ShalomNewYork.com

“It is customary to recite Alenu at the end of each of the three daily prayer services - Shaharit, Minha and Arbit.  This custom is recorded already in the Tur (Orah Haim 133).  Some scholars attribute this hymn to Yehoshua Bin Nun, who composed it after the miraculous battle against the city of Yericho.  This […]

“The folklore that accompanies Israel’s national Memorial and Independence Days, includes the perpetual question: What’s the ultra-Orthodox’s opinion? Will they stand for the moment of silence? Do they respect the memory of the fallen? Do they celebrate Independence Day? Do they rejoice in it? The ritual question, which finds its expression through the images of […]

” It has been learned that Jerusalem-based Angel’s Bakery, the nation’s largest bakery providing over 30% of the nation’s bread, after Pesach sold breads that were baked, frozen, and sold to a non-Jews, and defrosted and sold after Pesach.
The news of the practice elicited the ire of many who are stringent regarding their practice of […]

Shemurah Matzah: [295] The Rebbe Shlita has asked everyone, especially rabbanim,shochatim and anyone else involved in communal activities, to endeavor to distribute round, hand-baked matzos specifically shemurah to their acquaintances, sufficient for at least both Sedarim. People organizing communal Sedarim, in hotels and the like, should also attend to this. [296]The […]

“The following fascinating article about Birchas Hachammah, entitled “Hebrew Festival Marred,” appeared in the New York Times on April 8, 1897 (here). The subtitle on the piece states, “Rabbi Arrested for Observance of an Ancient Talmudic Ceremony in Tompkins Square.” The article then states: “No Permit Had Been Thought Necessary for the Gathering and Policeman […]

“Others, however, disagree.  The Maharil Diskin (Rabbi Moshe Yehuda Leib Diskin of Brisk, 1818-1898), in his Kuntras Aharon, argued that Birkat Ha’hama should not be viewed as a “time-bound” Misva, because in essence, it depends not on the passage of time, but rather on the occurrence of the phenomenon.  Halacha requires reciting this Beracha whenever […]

Photo NYTimesUpd:”Oy vey: Council hopeful Isaac Abraham (right) can now attend the CBID forum now that it is no longer in a church.” more@BrooklynPaper.com“Get this: an Orthodox Jew and five other Council candidates are invited to a Methodist church for a meeting. So what’s the punch line? That depends on whom you ask. Isaac Abraham, an activist in […]

There is a chiyuv to give Ma’aser from your income.  If you receive an expensive Mishloach Manos do you need to give Ma’aser from it?  This was the question asked to Rav Ephraim Greenblatt (Rivevos Ephraim 6:389). He answered that he saw in a Sefer Uvacharta BaChaim that Rav Chaim Kreiswirth said in hesped for […]

“The status quo agreement that Rav Elyashiv referred to was established between Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, and the religious parties, at the time of the declaration of independence in 1948. One of the key points of the agreement is that the Chief Rabbinate has authority over issuing kashrus certification, Shabbos, kevurah and marital […]

“I am bewildered”, says Rav Moshe Shternbuch, “that people are not midakdek to be mikayen the mitzva [of mishloach manos] that is a mitzva from the nevi’im.”  Rabbeinu Chananel (Megila 7a) tells a story of Rebbi Yehuda Nesia who sent mishloach manos to Rav Hoshaya.  He sent a thigh of veal and a bottle of […]