Constants (43)

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
Hi! Until what age can girls daven with their fathers in the men's section? Are there any Halachic sources on this? Is there room for leniency until Bat Mitzvah?
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Hello! Do you have, or could you please give, an overview of the restriction on wearing the color red? Underlying basis, relevant factors (shade of red, amount of red on clothing, community norms, etc.)? Thanks so much! Love your work!
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Is it permissible for a woman to carry a weapon for self defense? Is this a violation of the prohibition of keli gever?
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Insofar as the zchus (merit) of Torah learning is considered to have protective effects for am Yisrael as a whole and therefore often especially encouraged in times of turmoil such as now, does this apply to women's Torah learning too? Does women's T...
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Insofar as a beit midrash is considered to have a certain elevated level of kedusha (SA 90:18, Megillah 27) and certain applicable halachos, is this also the case for a beit midrash where all of the learners are women?
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Please give us some guidelines to better teach our 9 year old daughter. Her teacher always comments that her skirt is too short. She does not show enthusiasm in keeping most halachot. Plus she is aware that I dressed "less tnius" when I was her age. ...
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Can you provide me with sources on the parameters for the height of a neckline on a shirt or dress?
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Good evening! I regularly wear only skirts and outside the home, I always have a hat or other head covering. Since I'm also working as a junior doctor in a hospital (western Europe), at work I have to comply with the work clothes that the hospital pr...
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How does kol isha work with chinuch? For example, if I am davening/ bentching with my children and e.g. my father in law is present. Or running children services in shul with men present.
Hello, Thank you for the wonderful site. I would like to know what your opinion is regarding women reading the Torah just for women, without "Birchot Ha-torah" (but stopping at every aliya and reciting certain pesukim instead). This isn't a halachic ...
Are there halachot about holding a baby during davening? Does the age of the baby change things? Is there a difference when using a carrier, especially a back carrier? Are the halachot the same for men?
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I have a seven year old son. At what point do I need to dress in a tzanua manner when his friends come to our house?
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Thank you for the wonderful site. What is your opinion about women speaking in Bet Knesset. Is there a difference whether she speaks in the middle of Tefila, before Adon Olam, or completely at the end? Thank you!
What's the halacha of mixed swimming in tzanua attire?
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Q: While I realize one should try to be as tzanua as possible, is there an actual prohibition to be fully naked in a women's pool changing room or communal shower? And is there any specific concern for mother and daughter to see each other naked in s...
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Are women obligated in al ha-michya?
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There's a video of me singing that I'd like to post on youtube. I'm dressed tzanua but singing solo. Is it okay for me to post it publicly? Do I need to add a warning label saying that it's kol ishah?
When a wife is in her yemi nidda, is there a restriction of Kol Isha? Thank you!
Due to Covid I will be reading the megillah, for myself, at home this year. I have arranged to borrow a scroll. I have never "leined" before. Can you provide me with a link to a megillah reading with which I can read along?
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In the past when we did such things, I often went to various synagogues for Shabbat dinner and [usually] to hear a speaker. When my grandchildren were young, we had the custom of benching after the main course, and then saying a before and after bles...
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Hi, In light of more dati leumi girls drafting into the army, I am curious about the halachic and hashkafic considerations one should take into consideration. Specifically the difference between non-combat units such as modiin (intelligence) and comb...
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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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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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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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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?
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.)
We've been davening together as a family? Do we need a mechitza?
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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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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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...
Can the Torah be passed into the women's section at shul?
I would find it meaningful to add the imahot into the first beracha of my shemoneh esrai. Is that permissible?
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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 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?