Author Rabbi Yaakov Goldstein

Question: [Tuesday, 19th Tammuz, 5781] I was barbecuing hamburgers and hotdogs in my Fleishig oven, and when I took out one of the Hotdogs to see if it was ready, it slipped from my fork and fell onto the floor. My question is whether it is Treif due to that […]

Question: [Monday, 18th Tamuz 5781] May one get a manicure during the three weeks? Answer: It is permitted to do so up until the week of Tishe Beav, although some are stringent starting from the nine days.   Explanation: There is no listed restriction against getting a manicure or pedicure […]

Question: [Sunday 17th Tamuz 5781] I recently found out that I am pregnant. I am 30 days along. Do I have to fast? To note that I am also two years within giving birth.   Answer: A pregnant woman who is in pain is exempt from fasting starting from the […]

Question: [Thursday, 7th Tammuz 5781] During the week, I am accustomed to use a breast milk collector cup in order to both save as much milk as possible, as well as prevent my clothing from getting wet. Is it permitted for me to use this on Shabbos?   Answer: There […]

Question: [Tuesday, 13th Sivan, 5781] There is a well-known individual in my community who owes me a large sum of money already for several years, and everything that I have tried to do to get him to pay has been futile, with him giving one excuse after another, and practically […]

Paying rent on time: Rent of object:[1] It is an obligation to pay rent for an animal or item on time, and if one delays doing so he transgresses a negative command.[2] Rent of land/house:[3] Some Poskim[4] rule one who does not pay land related rent on time does not […]

Question: [Tuesday, 12th Tammuz, 5781] I’m getting married in a few weeks IYH, and would like to know if it is permitted for me to cut my hair and use it to make myself a Sheitel. I have very long hair which I will anyways have to cut, and know […]

Must a married [or once married] woman cover every strand of hair of her head?[1] It is [Biblically[2], and at the very least Rabbinically[3]] forbidden for a married woman to reveal even a single hair of her head to the public, and hence all of the hair, must be covered.[4] […]

Question: [Monday, 11th Tamuz 5781] I had someone Toivel my Keilim on my behalf and noticed afterwards that the stickers were left on the vessels and not removed prior to immersion. What am I supposed to do? Answer: If the stickers are not meant to stay on, such as if […]

Nidrei Mitzvah-When does a Chumra or custom require Hataras Nedarim?[1] If one performed a Chumra one time with intent to continue doing so forever it has the status of a vow. If he performed the Chumra or custom three[2] times it is considered a vow even if he did not […]

Question: [Sunday, 10th Tamuz, 5781] Am I allowed to learn my daily learning Shiurim before Davening Shacharis, such as Chitas [except Tehillim which I do after Davening], Rambam, and Daf Yomi? I find that this is when my head is clearest to learn, and I have the time to do […]

The two holes of the Tallis Katan:[1] Some Poskim[2] rule that the Tzitzis is not to be tied in its classic method, in which only one hole is made by the corner, and the Tzitzis is looped through that hole. Rather the Tallis is to have two adjacent holes made […]

Question: [Thursday, 7th Tammuz 5781] Is it permitted to play with a Rubik cube on Shabbos or does it involve borer or another prohibition?   Answer: It is permitted to play with a Rubik’s cube on Shabbos to set up the various sides with a single solid color, and doing […]

Filtering tap water on Shabbos [through a Brita filter and the like]:[1] A. Background: The Borer/Miraked prohibition:[2] Filtering liquids on Shabbos falls under a question of whether it transgresses the Biblical Borer or Miraked prohibition. It is explained in Halacha that in certain scenarios filtering liquids is considered a Biblical […]

Question: [Tuesday, 6th Sivan, 5781] I have started to work as a Shadchan and have received conflicting information regarding who a Kohen is allowed to marry. It’s very confusing because obviously I only want to set up couples who are halachically allowed to marry each other. I know that a […]

Question: [Tuesday, 5th Tammuz, 5781] When we were in Israel a few years back, we bought from a souvenir shop a quite expensive pottery made Neigal Vaaser cup with hand designed paintings. After a few years of use, the pottery has begun to crack by its inside, although the outside […]

The history of washing for bread:[1] The obligation of washing hands prior to eating food is not rooted in the Torah, and is thus not of Biblical status, but rather is Rabbinical. The Rabbinical institution to wash hands developed gradually from generation to generation. Until the time of King Shlomo, […]

Question: [Monday, 27th Iyar 5781] Is it permitted for one to bentch on a couch if it is in the same room as the meal or must one return to his actual seat to bentch. This often happens on Shabbos that we go to the couch prior to the end […]

Introduction: The day of the passing of the Niftar is customarily commemorated annually by the relatives, family and friends of the deceased.[1] It is called a Yartzite in Yiddish, which literally means “the set time of the year.[2]” In Halachic tradition, we find various customs that are followed by the […]

