Honoring
Rabbis
Q:
I harshly admonished someone who called Ha-Rav Chaim Druckman: "Druckman"
without the title of Rabbi, and asked him to leave our Shul. Was I correct?
A:
Very correct. It is honoring the Torah
(By the way, Ha-Rav refers to Rav Druckman as "Mori Ve-Rebbe" -
"My teacher and my Rabbi" in Shut She'eilat Shlomo, which is
unusual. Ha-Rav explained to me: "I
learned from him when I was in Bnai Akiva, and I later asked him many questions
and took counsel with him over the course of many years. I was influenced by his personality").
Tip
in Restaurant
Q:
Is there an obligation to give a tip in a restaurant?
A:
Yes, according to the accepted amount, since a person eats there based on this
understanding.
Q:
What if the service is not good?
A:
One should still give a tip, although it can be a little less.
Immersing
Jars
Q:
I sell honey. Am I obligated to do
Tevilat Kelim for all of the jars?
A:
No. It is an obligation on the
buyer. Sefer Tevilat Kelim 8:5.
Mezuzah
on Caravan which was Moved
Q:
I live in a caravan on a Yishuv. They are
paving a new road and are moving the caravan to a new location on the
Yishuv. Do I need to re-affix the
Mezuzah when they lower the caravan onto its new spot?
A:
Ha-Rav Mordechai Eliyahu was once asked this same question and he responded
that when the caravan is lifted off the ground by the crane, it is exempt from
the obligation of Mezuzah, and when it is placed on the ground, it is obligated
once again. As a result, the Mezuzah
must be affixed again with a blessing on account of the general principle
"Ta'aseh Ve-Lo Min Ha-Asu'i" - one must perform that Mitzvah and not take that which was previously made" (Avihem
Shel Yisrael – Devarim, p. 48. Mi-Pi
Eliyahu p. 79. And so too Ha-Rav
Yitzchak Zilberstein in his book "Aleinu Le-Shabeiach" Volume 6, p.
108. And so too Ha-Rav Chaim Kanevski
but he said to affix it without a blessing.
In the Parashah Sheet "Ve-Yishma Moshe" – Parashat Shoftim
5778).
Drinking
in the Market
Q:
Is it permissible to drink a cup of coffee while walking? After all, the Gemara (Kiddushin 40b)
specifies eating - "One who eats in the market is similar to a dog" -
and not drinking.
A:
This is also forbidden (One day a student was walking with Ha-Rav Beni Alon,
Rosh Yeshiva of Beit Orot in Yerushalayim, and they bought drinks. The student began to drink while walking, and
Ha-Rav Beni asked him with a half smile: You are drinking in the street? The student said but it says "One who
eats in the market is similar to a dog".
Rav Beni replied with a smile: One who eats is similar to a dog, and one
who drinks is similar to a puppy… In the
booklet "Le-Binyanim Amar… Yedid Hashem", p. 23).
Child
with Anxiety
Q:
My four-year old grandson suffers from anxiety at night and from
nightmares. What is the solution?
A:
1. To lovingly sit with him when he falls asleep. 2. To figure out if something is bothering
him. 3. But this is not a question for a
text message. Tell the parents that they
should talk to a child psychologist.
Medical
Marijuana
Q:
Is it appropriate to advance medical marijuana?
A:
Certainly. It is a great Mitzvah. But not for any other purpose.
White
Smoke
Q:
What is the source for the expression: white smoke?
A:
It means when a matter is finally decided.
Its source is Christian. When a
new Pope is chosen, the ballots are burned along with a substance with causes
white smoke above the Vatican. This is
the sign that the new Pope has been elected.
One should not use the expression.
Checking
Mezuzah Because of Illness
Q:
We have recently had many illnesses in our family. Should we check the Mezuzot?
A:
If they have not been checked in three and a half years (Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh
Deah 291:1. And Ha-Rav Levi Ha-Cohain
Rabinowitz, author of Maadanei Ha-Shulchan, was once in the hospital on account
on pneumonia and then had a heart attack.
When he returned home, his wife had a heart attack. Their daughter asked him if they should check
their Mezuzot. The Maadnaei Ha-Shulchan
asked the family if they had been checked in the last three and a half
years. They said that they were checked
during the last year. He said: there is
no need to check them (Uvdor De-Rebbe Levi, p. 96).
