Zemanim זמנים
1Rosh Hodeshא - ראש חודש
- 1.The Jewish Month
- 2.The Authority to Fix the Months was Entrusted to Israel
- 3.The History of the Sanctification of the Moon
- 4.Rosh Chodesh : One Day or Two?
- 5.The Status of Rosh Chodesh in the Torah
- 6.Festive Meals on Rosh Chodesh and the Prohibition to Fast or Grieve
- 7.The Custom of Women Refraining from Work on Rosh Chodesh
- 8.Shabbat Mevarchim (Blessing the New Month)
- 9.A Time of Atonement and Yom Kippur Katan
- 10.Ya'aleh VeYavo in Shemoneh Esrei
- 11.Ya'aleh VeYavo in Grace After Meals
- 12.Hallel on Rosh Chodesh
- 13.Customs Relating to the Recital of Hallel
- 14.The Torah Reading and Musaf Service
- 15.The Meaning Behind the Blessing of the Moon
- 16.The Laws of Reciting the Blessing Joyously
- 17.Seeing the New Moon
- 18.The Proper Time for Birkat HaLevanah
Read the chapter →2The Laws of Counting the Omerב - הלכות ספירת העומר
- 1.The Mitzvah and its Meaning
- 2.The Process of Ascension from Nationalism to Spirituality
- 3.The Mechanics of Counting
- 4.The Status of the Mitzvah after the Temple's Destruction
- 5.When to Count
- 6.Until When Can One Count?
- 7.One Who forgets to Count an Entire Day
- 8.When in Doubt, Continue Counting with a Blessing
- 9.Women and the Omer Count
- 10.Specific Laws Regarding the Mitzvah of Counting
Read the chapter →3Customs of Mourning During the Omer Periodג - מנהגי אבלות בספירת העומר
- 1.The Reason for These Customs
- 2.The Duration of the Mourning Period
- 3.The Sefardi Practice
- 4.The Ashkenazi Practice
- 5.Weddings and Engagements During the Omer Peeriod
- 6.Haircuts
- 7.Shaving
- 8.Dancing and Musical Instruments
- 9.Circumcisions, Torah Processions, and Bar Mitzvahs
- 10.Listening to Music on Electronic Devices
- 11.SheHechiyanu
- 12.Brief Summary of the Joyous Days of the Omer Period
Read the chapter →4Yom HaAtzmaut, Yom Yerushalayim, Yom HaZikaronד - יום העצמאות ויום ירושלים וימי הזיכרון
- 1.The Mitzvah of Settling the Land of Israel
- 2.The Beginning of Redemption and Sanctifying God's Name
- 3.Salvation of Israel
- 4.The Three Oaths
- 5.Establishing Yom HaAtzmaut as a Lasting Holiday
- 6.The Recitation of Hallel
- 7.Hallel With or Without a Blessing?
- 8.SheHechiyanu and Hallel at Night
- 9.The Different Dates of Yom HaAtzmaut
- 10.Yom Yerushalayim
- 11.Shaving, Haircuts, Weddings, and Tachanun
- 12.Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) for the Fallen Soldiers of Tzahal
- 13.The Siren and Standing Silently on Yom HaZikaron
- 14.Holocaust Remembrance Day
Read the chapter →5Lag B'Omerה - ל"ג בעומר
- 1.The Thirty Third Day of the Omer
- 2.The Hillula of R. Shimon bar Yochai ("Rashbi")
- 3.R. Shimon bar Yochai's Character
- 4.Rabbi Akiva
- 5.Bonfires on Lag B'Omer
- 6.The Chalekah or Upsherin Custom: Cutting the Hair of Young Boys
- 7.Throwing Clothes into the Fire and Praying at the Gravesites of Tzaddikim
Read the chapter →6The Four Fasts Commemorating the Churbanו - צומות החורבן
- 1.Instituting the Fasts
- 2.The Tenth of Tevet
- 3.The Seventeenth of Tammuz
- 4.The Ninth of Av (Tish'a B'Av)
- 5.The Fast of Gedalyah (Tzom Gedalyah)
Read the chapter →7The Laws of the Minor Fastsז - דיני הצומות הקלים
- 1.The Current Status of the Minor Fasts
- 2.The Laws of the Minor Fasts
- 3.The Duration of the Minor Fasts
- 4.May One Eat and Drink if He Arises Before Daybreak?
