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Lemaan Yishmeu - Rabbi Braun: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Lemaan Yilmedu
A weekly halacha podcast from the Lemaan Yilmedu Institute, featuring Rabbi Yosef Y. Braun, Mara D’asra of Crown Heights, who shares fascinating, real-life halachic questions that reach his desk—together with the clear rulings he gave in each case.
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- Aug 23, 202635 min
How Do I Toivel a Keurig?
In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:Public birthday parties and ayin horaIs there a concern of ayin hora in making large public gatherings for a seventieth or eightieth birthday?Since the Korban Todah was brought with forty challos specifically so that a crowd would be invited, is publicizing Hashem’s kindness in fact the entire point of a seudas hoda’ah?Does such a seuda carry its own protection, since the kiddush shem shamayim offsets the merits that are otherwise deducted when a miracle is done for a person?What could we learn from the Rebbe’s conduct in this regard?Tevilas keilim for electric appliancesMust electric appliances be toiveled even when the label warns that immersion will ruin them, and what practical steps make it workable?If the appliance would be ruined or the water cannot reach inside, is one exempt because a mitzvah one cannot perform does not apply, or must one simply not use the utensil?Having a Jewish professional reassemble it renders it Jewish-made. What about an amateur doing so?How much weight do the various arguments for leniency carry (mechubar lekarka, plugging it in as “finishing” it, beis hastarim, not being a kli seudah, and merely being the non-Jew’s “store merchandise”), given that tevilas keilim is deoraysa?Tevilah for a Keurig machineIs a Keurig different from other electric appliances, being a pump rather than a kli, and one that will certainly be ruined by immersion?If it’s not merely a matter of damage but genuinely impossible for the water to reach the area requiring immersion, could it be that the chiyuv of tevilah never applied at all?May one rely on giving it as a gift to a non-Jew and borrowing it back, even though it will stay in the Jew’s hands indefinitely?Since the Taz required toiveling a borrowed kli specifically because one is able to, does that imply the requirement falls away where immersion is impossible, as poskim held with very large vessels?A shiur in shul on Shabbos afternoonShabbos afternoon commemorates the passing of Yosef Hatzaddik, Moshe Rabbeinu, and Dovid Hamelech (the reason for Tzidkascha). If so, may one make a fixed shiur in shul between Mincha and Maariv?Does the minhag of beis hamedrash batel begin close to dark, or only close to shkiya (and not afterward, as the Ketzos Hashulchan seems to imply), and not if beginning earlier?Does the concern apply to Chassidus, Pirkei Avos, and agaddah, or only to formal nigleh classes?May one rely on the Mishnah Berurah (quoted by the Rebbe) that nowadays we do not stop such gatherings, since people would otherwise sit in shul and waste their time?Havdalah made without a kosSomeone who mistakenly made Havdalah without wine in the Nine Days, must he make Havdalah again once he has a kos?When the Mishnah Berurah rules that one without wine shouldn’t rely on making a wine-less Havdalah, does that only mean l’chatchila, implying that b’dieved he was yotzei?Did the Maharam miRotenburg, who allows Havdalah without a kos, mean that one is yotzei, or only that there is a second part of the mitzvah still to be fulfilled when a kos becomes available?If someone made Havdalah on what turned out to be vinegar, must he repeat it, or would that be a bracha l’vatalah?Solving one person’s safek at the rabbim’s expenseWhy does Tosafos prefer that one person be left with a safek kares passively (b’sheiv v’al ta’aseh) rather than have the majority bring their korban improperly?How does this principle apply today, when a heter meant for hefsed merubeh, sha’as hadchak or tzorech mitzvah is turned into a standard arrangement for everyone?
- Aug 9, 202634 min
May I Use a Lemon Squeezer on Shabbos?
