D'var Halacha

 We are continuing in siman 21, discussing the halachos of geniza and tashmishei kedusha. Today, we will discuss printed seforim and quoted pesukim.   When Moshe received the Torah, Torah Shebaal Peh was oral, so the question of geniza was fairly irrelevant. There was a concept of a megillas sesorim, that if a talmid learned from

 We are continuing in siman 21, discussing the halachos of shaimos. Yesterday, we learned that the source of this halacha is the issur to destroy any of the seven names of Hashem. We can now understand why these halachos are referred to as shaimos, because they have to do with proper kavod to the sheim

We are continuing in siman 21, regarding the concept of ma’alin bakodesh. Today, we will discuss the halachos of genizah. In Parshas Re’eh, the Torah tells us that Klal Yisroel has a mitzvas asei to destroy any avodah zarah they find in Eretz Yisroel, break their mizbeichos, cut down their asheiros, etc,  to the point

 We are continuing in siman 21, regarding the concept of ma’alin bakodesh. We will continue to discuss situations of misusing tashmishei kedusha.  In siman 154, the Mishnah Berurah writes that it is assur to use a sefer to block the sun. However, there is an argument that it is muttar to place a one sefer

We are continuing in siman 21, regarding the concept of ma’alin bakodesh. Today, we will discuss situations of misusing tashmishei kedusha. The issur of ma’alin bakodesh does not only refer to changing an item’s designation, but to using the item in a less kadosh manner. For example, using an aron kodesh to store other items

 We are continuing in siman 21, regarding the concept of ma’alin bakodesh. Yesterday, we learned about the kedusha of an aron kodesh, and today the Chayei Adam continues with an interesting question. The Chayei Adam discusses a case where a beis tahara was right near the shul, and there was a hole in the wall

 We are continuing in siman 21, discussing the concept of ma’alin bakodesh. The Chayei Adam writes that due to the concept of ma’alin bakodesh, an aron kodesh cannot be used for anything other than Sifrei Torah. Sifrei Neviim, other seforim and tzedakah cannot be placed inside.  However, the Chayei Adam writes that the minhag appears

 We are continuing in siman 21, disucssing the concept of ma’alin bakodesh and selling items of kedusha. Today, we will discuss the concept of selling a shul.   We know that historically, shuls have been sold, sometimes even to churches, when the neighborhood changed or for other reasons. According to what we have learned, it is

 We are continuing in siman 21, regarding the concept of ma’alin bakodesh. Today, we will discuss the concept of selling an item of kedusha. This concept is brought in Shulchan Aruch in siman 153, based on a mishnah which discusses a hierarchy of kedusha. The Mishnah in Maseches Megilla, and ensuing Gemara, discuss what can

 We are continuing in siman 21, regarding the concept of ma’alin bakodesh. Today, we will discuss more examples of ma’alin bakodesh. The Gemara in Shabbos brings a machlokes between Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel regarding the mehadrin min hamehadrin way to light Chanukah neiros. Beis Shammai holds that on the first night, a person lights

 We are continuing in siman 21, regarding the concept of ma’alin bakodesh. This concept has wide-ranging implications. Today, we will discuss some of these examples. Tefillin shel rosh are considered more kadosh than tefillin shel yad, because they have a letter of Hashem’s name etched directly into them. If one has a tefillin shel yad

 We are beginning siman 21. The Chayei Adam begins with one halacha and then connects it to another. He begins with the concept of maalin bakodesh v’ein moridin, an object of one level of kedusha can be raised to a higher level of kedusha, but cannot be lowered. The Chayei Adam brings a source from

 We are continuing in siman 20, discussing the general question of whether a person has a chiyuv to seek out mitzvos which they are not technically chayav to perform. We left off with a Gemara in Menachos which seems to indicate that a person should seek to perform such mitzvos, because Hashem will hold them

 We are beginning siman 20. The Chayei Adam writes that one should seek out to perform a mitzvah which people do not generally perform, because the mitzvah feels bereft. The Chayei Adam compares such a mitzvah to a meis mitzvah, a person who is niftar and does not have anyone to bury them. The mitzvah

 We are continuing in siman 19, discussing the halachos of spending money on mitzvos.   We have mentioned that one spends more than one fifth on pidyon haben (shiur 1444) and pirsumei nisa (1438). The Maharam Shik explains that when one has responsibility to another, such as giving money to the kohen, it generates a chiyuv

We are continuing in siman 19, discussing the halachos of spending money on mitzvos.  The Chofetz Chaim writes in Ahavas Chessed that the one fifth limitation does not apply to learning or supporting torah. In one of the versions of the Sefer, the publisher points out in his notes that the Chofetz Chaim brings a

 We are continuing in siman 19, discussing the halachos of spending money on mitzvos.  Regarding tzedakah, the Chofetz Chaim points out in Ahavas Chesed (which deals with tzedakah, maaser and other similar topics) that the Rambam seems to indicate that a person would be allowed to give more than one fifth of their money to

 We are continuing in siman 19, discussing the halachos of spending money on mitzvos. We have learned that one may refrain from performing a mitzvah (shev v’al taaseh) when the mitzvah will cost more than a fifth of their money, and must give up all of their money in order to avoid an aveirah. In