- 5.Rinsing One's Mouth
- 6.One Who Forgets it's a Fast Day
- 7.The Infirm are Exempt from Fasting
- 8.Pregnant and Nursing Women on Tish'a B'Av and the Minor Fast Days
- 9.Children, Bridegrooms, and Soldiers
- 10.The Aneinu Prayer
- 11.The Torah Reading for Fast Days
- 12.Birkat Kohanim (the Priestly Blessing) During Mincha
Read the chapter →8The Customs of the Three Weeksח - מנהגי שלושת השבועות
- 1.The Three Weeks
- 2.Dancing and Music
- 3.Playing Music and Singing at a Se'udat Mitzva
- 4.Listening to Music on Personal Electronic Devices
- 5.The Halakha in Practice
- 6.Hiking, Swimming, and Hotel Vacations
- 7.Reciting She'heheyanu During the Three Weeks
- 8.In Which Cases May One Recite She'heheyanu?
- 9.Marriage and Engagement
- 10.Haircuts
- 11.Shaving One's Beard During the Three Weeks
- 12.When Av Arrives, we Curtail our Joy
- 13.Meat and Wine
- 14.The Laws of Eating Meat and Drinking Wine
- 15.Meat and Wine on Shabbat Hazon and at a Se'udat Mitzva
- 16.Building and Planting During the Nine Days
- 17.The Laws of Building during the Nine Days
- 18.The Laws of Business Transactions During the Nine Days
- 19.The Prohibition on Laundry
- 20.Children's Clothing and Hospital Garb
- 21.Bathing
- 22.Shabbat Hazon
- 23."The Week of Tisha BeAv" when Tisha BeAv is Postponed to Sunday
Read the chapter →9The Eve of Tish'a B'Avט - ערב תשעה באב
- 1.The Meal Before the Fast (Seudah HaMafseket)
- 2.Which Foods are Prohibited?
- 3.Customs of the Seudah HaMafseket
- 4.The Transition Between Shabbat and Tish'a B'Av When the Fast Falls Out on Sunday
- 5.Havdalah on Tish'a B'Av When it Falls Out on Saturday Night
Read the chapter →10The Laws of Tish'a B'Avי - הלכות תשעה באב
- 1.Instituting the Fast of Tish'a B'Av
- 2.General Rules of the Fasts
- 3.Eating and Drinking and the Laws of Sick People and Postpartum Women
- 4.Pregnant and Nursing Women
- 5.Washing
- 6.Mitzvah Related Washing
- 7.Anointing, Smelling Spices, and Smoking
- 8.Wearing Shoes
- 9.Marital Relations
- 10.Torah Study
- 11.Greeting One Another
- 12.Trips and Visiting the Western Wall (Kotel)
- 13.Sitting and Lying on the Ground
- 14.Doing Work
- 15.The Reading of Eichah and Dimming the Lights
- 16.Anneinu, Nacheim, the Priestly Blessings, and Tachanun
- 17.Removing the Curtain from Before the Ark; Tallit and Tefillin
- 18.Words of Torah in our Prayers and the Blessing of SheAsah Li Kol Tzorki
- 19.The Laws of the Tenth of Av
- 20.When Tish'a B'Av Falls Out on Shabbat and is Postponed
- 21.Minors
Read the chapter →11Hanukaיא - ימי החנוכה
- 1.The Enduring Holiday of Hanuka
- 2.The Greek Empire
- 3.Evil Decrees and Rebellion
- 4.Crises in the Hasmonean Dynasty
- 5.Lasting Spiritual Accomplishments
- 6.The Oral Torah: The Light That Illuminates the Darkness
- 7.Adding a New Candle on Each Day of Hanuka
- 8.Al HaNisim, Hallel, and Torah Reading
- 9.The Prohibitions against Fasting, Delivering Eulogies, and Visiting Cemeteries
- 10.Festive Meals on Hanuka
- 11.The Prohibition on Women Doing Work
