Fast of the Firstborn, when Pesach starts on Sunday

Hi,

One could argue that when Pesach starts on Sunday, so that Taanit Bechorim (the Fast of the Firstborn) is observed on the preceding Thursday, one would need to make a siyyum on both Thursday and Friday, since making the siyyum on Thursday alone would simply push the fasting obligation to Friday.

However, since the whole fast is a matter of custom, and since there are those who argue that in such a year there simply is no fast, making a siyyum on Thursday may suffice.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:69:4)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

"Mei'ein Sheva" on Friday night in a non-synagogue minyan

Hi,

If a location is regularly used for a minyan on Friday nights, then they should recite the "mei'ein sheva" quasi-repetition of the amidah, even if there is no Torah scroll present.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:69:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Drinking from the Sheva Berachot cups at Seudah Shlishit

Hi,

We don't eat or drink after sunset on Shabbat, until Shabbat is over and one has recited Havdalah.

Therefore, where Seudah Shlishit is also a meal of Sheva Berachot and it ends after sunset, the person who recites birkat hamazon does not drink from the cup. However, the chatan and kallah do drink.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:69:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Musaf before Shacharit?

Hi,

One who comes to shul so late that the shul is preparing to daven Musaf should not begin with Musaf. He should start with Shacharit, despite the fact that this means he will miss reciting Musaf with the community.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:68)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Naming with a non-Hebrew name

Hi,

One who is naming for a deceased relative should use that relative's actual name, even if it is Yiddish rather than Hebrew.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:66)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

What time does Shabbos end?

Hi,

[As always, note the disclaimer that appears on top of this blog.]

In most of North America, it is sufficient to wait until 50 minutes after sunset for Shabbat to end, and this is equivalent to the 72-minute wait observed in some places in Europe. It varies based upon latitude. However, it is appropriate for those who are able to wait a full 72 minutes, even in North America.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:62)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Making guacamole on Shabbos

Hi,

May I prepare guacamole on Shabbos, mashing avocado and mixing it with lime juice and spices?

One of the forbidden melachos of Shabbos is tochein, which involves breaking a solid material into small particles. There is some debate as to whether this occurs when mashing soft entities which will stick together afterward. Therefore, one should do this right before eating the food, since many authorities rule that tochein not relevant when one eats the food soon afterward. Ideally, one should mash the avocado with an unusual implement, such as the handle of a fork.

One may squeeze lime juice directly into the avocado without concern for the melachah of sechitah (squeezing liquid from certain solids). One may then mix the juice into the mashed avocado without concern for the melachah of lishah (sticking small items together, to form a dough-like entity) ; the liquid does not cause the particles of avocado to stick together. Even were the spices to stick together, this would not constitute lishah.

(Mishneh Berurah 320:22, 321:45; Chazon Ish Orach Chaim 57, 58:9; Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:74:Tochein 2; Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 8:19-20, 8:footnote 81)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Interest earned on Shabbat

Hi,

A Jew is not permitted to earn money by rental of his property, including his money, on Shabbat or Yom Tov. Therefore, a Jew who receives interest for his funds stored in a bank [in an arrangement such that interest is permitted at all, which is another topic] may not receive payments calculated by the day, if that day is Shabbat or Yom Tov.

This is not a problem on a normal Shabbat or Yom Tov, since the days are calculated from midnight to midnight, and therefore they include non-Shabbat/Yom Tov hours. However, if Friday or Sunday is Yom Tov then there is a midnight-to-midnight period which is prohibited. In such a case, since one cannot practically decline the payment, one should give the relevant sum to tzedakah in a manner in which he will receive no reward at all.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:59)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Partnership in a business that operates on Shabbat

Hi,

One may not partner with a Shabbat-violating Jew in ownership of a business which will operate on Shabbat, even if the corporation is set up with limited liability such that only jointly owned assets would be invested.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:54)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Life Insurance vs Retirement Funds

Hi,

One who has enough money for either a large personal life insurance policy for his family's benefit or a small retirement fund, should choose the former. This assumes that the life insurance policy does not carry great restrictions which reduce the likelihood that it would be paid.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:48)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Wheat germ snack bars

Hi,

For wheat germ which is boiled and held together with honey, the berachah beforehand is Mezonot, and afterward is Al haMichyah.

For wheat germ which is roasted, the berachah beforehand is Ha'Adamah, and afterward is Borei Nefashot.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:46)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Berachah for cereal of wheat kernels

Hi,

The proper berachah for cereal made of wheat kernels which are fundamentally intact and do not stick together is uncertain; one may recite either Ha'Adamah or Mezonot. The berachah afterward is Borei Nefashot.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:44-45)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Berachah for matzah ball soup

Hi,

One who eats matzah ball soup should recite a berachah of mezonot for the matzah balls, and nothing for the soup. If he wishes to drink some of the soup independently, though, then he should recite a berachah of shehakol for the soup.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:43)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Fruit added to cereal

Hi,

Fruit which one adds to cereal, so that it is not an inherent part of the cereal, requires a berachah of its own.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:43)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Slotted Spoons on Shabbat

Hi,

May I use a slotted spoon on Shabbat, to serve a salad which contains liquid?

