MAIMONIDES ‘aboda zara 11:4. Let’s flip a coin!
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....
SHABBAT, medical emergencies during Shabbat
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 (1466-1542)
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...
KASHRUT: What makes a fish Kosher?
The Tora says: "These you may eat, of all that are in the waters. Everything in the waters that has fins and scales ... you...
Maimonides ‘Aboda Zara 11:4: Divination and other superstitions
People always longed to know what the future holds, either out of curiosity or mainly in order to anticipate unseen dangers. All ancient civilizations...
Halloween
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 (Spain, 14th Century)
Rabbi Isaac ben Abraham Abohab was a Talmudic scholar from Spain. We do not know the exact dates of his birth or death, or...
Rabbi Obadia Yosef and Halaq meat
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...
Why do we cover our heads?
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...
Giving birth on Shabbat
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...
