by Rabbi Ysoscher Katz
Posted on July 2, 2026
It is noon on Shiva Asar Be’Tammuz. Soon the day will begin its slow turn toward evening, and with it the Three Weeks of Bein HaMetzarim will begin to settle over us. Soon the day will begin its slow turn toward evening, and with it the Three Weeks of Bein HaMetzarim will begin to settle over us. …
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on August 8, 2024
QUESTION—Houston, TX A woman from my shul has the following issue with fasting: Although she is fine while fasting, experiencing only headaches, she becomes extremely nauseous when she eats after the fast, and can’t keep any food down for a few hours.…
by Rabbi Ysoscher Katz
Posted on August 8, 2024
This week, we read Parashat Devarim, which coincides with the third haftarah of the three “Haftarot D’Puranuta”—the Haftarot of Calamity. Our Sages (Shulchan Arukh, Orach Chayim 428:8, based on the Pesikta) instituted that on each of the Shabbatot during the three weeks between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av (known as Bein HaMetzarim or “The Three Weeks”), we read a haftarah that speaks of rebuke and the impending calamity of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on July 26, 2023
As we enter into Tisha b’Av, our minds and hearts are directed towards the current turmoil that is roiling Israel and tearing at the very fabric of Israeli society. Whatever one thinks about the substantive issues relating to the changes in the judicial system, and wherever one is tempted to point the blame, we should all be able to recognize the tragic disunity and deep damage—in terms of the society, economy, military preparedness, and international relations—that recent weeks and months have brought about.…
by Rabbi Zachary Truboff
Posted on July 24, 2023
Since World War Two, Jews have long struggled with how to best commemorate the Holocaust. The state of Israel would eventually establish Yom Ha-Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) on the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, but many religious Jews did not initially embrace it.…
Anyone who has spent time at a Jewish summer camp has inevitably confronted questions regarding what children should or shouldn’t do in the weeks preceding Tisha B’Av and on Tisha B’Av itself. From the 17th of Tammuz, many Ashkenazim have the custom not to shave or conduct weddings, and beginning with Rosh Chodesh Av, there are additional customs such as refraining from bathing, laundering one’s clothes, and listening to live music.…
Rabbi Moshe Schick (1807-1879) was a major Hungarian halakhic authority during the second half of the 19th century. He was also a close pupil of the Chatam Sofer (Rav Moshe Sofer, Hungary, 1762-1839), with whom he studied in the Pressburg Yeshiva.…
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein zt”l (1895-1986) was the preeminent posek for North American Jewry for most of the 20th century, both for the yeshivish and Modern Orthodox communities. Rav Moshe was born in Russia in 1895, where he served as rabbi making great personal sacrifices on behalf of his community until he emigrated to the U.S.…
by Dr. Orit Avnery
Posted on June 30, 2020
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Rabbi Hayyim David HaLevi was the chief rabbi of Tel Aviv-Yafo from 1973 until his death in 1998. Born and raised in Jerusalem, he studied at Yeshivat Porat Yosef under Rav Ezra Attiyah and Rav Ben Zion Meir Hai Uziel, author of Mishpetei Uziel and Chief Rabbi at the time of Israel’s founding.…
Shulkhan Arukh (OH 554:5) states simply that pregnant and nursing women must fast on Tishah b’Av. Is this indeed the case? What if she is concerned about her health, or the health of the baby? Is it permitted only if she is first feeling weak?…
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