A Responsum a Day Archives

Seridei Esh on Retroactively Nullifying a Marriage (5 Sivan)

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שו”ת שרידי אש א:קז 5 Sivan 5718 (1958) Does the concept of kol d’mekadesh al da’at rabanan mekadesh apply today and therefore do they have the authority to annul kiddushin? Click here for a summary of the shiur on Torah Musings

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R. Wosner on Listening to Music When the Temple is Still Not Rebuilt (4 Sivan)

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שו”ת שבט הלוי ו:סט 4 Sivan 5744 (1984) The Shulchan Aruch says we don’t listen to music today as a zecher l’churban. Why does nobody seem to observe this halacha today? Click here for a summary of the shiur on Torah Musings

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R. Uzziel on What One Witness Does and Doesn’t Do (3 Sivan)

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משפטי עוזיאל חושן משפט ד:כד 3 Sivan 5693 (1933) One witness clearly obligates an oath if he supports a plaintiff’s claim; can he do the reverse, free the defendant from the need for an oath? This teshuva is a reply to an 18-year-old Tzitz Eliezer. Click here for a summary of the shiur on Torah […]

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Avnei Nezer on When We Can Treat Jews Like Non-Jews (2 Sivan)

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שו”ת אבני נזר יורה דעה קכ”ו 2 Sivan 5656 (1896) A Jew wants to buy non-kosher cuts of meat, whether from kosher animals or not. Now that the local Jewish meat-sellers have caught wind of the fact that he’s Jewish, they don’t know what to do. Do we treat a Jew who has abandoned observance […]

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R. Ovadia Yosef on Performing Yibum in Our Times (1 Sivan)

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שו”ת יביע אומר אבן העזר ח:כו 1 Sivan 5734 (1974) In 1950, the Chief Rabbinate (R. Herzog and Uzziel together) banned yibum, levirate marriage. In 1974, R. Frankel, the Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, asked R. Ovadia Yosef, then Chief Rabbi of Israel, whether that ruling applied to Middle Eastern couples. In denying that […]

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R. Ovadia Yosef on Choosing Where to Have a Court Case (29 Iyar)

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שו”ת יביע אומר חושן משפט ז:ד 29 Iyar 5740 (1980) When two people are having a case in court, and they live far from each other, what court should hear the case? A responsum from Rav Ovadia Yosef.

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R. Mordechai Fogelman on Tearing Clothing When Seeing Reconquered Jerusalem (28 Iyar)

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שו”ת בית מרדכי חלק א:לג 28 Iyar, 5727 (1967) Given a miraculous reconquest of Jerusalem, what emotions should we feel when we see it? Do we still tear our clothing, for example?

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R. Herzog on Reading the Torah Repeatedly (27 Iyar)

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שו”ת היכל יצחק אורח חיים ו:ו 27 Iyar 5714 (1954) We repeat the verses in the Torah reading on Chanukkah, Chol HaMoed, and Simchat Torah, but can we read the Torah over and over to raise money for the shul?

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R. Ovadia Yosef on Forceps Delivery for a First-Born (26 Iyar)

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שו”ת יביע אומר ט:כו 26 Iyar 5729 (1969) Rav Ovadia Yosef discusses whether a forceps gets in the way of considering the baby a first-born? With a surprise treat Noda Bi-Yehudah at the end of the shiur. Click here for a summary of the shiur on Torah Musings

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R. Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor on a Forced Kiddushin (25 Iyar)

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שו”ת עין יצחק אבן העזר א:נז 25 Iyar 5626 (1866) A man pretends to be paying for a purchase and says the formula for marriage. Is the woman stuck? Click here for a summary of the shiur on Torah Musings

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