One
Cigarette a Day
Q:
Is it true that smoking one cigarette a day is healthy?
A:
No. This is the evil inclination trying
to seduce you.
Tooth
Which Fell Out on Shabbat
Q:
Is a tooth which fell out on Shabbat considered Muktzeh?
A:
Yes. But if it is in one's hand in a
permissible fashion, i.e. it fell out into a person's mouth and he removed it
with his hand, then it is permissible to place it wherever he wants, similar to
a fruit peel (See Mishnah Berurah 506:29.
Orchot Shabbat Volume 2, p. 101).
Tzahal
Soldier, His Wife and Danger
Q:
I am a married soldier. They sent me to
the Gaza border. My wife said that she
is totally against me entering into Gaza.
What should I do?
A:
1. We do not know the future, but at this juncture, if Tzahal enters Gaza, it
will only be a minimal entry and the danger will not be greater than on any
other front. 2. The Rambam writes that
when a soldier enters a war, he should not fear, and he should not think about
his wife and children (Hilchot Melachim, end of Chapter 7). This is logical, since he starts to fear, he
will not be able to do anything. 3. If
your officer is willing to grant you an exemption, you are allowed not to
enter. 4. According to the Halachah, if
you do enter, you are permitted to hide this from your wife in order not to
cause her distress, which is called lying for the sake of peace. Be strong and courageous!
Cell
Phone in Shul
Q:
Is it permissible to enter a Shul with a cell phone?
A:
Yes. On condition that it is turned off
and one does not use it there.
Yosef's
Coffin during Plague of Blood
Q:
Why didn't Yosef's coffin fill up with blood in the Nile during the plague of
blood in Egypt?
A:
This is a very good question, but one should first ask why it did not fill up
with water all year long. It seems that
it was sealed tight. Additionally, after
the plague ended, the blood disappeared. Therefore, even if blood did enter the coffin,
after the plague ended it also disappeared.
Learning
Arabic
Q:
Is it permissible to learn Arabic?
A:
Hebrew is our language. It is
permissible to learn another language for a job.
Talit
for Bat Mitzvah
Q:
I own a Judaica store. Is it permissible
for me to sell a Talit for a Bat Mitzvah?
A:
Certainly not. But you should avoid
doing so with wisdom (Similarly, in Shut Shevet Ha-Kehati [5:5], it is written
that it is forbidden to sell Tefillin to a woman).
Signs
of Redemption
Q:
Do the Charedim agree that when Eretz Yisrael yields her fruit bountifully it
is a sign that the Redemption is coming?
A:
Certainly! It is an explicit Gemara,
Sanhedrin 98a, and we are not Karaites.
And a friend told me in the name of Ha-Rav Avraham Greniman Shlit"a
that the Chazon Ish told his father, Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Shemaryahu Greniman
ztz"l, Rosh Kollel Chazon Ish, that the reason he made Aliyah (in the year
5693) was on account of Eretz Yisrael beginning to grow her fruit, as it says
in the Prophet Yechezkel (36:8): "But you,
O mountains of Israel, shall yield your produce and bear your fruit for My
people Israel, for their return is near".
Immersing
in Desert
Q:
Where did the women immerse during the forty years in the desert?
A:
There were small lakes, large puddles and natural springs