Charedi
Dress
Q:
What is the reason that there are Rabbis in our [Religious-Zionist] community
who dress like Charedim?
A:
1. It is the traditional dress. 2. "Our community" is the Nation of
Israel.
Mosquito
on Shabbat
Q:
A mosquito is a potentially lethal bug.
Is it permissible to kill one on Shabbat?
A:
No. 1. Put on bug-repellant. 2. In Eretz Israel, it is not a lethal bug.
Rashi's
Father
Q:
It is true that Rashi began his commentary on the Torah "Rabbi Yitzchak
said" in order to honor his father, Yitzchak?
A:
Perhaps (The Taz in his commentary 'Divrei David' on Rashi points out in the
name of an ancient book that Rashi's first question of why the Torah began with
the Creation of the World and not the first Mitzvah is brought in the Midrash
but not in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak. Some
explain that Rashi's father was not a great Torah scholar, and Rashi told him
to ask a question which he would bring in his name at the beginning of his
commentary. But the Taz explains that
this is not correct, since Rashi brings a few comments regarding complex issues
in his father's name. For example, in
his commentary on the Gemara Avodah Zarah 75a.
Ha-Rav David Shevel in his edition of the Divrei David writes that he
found a manuscript of the Midash which does bring the above-question in the
name of a Rabbi Yitzchak, and he suggests that Rashi brought this question in
the name of the questioner, which he seldom does, in order to begin the
commentary with Rabbi Yitzchak, which is also his father's name, in order to honor
him).
Newspaper
Subscription
Q:
I have a newspaper subscription. Can I
give the newspaper to a friend after I read it?
A:
Yes. Just as in the case of a book you
bought.
Strange
Kosher Food
Q:
Is it permissible to attend a Kosher meal at a Siyum which includes cow udders,
grasshoppers, Buffalo and red deer?
A:
It is permissible. This is obviously on
the condition that it is under reliable Kosher supervision. Grasshoppers are only permissible for
Yemenite Jews.
Blessing
on Drugs
Q:
What blessing does one recite for taking drugs?
After all, it is forbidden to benefit from anything in the world without
a blessing?
A:
One does not recite a blessing on a prohibition, such as eating pork, even if
one enjoys eating it, or on murdering someone, even if one enjoys it, and
certainly not on taking drugs (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 196:1).
Medicinal
Marijuana on Shabbat
Q:
What does a suffering person who was prescribed the use of medical marijuana do
on Shabbat?
A:
The Tzomet Institute of Halacha and technology has a machine which can be used
on Shabbat.
Microphone
at Wedding
Q:
When Ha-Rav recites the blessings under a Chupa, why doesn’t he use a
microphone?
A:
Many Poskim rule that hearing something through a microphone is not considered
hearing, and a Minyan must hear the blessings.
Daven
for Ill in China
Q:
Should we Daven for those who are sick with the Coronavirus in China?
A:
Yes. "Hashem has mercy on all His
creatures" (Tehillim 145:9).
Obviously, there are worse things in the world, such as the fact that
30,000 children die each day in the world on account of hunger.
Reading
about Holocaust
Q:
Is reading about the Holocaust considered "Bitul Torah"?
A:
It is not Torah, but it is a Mitzvah to read about it. It is a personal decision how much time one
devotes to this.
