Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Q: Can I send out cards on Purim instead of mishloach manos?

A: Although it is good to support a worthy cause that sends out Purim cards as a fundraiser, the mitzvah must be fulfilled by giving two different foods to at least one person.  A card will therefore not do the job.

Q: Do the two foods of Mishloach Manot have to have two different berachos?

A: No (despite the common myth), as long as they are not identical, e.g. two types of meat (Aruch Hashulchan 695:14) & even white and dark meat chicken are considered different (Letter from R. SZ Auerbach).

Q:  May one write vowels and trop in a megillah to make it easier to read on Purim?

A:  No – and it is better to read it without trop than to write the trop in (Aruch Hashulchan 691:14).  If it was done, however, the megillah is not disqualified and may be used.

Q: I have a colonoscopy scheduled for the day after Purim, and on Purim I will be restricted to a clear liquid diet until I drink the prep beverage in the early evening.  Will that conflict with celebrating Purim?

A: If a colonoscopy must urgently be done due to medical considerations then it obviously cannot be delayed due to Purim.  However if one has flexibility as to when it may be done, then it would seem that it should not be scheduled in this way since it would preclude one from having a festive meal on Purim which is one of the mitzvot of the day.

Q: Can an avel (someone in mourning) attend a Purim seudah?

A: The widespread practice is for an aveil to make the Purim seudah in his home, however there is a legitimate opinion that sees Purim celebration as an exception to the usual rule and permits participation even outside the home without reservation (שו”ת אור יצחק).

Q: If someone gives me mishloach manos, do I have to give them back a reciprocal gift?

A: It is nice to do so but not necessary (see Guidelines).

Q: Does sea salt need a hechsher?

A: No, as long as it doesn’t have any added flavorings.

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

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A: First of all, you must verify that it was actually after sunset.  If it was, the vast majority of authorities are strict regarding this issue, but in pressing circumstances according to R. Moshe Feinstein one may be lenient if it is a very short time afterwards.  It is worthwhile to discuss particular circumstances with your rabbi.

Q: I’m making pasta in a parve pot and by mistake used a meat wooden spoon not used in 24 hrs. What is the status of the pasta and the pot. Ty

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Q: Dairy knife not used in past 24 hrs cut onions on a parve cutting board. Is the cutting board still parve?

A: Yes, but shouldn’t be done ideally

Q: I cut onions with a meat knife (not used in the last 24 hrs) and then used my pareve food processor to dice them.  Is the food processor still pareve?

A: Yes, but shouldn’t be done ideally

Q: For a mourner, when does the shloshim end – at the end of the thirtieth day, or at the beginning like shiva?

A: Observing mourning laws for part of the 30th day (the night and a little bit of the morning) is considered observing for a day therefore it ends in the morning like the 7th day of shiva.

Q: Nesquick Chocolate powder is OU-D, but doesn’t contain any dairy ingredients.  Is it actually pareve?

A: According to the OU, it is currently DE (dairy equipment), which means it can be consumed immediately after meat, but not simultaneously.

Q: If a vegan restaurant really doesn’t have any meat or fish ingredients, would I be able to eat there?

A: It is possible but not very practical.  Here are a few reasons: There are several products that don’t contain meat, fish or dairy ingredients that are nevertheless not kosher like wine or wine vinegar.  There are some vegetables that may require washing and checking to ensure there is no insect infestation.  There are some vegetables and foods that require a Jew to be involved in the cooking or else they are not kosher, like eggplant or potatoes for example.

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Q: If i want to reuse a glass food jar after the original contents are used up, should i tovel it?
A: Iggrot Moshe holds that you don’t need to immerse a glass food jar after its contents are emptied since we consider the (Jewish) purchaser to be the one making it onto a keli.  (YD 2:40)

Q: Would the Greek yogurts that are blended with steel cut oats have a bracha of mezonot?

A: Are the oats raw?

Q:  I’m not sure if they’re raw. The container just says steel cut oats.

A: It appears that the oats are raw and their bracha would then be ha’adama when eaten on their own and since it’s a minority ingredient of the yogurt the bracha would be like the bracha of regular yogurt.

Q: Food at coffee bean [in AZ] isn’t kosher correct? The sign says only drinks but someone said the pastries are kosher but I didn’t think so

A: Some of them may be but the particulars are unknown and subject to change to the best of my knowledge.  See here for a little more information.

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Q: If I got a non kosher bottle of wine as a gift can I re-gift it to a non-Jew?

A:  There is a difference of opinion if one is allowed to benefit from non-kosher wine but Ashkenazim are strict unless a significant monetary loss is involved.  A gift is considered beneficial for the giver since the recipient feels a debt of gratitude towards him.  This would not be an issue with other rabbinically prohibited foods.

