Bava Batra Archives | Rosh Yeshiva Responds

25 01, 2026

Kiddush: Wine or Grape Juice When Alcohol Is Not an Option or Not Preferred

January 25th, 2026|Kiddush, Seudah, Havdalah, Orach Chayim, Shabbat, Shulchan Arukh|

QUESTION

Washington, DC

R’ Melamed (Peninei Halacha Shabbat 1:6:3, Shabbat 1:6:6) writes that kiddush ideally should be made with wine and that it is a mitzvah to share from the same cup with one’s wife. How should one balance those two values/mitzvot if one’s wife either doesn’t care for wine or doesn’t drink wine? Specifically, this arises when one’s wife is pregnant and not drinking alcohol.

ANSWER

Personally, I am makpid to use wine, particularly on Friday night. There is a real question, if we are talking objectively and setting aside

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

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

26 11, 2019

Where Does Ma’aser Kesafim Come From, and What Can it Be Used For?

November 26th, 2019|Tzedakah & Social Justice|

Can I use my ma’aser kesafim, tithes from my income, to contribute to my synagogue’s building campaign, and can I use it to pay my shul’s membership dues?

The idea of tithing is alluded to in this week’s parasha. We are told that Yitzchak, “Sowed in that land and received in that year a hundredfold, and God blessed him” (Gen. 26:12), on which Rashi, quoting Breishit Rabbah, comments: “It produced 100 times what he had estimated; and this estimate was for the sake of ma’asrot, tithes.” Indeed, Rambam (Laws of Kings 1:9) attributes the pre-Sinaitic practice of tithing to Yitzchak based on

14 02, 2018

Donating to Shul Building Funds with Ma’aser Kesafim Money

February 14th, 2018|Tzedakah & Social Justice|

Can I use my ma’aser kesafim, tithes from my income, to contribute to my synagogue’s building campaign, and can I use it to pay my shul’s membership dues?

Giving money to the building of a house of God is the theme of this week’s parasha:

Speak to the Children of Israel, and they that bring me an offering (terumah); from every person whose heart moves him to give, you shall take My offering (Ex. 25:2).

The second half of Shemot, in fact, is devoted almost exclusively to this project – the building of the Mishkan and the contributions in time, talent, and wealth that

When Bacon Falls on the Food: Bitul of Dry Food

8 10, 2010

When Bacon Falls on the Food: Bitul of Dry Food

October 8th, 2010|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.”

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