Read the chapter →12Lighting the Chanukah Candlesיב - הדלקת נרות חנוכה
- 1.The Mitzva to Light Hanuka Candles
- 2.The Number of Candles and the Mehadrin min HaMehadrin Practice
- 3.The Sephardic Custom
- 4.The Ashkenazic Custom: Men, Women, and Children
- 5.The Berakhot and HaNerot Halalu
- 6.Family Participation in the Mitzva
- 7.The Candles
- 8.Electric Bulbs
- 9.Lighting Is the Mitzva
- 10.The Prohibition of Benefiting from the Candles
- 11.The Menora and the Shamash
- 12.Setting up the Candles and Lighting Them
- 13.Prior to Lighting
- 14.Lighting in the Synagogue
- 15.Candle Lighting at Public Gatherings
Read the chapter →13When and Where to Light Hanuka Candlesיג - דיני המקום והזמן
- 1.Where to Light
- 2.Private Homes
- 3.Apartment Buildings
- 4.The Proper Time and Duration of Lighting
- 5.Friday Evening and Saturday Night
- 6.Delaying Candle Lighting When Necessary
- 7.Waiting for a Family Member
- 8.Lighting Before Shki'a or Late at Night in Pressing Circumstances
- 9.Guests
- 10.Guests on Shabbat Hanuka
- 11.A Married Person Who Is Away from Home
- 12.Unmarried People who Live Alone
- 13.Yeshiva Students, Soldiers, and College Students
- 14.Hotels
- 15.Hospital Patients
- 16.Fields and Vehicles
Read the chapter →14The Month of Adarיד - חודש אדר
- 1.When Adar Arrives We Increase Our Joy
- 2.The Four Parshiyot
- 3.Leap Years and the Added Month of Adar
- 4.The Three Mitzvot Concerning the Obliteration of Amalek
- 5.The Mitzva to Wipe Out Amalek
- 6.Parashat Zakhor
- 7.Are Women Obligated to Hear Parashat Zakhor?
- 8.Can an Amalekite Save Himself or Convert to Judaism?
- 9.Ta'anit Esther
- 10.Commemoration of the Half Shekel
Read the chapter →15Purim and Reading the Megillahטו - פורים ומקרא מגילה
- 1.The Miracle of Purim
- 2.Accepting the Torah Anew
- 3.Establishing Purim as an Everlasting Holiday
- 4.Walled and Unwalled Cities
- 5.Reading the Megilla and Publicizing the Miracle
- 6.When to Read the Megilla
- 7.Women and Megilla Reading
- 8.Minors
- 9.The Megilla
- 10.The Mitzva of Reading the Megilla and the Status of One who Missed a Word
- 11.The Laws of Reading the Megilla
- 12.The Berakhot and the Order of the Reading
- 13.Taking Revenge on Haman and His Ten Sons
- 14.Al HaNisim, Torah Reading, Eulogies, and TaHanun
- 15.Working on Purim
Read the chapter →16The Mitzvot of Joy and Kindnessטז - מצוות השמחה והחסד
- 1.Joy and Kindness
- 2.Jewish Unity on Purim
- 3.Matanot LaEvyonim
- 4.Mishlo'ah Manot
- 5.Types of Foods for Mishlo'ah Manot
- 6.Who Is Obligated in Mishlo'ah Manot and Matanot LaEvyonim?
- 7.The Proper Time for Matanot LaEvyonim and Mishlo'ah Manot
- 8.Between Mishlo'ah Manot and Matanot LaEvyonim
- 9.The Mitzva to Rejoice and Eat a Se'uda
- 10.The Mitzva to Drink
- 11.Laws of Drinking
- 12.The Meaning of the Mitzva of Drinking
- 13.When to Eat the Festive Meal
- 14.Can a Drunk or Tipsy Person Recite Berakhot and Pray Ma'ariv?
- 15.Scheduling the Se'uda when Purim is on Friday
- 16.Costumes and the Prohibition of Lo Yilbash
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