In MT Hilkhot 'aboda zara 11:4 Maimonides dealt with the definition of nihush, or reading events or natural phenomena as divine signs from God.  In 11:6 Maimonides...

During the eight days of Hanukka we read the Tora in the morning.  Now,  what Biblical text was chosen by the Rabbis to be...

Besides Hanukka, today we also celebrate Rosh Hodesh Tebet. Our prayers are longer than usual for a weekday.  Today, same as yesterday, we say ya'ale...

For Rabbi Sabato Morais (1823-1897), one of the most prominent orthodox Rabbis in 19th century America (see this), celebrating Thanksgiving was a no-brainer. In his...

Rabbi David ben Zimra, known as the Radbaz (רדב"ז) was born in Spain in 1479. At the age of 13, when the Jews were...

Can I buy filleted fish from a local fish store, which is not under rabbinical supervision? There are two issues we should bear in mind...

Last week we explained that the Tora forbids nihush -divination- the reading of divine signs in natural or trivial events or in certain arbitrary signals that...

Last week we discussed the cases of medical emergencies on Shabbat. We explained that when we know or even suspect that the patient's life...

ישעיה פרק א15. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you; even when you offer to me many prayers, I...

Rabbi Abraham Zacuto was born in Salamanca, Spain in 1452. He studied Tora with his father Shemuel Zacuto and with rabbi Isaac Abohab. He...

Last week we began to describe a pagan practice called "divination" which Maimonides in Hilkhot 'aboda zara 11:4 includes within the prohibition of idolatry....

As we have previously explained, in a case where we asses that there is danger to a person's life (hole sheyesh bo sakana), the rules...

Rabbi Moshe Alashqar (מהר"ם אלאשקר)  was born in 1466 in Zamora, Spain. In 1492, when rabbi Moshe was 26 years old, the Jews were...

The Tora says: "These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales ... you...

People always longed to know what the future holds, either out of  curiosity or mainly in order to anticipate unseen dangers. All ancient civilizations...

QUESTION FROM A READER: Since we came to America, we celebrate Thanksgiving, is it OK for my family and I to celebrate Halloween? There are significant...

Rabbi Isaac ben Abraham Abohab was a Talmudic scholar from Spain. We do not know the exact dates of his birth or death, or...

Last time (see here) we explained that the Hebrew word "Halaq" (Halak) means "smooth", and Halaq meat refers to red meat coming from an animal...

אסור לילך בקומה זקופה, ולא ילך ארבע אמות בגילוי הראש 2:6 "It is forbidden to walk in an upright posture, and a man should not walk...

A woman who is about to give birth (contractions or breaking water) is considered as a case of a hole sheyesh bo sakana, a patient...