Inheritance in Judaism
Judaism has been around for a while, and not surprisingly has its own set of laws about inheritance. The Judaic laws of inheritance differ from western culture in a few critical aspects; here is a closer look.
Posts Categorized: Advanced halacha responsa
תורם כליה? יש לזכור מצווה אחת
בנוסף לכל ההתחשבויות של מצווה לשמה – התחשבות גם במצווה של וקדשתו. יישום מצוות-וקדשתו מתפרש בפי דבי רבי ישמעאל (ברייתא, הובא במסכת גיטין, דף נ”ט, ב’; ובמסכת הוריות, דף י”ב, ב’.) לא רק לענייני קדושה (לברך ראשון ולפתוח ראשון) אלא גם בענייני חול – שיש לתת לכהן “מנה יפה ראשון”.
הלכה מול וכן נהגו
כתב המחבר בשולחן ערוך יורה דעה סימן סא סעיף כא; מתנות נהוגות בכל מקום, בין בארץ בין בחוצה לארץ, בין בפני הבית בין שלא בפני הבית, ויש מי שאומר שאינן נהוגות בחוצה לארץ, וכן נהגו. ויש לעיין מה דעתו של המחבר פס”ד הלכה למעשה, ולפי כללי פסיקה של המחבר, ידוע שהיכן שנוקט שתי דעות הראשון…read more
Yom kippur minhagim for kohanim
There are two unique minhagim (customary actions) applicable to a kohen for the special day of Yom Kippur, this article is a brief presentation of these minhagim; Washing until the wrist Generaly, netillat yadayim (negel vasser) performed on the morning of Yom Kipper is done by pouring water only until the knuckles. A kohen however, is…read more
Takanat Ziknei Darom – preempting commercial slaughter exemptions
One of the important talmudic narratives relevant to the mitzvah requiring the shochet to give the foreleg, cheeks and abomasum to the kohen is Rav Nachman’s relation of Takanat Ziknei Darom (“The Edict of the Elders of the South“). The said edict preempts inference from the mishnaic text השוחט לכהן ולנכרי פטור מן המתנות (“He who…read more
Tevel and Zroa Lechayayim and Keva; The Sheiltot view
The big view of Sheiltot is also a sharp one – according to this early sefer halacha, there is room for stringency when buying glatt-kosher beef. This is because of the Gaon’s view that if the shochet does not give the parts of Zroa, Lechayayim and Keva to the kohen the entire animal enters a…read more
Kohen Baal-Teshuva
In addition to all of the religious-from-birth kohanim, many kohanim today are baalei teshuva, the aim of this article is to discuss some of the halachic factors involved in determining the status of the said kohen – namely the scope of איתרע חזקתיה (the weakening of his chazaka) and whether or not the specified kohen…read more
Ketuba of a Bat-Kohen
The mishna in ketubot talks about the enactment of the bet din shel kohanim (the court who oversees all kehuna-related activities) to increase the ketubah amount for a bat kohen marrying a kohen from the standard 200 zuz to 400 zuz – what does this mean? History The Mishna writes how the bet din shel kohanim would require…read more
A Kohen Unable to Hold Up His Hands
An interesting question is regarding a kohen who is able to say the brocha yet cannot hold up his hands. In this instance we relate the known story of the war against Amalek where Moshe Rabbenu was unable to hold up his hands – כאשר ירים משה את ידיו וגבר ישראל – hence Aharon stood…read more
Tzitzit made of kilayim?
The mitzvah of tying tzitzit is written in the torah and commands bnei yisroel for eternal generations to see these tzitzit and thereby remember all of the mitzvot that hashem commanded us – not to veer and stray after our eyes and hearts to work for foreign diety’s, – aka ‘avodah zarah’ – but to…read more