Question: [Thursday, 30th Sivan 5781] I have a basket of laundry that I forgot to hang before Rosh Chodesh, may I hang it to dry on Rosh Chodesh?   Answer: Women and girls should not hang laundry on Rosh Chodesh unless you have a specific custom in your family to […]

Question: [Tuesday, 29th Sivan, 5781] I am generally careful to eat only Lubavitch Shechita. I would like to know what I’m to do when I eat at people’s homes as a guest who may not be careful in eating only meat and poultry of Lubavitch Shechita. I used to ask […]

The prohibition to create and continue a Machlokes/dispute:[1] It is forbidden to hold onto and continue[2] [or lend support[3] to] a dispute, and one who does so transgresses a negative command, as the verse[4] states “Do not be like Korach and his people.”[5]  This applies even if in truth one’s […]

Question: [Tuesday, 28th Sivan, 5781] My daughter’s class in elementary school was just taught by their teacher how to Daven Shemoneh Esrei and take the three steps back and forth in the beginning of Shemoneh Esrei. There was a controversy amongst the class as to how the three steps back […]

Reciting the six Zechiros:[1] The Mitzvah:[2] It is a positive command in the Torah to remember [daily] the following actions: Matan Torah and Mamad Har Sinai:[3] It is a positive command of Torah to remember [daily] the the event of the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Maaseh Amaleik:[4] […]

Question: [Monday, 27th Iyar 5781] I have seen some people, especially women, bounce their feet up three times [like we do by Kedusha] after they finish Davening Shemoneh Esrei, after they finish going forward the three steps. Is there any source for doing so and should I do so? Answer: […]

Severity of vows, swears, and promises: One is not to be accustomed in making vows. One who makes a vow, even if he fulfills it, is called a Rasha and a sinner.[1] One who makes a vow is considered like one who built a Bama at a time that building […]

Question: [Sunday, 26th Sivan, 5781] Is one to recite the Yehi Ratzon after each book of Tehillim on Shabbos Mevarchim if he is saying it without a Minyan? Answer: In such a case, there is no need to say it after each book of Tehillim, although if one desires to, […]

The Mitzvah of Techeiles-Back then & in today’s times:[1] As stated in the verse, the Biblical Mitzvah of Tzitzis requires that the Tzitzis strings contain both a set of white strings and a set of Techeiles strings. These two colors of string are all included within the same single Mitzvah […]

Mentioning Eliyahu Hanavi on Motzei Shabbos:[1] It is accustomed to mention [the name of] Eliyahu Hanavi on Motzei Shabbos after Havdala[2] as a prayer that he should come and proclaim the redemption.[3]   Eliyahu Hanavi writes the merits of the Jewish people:[4] During the time of Motzei Shabbos, Eliyahu Hanavi […]

Question: [Thursday, 23rd Sivan 5781] I was reciting Shnayim Mikra in Shul and heard Kaddish from the early Mincha Gedola minyan. May/Must I answer Amen and if I do then do I have to restart the Shnayim Mikra? Answer: Yes, you may choose to answer Amen to Kaddish or to […]

Question: [Tuesday, 22nd Sivan, 5781] I printed about 100 pages of a certain Torah file for the sake of distributing during a lecture and I have about 20 extra pages which were not distributed and not used or read from. Must I put it into Geniza, or can I simply […]

Writing the family name of the Chasan/Kallah/Witnesses in the Kesuba: One is not to write the family name in a Get and so is the custom.[1] Nevertheless, some Poskim[2] rule that by a Kesuba, in addition to writing the names and the father’s names of the Chasan and Kallah, one […]

Question: [Tuesday, 21st Sivan, 5781] If I have an itch on my foot during Davening, am I allowed to itch myself through my sock [i.e. On top of my sock] or would this make me be required to wash my hands afterwards?   Answer: Yes, it is permitted for you […]

How is one to answer Amen to Kaddish if more than one person is saying Kaddish and they are not saying it simultaneously?[1] If they do not conclude the stanzas in Kaddish simultaneously, and there is an interval of Kdei Dibbur between the two conclusions of the blessing, then one […]

Hashkafa: Should one follow after the permitted non-conventional treatments that work based on Segula? Despite the Halachic permission granted under fulfillment of the above conditions to perform treatments that do not work in accordance to medical science but rather Segula, the Poskim have denigrated its use in certain instances. The […]

Question: [Sunday, 19th Sivan, 5781] Is it permitted for me to place an ice cube in my hot bowl of soup or hot cup of tea on Shabbos in order to cool it down enough so I can drink it? Answer: It is permitted to enter an ice cube on […]

May one change diapers, or get a baby dressed after a shower, in front of Sefarim? A. Background: May Tefillin be near excrement?[1]  From the letter of the law, there is no prohibition to have Tefillin [or Sefarim] be within four Amos of actual feces even if the Tefillin [or […]