Ask The Rabbi
Halachic questions answered by Hagaon Rav Shlomo Miller Shlit'a
5,520 questions and answers
#180 - Is it a prohibition to omit the name of the author?
Is it a prohibition to omit the name of the author? Or is it only a mitzvah to mention him?...
#179 - Repeat divrei Torah when one can't remember the name of the author.
When you repeat divrei Torah, and these should be said in the name of the author who said them, but you can’t remember who it was, should you not say them at all, or maybe say you can’t reme...
#178 - Chatzitzos when putting on Tefilin shel Yad.
When you put Tefilin shel yad, do you have to take off your watch, or medic-alert bracelet?...
#177 - Mixing Parve hot food with a Dairy spoon in a Fleishig Pot.
By accident a dairy spoon was used to stir a cup of coffee in a fleishig mug (stone wear) (no milk involved). The cup was filled with water from a hot water urn and the spoon was put in afterwards....
#176 - Using anesthetics during a bris
Further to the question about the appropriateness of a brit milah performed by a woman, is the use of an anesthetic during the procedure to dull the pain to the infant. Does it matter?...
#175 - Shunning a marriage to a woman whose father's name is the same as his
If a girl is read to a guy and the guy has the same name as her father is that an issue? What if he has two names and the father has one?...
#174 - Brit Milah officiated by a female mohel.
I recently attended a brit milah officiated by a female mohel. What is the law on this matter?...
#173 - Making a Brocha when seeing a King or Prince.
Upon seeing Prince Charles or Queen Elizabeth, is it halachically appropriate to recite a blessing? Thanks....
#172 - Eating bee honey that is unfiltered
FrumToronto Staff Note: A follow up on this is pending. Q - Is there an Issur to eat bees honey that is unfiltered because there may be bee parts in it or do we say that the bee parts if in there ma...
#171 - Number of letters in a Sefer Torah- 600,00 or 304,805.
Q) A rabbi spoke about the Sefer Torah having six hundred thousand letters, is that correct? A - The aphorism "There are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah" is not mentioned in the Talmud...
#170 - When writing a letter for a Sefer Torah, should one choose the letter that begins their Hebrew name?
Q - When writing a letter for a Sefer Torah, why and how important is it to choose the letter that begins your Hebrew name? A - Horav Shlomo Miller Shlit"a expressed that it is not essential to ...
#169 - Filling in Letters in a Sefer Torah
Q) I recently attended the giving of a Sefer Torah, and was invited to write a letter for a donation. The letters were already outlined in ink, I just filled in the blank inner space, isn’t that ...
#168 - Eating an item that required bitul to permit it
On a recent kashruth question, the Rabbi who supervises the product told me, that it is totally permitted lekatchila, even though Bitul Beshishim was used as a Heter. Is this correct? Should not one a...
#167 - Placing schach directly on narrow wooden straps, which are used normally for supporting roof tiles
I’m fixing my porch for the summer and I plan to place as a partial sun-protecting surface on top of the porch some sheets of wood strips, woven in a lattice pattern. Those strips are usually st...
#166 - Counting people in one’s mind.
Can one count in one’s mind the ten people needed for a minyan?...
#165 - Counting yesterday’s Sefira after today’s early Mariv.
If someone has already said mariv after the plag, and remembers that he hasn’t counted sefira the night before, can he still count for that day now after mariv?...
#164 - Is a wife required to follow a husband’s temporary minhag?
I changed my usual minhag this year of not shaving from Pesach till Lag Baomer, to from Rosh Chodesh till Shavuot, because of the need to shave for a job interview. My wife kept the former minhag, can...
#163 - Using thick paint for a Lechi
I have heard that a piece of tape (10 tefachim long) attached to a post can be used as a lechi to resolve the min hatzad problem. Can you also use thick paint that can be pealed off?...
#162 - Non-contiguous Tel Hamislaket slope
On the tel hamislaket issue, you informed in the name of Horav Miller that a slope of 25 degrees is required. Now, if the slope is made partially of irregular big rocks, that in overall, as measured i...
#161 - Earliest time one can cut hair on Lag Baomer.
What is the earliest time I can cut my hair on Lag Baomer, can it be done erev Lag Baomer after already reciting Maariv, following the Plag Hamincha?...