“משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה”

Purim is a festival of joy, of simcha, a holiday full of faith in Hashem. In Adar, we are commanded to rejoice even more than usual.

for the upcoming Adar and Purim,  We collected for you articles related to the month of Adar, Purim, Fast of Esther ,reading the Megillah, Machatzis Ha-Shekel, gifts to the poor - Matanos La’Evyonim, sending portions one to another – mishloach manos and all the other issues and questions about the month of Adar and Purim.

Matanos La’evyonim – Purim charity, Machatzis Ha-Shekel

Purim – Matanos La’Evyonim – Gifts to the Poor - This article explains the laws of Purim gifts to the poor, who are obligated to give Matanos La’Evyonim, how much should be given, whether each charged with gifts to the poor.

Purim Charity: Halachos of Matanos La-Evyonim – Another article about the laws of Purim charity and gifts for the poor.

Halachos of Machatzis Ha-Shekel – what is Machatzis Ha-Shekel? When to give Machatzis Ha-Shekel, and to whom? All this and more, in the following.

May I take money out of a pushka and replace it with a check? (Essentially cashing a check).

Keep in mind that often the organizations even ask the donor to send them a check and keep the cash and coins.

Answer:

No, you cannot cash a check with the pushka. This is a service that some take money for, and one cannot use the pushka for it.

Although one can change coins with a pushka, because this involves no loss, a check involves possible inconvenience, and the loss of money for at least a few hours.

Therefore, before changing a check with coins from a pushka one should ask the gabbai if he doesn’t mind. If he gives his OK, there is of course no problem.

Is it permissable for a boy to propose on Shabbos? I’ve never heard anywhere that it’s assur but it doesn’t seem right.

Answer:

I don’t see any problem with proposing on Shabbos.

There is no melachah involved, and it can’t be defined as an “act of preparation for weekdays,” because it is something that the boy wants now (meaning, he wants the girl’s consent on Shabbos), so that I don’t see any formal prohibition.

Indeed, in the zemiros we mention, “u-leshadech ha-banos.” If shidduchim are permitted, then surely proposals are, too (what are shidduchim for…).

Technically, however, one usually makes a small “party” (or “vort”) after the couple’s agreement to wed, and it might be a little complicated to have this done on Shabbos, and might well lead to making preparations on Shabbos for Motzaei Shabbos (and so on), so that depending on circumstances, it may be preferable to wait.

If someone says the wrong Haftarah or Shabbos (not just that they said the sephardi one b’makom the ashkanez one but a completely different Haftarah altogther.) Must they now say the right one when they realize their mistake?

Answer:

This question involves a dispute among poskim.

If the first haftarah has been completed, and the berachos recited, Rav Shlomo Kluger (Shnos Chayim, Stam 10) writes that one has to read again with a berachah. He bases this ruling on the Shaarei Efraim (9:31). This is also ruled by the Eshel Avraham (Butshatch, 685).

However, the Levushei Mordechai (Kama, Orach Chaim 67) rules that one should not recite a berachah on reading the correct haftarah, also basing his ruling on the Shaarei Efraim (8:92) concerning somebody who read the weekly haftarah instead of that of Parashas Shekalim. In this case, the given ruling is that one should not recite the berachos when reading the correct reading, because a portion of the Navi was read, and the berachos of “who has chosen good prophets” were properly made.

The Shiyurei Taharah (5:10) goes a step further, and writes that when the wrong haftarah was read, even before the final set of berachos was recited, one does not have to read the right haftarah, because of torach ha-tzibbur (arguing that only in the case of Machar Ha-Chodesh, which must be read by dina de-Gemara, does one have to read the correct reading).

This extreme opinion, however, argues with other poskim (including the Kisei Eliyahu, and the poskim above), and one should therefore read the correct haftarah again, without a berachah.

Hi Rabbi,

Does a ceramic mug that a child made have to be toiveled?

Answer:

If the ceramic mug is unglazed earthenware, it will require no tevilah. However, if it is glazed in a similar form as Corningware and porcelain, it required tevilah without a berachah.

If someone is eating bread less than a shuir for benching can the shuir be joined with other mezonot like cookies, cake, crackers or oatmeal so that one can bench and also be able to wash with a bracha?

Answer:

If one wishes to join cakes and crackers for the purpose of benching and washing with a berachah, one would have to ensure that one eats enough to actually become full, or at least the regular amount that people would generally eat for a meal.