In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:Greeting others before daveningWhat are the parameters of the halacha against greeting someone in the morning before davening, and how does going to a friend’s house differ from meeting him in shul or on the street?Since “good morning” is now a standard greeting, does it still count as a valid shinui from saying “Shalom”?Is calling someone on the phone comparable to going to his house, and does it matter whether the call is specifically to say hello or for another purpose?How do the Zohar’s stringency on one hand, and the mitzvah of hevei makdim l’shlom kol adam and kevod habriyos on the other, shape the practical approach?“Words of inspiration” at a levaya on Chol HamoedOn days when hespedim are prohibited (e.g., Chol Hamoed, Rosh Chodesh), is saying divrei hisorerus a legitimate alternative, or merely renaming a hesped?If one may not even leave the coffin standing in the street lest people come to eulogize, would that apply also to speeches inside a shul or chapel?Is praising the niftar itself the problem on these days, or is anything said for kavod hameis permitted?What other factors can be relied on when using the opportunity to inspire those gathered to Torah and mitzvos?Rashba’s view on bracha covering a more chashuv foodAccording to the Rashba, who holds that a bracha on a less important food doesn’t cover a more chashuv one, is it enough to know you will eat the other food, or must you specifically intend to exempt it with your bracha (kavana liftor)?When a guest’s bracha covers whatever their host will serve later, does that apply even to more chashuv foods served by the host, since the guest never specifically intended to exempt them with his original bracha?What is the halacha l’maaseh, l’chatchila and b’dieved, when the bracha was made without specific intent to exempt the more important food?Lemon squeezers on ShabbosIf squeezing a lemon directly onto food is permitted on Shabbos, may one use a designated lemon squeezer, or is that uvdin d’chol (a weekday activity)?How does this compare to the Rivash’s prohibition against grating cheese with a formal grater, given that a squeezer is arguably made for permissible squeezing onto food?Do squeezers that trap the seeds involve a separate concern of borer?Covering the tefillin shel yadWhy don’t Lubavitchers cover their arm while wearing tefillin shel yad, and does “lecha l’os v’lo la’acheirim l’os” actually require tefillin to be covered?Does the Arizal’s practice of covering the shel yad apply only while putting on the tefillin or throughout davening, and does today’s protective box accomplish it?Is there a tznius concern with a bare upper arm, where the tefillin shel yad is placed?Is it disrespectful to daven before Hashem with one sleeve rolled up and one down, or is it dignified precisely because everyone knows it’s for the tefillin?
- Jul 26, 202635 min
Miscarriage: when does the neshama enter?
E-scooter safety for childrenMay parents allow young children to ride e-scooters and e-bikes, given the serious injuries these vehicles can cause?Are parents halachically liable for damage caused by a child riding an e-scooter, and which factors may determine their responsibility?Does dina d’malchusa dina obligate us to keep traffic and safety laws, such as the ban on riding e-scooters on the sidewalk?Miscarriage: when does the neshama enter?After a missed miscarriage, was there a neshama that came into this world and will merit olam haba?At what stage can a child’s neshama enter olam haba: from when the seed is implanted, from the bris, or from when he first answers amen?How do the rulings of the Rama and the Alter Rebbe (regarding children answering amen and washing negel vasser) relate to the opinions in the Gemara?How does the Rebbe reconcile the various opinions, and connect it to the halacha that we are mechalel Shabbos to save a fetus?Ignoring someone and onaas devarimDoes deliberately ignoring someone in order to hurt or humiliate them violate the issur of onaas devarim, which literally refers to hurtful words?Is onaas devarim limited to speech, or does it include actions (such as eyeing merchandise you cannot afford) and even inaction?Sternos and shehiya on ShabbosDoes food placed before Shabbos on a sterno require a blech covering the flame?Is a sterno comparable to a Shabbos hot plate with no adjustable setting (as the questioner’s AI suggested), which most poskim permit without a covering, or is that comparison incorrect?Does the concern of shema yechateh b’gechalim apply where there are no actual coals, such as with liquid or gel fuel, or where one can only turn a knob higher or add fuel?Early Shabbos Kiddush for a bar mitzvah boyIf a boy becomes bar mitzvah on Shabbos and the community accepts Shabbos early, may he make Kiddush before nightfall, and could that count for himself even after he becomes a gadol that night?Can we infer from the halacha about a bar mitzvah boy davening Maariv before dark, which implies that the only concern is davening for the amud and being motzi the tzibbur, with no issue regarding his personal chiyuv?Tallis on top of tefillin in a travel bagIs there an issue with travel tallis bags in which the tallis sits on top of the tefillin, rather than in front of them as in the classic bags?Since tefillin have a higher level of kedusha than a tallis, why is placing the tallis on top not considered disrespectful?Does it matter that the tallis serves as protection for the tefillin, and that the tefillin are stored inside their own box and bag?
