Ask The Rabbi
Halachic questions answered by Hagaon Rav Shlomo Miller Shlit'a
5,520 questions and answers
#580 Is Aron a Person?
Sometimes there are only 9 people showing up at shul. The problem is that they lock the doors every hour on the hour so if we dont get a minyan, lets say at 8 AM, there is no chance to get a minyan si...
#579 Oversee the Dentifrice?
Is Colgate Toothpaste Kosher? Is there a problem using it although there is no hashgacha on the package? Are any brands specifically not kosher?...
#578 A Sweeping Shaileh
I have a mulberry tree next to the side entrance of my home and the mulberries fall on the paved entrance. They can cause a mess on the carpets when someone steps on them and enters the house. Can the...
#577 Yonge but Grown Eruv
My friends are coming in from Israel and want to know if there is an Eruv where I live please. 5XXX Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Between Finch Ave. W. and Sheppard Ave. W.)...
#576 Windows to the Moon
Can someone stay inside as say Kidush Levanah by seeing the moon through the window if it is too hot or too cold outside?...
#575 Interrupting Kidush
If someone is in the middle of saying the bracha of Kidush Levanah and someone else approaches him and tells him Shalom Aleichem can he respond or is it a Hefsek?...
#574 The Kulanu-Kitchen, Kosher-Kettle
I share a kettle with a group of people. It has been brought to my attention that someone in the group may have poured hot water from the kettle into a cup containing a non-Kosher substance. What is t...
#573 Watch Out For That Watch
An automatic or self-winding watch in which energy comes from winding a spring automatically as a result of natural motion of the wearer’s arm. This makes manual winding unnecessary. It does not ...
#572 A Sticky Question?
Is it permitted to use "Post-It Notes" (aka "yellow stickies") on Shabbos? In particular I use these as book marks, since I can stick them in the margin and they mark the exact place where I left off ...
#571 As Quick as Lightning
If at that time (when lightning is seen during a rainstorm) I can’t say the bracha because my hands are unclean or I’m in the bathroom can I say it a bit latter?...
#570 An Enlightening Question
Dear Rabbi. If I don’t see the lightning itself during a rainstorm, but only the room becomes illuminated by it. Do I make the bracha of Maase Bereshit? If at that time I can’t say the bra...
#569 A Silent Blessing?
When davening amidah together with the shliach tzibur, word by word, as when you arrive late and can’t do it with the minyan. When the shliach tzibur says birchas Cohanim (Elokeinu V’Elokey ...
#568 A Word in a Word by Word Tefilah
When davening amidah together with the shliach tzibur, word by word, as when you arrive late and can’t do it with the minyan. If you daven nusach s’fard and you are in a place that davens as...
#567 The Pits in Squeezing Lemons on Shabbos
Is it mutter to squeeze a lemon through your hand (to catch the pits) on shabbos (assuming it’s samuch li’seudah and onto food)?...
#566 Stoves Savings
On Yom Tov when someone had his stove fit with a special indicating light that shows if electricity is flowing or not at that time into the element and also has the standard indicator light disconnect...
#565 An Air Conditioned Mikvah?
Can one fill a Mikvah with water that formed and dripped directly from an air conditioner?...
#564 Pi in the Sky?
Although the Mishnah in Eiruvin says that the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter is 3, there is a rumour that the Vilna Gaon discovered a remez for the true value of the ratio base...
#563 Raise a Few Eyebrows
Can a man trim his eyebrows if they are unruly and get into his eyes? What if his wife asks him to do it?...
#562 Sweet Blessings
What brocho do you make on chocolate covered raisins or almonds? Thank you...
#561 A Mitzvah to Vote?
B"H. Shalom, Dear Rabbi, Is there a halakhic obligation to vote in the elections for the various levels of government of Canada?...