LEARNING NEVER ENDS

The mitzvah of hachzakas Torah (supporting Torah learning) is independent of our general obligation of giving tz’daka (charity). It is greater than any other form of tz’daka and includes supporting even a wealthy talmid chacham (Torah scholar) so they can learn with peace of mind free of financial worry. In addition to monetary support, the mitzvah includes providing them with food, coffee, electricity, s’farim (holy books) and any assistance their families may need. Even though charitable giving is usually capped at twenty percent of a person’s earnings, the amount of money contributed to the cause of hachzakas Torah is not restricted.

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THE BUSINESS OF MARRIAGE

Eid echad ne’eman b’issurin (one witness is believed with regard to prohibited substances); a single adult is trusted when it comes to the status of toiveled (ritually immersed) dishes, kosher food or checking produce for bugs, and eggs for bloodspots. May a child perform these tasks without supervision and declare them “kosher”?

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THE USURIOUS PARENT

T’fillos have varied sources and differing objectives; our emotional state should always be in sync with the t’filla that we are reciting. This knowledge will help us articulate our t’fillos with the proper kavana (focused intent)

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TIP YOUR CUSTOMER

One of many conveniences of a modern kitchen is the increasingly popular warming drawer, which functions as a separate unit or as part of a cooking range. Some warming drawers actually operate as slow-cookers (raw food can be inserted and will be ready to eat many hours later). There are specific issues with slow cookers that are beyond the scope of our current discussion; warming drawers that are also slow cookers have their own set of rules.

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MAY I DAVEN IN A MULTI-FAITH PRAYER ROOM

Hospitals, airports and prisons usually designate a certain area as a “Prayer Room” for people of all faiths. In hospitals and airports, where the place is used only temporarily by individuals passing through, it would be permitted, provided that the halachos governing any t’filla (prayer) are adhered to (such as that any women who are in view are dressed in a tznius—modest—manner) and that there are no overt icons of other religions (like a cross) present—or they are covered while Jews pray.

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MUST I GIVE MAASER ON GIFT MONEY?

Parents often support their grown children by helping them with monthly expenditures, covering a down payment on a house, paying for the expenses of a simcha (happy occasion)—such as the bris of a newborn grandson, new-baby paraphernalia—and other such gifts. Are the children obligated to pay maaser (lit., “a tenth”; refers to the practice of tithing earnings for charity) on the money they receive?

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WIRETAPPING IN JEWISH LAW

It is a minhag (custom) to sell the various kibbudim (honors) and aliyos (being called up to the Torah)—even the right to pay for maintenance and utilities—to the congregants of a shul. In many shuls this takes the form of an auction, with bidders vying for the privilege of buying these mitzvos. When executed properly, the bidding can foster many positive results: it prevents machlokes (disputes) as to who receives the honors, supports the shul financially, and also promotes kavod ha’Torah (respect for the Torah) indicating that mitzvos are valuable and not dispensed freely.

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IS TAKING ON DISCRETIONARY CHUMROS ALLOWED?

“Z’miros hayu li chukecha…” (Your statutes have been my songs), Dovid HaMelech says in T’hillim, to describe how the Torah brought joy and solace to his soul while undergoing his many hardships in life. The Gemara states that Hashem admonished him for this statement, and as a result he would forget a basic tenet of Torah Law at a crucial time.

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IS USING MY NEIGHBOR’S WI-FI CONSIDERED STEALING?

There are laws in many countries that forbid the use of wireless service belonging to another without permission. In the United States, federal and state laws restrict “unauthorized access of a computer network,” though what constitutes unauthorized access and to what extent it is penalized varies greatly from state to state.

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STAND UP, STAND UP, STAND UP AND . . .

Rising for a parent when they enter a room is one aspect of the mitzvah of kibbud av va’eim (honoring a parent)—or according to some opinions, the mitzvah of mora (fear).

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FARBRENGING ON SCOTCH

Aging whisky is an art that endeavors to produce optimal taste and smoothness with a precise blend of ingredients and method. Many producers (specifically of Scotch whiskies) have reintroduced the practice of storing the spirit in casks that were previously used for wine, called “sherry finishing.”

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DEALING WITH AN UNFOLDED TALLIS

Parents divorce and their son lives with his mother for the first six years of his life. At age six, he is to go live with his father, as outlined by the Beis Din at the time of the divorce*. The child refuses. The father states, “If my son doesn’t come live with me, I will no longer support him. That’s what the Shulchan Aruch says.”

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THE HOLY IPAD

S’farim (books of Torah learning) are considered holy and must be treated with utmost respect. We are cautioned not to place anything on top of a seifer (indeed s’farim themselves have a hierarchy of holiness, wherein a Chumash is placed on the top of the pile).

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