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Last answer posted on: 2 Sep 2010

Questions answered to date: 1675

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Showing Questions in 'Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)'

Question No.	1682
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	14 Sep 2009
The Question	Shalom U'Bracha. I enjoy on the first night of Rosh Hashanah making Kiddush on White Wine. This year Rosh Hashanah falls out on Shabbos. Does the Hiddur of using red wine still apply overwhat is commonly called white wine today? Thank you —Moshe, Passaic
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1619
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	12 Feb 2009
The Question	I have a question regarding the issue of squeezing the juice out of a fruit and using it on Shabbos. I have read differing views. Is there a blanket prohibition against squuezing lemon juice from the fruit directly into a glass of tea, or are there circumstances which allow this? How about the juice from an orange or a greatfruit which is to be used for children, to be added to their drinking liquids? What about the gravy from meat or chicken being used and being added to potatoes or other vegetables? Thank you —Anonymous, West Hempstead, New York
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1601
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	30 Jan 2009
The Question	I have a Shabbos hotplate which has no controls and gets very hot. Any food placed on it will undoubtedly become Yad Soledes Bo. Is it possible to use this hotplate to reheat cold food on Shabbos morning? —Anonymous, Brooklyn, NY
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1592
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	6 Jan 2009
The Question	Can you use a pair of scissors on Shabbos to open food packages, for example, in a way that destroys them totally? I would find it easier not to tear writing if I could use scissors but have always thought there might be an issue with that. Is there a difference if you designate a Shabbos pair of scissors? —Anonymous, United States
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1590
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	6 Jan 2009
The Question	Lichvod HaRav, How careful should one be to bake bread l'kavod Shabbos Kodesh if it is a tircha - can one just buy it every week from the store l'chatchila in this case? Also, if the store's bread is just as tasty as the home-baked bread, is it still a mitzva to make bread oneself? What exactly is the nature of this mitzva? Thank you so much. —Anonymous, Baltimore, MD
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1570
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	8 Dec 2008
The Question	Dear Rabbi. I live in Iran. I want to learn the laws of Shabbat in detail. I know that nowadays there are lots of book that are translated into English but there is none of them here. Can you please tell me how I can get one of them or is there anybody that can send it for me by post? Respectfully, —Anna.M, Tehran, Iran
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1568
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	7 Dec 2008
The Question	Due to a serious sleeping condition, I need to use (by medical ruling and in order to sleep) an oxygen mask and device. This equipment starts automatically a few seconds after I position the mask over my nose and adjust the strap over my head, etc. Once the opening of the mask is closed (over my nose and face) it detects the change of pressure and it starts. This is the way it works. I think this situation falls (at best) under the category of g'rama yet I simply do not know what to do to fix it during Shabbos and Yom Tov. Could you offer any advice or should I perhaps just "relax and sleep tight"? Kol tuv —Avraham, Brazil
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1562
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	30 Nov 2008
The Question	The "spirit of Shabbos" not withstanding, may one use a non-electic exercycle on Shabbos? —Anonymous, Chicago, IL
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1550
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	18 Nov 2008
The Question	My daughter and her family are observant. I am not. I try to come up with activities that I can share with my grandchildren of Shabbat. I came up with stamp collecting and study of geography. The hobby requires the pasting of stamps into an album. May this be done on the Sabbath? Thank you for your help —Jerome S. Medowar, Merrick, New York
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1548
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	17 Nov 2008
The Question	A money clip without money is a kli shemelachto le'issur, I assume. Is it permissible on a weekly basis to change its status before Shabbos, so that it can be handled, regardless of the purpose (example: just to play with while learning). Thank you. —Rabbi Richard Weiss, Flushing, NY
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1547
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	17 Nov 2008
The Question	Kovod HaRav, In the Hilchos Shabbos shiur concerning Writing Part 3, I was a little confused as to the permissibility of reading captions under pictures. Did the Rav say that it was muter to read a caption under a picture in a book, i.e. a picture of gedolei Torah listing them right to left etc.? —MZM, Far Rockaway, NY USA
