Marrying for Money
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow Is there anything wrong with a man marrying a woman solely for her money? What about if money is just one of a man’s criteria? What if he needs his in-laws to support him while he pursues his college degree? What if he needs his in-laws to support him while he learns […]
Egg-sploring the Halacha
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow With the enormous amount of responsa that have been written over the past thousand years, there are countless ones about some rather interesting questions. How about this one: What is the halacha if a man offers his bride an egg instead of a ring under the chuppah? Are they halachically married? Who […]
Kiddushin Conundrum
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow At a typical wedding, there can be no doubt who the kallah is. But hundreds of years ago, a chassan got himself into a jam due to a lack of specificity. Tosfos (Kiddushin 52a) recount a fascinating story that occurred with Rav Oshaya HaLevi’s son. Details are somewhat sketchy, but the following […]
We are Hashem’s Children
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow This time of year is designated for teshuva. We really should be paralyzed with fear because of the impending judgment. Yet, there is a contradiction. On Rosh Hashana, we enjoy festive meals. Nice clothing should be worn. Haircuts are taken in preparation for the holiday. How could there be rejoicing when facing […]
Barking Up the Wrong Tree
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow With Rosh Hashanah upon us, Jewish retailers stock new fruits for us to enjoy. An interesting halacha related to fruits, one to which we don’t give much thought to, is orlah. The Gemara (Kiddushin 39) states that the mitzvah of orlah applies in the Diaspora. One may not benefit from the fruit […]
Water in the Desert and Pillows for Servants
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow HaRav Meir ben Jacob HaKohen Schiff (1608–1644) wrote a commentary on a number of mesechtos that are commonly studied in yeshiva. The commentary, commonly referred to as the “Maharam Schiff,” is cryptic and often challenging to understand. One prevalent theory is that his manuscript was not ready for publishing. Perhaps he never […]
The Price to Pay
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow The Gemara in Kiddushin (17a) discusses the situation of an eved Ivri, an indentured servant, who became ill. His boss contracted with him for six years of labor. However, he was ill for two years. Can his boss demand a refund for those two years where he just stayed in bed all […]
Of Giving and Receiving
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow Occasionally, it happens that a child may give someone mishloach manos and not receive anything in return. This may be because the intended recipient isn’t home, or they ran out of mishloach manos, or for some other reason. The child fulfilled the mitzvah in the choicest manner; he didn’t receive anything in […]
Do You Need a Koheinto Perform a Pidyon HaBen?
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow There is an oft repeated story involving Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt”l. Rav Moshe was attending a bris. There were two cartons of chalav Yisrael milk in front of him, from two competing brands with different hechsherim. Rav Moshe picked up one of the cartons, only to put it down and choose the […]
A Cornucopia of Blessings
Rabbi Avrohom Sebrow The Daf this week and specifically Tosfos’s explanation (Gittin 83a and 84a) deal with a paradox of sorts. The result of an action causes that very action to be invalid, which accordingly negates the result. That, of course, reinstates the action, which causes a result that once again negates the action. A […]