- Jul 19, 202634 min
Will the Third Beis Hamikdash Have Wi-Fi and Elevators?
In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:Modern technology in the third Beis HamikdashWill the third Beis Hamikdash include modern inventions, such as central air conditioning, heating, Wi-Fi, electric lights, sound systems, and elevators?Does the rule of hakol bichsav forbid any additions or changes, and does it apply to the entire Har Habayis, even underground?Is there room to permit additions that are not for the avodah itself, items that are detached from the structure, or features built in from the very start of construction?Why did some shuls in the past not allow heating systems?Rubbing the hands during netilas yadayimIs the practice recorded in Hayom Yom, rubbing the hands together with the extra water of the final pour, limited to washing for bread, or does it extend to washing for davening and other washings?Is the rubbing meant to satisfy the opinion that washing extends beyond the fingers, or is it purely for added tahara and cleanliness (“erchatz b’nikayon kapai”)?Should one also rub the hands when washing in the morning, as indicated in numerous Kisvei Arizal?Does the practice apply when washing merely for cleanliness or because of ruach raah (e.g., after leaving the bathroom)?Wrapped challos on top of the cholent pot May one place dry challos wrapped in aluminum foil on top of a cholent crockpot on Shabbos to warm them?Does the wrapping constitute hatmanah (insulation), and does it depend on whether the purpose is to retain heat or only to keep the challos from drying out?Does the leniency of covering food to protect it (e.g., from mice) apply even when the covering is heated by the fire below and adds heat?Ladling from and covering pots on ShabbosIs ladling food out of a pot on the fire a form of meigis (stirring), and must the pot first be removed from the flame even when the food is fully cooked?What is considered “off the fire”: a pan resting on a Sterno water pan that does not touch the flame, or a pot held in the air above the fire?Is covering a pot, or adding a second cover, a form of bishul, and is it an issur de’oraisa when the food is not fully cooked?Are there reasons to be stringent not to re-cover a pot on the blech, even when it’s already fully cooked?An onen who handed arrangements over to the Chevra Kadisha When funeral arrangements are given over entirely to the Chevra Kadisha, does the heter of nimsar lekatafim (handing the burial over to the carriers) apply, allowing the onen to daven and perform mitzvos?Does it make a difference if family members still follow the aron at the levaya or remain involved in the arrangements on some level?What halacha applies to an onen in another city whose siblings are taking care of the arrangements?What can be learned from the Rebbe’s own conduct after the passing of his mother and, in a different manner, after the passing of his brother?Waiters and photographers eating meat during the Nine Days May the waiter, singer, and photographer hired for a seudas mitzvah (such as a bris or bar mitzvah) during the Nine Days eat meat along with the participants?What about during the actual week of Tisha B’Av, when a bris meal is limited to a bare minyan plus immediate relatives?Taste absorption in modern-day utensilsDo today’s pots and dishes actually absorb taste the way vessels did in earlier times, and can scientific experiments have any bearing on these halachos?Is this a question of “changing halacha,” or of clarifying the facts, given evidence that earlier generations also tested whether taste is actually transferred?
- Jul 12, 202630 min
Did Italy Exist in Moshe’s Time?