Q:  How do you kasher a quartz counter top?  Here’s some info: Their primary ingredient is ground quartz (about 94 percent), combined with polyester resins to bind it and pigments to give it color. For some designs, small amounts of recycled glass or metallic flecks are added to the mix. The resins also help make these counters stain and scratch resistant—and nonporous, so they never need to be sealed. Compare that with granite, the reigning king of high-end counter tops, which typically requires a new protective top coat at least once a year.

A:  Nonporous makes it sound like meikar hadin (according to the letter of the law) there is no non-kosher flavor transferred to the counter in the first place.  It makes sense to me that at least for non-Pesach use, regular irui would be sufficient (it’s made of rock and plastic, both of which may be kashered).  As I’ve written before, counters technically do not need kashering at all since they don’t intentionally come into contact with hot food.  It is nevertheless customary to kasher them in case hot food does touch the counters.

Q: What is the rule regarding pouring hot water from a kli sheni into a cup of freeze dried noodle soup like Tradition or Geffen brand on Shabbos?

A: According to R. Moshe Feinstein who allows making tea in a kli shelishi, it would be allowed to pour from a klei sheni into a soup cup containing freeze dried noodles/vegetables and spices since pouring from a kli sheni is considered a kli shelishi.

Q: How ‘dry’ does a piece of cooked chicken need to be when placing on a blech for Shabbos lunch? Most chicken has at least a bit of some kind of congealed sauce on it from the night before after it’s been chilled overnight. That sauce will melt on the blech, so are we prohibited from putting it on to warm?

A: Congealed sauce is considered “dry” for the halacha of reheating cooked foods.  Even if there is actual liquid sauce on a food, as long as it is only a small minority of the total food being reheated, it is also OK even according to some of the stricter poskim (halachic authorities).

Q: Can you cover a stroller with a plastic rain cover on Shabbos?  Is it considered like making a temporary tent-like enclosure?

A: It can be used as long as the stroller sun shade is opened first (which is the normal way of using it anyway).

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Q: HELP! I wasn’t in shul today and couldn’t put on tefillin.. when is the latest I could put on and if I did it in the afternoon would I daven mincha?

A: You have to put it on before sunset and yes you can daven mincha with them (that is actually optimal).

Q: We  inadvertently left some labels on when toiveling dishes and glasses and used them.  Do they need to be toiveled again (labels removed)?  If so, toivel with or without a bracha?

A: Unless the stickers are inconspicuous and you would only remove them for toveling, you would need to remove the stickers and tovel them again with a bracha.  It is considered like it was never toveled before since the unwanted stickers prevented the water from reaching part of it.  Just like if the handle of a mug, for example, was not dipped beneath the surface of the water.  

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Q: What do you do if you can only daven before the earliest time?

A: Ideally one should don Talis and Tefilin and recite Shema no earlier than Misheyakir (approximately 50 minutes before sunrise) and recite the Shemoneh Esrei at sunrise.  If that is too late, one may don Talis and Tefilin recite Shema and the Shemoneh Esrei after Alot Hashachar (72 minutes before sunrise) (Shulachan Aruch O.C. 58:3).   If even that will not be possible and one will not have an opportunity to put on Tefilin the entire day, they should be put on even earlier after waking up ( even when it is still night) with a bracha but Shema and Shemoneh Esrei cannot be recited until after Alot (Iggrot Moshe O.C. I:10).

Q: Hi Rabbi, would you agree with this article [that says that there is no source for “bouncing” after taking the three steps back at the conclusion of the Shemoneh Esrei]?  I see people doing this all the time, but I’ve never seen anything about it

A: It is correct there is no source for bouncing at the end of the shemona esrei

Q: My wife baked eggplant in the oven at the same time we were baking our Thanksgiving turkey. The turkey was closed in a roaster. She now wants melt cheese over the eggplant to make eggplant parmesan. Is that allowed?

A:  Since the turkey was covered the eggplant is not affected and it would be at least be permitted once the eggplant was already cooked (S.A. Y.D. 108).

Q: I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, can’t fall asleep immediately but intend to go back to sleep before morning. In the meantime, I want to learn. Should I say birchat HaTorah or not? If I do, do I repeat it by shacharit?

A: You would definitely recite Birkat Hatorah upon waking up in the middle of the night before studying Torah (S.A. 47:13 and M.B. 28), and you would only repeat the bracha in the morning if you really went back to sleep again (but not if you just took a short nap.  R. A. Nebenzal in the name of RSZA on M.B. ibid, and R. Chaim Kaniefsky in Sheilat Rav Part II 3: 21).

Q: Does Sushi have to be eaten in a succah?
A: If it doesn’t contain any flour it would only be an optional/praiseworthy mitzvah to do so rather than an obligatory mitzvah.  If it is a variety that does contain flour (e.g. tempura) it is likely that it doesn’t contain enough to change its halacha.

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog

Due to the space limitations of a text message, please note that it is particularly important to read carefully, pay close attention to the context of the question, and use the answers as a springboard for further study.

If you would like my phone number to submit questions, please leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Source: Rabbi Isaacs Blog