Looking in the Mirror

Question: איך דיין יכול לדון יחיד בזה''ז והרי בקצוה''ח ס''ג סק''ד פסק שלא להקל בזה כלל? ונראה דהוא משנה מפורשת באבות פרק ד' מ''ח שאסור ששנינו אל תהי דן יחידי שאין דן יחידי אלא אחד? Answer: עש''ך סימן ג' סק''י בסו''ד כתב דהאידנא לאו שפיר עבדי אותן שנהגו לדון לכתחילה אם לא שמפרש להדיא איני…

Question: Our eldest son would be much happier if we didn't sell chometz or buy chometz that another Jew sold for Pesach. If doing this is not overly burdensome and oppressive, I would consider it. Can you give me the ground rules for both? Answer: Theoretically, selling chometz is fine. It just has to be…

Question: Is 15 cups of flour enough to make a berochoh when taking challoh? It is 2 kilograms and a cup. Answer: Fifteen cups is a volume measurement and a kilogram is a measurement of weight or mass. They are difficult to convert unless dealing with water. Fifteen cups is equal to 3549 cc, which…

Question: I work in a phone calling center and I speak with gentiles around the world. Many of the workers go by fictitious American names so that the customers can easily pronounce and spell them. For example, my phone name is Mark Shane. If a customer wants to reach me or complain about me to…

Question: Why does our nusach for Shabbos Rosh Chodesh specifically exclude the usual formula "kadesheinu bemitzvosecho …" from Mussaf? The Rinas Yisrael siddur has re-inserted this phrase into the nusach. Answer: That is a good question for which I do not have a good answer. Since the question is so good I will elaborate on…

Question: Answer: People often entertain themselves by poking fun at the ruthlessness and opportunism of lawyers, but when it is their turn to stand before a judge they invariably want the most aggressive, polished attorney at their side. For a defendant in a secular court of law this is acceptable; however, the legitimacy of an…