Spelling “Tverya” with an alef or heiIn a kesubah or get, should the city name Tverya be spelled with an alef, as found throughout Shas, or with a hei, as in modern Hebrew?If the city is named after the Roman emperor Tiberius, how could the Gemara say it is called Tverya because of “tovah re’iyasah” (its good vision) or because it sits at the “tabur” (belly) of Eretz Yisrael?How does this compare to the term “Sanhedrin,” a Greek word, being commonly usedin Chazal instead of the Torah terms shoftim or dayanim?Calabrian esrogim in Moshe Rabbeinu’s timeWhy is there a Chabad tradition to use esrogim specifically from Calabria, Italy?If the Gemara says Italy came into existence only when Shlomo HaMelech married the daughter of Pharaoh, how could shluchim have brought esrogim from Calabria in the times of Moshe Rabbeinu?Which sources indicate that Italy existed already at Matan Torah, and how is the contradiction resolved?What about the bracha of “oseh ma’aseh bereishis” on Italian mountains, or the date for reading the Megillah in a walled Italian city?Makeup on Shabbos during shivaMay a woman sitting shiva put on makeup for Shabbos if she does so every single Shabbos, given that its absence would be noticeable aveilus b’farhesya (public mourning)?Is refraining from a routine practice itself considered public mourning, comparable to not wearing shoes or not eating meat when Tisha B’Av falls on Shabbos?Does it matter that the makeup would need to be applied before Shabbos, while the shiva restrictions are still fully in force?What about cutting overgrown hair or shaving (a discussion onto itself) during shiva, when their absence would be noticeable on Shabbos?Cochlear implants in halachaIs one who hears only through a cochlear implant yotzei hearing shofar, Megillah, Kiddush, and Havdalah?Why do most poskim consider hearing aids to produce a new artificial sound rather than halachic hearing?Is a cochlear implant better than a hearing aid because it stimulates the hearing nerve directly, or is it a bigger problem because no actual sound is heard at all?Why are glasses considered real seeing, while a camera wired directly to the nerve would not be?Calling someone by his father’s nicknameMay a bochur in camp call a friend by a nickname that is identical to his father’s unusual nickname (a shem peli)?Does the prohibition against calling others by one’s father’s name apply only in the father’s presence, or even away from him?Is this an actual issur or a matter of kavod?How rare must the name be for the concern to apply, and does the likelihood that the father is mochel create room for leniency?
- Jul 5, 202633 min
Sending a Shabbos Goy to prevent a Kashrus mishap
In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:Kiddushin ring alternatives: • When the chassan’s ring is lost, is it preferable to use a borrowed ring or a coin?• May a paper bill or contemporary coin, which have no intrinsic value, be used for kiddushin the way a valuable coin could?• What are the halachic advantages of using a ring specifically?• Is it an option to use both a coin and a borrowed ring together, or would that backfire?Sending a Shabbos Goy to prevent a kashrus mishap• May one ask a non-Jew to drive on Shabbos to warn people about milchig dessert at a sheva brachos?• Can a non-Jew be asked to do a melacha d’oraisa for a mitzvah need?• Does “michshol derabim” justify asking a non-Jew to do melacha?• What is actually the true nature of the michshol in the case of an unknown milchig dessert or torn eruv?• Does the possibility that one of the participants might be dangerously allergic to dairy create a pikuach nefesh justification?Making up tachanun and v’hu rachum• If tachanun and v’hu rachum were skipped by mistake, e.g., in the mistaken belief that a bris would follow, must they be made up later, such as at mincha?• Does the Alter Rebbe’s ruling that one who was genuinely exempt (as in a mourner’s home) need not make them up apply equally when the omission was simply an error?• Does the status of v’hu rachum being a direct continuation to Shemoneh Esrei depend on the nusach, whether v’hu rachum is recited before or after tachanun?• If the chazzan mistakenly recited Kaddish instead of tachanun, should he go back and say tachanun?Mezuza placement on a side door• For a side door, as opposed to the front door, is the mezuza placed according to heker tzir (the way the door opens)?• Was the Rebbe’s printed response on this a definitive ruling, or did the Rebbe in fact leave the matter as an open question, illustrating the broader concern that printed ma’anos can contain copying errors?“HaMerachem” vs. “VeHaMerachem” in Modim• Why does the Chabad nusach say HaMerachem on weekdays but veHaMerachem on Shabbos and Yom Tov?• Does the veHaMerachem form extend to the mussaf of Rosh Chodesh and Chol HaMoed?• What variances in this regard do we know from the practice of the Rebbeim?Eating meat during shiva and on Shabbos• Is the practice in some communities to refrain from meat throughout shiva (beyond the period of aninus) a legitimate minhag, and would someone who kept it need hataras nedarim to eat meat?• What is the common minhag in our circles regarding this?• What is the significance of eating meat on Shabbos as an expression of simcha, such that we do so even when Tisha B’Av falls on Shabbos?
