Jpmedia: Responsa Radio

What sorts of healing are you allowed to do on Shabbat? How should we understand these prohibitions?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

In this episode: Does one have to wear a kippah (head covering) at all times?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Is playing sports permissable on shabbat? And even if it is, is it advisable and under what parameters? Recorded live at Limmud NY 2015.Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Many people avoid repeating Hebrew words in prayer. Why? Is there any halakhic significance here?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Assuming it is forbidden to take photos on shabbat, what if someone else were taking a photo of you? What if you were in a group of people? Does it matter if the person taking the photo is Jewish or not?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Traditionally, texts with God's name written on them are not thrown away but recycled. Why is this, and does this still apply in an age where printing is so readily available? Recorded live at Limmud NY 2015.Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Can I go to classes on Yom Tov or Shabbat? Can I read materials for my course of study on Yom Tov or Shabbat? Recorded live at Limmud NY 2015.Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

We can get around lots of laws if we try hard enough. Why are these regarding divorce so hard? Recorded live at Limmud NY 2015.Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

In the modern world, more of us have automated payments set up on the same day of the month every month. What happens when that day of the month falls on shabbat? Does this mean I have broken shabbat by spending money? What if someone sends me money on shabbat: am I allowed to use it?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Since Jewish identity is matrilineal (it follows the mother's line), someone who is looking to get eggs for in-vitro fertilization—should they pay attention to the religion of the egg donor? Who is the mother here? What does being a mother mean? Recorded live at Limmud NY 2015.Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

I like to go out the night after Passover to grab a cool beer in celebration of eating hametz (leaven) again. Do I need to worry if the owner of that bar is a Jew that didn't remove his hametz for the holiday?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

In this episode: Why can't Europeans eat beans? Can you start the Seder early? How fancy are Rabbi Tucker's knives? These and other questions answered.Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

What are the issues in Jewish law of using electricity on shabbat and festivals? What are the different approaches from the 20th-21st centuries? And what's the difference between electricity on Yom Yov / festivals or shabbat?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

The laws of eruv—constructing a sometimes questionable boundary around a neighborhood to allow carrying objects on shabbat—often seem obscure, bizarre, and made-up. But what are the ways in which it makes sense? What are the operating principles behind these laws?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

What are the questions and issues that we should be thinking about regarding ordering food in a non-Kosher restaurant?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Is it permissable to invest in a store store that serves non-Kosher food like Burger King?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

I'm a graduate student in insect biology and have ants to look after. Can I do so on shabbat? (00:26)There's a huge variety of Kashrut practices for dishwashers: some people put meat and milk together, some people have separate dishwashers for meat and milk. How did this come about and how should I think about my own dishwasher practice? (13:18)Can I use free public transport on shabbat, assuming I'm in the eruv? (25:39)Our blessings after meals are tied to whether we have eaten bread or not. But nowadays many (if not most) don't eat bread at every meal. Should we be doing the full blessings after meals even if we didn't have bread? What about people who can't eat bread? (33:54)Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

There is a custom of burying someone with earth from the land of Israel. How did this custom come about? How old is it? Why do we do it? And is it a law or a custom?Can you use an umbrella on Yom Tov / festivals? There is no issue of carrying (unlike on Shabbat), but is there a concern of building, an act forbidden both on Shabbat and Yom Tov?I'm fostering a non-Jewish child. There is no clear expectation that my foster-child will remain with me, because they might return to their natural parents, who are not Jewish. But I have a Jewish household. How much can / should I include them in my Jewish life as I would an adopted or biological child, and how much does their ambiguous long-term situation change these concerns?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Is it permissable to wear a fitbit on shabbat? What are the sort of concerns one should be raising with such a device?This question deals with the huge gulf between assumptions about marriage and sexual relations from the central Jewish law codes and today. How should one consider the values of these texts as applied to the modern age of delayed marriage and hook-ups?On Friday afternoons, there is a seemingly strange 18 minutes after the official candle-lighting time during which it is permitted to do one’s work as if it’s the normal week. How did this arise? And how should we think about working on the run up to shabbat in general?Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

In this episode: For someone who works night-shifts, how should they go about doing the morning prayers? Should they aim to get up in the middle of their sleep even if it is unhealthy? Or is there flexibility in doing the morning prayer at another time, or somehow catching up on what was missed? There is a halakhic concept known as karov l’malkhut, giving dispensation for some Jews to avoid some of the classic restrictions of making Jews distinct from non-Jews. How does this still apply in the modern day? Does this concept even apply in democratic and multi-cultural America? There is a mitzvah of tevilat keilim (the immersing of utensils in the mikveh / ritual bath) for bowls and such bought from non-Jews. But now, when most if not all of our utensils are mass-produced and bought from corporations, does this mitzvah even apply? Is it permissible to perform a show on shabbat assuming that there are no direct violations of shabbat for that person? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Emai