Sometimes a quick exchange communicates more effectively, and more personally, than an article.
Sometimes, just seeing that others share our questions can make us feel more connected.
Our posted questions and answers are an opportunity to learn from each other.
Keep in mind that each questioner’s situation may be unique, in ways that affect the halachah. Even the tone of a question can affect the tone of an answer.
Question
My daughter and I just listened to the podcast about the 3 women’s mitzvot. She was wondering if a widower has an above bat mitzvah age daughter living at home, who is obligated to light the Shabbat candles? If men should also light candles, why when...
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I have been learning about kiddush Levanah and wanted to know if you think women can or should say it.
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Hi When we bless our children in bircat hamazon, we say "זרעי"-- literally "my seed." Is that really appropriate for a woman to say? Clearly this language was formulated for men who their children are really their seed. For women, is there no other t...
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Can I breastfeed in shul? Can I breastfeed in public places generally?
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Should a woman say Shehechiyanu or Hatov vhametiv after giving birth? or only her husband? What if she is not sufficiently dressed to make a bracha until after the baby has been taken to the nursery?
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Is there any preference for the baby to be present when saying hagomel? Is there a way for the husband to say hagomel on behalf of his wife since a minyan is required?
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Can a woman blow shofar for someone else on Rosh Hashana?
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Women do not need to dress tzniusly in front of other women, but they do need to dress tzniusly in front of men. Given the above, it seems obvious to me that a woman's male immediate family members (brothers, father, and sons) would not be included i...
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I understand that, due to the positive obligation of tzitzit, it would be better for a man not to wear a four-cornered garment than to wear one without fringes. I also understand that, under the right circumstances and with the right intentions, wome...
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What's the status of a woman's siyum? Is it "legitimate" enough to allow eating meat during the 9 days? And I guess can you discuss women's siyumim in general in halacha, saying kaddish, etc...
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Can I get a manicure during the three weeks or nine days?
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Should a married woman cover her hair in front of extended family members (father, brother, uncle, grandfather, father-in-law)?
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Can I make my own eiruv tavshilin? What does it involve?
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Should women count sefirat ha-omer?
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Am I allowed to wear pants around the house infront of my parents and siblings since I am not leaving the home? Can I wear pants while doing tefillah and learning Torah at home?
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Why don't fathers recite ברוך שפטרני at their daughter's bat mitzvahs? Is this a brachah just for the father or should a mother also be saying the bracha at her sons' bar mitzvahs? Do we assume all the sins of the son goes to the father (and not the ...
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Is there an issue with a husband seeing his wife's uncovered hair during davening or Shema?
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Curious to understand the reasoning behind saying males and females above bar and bat mitzva age should sit separately when it comes to siblings, in your discussion of prayer as a family at home. (Here.)
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We've been davening together as a family? Do we need a mechitza?
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I'm in quarantine for COVID-19, and on zoom video conferences from home a lot. Do I need to have my head covered?
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What are the varying halachot (and sources) for a mechitza at a simcha? What is the halachic difference between an L-shaped mechitza and one down the middle at a simcha? Also separate vs mixed seating at a simcha?
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I'm dressing up as a chassid for Purim and I plan to wear tzitzit. Should I make a beracha when I put them on?
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Is there a halachic problem with wearing pants on a hike?
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Does the obligation to cover your hair in public apply regardless of whether men are around? For example: if you are in a friend's apartment with only women, or if you are in an office building but having a private meeting with another woman, and the...
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Whats the halachic basis for leaving out the hair tied up into a bun at the back with a mitpachat (scarf)?
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Would you have the text for the Zimun for women? Is this a subject to which you could turn your attention in the near future? Thank you very much for your great work!
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is a woman obligated? If so or not so, what should she actually say?
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I would like more detail regarding women's minyan. What are reasons behind attending? leading the tefillah What is the halachah connected, and authorities who are for and against?
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Hi - I've always wondered how women can say the following line in benching: "al brischa shechasamta bevsarenu" - on the covenant that you circumcised on our flesh. Obviously this is not relevant for women, why is this included in our benching as well...
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What is your conceptual understanding of the significance of Tefilla B'tzibbur for women, where women aren't technically part of that tzibbur?
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Can the Torah be passed into the women's section at shul?
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Can girls lead an'im zemorot?
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Is it ok for a woman to stand next to the Aron Kodesh in shul and give a dvar torah , after tefillah has finished?
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Can a woman be the one who tells the shofar blower in shul what to blow?
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I would find it meaningful to add the imahot into the first beracha of my shemoneh esrai. Is that permissible?
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Is using a kippah fall to cover one's hair supported by the sources?
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My daughter and I will be completing a masechet of Gemara and are planning to make a siyum at her bat mitzva celebration. There will be at least 10 male guests. After she says the hadran, should the Kaddish be recited and by whom?
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In a Rav Moshe Feinstein tshuva (אורח חיים חלק ד, סימן עה), he permits women living in yishuvim to carry pistols for self-defense purposes and because pistols are generally not used as כלי זין. Can one derive from that that pistols are never an issue...
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What should someone do if she misses praying?
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When should I recite Shema and Ha-mapil if we are planning to be intimate?
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You say being around more at home is a rationale for women's priority in the three mitzvot according to Rav Hai and Rambam. If that's true, and my husband is a stay-at-home dad, does he get priority lighting candles or separating challa?
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I had trouble with two of the sources here, the mishna and the midrash. You definitely made an effort to discuss the issues, but why quote them at all?
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You said in your first article on studying Torah: "Since the Babylonian Talmud incorporates both scriptural passages and Oral Torah, Talmud study plays a central role in fulfilling the mitzva of talmud Torah." I see the source in Sanhedrin (and the T...
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If women are exempt from the mitzva of learning Torah, why do we say birchot ha-Torah?
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In the introduction, you say there's been a change in the transmission of Torah. There's less reliance on custom and community and more on texts. What are some examples of how this affects women?
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