It will not be sufficient to eat half a zayis of bread, and join it with half a zayis of cracker, because one cannot bench unless one eats a full kezayis of bread — unlike one is kove’a se’udah on crackers and cake.

If someone davens maariv motzei Shabbos forgetting “atah chonantanu” then going home and eating before making havdallah the halacha is they have to daven again (See M”B OC Siman 294). What if when this person davens a 2nd time they *again* forget to say “atah chonantanu” then instead of making havdallah again sat down to eat first, would they need to daven another time?
(I realize this sounds far out, but on the tzad that it did happen, what’s the halacha and why.)
Thank you.

Answer:

Although I haven’t seen an explicit source for this (and am unlike to walk into one), I don’t see why the person will not have to daven again.

If a person eats before havdalah, this is considered a flaw, and he no longer has the right to rely on havdalah on the cup alone, but must daven again with atah chonantanu.

In fact, if the person mentioned in the question davened and forgot atah chonantanu, then ate, and then davened again without mentoining atah chonantanu, he would apparently be obligated to daven again even if he did not eat again before his havdalah on wine.

Because he has “flawed” in eating before havdalah, he has to daven again and again until he remembers to say atah chonantanu. Only then can he proceed to make havdallah on wine.

1] Our Nanny heated a ceramic dairy dish with fish on it in a meat microwave and used meat utensils to eat it. What is the status of the dairy dish and meat utensils/how do we /must we kasher anything? Note: the dairy dish was not used the past 24 hours but the meat microwave was….
2] Put Mac-and Cheese from pot onto plastic plate. I don’t believe that would treif it up. Can you confirm (or deny)?

Answer:

1) If the microwave plate on which the dish was placed was clean of meaty residue, and the fish was fairly dry (not a “soupy” dish), there is no need to kasher the ceramic dish (which can’t be kashered anyway).

Concerning the utensils, the question is whether or not the custom mentioned by the Rema (94:5) will apply. Because there is room to distinguish the case from the Rema (microwave cooking possibly not full-fledged cooking; the food was already cooked and was only re-heated), and because some dispute the stringency mentioned in the Rema, there will be no need for stringency.

2) Not sure I understood the question. The pot and the plate are of course dairy due to the cheese (if hot). What is to become treif?

Practical question that happens at least from time to time. It is raining [much more than a drizzle, steadily to hard] and/or very cold and you discover after much searching that someone accidentally took your coat from the shul coat rack. To boot, it is Shabbos, so you cannot call a family member/friend to bring you another coat. You have a 15 minute walk home. Many have left by the time you are certain your coat is really gone and not just moved, and you wait until there is one coat left, very similar to yours. Must you walk home w/o a coat?

Thank you.

Answer:

It is not permitted to wear the coat.

The Gemara (Bava Basra 41a) and Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 136:2) discuss this question, and rule that a person may not use the switched item of clothing: “If someone’s clothing was switched in a house of mourning or a house where there was a party, he may not use the [clothing that was switched with his own].”

The reason for this halachah is that the coat is not yours, and therefore you cannot use it without the permission of the owner.

An exception to the rule is where enough time has elapsed that one can assume that the person who took your own coat has realized that he has the wrong coat, and therefore “permits” you to make use of his (see Pischei Choshen vol. 1 Aveidah 4:19:45). This won’t apply on the same Friday night.

A very interesting shailo that is l’maseh…
There is a boy that unfortunately has to perform a chalitza. He is 13 years old and lacking simanei gadlas (shtei sairos). The shailo was asked if he is allowed to have some sort of hormonal treatment (an injection, pill, whatever it might be) to speed up the process that his shtei sairos should grow up quicker.

Answer:

The answer to this will apparently depend on how the hormonal treatment works.

The idea of the sa’aros is that they indicate physical maturity (sexual function). If sa’aros are induced by hormonal so that a boy has hairs, yet does not have physical maturity, then the hormonal treatment will not (apparently) make him into a “gadol.”

However, if the hormonal treatment only speeds up the natural process of maturing into an adult, and the appearance of hair will be a true indication of actual physical maturity, there will (apparently) be no problem in inducing the maturity by means of hormonal treatment.

This issue should be verified through consultation with experts.

If he is already thirteen, then even as a natural process, the sa’aros shouldn’t be too long in coming, but there is no guarantee, and ages for the appearance of sa’aros do vary.

In a practical sense, the rabbis involved in the chalitza process should of course be consulted.