One may not sort food from dross on Shabbat, unless one follows these three rules:
• Take the food you want, leaving behind the food you do not want;
• Take the food for immediate consumption;
• Do not use an implement which is designated for use in sorting.

Because of the last rule, some authorities disqualify a slotted spoon. However, some permit its use where one does not pause to let the liquid drain. Others are still more lenient, permitting use of a slotted spoon if the liquid being removed is normally eaten.

The same rules would apply to a fork, if the fork was used for straining. However, it would not apply to a fork which used solely to stab food and withdraw it.

(Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 319:1; Shevisas haShabbos Meraked 11; Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 1:124; Shemirat Shabbat k'Hilchatah 3:54; Or l'Tzion Teshuvot 2:31:10; Avnei Yashfeh 2:27:3)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Berachot on cereal and milk

Hi,

One who adds milk to cereal only recites a berachah of "Mezonot", even if he wants to drink the milk, unless he adds more than is needed for eating the cereal. One who adds more than is needed should recite a separate "Shehakol" for the milk.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:43)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

The berachah for an ice cream sandwich

Hi,

[Please note, as always, that there are multiple views on this issue.]

If the cookie part of an ice cream sandwich is significant, such that some might choose to eat the cookie even if it were alone, then one may follow either of the following procedures vis-a-vis berachah:

1. Eat some of the cookie first, reciting Borei Minei Mezonot, and then have some of the ice cream, reciting Shehakol.

Or

2. Eat the cookie with the ice cream, and recite only Shehakol.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:43)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Women and Tachanun

Hi,

Are women obligated to recite Tachanun?

The sages have said that Tachanun, with its humble rite of falling forward on one's face, is the first form of prayer HaShem will answer. Nonetheless, most authorities maintain that recitation of Tachanun began as reshut: Unlike Shema and Shemoneh Esreih, recitation of Tachanun developed as a voluntary supplication. [Rav Soloveitchik, basing his argument on the Rambam, disagreed with the majority view and considered Tachanun an extension of Shemoneh Esreih.]

Today, Tachanun is considered obligatory for men, because the formal prayer of the minyan includes Tachanun. It is valuable for women to recite the entire davening, but they are not obligated to do so. Women who already recite Tachanun might be considered obligated under a personal vow, but otherwise they are not obligated.

(Bava Metzia 59a-b; Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Tefillah 5:13, 7:17; Tur Orach Chaim 131; Aruch haShulchan Orach Chaim 131:2; Kaf haChaim 70:1; Mishneh Berurah 70:2; Halichot Beitah 7:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Birkat haMazon for eating small quantities of bread at a meal

Hi,

One who ate a full meal, but only ate less than an olive-sized amount of bread at the meal, does not recite Birkat haMazon. One should only recite the closing berachah associated with those foods for which he consumed the threshold amount to require that berachah.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:41)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

A church gymnasium

Hi,

Children should not play sports in the gym of a church, even in the absence of any church icons.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:40:26)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Design of the Parochet

Hi,

The parochet [curtan in front of the Ark in the synagogue] should be one piece, rather than two pieces which split apart. The custom is to make the parochet match the one which covers the entrances in the Beit haMikdash [Temple].

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:40:22)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Words on the parochet

Hi,

If the parochet (curtain in front of the Ark in a synagogue) has words written on it, and opening the parochet will cause the words to be split, but there is no physical joining of the letters, then one may open the parochet on Shabbat.

This is not ideal, though; it would be better for the two sides to be separated before Shabbat.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:40:22)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Presenting divrei torah between aliyot of the Torah reading

Hi,

The ancient practice of translating the Torah into Aramaic between verses was halted [in much of the Jewish world], because the community did not understand Aramaic. Therefore, one should not reinstate it, even between aliyot.

"One also should not insert alternative translations or commentaries, for there is disagreement about proper translation/commentary to the Torah."

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:40:21)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Names in a Ketubah

Hi,

One need not include the last name of a family in a wedding Ketubah, but it is a good idea to do so in large communities, where multiple people may have the same name.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:40:20)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Toupees and Tefillin

Hi,

A toupee which is detachable constitutes an interruption between the scalp and tefillin. Therefore, he should put on tefillin at home without the toupee and with a berachah, and put the head tefillin on at shul over the toupee without a berachah.

Foreign hair which cannot be removed does not constitute an interruption.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Orach Chaim 4:40:18)

Have a great day,
Mordechai