Category Archives: Halacha

A Review of Chanukah Torah 2020

Posted on December 28, 2020 by rebleib1

I am privileged to share some Torah that I developed over the course of Chanukah 2020 with the help of my students, family members, and friends. As always, I enjoy hearing from readers in the comments if you have any … Continue reading →

Posted in Chanukah, Classroom Experiences, Halacha, Holidays, Talmud / Daf Yomi, Tefillah | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Aruch Hashulchan Yomi (Reprise)

Posted on May 31, 2020 by rebleib1

Some time ago (link) I proposed a new system for the daily learning of Aruch Hashulchan which would be based on a set number of paragraphs, which are mostly uniform in size, to replace the existing system based on a … Continue reading →

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Musings On the Beracha of Leishev BaSukkah

Posted on September 28, 2018 by rebleib1

I was fortunate to be able to learn about the beracha of “Leishev BaSukkah” with a group at my Shul over Yom Tov. Below are some of the salient points, with references to the sources, which are linked to here. … Continue reading →

Posted in Halacha, Holidays, Succot | Leave a comment

Frum or Krum: Kohanim and Mummies

Posted on February 18, 2018 by rebleib1

My local shul is holding its Annual Dinner in a museum which houses mummies. Being a Kohen, I have always understood that I cannot enter such a museum due to the tumah, very loosely translated as impurity, that these mummies emit. … Continue reading →

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Frum or Krum: Mikvah for a Kohen

Posted on March 31, 2017 by rebleib1

The time has come once again to don our cape and venture out into the weird, wild, and wacky world of contemporary Halacha, to determine whether the writ as presented to us by the establishment is truly frum or a … Continue reading →

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Frum or Krum: Using the Shamash on Chanukah

Posted on December 22, 2016 by rebleib1

The time has come once again for our should-be-award-winning exploration into mores and vicissitudes in the Jewish world and how they stack up to the light of objective research (spoiler: usually, not well). Today’s question: Does the presence of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Chanukah, Frum ... Or Krum??, Halacha, Holidays | Leave a comment

My Actual All-Time Favorite Moments in Iggerot Moshe

Posted on June 16, 2016 by rebleib1

For some time now I have taught classes and posted write-ups on landmark Teshuvot of Rav Moshe Feinstein under the header “My All-Time Favorite Moments in Iggerot Moshe” (link). But it has occurred to me over time that that title is a bit of … Continue reading →

Posted in Halacha | 2 Comments

Priorities in Mikvah Building

Posted on June 14, 2016 by rebleib1

I was privileged to give an adult ed class over Shavuot on the topic of the relative prioritization of building a mikvah as compared with building a shul or school. The shiur also dealt with the relative importance of a … Continue reading →

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Three Weeks, Two Musings, One Shiur

Posted on July 13, 2014 by rebleib1

Yesterday I was privileged to deliver a Shiur on the Three Weeks period, which begins this Tuesday. Click here for the Mareh Mekomot. To these I will append the following philosophical insight which I also shared yesterday, based on the … Continue reading →

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The Night Time is the Right Time: A Selichot Chronology

Posted on August 12, 2013 by rebleib1

I gave a Shiur yesterday (sources are at this link) on what the right time is to say Selichot. Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to the lively give-and-take. Some thoughts that came out of the Shiur: 1) … Continue reading →

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