside a Sefer Torah

Hi,

One may not leave the Yad (pointer) inside the Torah between aliyot (readings) to mark the correct spot, since nothing may be left atop a Torah scroll. The sole exception is that we leave a cover atop a Torah scroll in between aliyot, but this is for the sake of the honor of the Torah.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:37)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Having a Jew who violates Shabbat publicly perform nesiut kappayim

Hi,

A kohen who violates Shabbat in public because of desire for money rather than out of disbelief in the Torah may perform נשיאות כפים (the blessing of the kohanim), in a community where people who do that are normally permitted to perform the blessing. It is known that such violation is not out of rejection of the Torah.

However, a community is empowered to prohibit this practice, even if it means the blessing will not take place at all, in order to discourage desecration of Shabbat.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:33)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Converting a place of lewdness into a shul

Hi,

A community may not rent a space for prayer if it is normally used for impropriety and lewd behavior, if the space will go back to its original use after the rental period is over.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:31)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Praying with a urinary catheter

Hi,

One who has a urinary catheter, which is connected to a receptacle that holds urine, should cover them when praying.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:27)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Announcing page numbers during davening

Hi,

Announcing page numbers is considered an interruption which is "for the purpose of davening [prayer]", and therefore one may announce a page number between paragraphs of Psukei d'Zimra [the introductory psalms recited as part of Shacharit each morning]. For the same reason, one may announce a page number before the Maariv amidah.

It would be better, though, to post signs with the page numbers.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:22)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Earliest time for Tefillin

Hello,

We normally assume that the earliest time for tefillin is the same as the earliest time for tallit - when there is enough daylight that one could identify an acquaintance at a distance of several feet.

However, one who must rise and complete all of davening before then, and who will not have any opportunity to put on tefillin at the proper time, may rely upon the view that tefillin is a "nighttime mitzvah" as well as a daytime mitzvah, and put them on with a berachah for his early davening.

If his davening will extend past that "earliest time", then he should not rely upon this leniency.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:10 and Orach Chaim 4:6)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Tefillin on a paralyzed arm

Hi,

One whose arm does not have blood flow should not put tefillin on that arm; he is viewed halachically as an amputee. One whose arm is only paralyzed, though, puts tefillin on that arm.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:8)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Tzitzit materials

Hi,

Ideally, one should wear tzitzit garments made of wool, with tzitzit strings made of wool.

One who cannot wear a wool garment, such as due to heat, may wear non-wool, but then he should also use tzitzit strings made of the same material as the garment. If that is not possible, he should use wool strings.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:2)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Minimum size of a yarmulka

Hi,

I've been contemplating a switch from the "topic" approach, to instead draw on responsa on a variety of topics. This will sacrifice continuity, but gain practical relevance. If you have thoughts or preferences on using this approach, please let me know.

Rav Shlomo Kluger ruled that a yarmulka must cover the majority of one’s head, both when reciting a blessing and when walking about. As a matter of strict law, though, Rav Moshe Feinstein ruled that this is not obligatory; a yarmulka must only cover enough of the head that an on-looker would deem the head “covered”.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Privacy walls, Part III

Hi,

Because we obligate both neighbors to build a privacy wall, the default assumption regarding any such wall is that it belongs to both of them. Therefore, should such a wall collapse the materials would be property of the neighbors equally, unless one can prove that they are his.

(Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 157:5)

Have a great day,
Mordechai