Playing recordings of Torah or prayer

Hi,

One may not play a recording of Torah or prayer in such a way that people who are in a bathroom will hear it, lest they be caused to think about Torah or prayer in an inappropriate place.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:173)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

HaShem's Name in English

Hi,

In non-Hebrew languages, only a word which is dedicated as a Name for HaShem counts as a name. In English, that only applies to the word "God", such that this word should not be said without purpose.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:172)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Praying with awareness

Hi,
"One whose heart is not opened, who does not see himself as standing before Gd and praying, is not performing an act of prayer."

(Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik to Rambam, Hilchot Tefillah 4:1)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Missionary materials with Gd's Name

Hi,

Missionary materials produced to attract Jews to other religions, which include Gd's Name, do not have any sanctity, and may be erased or destroyed.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:172)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Removing Gd's Name from a Sefer Torah

Hi,

If a sefer torah should have had the word יהיה, but the scribe erroneously substituted a ו for the second י, so that it was actually the Name of Gd, then one cannot alter the word itself, because it may be considered a valid recording of the Name of Gd, which cannot be erased. Therefore, one ought to cut that word from the sefer torah [and put it in genizah], and replace it with a new piece of parchment on which יהיה is written.

Ideally, one should remove the Name of Gd with the two adjacent words, since they enjoy some extra sanctity due to their location beside the Name of Gd. However, where the passage was טמא יהיה, so that leaving the word טמא [impure] next to Gd's Name would make a blasphemous declaration, then one should not do this.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:170)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Upside-down Nuns

Hi,

[First, for anyone who arrived here due to a misunderstanding - the "nun" in the title refers to the Hebrew letter nun, or נ.]

The Talmud (Shabbat 115b-116a) mentions that the verses of Bamidbar 10:35-36 are to be marked off from the rest of the Torah. Traditionally, those markers have been upside-down nuns. However, there is a debate as to whether this means that such markers appear before and after those verses in the Torah (Noda beYehudah), or whether this means that the normal letter nun which appears in the word בנסע in 10:35, and which appears in כמתאוננים in the subsequent verse, 11:1, should be upside down (Maharshal).

Our practice is to follow the view of Noda b'Yehudah. However, a sefer torah which has the markers as determined by the Maharshal is still kosher, and should not be altered. We treat this sefer torah as the "location of Maharshal", where it was appropriate to follow his practice.

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:165)

Have a great day,
Mordechai

Spending large amounts of money for a mitzvah

Hi,

Aside from the rule that one should not spend more than 1/5 of his assets to fulfill a commandment, one also should not spend "large sums" [הון רב] even where they are less than 1/5, for this will prevent fulfillment of other commandments. This is why many pious Jews, through the ages, did not fulfill the mitzvah of writing a sefer torah.

[Note: This only refers to fulfillment of מצוות עשה, commandments; one must spend far more to avoid violation of a prohibition.]

(Rav Moshe Feinstein, Igrot Moshe Yoreh Deah 1:163 and Dibrot Moshe Bava Kama (II) 89:21)

Have a great day,
Mordechai