Family Archives | Rosh Yeshiva Responds

21 07, 2026

Laundering Borrowed Linens During Nine Days for Respect of Grandmother

July 21st, 2026|Family, Orach Chayim, Tisha B'Av - 3 Weeks|

QUESTION

A student borrowed linens from her grandparents in Jerusalem to use at her midrasha over the summer. She is flying back to the US and wants to wash the linens before she leaves. This would be before Shabbat of the week in which Tisha B’Av falls.

Her grandparents are currently in the US and would not use the sheets until well after Tisha B’Av. If the granddaughter does not wash the linens now, however, her elderly grandmother will have to wash them when she returns to Israel, during shavua shechal bo (the week in which Tisha B’Av

3 05, 2026

Does Poletet Shichvat Zera Apply to Artificial Insemination?

May 3rd, 2026|Niddah, Sex, Yoreh De'ah|

QUESTION

What would you say about a couple who have to do artificial insemination (such as IUI) while the woman is in niddah? Would poletet shivchat zera apply such that they would have to delay mikvah by four days?

ANSWER

Thank you for your question; it’s a really good one. My immediate intuition was that poletet should not apply here, for a few reasons.

By way of introduction, the concept of poletet shichvat zera is the basis for the common practice of waiting a minimum of four or five days before beginning the shivah

1 03, 2026

Contacting non Shabbat-observant people in a different time zone when it’s Shabbat for them, but not for you

March 1st, 2026|Family, Kibbud Av Ve'Eim, Orach Chayim, Prohibitions, Shabbat, Technology|

QUESTION

Is it permissible to have a phone call with someone non-observant in a time zone where it is currently Shabbat for them? I am assuming there is no particular need beyond the relationship. Does it make a difference if it is
a) a close relative/parent
b) if they call you rather than you calling them
c) if there is a need, but not a life-threatening need?

ANSWER

No, one may not have such a phone call.

There is a concept in the Gemara of מסייע בידי עוברי עבירה (mesaye’a bidei ovrei aveirah – assisting transgressors) which is distinct from the issur of לפני עוור (lifnei iver

Starting Seder Earlier

28 03, 2025

Starting Seder Earlier

March 28th, 2025|Kiddush, Seudah, Havdalah, Marriage and Family, Orach Chayim, Pesach, Uncategorized|

QUESTION

What is the earliest time for the first cup for the start of the seder?

ANSWER
It is common during the summertime to bring in Shabbat early and to make kiddush and have our Friday night meal before it gets dark. This is based on the principle of tosefet Shabbat, extending the sanctity of Shabbat into the day before. However, when it comes to Pesach, many Rishonim rule that matzah may not be eaten before it is full nightfall (tzeit hakokhavim) because of a number of verses that state that matzah and the korban pesach (Pesach

1 08, 2024

May a Child Financially Support Their Parent from Ma’aser?

August 1st, 2024|Family, Kibbud Av Ve'Eim, Tzedakah & Social Justice, Yoreh De'ah|

QUESTION

New York, NY

What are your thoughts on a teenager earning money and using ma’aser to support a financially struggling parent (while the teenager is still a dependent of that parent)? Is there already an obligation on the child under kibbud av va’em (honoring parents) to support the financially struggling parent? If that’s the case, does that mean that ma’aser cannot be used, or is there a reason to allow it?

ANSWER

The short answer is yes.

31 07, 2024

Brit Mila on Shabbat for a Baby Conceived Through IVF or IUI

July 31st, 2024|Family, Fertility, Lifecycles, Milah, Yoreh De'ah|

QUESTION

How does the Rosh Yeshiva hold regarding brit milah on Shabbat for babies conceived through IVF? What about IUI?

ANSWER

I unhesitatingly rule that it is performed on Shabbat. The gemara (Keritot 7b) explains the pasuk from Parshat Tazria – כי תזריע וילדה זכר – עד שתלד ממקום שמזרעת, namely that a mother is only tamei’a (ritually impure) from tumat leida (impurity that is created by the birth process) after vaginal birth, but not if she gave birth in any other manner. Elsewhere, based on the juxtaposition of the laws of tumat leida and brit mila, the Gemara (Shabbat 135a) connects the

30 07, 2024

Non-Mevushal Wine Touched by a Non-Jew During the Chuppah of a Convert

July 30th, 2024|Even HaEzer, Geirut and Geirim, Kashrut, Kiddushin and Ketubah, Marriage and Family, Non-Jews and Other Religions, Status, Yoreh De'ah|

QUESTION

Israel

I conducted a wedding ceremony for a converted bride, and the wine was not mevushal (this is rare, but it happens). I forgot that her mother is a non-Jew and continued as usual, so after the birkat eirusin, I gave the groom to drink, took back the cup, and gave it to the mother of the bride and said, “Mother, please give the dear bride to drink”.

Then, after I had already handed the cup to the mother of the

28 01, 2024

Jewish Single Woman Considering Embryo Adoption: Halakhic Clarification on Child’s Jewish Status

January 28th, 2024|Birth, Even HaEzer, Family, Geirut and Geirim, Lifecycles, Non-Jews and Other Religions, Shulchan Arukh, Status, Women|

QUESTION

Washington, DC

A Jewish single woman considering embryo adoption wants to know if she needs to look for Jewish embryos, or if it will be sufficient for her to be the gestational mother to have the child be considered Jewish. My understanding is that there are differing opinions, and because so much is at stake I would like to be crystal clear on the halakha. Thank you so much.

ANSWER

This is such a major debate

31 05, 2023

Conversion Certificate for a Child Born Through Surrogacy

May 31st, 2023|Clothing and Appearance, Even HaEzer, Family, Fertility, Geirut and Geirim, Yoreh De'ah|

QUESTION

Providence, RI

A couple who could not have children naturally had kids by means of a surrogate (not sure whose sperm or egg or if that’s relevant). They’re having a giyur (conversion) for the kid and have requested to use their names, and not Avraham/Sara on the teudat giyur (conversion certificate). Do you have thoughts/an opinion about this? Thank you in advance!

ANSWER

If it were both the husband’s sperm and the wife’s egg then you definitely can, because many authorities say that maternity is defined by whose egg it was (for example, Rabbi Shlomo Goren (Torat HaRefuah, pg. 176-177), Rabbi Ovadia Yosef

Guidance for Sleeping Arrangements for a Chuppat Niddah

29 05, 2023

Guidance for Sleeping Arrangements for a Chuppat Niddah

May 29th, 2023|Even HaEzer, Kiddushin and Ketubah, Marriage and Family, Niddah, Yichud, Yoreh De'ah|

QUESTION

What do you advise regarding reasonable sleeping arrangements in the case of chuppat niddah (where halakha requires that one observe the laws of yichud)? This will be relevant for our upcoming wedding.

ANSWER

Mazal Tov on the upcoming wedding. Regarding sleeping arrangements—I take the position that even if the two of you are sharing an apartment, it is not yichud if you are in separate rooms with a closed door between you (some require that the woman’s door be locked. I do not require this). (See Chazon Ish Even HaEzer 34:1)

Therefore, what I advise is that until bedtime, when both of

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