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1531
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	31 Oct 2008
The Question	Does one have to cover rice if it is on the table while reciting Kiddush because its bracha is mezonos, or can it be left uncovered because it is not one of the five special grains? Thank you for your wonderful Torah website. —David Slotkin, Queens, NY, USA
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1497
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	29 Jun 2008
The Question	Kevod HaRav Shlit"a. Can a Jewish doctor set aside Shabbos laws for a non-Jew whose life is in danger? If so, are the poskim eager to permit this, or are they reluctant to do so? And if they are reluctant to permit it, how can a doctor who has to set aside Shabbos regularly for non-Jews live up to the mission of Kedoshim Tiyu? (Because does Kedoshim Tiyu not imply that we should not be doing things which are just on the border of what's halachically permitted). Thanks for your clarification of this matter. —Anonymous, Amsterdam, Holland
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1456
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	23 Apr 2008
The Question	What is property called that offers special dispensation of some of the Sabbath laws. —Anonymous, Berlin, CT
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1449
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	12 Apr 2008
The Question	I received a chosson watch as a present from my father-in-law to be. The watch is an automatic watch which means that it gets its power and charges up by you moving your hand and it does not have a battery. The guy in the store told me that if I wind it up before shabbos than it has a 48 hour time span that it can last without any hand movement. Can I wear this watch on Shabbos (with or without winding) or neither is good? Is there any halachik difference on yom tov (a 2 or 3 day yomtov in chutz la'aretz)? (I live in a neighborhood with a proper eruv.) Thank you very much for your time. I very much like this website and I have learned a lot on a broad range of topics from it. Avromie, New York
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1412
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	6 Oct 2007
The Question	Dear Rabbi Leff Are you allowed to clean your glasses with water and a tissue on Shabbes? —Anonymous
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1403
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	25 Sep 2007
The Question	I would like to inquire from the rav to please clarify what type of deodorant is permissible on Shabbos? Is it only Spray, or is roll-on (not the solid type) mutar as well? Thank you —Anonymous, New York
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1389
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	13 Aug 2007
The Question	I read that reading the caption texts under pictures in for example newspapers is included in the prohibition of shtarei hedyotos. If so, can you read the caption texts of pictures which appear in a biography? Can you permit your children or over bar mitswa son to read comics on shabbos (besides the question wether reading comics is within the spirit of shabbos). Moreover, if reading the captions under pictures in a newspaper is assur, how can it be altogether permitted to read a newspaper on shabbos. Let's say that we're choshesh that you will come to read the captions and therefore reading a newspaper should be altogether ossur. I hope you can shed some light on this issue. —Anonymous, Europe
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1359
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	12 Jun 2007
The Question	Lichvod HaRav, I daven in a shul who's official nusach is nusach Ashkenaz. My understanding was that it is the minhag of all Ashkenazim to say VeShomeru just before Shmone Esrei on Friday night except Nusach HaGra. For as long as I have been a member of the shul we have said VeShomeru. Now, there are members of the Kehilla who claim that saying VeShomeru is asur legamrei because it constitutes a hefsed and when they daven for the amud, will not even wait for those who wish to say it themselves to do so but continue straight onto Kaddesh. They claim that the minhag of saying VeShomeru should be stopped as it's against halacha. Is their behaviour correct? —Shlomo Silverstein, Maale Adumim
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

Question No.	1323
Category	Shabbos (Sabbath Laws)
Date Posted	1 Mar 2007
The Question	L'chvod HaRav, I once read that the 3 pesukim of "tzidkatecha" is recited on Shabbat at Mincha time because it represents a tzidduk ha-din for the passings away of the 3 major personages: Adam haRishon, Moshe Rabenu and David HaMelech. I was reminded of this, this past shabbat 7th Adar, the yahrzeit of Moshe Rabenu. My question is, I also once learned that on the day he was niftar, Moshe wrote 13 sifrei Torah. How was this permissible on Shabbat, when writing is forbidden? Also where could I look up how each of the 3 tzidkatecha pesukim correspond to those 3 forefathers, Adam, Moshe and David? Thank you for all your time & effort; and refua shelema! —Stephan, Brooklyn
The Answer	Click here to listen to Rabbi Leff's answer.

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