- Jun 15, 202633 min
Can ChatGPT Pasken Halacha?
In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:Challah knivesIs there a preference to use a smooth knife over a serrated one for cutting challah on Shabbos?Does a serrated knife create a halachic concern because it has “pegimos”?What are the reasons for sharpening knives before Shabbos? And does it apply to serrated knives?AI and psak:Is it halachically proper to rely on AI for halachic rulings? Does a posek need to be human?Theoretically, if and when an AI were perfectly accurate, would that change the halachic status of using it for answering shailos?What are the dangers involved in asking halachic questions to AI?Bracha on tzitzis:When is a bracha on tallis katan appropriate, and when should the tallis gadol cover it?Is wearing “night tzitzis” a good idea or does it become a kesus lailah (a garment designated for sleeping)?What is the best way to arrange the rotation of tzitzis to be able to make the bracha every morning?Is the interruption of a night’s sleep sufficient to require a new bracha in the morning?Birchas kohanim at a chuppah: Is a kohen obligated to go up for birchas kohanim when called independent of davening (e.g. at a chuppah)?Why do non-kohanim use the nusach of birchas kohanim when blessing children?
- May 31, 202632 min
Typos in the Rebbe’s Printed Letters, or Edits?
In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:Tznius for young girls:At what age does a girl need to start dressing tzniusly?From what age does a young girl’s ervah and tefach megulah present a problem for a man saying krias Shema?What sources do we have from the Rebbe regarding this?Typos and edits in the Rebbe’s letters: How should we deal with typos in printed letters in Likkutei Sichos and Igros Kodesh?From what sources were the letters in the hosafos to Likkutei Sichos drawn?May later printed editions possibly reflect the Rebbe’s subsequent edits to the original letter? And what are examples of this?Newly published notes of the Rebbe Rashab:What is the background behind the recently published Toras Shalom – Hagahos Al Sefer Kaf HaChaim?Stepping forward after Shemoneh Esrei: We normally wait until the Chazzan is about to reach Kedusha before returning to our place after Shemoneh Esrei. Since there’s no repetition at Maariv, when do we step forward?On Friday night, when do we step forward relative to the Me’ein Sheva recited after Shemoneh Esrei?If Kedusha starts immediately, do the three steps back need to be followed by a wait, or can one return right away?Asher Yatzar in morning berachos: Should one say Asher Yatzar in the morning even without having used the bathroom?Is there a basis for saying it as a fixed part of the morning routine?Rounded corner for kapota: How rounded does a corner have to be for a kapota or blanket to be exempt from tzitzis?Must the entire corner of 3 by 3 etzbaos (approx. 2.5 inches) be rounded?Kaddish said by a child: Can a child say Kaddish alone, or must another adult say Kaddish together with him?Does it matter what type of Kaddish it is (e.g., yasom, derabanan)?Tucked-in tzitzis and tefillin straps: Is there a halachic concern for tzitzis strings or tefillin straps to be tucked into a gartel?How does this differ from the gartel or bendel worn on top of a tallis katan to keep it fully spread out?How should the front and back tzitzis strings be positioned when tucking them in?Reciting Ketores by heart:May Ketores be said by heart?What is the concern when reciting it from memory, and what practical steps can be taken to mitigate this concern?
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About Lemaan Yishmeu - Rabbi Braun
A weekly halacha podcast from the Lemaan Yilmedu Institute, featuring Rabbi Yosef Y. Braun, Mara D’asra of Crown Heights, who shares fascinating, real-life halachic questions that reach his desk—together with the clear rulings he gave in each case.
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