Avodah Zarah Archives | Rosh Yeshiva Responds

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

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

21 03, 2023

Pesticides, Health, and Kashrut – May We Eat Foods with Pesticides?

March 21st, 2023|Kashrut, Yoreh De'ah|

QUESTION

Rochester, NY

Are there kashrut implications to pesticides in fruits and vegetables and their impact on human health?

ANSWER

No, not form a kashrut perspective. I do understand that people would like to bring certain Torah-value concerns into the kashrut conversation, such as tzaar baalei chayim (cruelty to animals), treatment of workers, additives and pesticides, etc., but

27 05, 2021

Status of Keilim Used With Tablet-K Cheese

May 27th, 2021|Kashrut, Yoreh De'ah|

QUESTION

Riverdale, NY

Dear Rabbi Linzer,

You previously addressed the the satus of keilim after making macaroni and cheese with non-hekhshered butter. I’d like to ask a similar question with regard to a keli in which one cooked with Tablet-K cheese. I am assuming one does not rely on Rabbeinu Tam’s leniency, particularly given the Rema’s position in YD 115:1 that gevinat akum makes keilim prohibited. What if one is a roommate and the keilim belong to someone else? Assuming that any new food cooked in those keilim (which are no longer ben yomo) uses cheese with a proper hashgachah, can one consider that bedieved and kosher (based on Taz YD 115:12) if

29 01, 2021

When Bacon Falls on the Food: Bitul of Dry Food

January 29th, 2021|Kashrut|

The underlying principle of almost the entire field of practical Kashrut is that of bitul – the ability of a food to be considered “nullified” when it is mixed with other foods, assuming that it does not impart any taste, that it is not noten ta’am. This is intuitively understandable when, say, a drop of milk falls into a large pot of chicken soup, that is, when the two are fully mixed together and become one entity. We can then say: “All we have here is chicken soup. The milk – since it cannot be tasted – no longer exists.” But

24 01, 2021

Lo Techaneim and Supporting Non-Jews in Need

January 24th, 2021|Interpersonal Ethics, Non-Jews and Other Religions, Yoreh De'ah|

QUESTION

New York, NY

Is there a concern of lo techaneim (in the sense of giving free gifts to non-Jews) in supporting campaigns to help non-Jewish victims of terrible injustice (such as the Uyghars)?

ANSWER

Definitely not. I think first we have to make it clear that when it comes to the issur of giving praise or gifts (Avodah Zarah 20a), then as far as I am concerned, we need to totally embrace the position that this only applies to ovdei avodah zarah (Sefer HaChinukh 426, Rashba Teshuvah 1:8, Yabia Omer YD 10:41; Rav Kook

22 12, 2020

Assisting in Solstice Ritual

December 22nd, 2020|Non-Jews and Other Religions, Yoreh De'ah|

QUESTION

Detroit, MI

A non Jewish family member asks for some paper and matches from you so they can do a “solstice ritual” (which likely includes prayers to Mother Earth and the like). Are you allowed to give them the paper and matches?

ANSWER

The Gemara is clear that lifnei iveir applies to a non-Jew regarding his sheva mitzvot, of which avodah zarah is on the top of the list (Avodah Zarah 6a). However, that is limited to תרי עברי דנהר – when the non-Jew cannot get it

12 04, 2018

May My Toddler Drink Milk When She is Eating Meat or Is Treif Food Bad For Your Soul?

April 12th, 2018|Kashrut|

QUESTION:

My daughter recently turned one year old. For children of her age, it is recommended that they consume 16 ounces of whole milk a day. It is hard to get my daughter to drink milk when she is not eating. May I still give her milk when we are having meat for dinner?

ANSWER:

As a general rule, a parent need not prevent her very young toddler from doing acts that would be halakhically prohibited as an adult. There is an obligation of hinukh, educating and habituating our children to do mitzvot and observe the prohibitions (but see Tosafot Yeshanim, Yoma 82a,

Saying Kaddish for a non-Jewish Parent

25 01, 2018

Saying Kaddish for a non-Jewish Parent

January 25th, 2018|Aveilut, Kaddish, Kibbud Av Ve'Eim, Lifecycles, Non-Jews and Other Religions, Tefillah, Yoreh De'ah|

May a Jew by choice sit shivah and say kaddish for their non-Jewish parent?

To answer this question we must address two issues: (1) What is halakhah’s view of the parent-child relationship in these cases? The gemara states, “A person who converts is like a newborn infant,” (Yevamot 22a). In other words, a convert is unrelated halakhically to his biological father and mother. Should we read this statement in absolute terms or is halakhah cognizant of the biological and emotional bonds between parent and child regardless of legal definitions? (2) Do our halakhic and religious obligations direct us to mourn the

4 01, 2018

May a Woman Be a Mohelet?

January 4th, 2018|Milah, Women, Yoreh De'ah|

May a woman be a mohelet?

Although women are not circumcised, they are members of the covenant that the Jewish people, have with God:

“You stand this day all of you before the Lord your God.. all the men of Israel, your little ones, your wives, and the stranger that is in your camp… that you enter into covenant with the Lord your God…” (Deut. 29:10-12).

Men, women, children; Jews by birth and Jews by choice, are all part of the brit. In other words, we must distinguish between the brit and the milah. Women do not have a milah; they are most definitely part of the

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