Money-lending and currencies with fluctuating value

Hi,

One who borrows a certain sum of money must pay back that same sum of money; paying more is prohibited, under the laws of ribbit [interest].

If a sum is borrowed in one country and re-paid in a different country where its purchasing power is reduced, one still re-pays the original sum; one does not increase the sum to offset its devaluation.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:84)

כתיבה וחתימה טובה,
Mordechai

Safety pins on Shabbos

Hi,

One may use a safety pin to hold a diaper closed, or to attach a brooch to clothing. This is not included in the prohibition against stitching.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:84)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Forgiveness

Hi,

I would like to take a moment to ask everyone receiving this email feed for mechilah (forgiveness) for anything hurtful or offensive I wrote, or should have written and did not, or any ways in which I might have erred and mis-led people regarding a halachah, in the past year.

If there was anything at all, please do let me know. I will grow by learning from my mistakes.

May we all be inscribed and sealed for a great new year,
Mordechai

False teeth on Shabbat

Hi,

One may reinsert false teeth which fall out on Shabbat; we are not concerned lest he get them professionally re-set in a permanent way.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:81)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Reciting Slichot alone

Hi,

We recite Selichot in the days leading up to Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur, as well as on fast days. One may recite these prayers in private, although prayer in a group is always preferable.

One who prays alone should omit the Aramaic portions. According to most authorities one should also skip the portions of Selichots which list the 13 attributes of Divine mercy, but some suggest one may recite them as they appear in the Torah, with the notes of the trop.

(Mishneh Berurah 581:4, Kaf haChaim 581:26, Yabia Omer 1:Orach Chaim 35)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Havdalah on tea or milk

Hi,

One may only use tea or milk for Havdalah if no more qualified beverage is available; this is considered a last resort.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:75)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Soda for Kiddush and Havdalah

Hi,

Soda (flavored or otherwise, as I understand) is not considered "chamar medinah", and therefore it is not eligible for the daytime kiddush of Shabbat and Yom Tov, or for Havdalah.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:75)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Benefiting from Shabbat violation

Hi,

One who finds an item in a room only because someone else turned on the light illegally is permitted to use that item, but it would be better to avoid even this indirect benefit.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:71)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Keeping chulent warm on Shabbat

Hi,

One who removes chulent from an oven on Shabbat may place it on a hotplate, assuming he does not transfer it to another receptacle first.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:69)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The light bulb in the refrigerator

Hi,

If opening the door of a refrigerator is guaranteed to turn on a light, one may not open the door on Shabbat.

One whose Shabbat food is inside the refrigerator may ask a non-Jew to open the refrigerator door. Although one may not ask a non-Jew to violate Shabbat for one's self, here the non-Jew does not intend directly to turn on the light, and it is for the sake of the mitzvah.

One who will have a great need to re-enter the fridge later for another Shabbat meal may ask the non-Jew to remove the bulb. Although he is now asking the non-Jew to directly violate Shabbat, it is for the sake of a mitzvah and no other options are available.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:68)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Enabling others to sin

Hi,

One may sell or rent an entity to a Jew who will use it to violate Shabbat, so long as (a) the Jew could also acquire such an item elsewhere, and (b) the item could also be used in permitted ways.

This applies, for example, to selling kitchen equipment or renting an apartment with a kitchen to a Jew who likely will cook on Shabbat.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:66)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Sending merchandise to one who will use it on Shabbat

Hi,

One may not send merchandise to a Jew on Friday, if it is likely that he will use it in his business on Shabbat. However, if the recipient normally orders in advance for use well in the future, one may send it.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:62)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Membership

Hi,

Rav Moshe Feinstein ruled that a Jew may not be a member of an organization whose activities include Shabbat desecration [by Jews, presumably]. Although he does not violate Shabbat, he supports the Shabbat desecration by others via his membership.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:61)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Davening maariv before the stars emerge

Hi,

It is better to daven Maariv with a minyan right after sunset, rather than wait until after the stars emerge and daven privately.

However, if the minyan davens maariv at the same time as minchah, then it would be better to daven maariv after the stars emerge, in private. [I believe Rav Moshe means to include cases in which the community davens both minchah and maariv before plag, and where they daven both minchah and maariv after plag and before sunset.]

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:60)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Birkat haGomeil on an airplane flight

Hi,

This topic is debated among halachic authorities, but Rav Moshe Feinstein ruled that one recites Birkat haGomeil after any airplane flight. He compared it with travelling in a boat; a boat saves one from drowning and so a boat trip warrants Birkat haGomeil, and a plane saves one from falling through the air and so a plane trip warrants the same.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:59)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Rosh HaShanah and Eruv Tavshilin

Hi,

For posts on laws related to Rosh haShanah, click here.

Also, this year we will need an Eruv Tavshilin on Rosh HaShanah, and those who are not in Israel will need one on Succot and for Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. For information on Eruv Tavshilin, click here.

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Shehechiyanu on Grafted Fruit

Hi,

If trees of different species are grafted in a manner which violates Jewish law, the fruit they produce is still permitted. However, one should eat the fruit in a way which will not require a Shehechiyanu blessing (ie eating them with another new fruit), to avoid making a berachah expressing joy at this sin.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:58)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Berachah on candy while travelling, Part II

Hi,

One who is eating candy inside a building, and who then decides to leave the room while continuing to eat, should first stop eating for several minutes, then re-start with a new berachah while travelling. The berachah he recited in the building, without intent to travel, does not cover his eating in other locations.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:57)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Berachah on candy while travelling, Part I

Hi,

One who begins eating candy just before travelling recites a berachah before the first candy, and that includes all of the candy he will add while travelling so long as he does not pause for several minutes. This assumes that the availability of the additional candy was anticipated from the start, and did not need acquisition.

New candy purchased en route would require a new berachah, even if he had anticipated the purchase from the start.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:57)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Substituting for Gd's Name in a pasuk

Hi,

One who reads a sentence of chumash out loud should read the entire sentence, and should read the Name of HaShem as part of it. Using a substitute for the Name of HaShem would constitute a corruption of the sentence.

However: One who is teaching children should use a substitute for the Name of HaShem, because there is often a need to interrupt the sentence for pedagogic purposes.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:56)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The berachah on pat haba'ah b'kisnin if one changes his mind

Hi,

One who begins a meal of pat haba'ah b'kisnin planning to eat a full meal recites the berachah of hamotzi before eating.

If one intended to eat a full meal, recited hamotzi, began eating, and then decided to eat less, turning the meal into a snack, his original hamotzi suffices; he does not now recite a borei minei mezonot.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:54)

[Rav Moshe does not discuss whether a berachah would be necessary for other items, such as beverages, consumed with that pat haba'ah b'kisnin. I am uncertain.]

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Feeding pets and small children

Hi,

Although one is responsible to feed his animals before eating himself, the first responsibility is to feed children who cannot take food on their own.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:52)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Berachot without belief

Hi,

A berachah is invalid if it is recited by someone who rejects the existence of Gd or the validity of Torah. Therefore, his berachah on food, for example, could not fulfill the obligation of a listener.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:50)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Reciting a blessing on behalf of others

Hi,

One who is not eating may not recite a berachah to fulfill the obligation for those who are eating, even if those others are incapable of reciting the berachah themselves.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 2:49)

Have a great day,
Mordechai