Bracha On Newly Flowering Trees: Birchas Ha’ilanos Guidelines

By: Rabbi Mordechai Frankel

Spring 2009 | Reviewed February 2025

Q: There is a bracha which is recited once a year upon seeing a newly flowering fruit-bearing tree. I have a number of questions regarding Birchas Ha’ilonos:

When is the optimal time to say this bracha? Does the bracha have to be said during the month of Nisan?

What rules apply concerning the location of the person when saying the bracha? How far away can you be from the tree when saying the bracha? Can you be inside a house or other structure? Can you be in a car? Is it necessary to be at a site where there is more than one tree?

What limitations are there regarding the type of tree over which this bracha may be recited? Does the tree need to be fruit bearing? How old should the tree be? Can the tree be […]

Erev Shabbos GridLock: A Halachic Guide for the Delayed Friday Afternoon Traveler

By: Rabbi Dovid Heber

Published Winter 2013

A Halachic Guide for the Delayed Friday Afternoon Traveler

Every few months, the phone rings on Erev Shabbos with a similar shayla: “We are not sure if we will reach our destination in time for Shabbos. What should we do?” If the call comes from people who are stuck in traffic, my response has been, “Are you calling to find out the halachos, or to hear the best alternate routes to reach your destination?”

Kosher Consumer Misconsumptions

Rabbi Tzvi Rosen, Star-K Kashrus Administrator; Editor, Kashrus Kurrents

The Star-K Hotline is constantly abuzz with kashrus inquiries. Over 13,100 consumer calls were logged during the week before Pesach 5772. Questions ranged from product information to complex kitchen shailos , from reliable kosher airline caterers to wines whose kosher certification symbols are so small you need a high powered magnifying glass to read the rav hamachshir ’s name.

The Visitor’s Halachic Guide to Hospitals

By: Rabbi Zvi Goldberg

Published Spring 2009
Updated Fall 2018

A person visiting a hospital patient is performing the great mitzvah of bikur cholim . It is one of the mitzvos for which a person reaps benefits in this world, while the principal reward is saved for the next world. While visiting the sick, some halachic issues may arise. This article addresses these issues from the visitor’s point of view. Questions affecting the patient (such as adjusting the bed, using the call button, and asking the staff to perform tasks on Shabbos ) are important issues that should be posed to one’s rabbi.

High Tech and Halacha Meet at STAR-Ks First-Ever Interactive Eruv-inar

09 | 20 | 2011

Published Winter 2012

On Wednesday, September 7, at 8 p.m. EST, STAR-K made history by hosting the world’s first Eruv-inar. The inaugural long distance interactive presentation allowed participants from around the globe to experience a live workshop highlighting eruv shaylos through the use of pictures of eruvim, which were submitted. STAR-K’s Rabbinic Administrator, Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, shlit”a, has always been on the cutting edge of the juxtaposition of advanced technology and halacha; the Eruv-inar featured Rav Heinemann discussing hilchos eruv.

STAR-K on Campus: For Some, a First Taste of Judaism

12 | 01 | 2010

Published Winter 2010

For those of you who think that all colleges are “treif”, STAR-K Certification knows that is not the case. STAR-K certifies eight kosher restaurants, take-outs, and concession stands on seven college campuses on the northeast coast.

STAR-K OPENS NEW ONLINE INTERACTIVE VIRTUAL KOSHER UNIVERSITY

02 | 01 | 2006

Those who are clueless but curious about kosher, have the opportunity to access the
only formal, online, interactive introductory classes about kosher on the web. Star-K’s
Virtual Kosher University will allow the kosher novice to learn the basics from Star-K’s
expert Kashrus Administrators—whether they live in Calabasas, California, or Caracas,
Venezuela! Regardless of one’s schedule, the world of kosher is now open as never before,
at one’s own pace, in the comfort of one’s own home.

SHAKLEE’S VITA-LEA MULTI-VITAMIN JOINS STAR-K FAMILY

11 | 01 | 2005

“All of us grew up believing that if we ate a reasonable diet, that would take care of our vitamin needs,” says Harvard University’s Dr. Robert Fletcher. That may be good enough to ward off such vitamin-deficiency disorders as scurvy, beriberi and pellagra, but the latest evidence, he notes, is that supplementing our diets with multi-vitamins may be able to prevent the usual diseases we deal with every day – heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and birth defects.

STAR-K CERTIFIES NEW REMOTE CONTROLLED OVEN-REFRIGERATOR

11 | 01 | 2005

Star-K is proud to certify the new kosher consumer-friendly Connect Io™ Refrigerated, Internet-Controlled Electric Double Wall Oven, which includes separate Sabbath and Holiday modes, programmable prior to Shabbos and Yom Tov. Each of the two ovens may be programmed separately.

Click here to view full article.

STAR-K’S SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM LIGHTS UP THE SHIDDUCH WORLD

08 | 01 | 2005

Please Note : Effective March 2011 this program has been discontinued.

Long before the news of the first official “Star-K engagement” circulated, Baltimore’s Star-K headquarters tasted success. The actual distribution of the $2,500 cash “gift” incentive, on top of the customary shadchanus for the successful matches made for Baltimore’s Orthodox women, was not the sole measure of accomplishment.
Star-K’s novel attempt at remedying the universal singles problem locally was made with the twin hope of inspiring the launching of similar programs by organizations and individuals in other “out-of-town” communities. As soon as the news hit the press, Star-K was flooded with telephone calls, letters and e-mails from around the world.