STAR-K CERTIFICATIONrealizes that there is no substitute for a person's own Rav. However, in today's busy and connected world many people have difficulty getting in touch with their Rabbanim when they are needed. In an effort to offer a solution to this challenge, STAR-K launched its Institute of Halachah as a public service. Over the years, the agency's Kashrus Hotline has answered more and more halachic questions beyond the scope of Kashrus information, from consumers the world over, beyond the standard steady stream of inquiries regarding the kosher status of foods and certified Sabbath mode appliances which has made the STAR-K Kosher Hotline famous. The formation of a separate official division within STAR-K testifies to the need for addressing these issues.
The Institute of Halachah is directed by HaRav Mordechai Frankel, under the guidance of HaRav Moshe Heinemann, STAR-K's Rabbinic Administrator. It is an invaluable resource for a diverse array of rabbis to discuss general halachic matters, as well as gain access to source materials for shiurim and answers to congregants' questions.
Shailos may emailed using the form below, or called into the Institute of Halacha at 410-484-4110 x238. Rabbi Frankel or on occasion another STAR-K Rabbi will respond to your email or return your call if you leave a message and phone number.
Previously Asked Questions
Comments or questions regarding these answers can be emailed to halacha@star-k.org. Only generic questions and answers are posted here. All sensitive questions and answers are kept strictly private.
Halacha Questions
I see that frum people go on dates to places that serve both kosher and non-kosher food. Is there any reason to worry about maris ayin when doing so?
Rav Moshe Feinstein writes that eating kosher food in a non-kosher restaurant is a problem of maaris ayin. One could argue that there is no maaris ayin as a person might enter a treif restaurant for numerous reasons – for a date, for a business meeting with a non-Jewish client, or to use the restroom. However, these things applied in Rav Moshe’s time too, and he still says that it is a problem. It is hard to know exactly what the parameters are. It seems that it all depends upon the nature of the restaurant and the location. For example, I don’t know of any frum people who have dates at McDonalds. When frum people go on dates in establishments which have non-kosher food, they usually go and sit at an area away from where the treif food is being served. I think that it would be considered maaris ayin to go on a date and sit in the middle of a treif restaurant next to someone eating ham, and should not be done even if the people on the date eat only kosher food.
עי' בשו"ת אגרות משה או"ח ח"ד סי' פב
Halacha Questions
I know that it is best to make the bracha on bread when it is still sholeim. If I am eating a slice of bread and someone else is eating a sholeim roll, is it better for me to make my own bracha or to have him be motzi me when he says his bracha on his sholeim roll?
If a number of people are putting on a tallis at the beginning of davening at the same time, meikar hadin one of them should make a bracha for everyone because ?berov am hadras melech?. However, the Mishna Berura says that this is not the custom, and he explains that sometimes the person saying the bracha may not have the proper kavanah to be motzi the other person and sometimes the person listening may not have the proper kavanah to be yotzei. I think that the same would hold true for this situation. Meikar hadin, it would be better for the other person to be motzi you on the sholeim. However, the minhag is not to do so because of the concern that people will not have kavanah. There are occasions where we do apply the principle of ?berov am hadras melech? and have one person make a bracha for everyone, for example for kiddush and motzi on Shabbos. The difference seems to be that at the time of kiddush and motzi everyone is at the Shabbos table and not busy with other things and are paying attention. However, on a weekday, where people are busy, the custom is not to have one person make a bracha for someone else.
עי' במ"ב סי' ח ס"ק יג לענין ברכה על הטלית בבית הכנסת, ועי' בשו"ת מנחת שלמה ח"א סי' א מש"כ בזה.
Halacha Questions
After a recent natural disaster, I wrote a check to one of the relief funds from my maaser account. The check was never cashed, and the money was not withdrawn from my account. Am I obligated to track down the people who organized the fund, or can I use that money to donate to another tzedakah?
If a person makes a neder to give tzedaka to a certain poor person and that poor person does not want to accept the money, the donor is absolved from his neder. Perhaps it is the same here, that the tzedaka decided that they do not want your money. However, this is probably not the case and they just lost the check. As such, there was a kabbalah on your part to give money to tzedakah. If you did not verbally speak out that you were definitely going to give the money specifically to this cause, then you could now decide to give the money to some other tzedaka instead.
עי' בט"ז יו"ד סי' רג ס"ק ה שאם נדר ליתן צדקה לעני והעני אינו רוצה לקבל הרי הוא פטור מן הנדר, אמנם נראה שאין זה שייך הכא. ועי' ברמ"א שם סי' רנח סעי יג שמי שגמר בלבו ליתן צדקה חייב לקיים מחשבתו (והאחרונים כתבו לחלוק על התירו של השו"ת אש דת הובא בפת"ש שם ס"ק טו), אמנם בספר צדקה ומשפט פ"ד הערה יג כתב שבכה"ג מותר לשנות מעני לעני. ואף לפי השו"ת חוות יאיר ס' קצד שבנדר אמרינן כתיבה כדיבור מ"מ כתב בשו"ת באר משה ח"ב סי' ח שכתיבת ש'יק הוי כמחשבה שהרי לא כתב 'הריני נודר כך וכך לצדקה', וא"כ מותר לשנות מצדקה לצדקה.
Halacha Questions
What is the inyan of not having clothes on your bed while you are sleeping? Why is it a problem?
I don?t know of any problem with having clothes on your bed unless they are under your head. The Gemara says that one of the things that can cause a person to forget his learning is putting his clothes under his head, meaning that a person should not use his clothes as a pillow. Women need not be concerned, but a man should avoid this. If he puts something between his head and the clothes, then it is fine.
בגמ' הוריות דף יג ע"ב אמרו שאחד מן הדברים המשכחים את הלימוד הוא הנחת כליו (פירש"י מלבושיו) תחת מראשותיו, והמ"ב סי' ב ס"ק ב כתב שאפשר שאם מניח דבר אחר המפסיק בין ראשו לבגדיו אין קפידא. והחוות דעת (יו"ד סי' עב) וכף החיים (או"ח סי' קנז ס"ק כח) כתבו שנשים א"צ ליזהר בדברים אלו כיון שאינן מצוין בתלמוד תורה, וכ"כ הגר"ח קנייבסקי שליט"א (שיח השדה, קונטרס ספר זכרון ח"ב בהקדמה), ועי' במבוא לספר שמירת הגוף והנפש (פי"ט) מש"כ בזה (וע"ע בזה בספר זכרון שם אות טו ובשמירת הגוף והנפש סי' קיח).
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