Category: Sefer Vayikra

Is My Electric Shaver Kosher?

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on May 3, 2018

QUESTION:  Can I shave with an electric shaver and are all models permissible? ANSWER:  In two separate verses, the Torah prohibits men to shave their beards.  In parashat Kedoshim, the Torah states: “You shall not destroy (tashchit) the corners of your beards,” (Vayikra 19:27). …

May a Husband Give His Wife Supportive Touch During Childbirth? – Part 2

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on April 26, 2018

May a husband hold his wife’s hand or give her a massage during childbirth, according to halakhah?  We began to answer this question last week and came to the following interim conclusions: A pregnant woman is not considered to be in niddah until either she experiences uterine bleeding (distinct from mere stains), or until a limb of the baby emerges from the womb. …

May a Husband Give His Wife Supportive Touch During Childbirth?  – Part 1

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on April 19, 2018

QUESTION:  I am nine months pregnant, and my husband and I have been doing Lamaze classes to prepare for the birth of our baby.  Part of the Lamaze method includes pressure massage and massage of the abdomen.  I have been told, though, that it is forbidden by halakhah for my husband to do this because I will be in niddah at that time. …

May My Toddler Drink Milk When She is Eating Meat or Is Treif Food Bad For Your Soul?

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on April 12, 2018

QUESTION:  My daughter recently turned one year old.  For children of her age, it is recommended that they consume 16 ounces of whole milk a day.  It is hard to get my daughter to drink milk when she is not eating. …

May Kohanim Become Doctors – Part 2

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on March 22, 2018

Two weeks ago we began to explore the question of whether kohanim may become doctors according to halakhah.   We noted that three halakhic arguments could be advanced to question the applicability of this prohibition to the case at hand: (1) Kohanim nowadays are only presumed (hazakha) to be kohanim and might only have the status of doubtful (safek) kohanim; (2) If we are all presumed to be tamei nowadays, then, according to Ra’avad, kohanim do not violate a Biblical prohibition by becoming tamei again by a corpse; (3) According to Yereim, it is not a violation for kohanim to become tamei by the corpse of a non-Jew. …

See and Sanctify

by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on March 15, 2018

החדש הזה לכם ראש חדשים – This month, the month of Nissan, shall be for you the first of the months.  So opens parashat HaChodesh.  It is the first mitzvah given to the Children of Israel, to sanctify the months – כזה ראה וקדש – like this, when the moon, in the midst of darkness, appears once again, like this shall you see and sanctify.…

Protecting the Canaanite? Sheltering the Moabite? Immigrants and Refugees in Tanakh and Halakha

by Rabbi Haggai Resnikoff Posted on July 5, 2017

To view the sources for this shiur click here.  …

Playing God: The Theology of Genetic Engineering

by Rabbi Haggai Resnikoff
Posted on May 12, 2017

  How do the Torah and rabbinic sources view the idea of genetic engineering, specifically as it relates to plants? The following sources are meant to prompt a discussion regarding this question. 1. VaYikra 19:19 אֶֽת־חֻקֹּתַי֮ תִּשְׁמֹרוּ֒ בְּהֶמְתְּךָ֙ לֹא־תַרְבִּ֣יעַ כִּלְאַ֔יִם שָׂדְךָ֖ לֹא־תִזְרַ֣ע כִּלְאָ֑יִם וּבֶ֤גֶד כִּלְאַ֙יִם֙ שַֽׁעַטְנֵ֔ז לֹ֥א יַעֲלֶ֖ה עָלֶֽיךָ׃ You shall observe My laws.…

Structure and Order in Parashat Kedoshim (Hebrew)

by Rabbi Dr. Yoel Bin-Nun Posted on December 9, 2016

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The Theme of Kedusha in Sefer Vayikra and the Torah

by Rabbi Saul J. Berman Posted on December 9, 2016

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Azazel: An It or A He?

by Dr. Leeor Gottlieb Posted on December 9, 2016

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Biblical Leprosy: Peshat and Derash

by Rabbi Shalom Carmy Posted on December 9, 2016

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