Talking Turkey About Shiluach Hakein
I’m sorry if this article about shiluach hakein ruffles people’s feathers, but it’s meant to spark discussion, not to offer psak halacha.
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Money and Business
Buying and Selling
Kinyanim, sales, contracts and ownership.
The Shabbos Afternoon Showdown: Raffles, Bungalows, and the Kohen Gadol
It is 5:45 PM on a sticky July Shabbos afternoon in the Catskills. Inside the wood-paneled walls of the main shul, a single window AC unit is fighting a valiant, entirely losing battle against the ninety-degree heat.
A Winning Ticket
Chinese auctions are very popular fundraisers. The first question is why it is called a Chinese auction. Did this type of insanity really begin in China? Doubtful.
Small Talk
Jay Shafer has been living in a house smaller than some people’s closets since 1997. His decision to inhabit just 89 square feet arose from his concerns about the impact a larger house would have on the environment.
Harping on Divided Real Estate
Tavi had a strong passion for musical instruments, and when he saw Pafi’s harp, he was determined to acquire it. He resorted to extreme measures and placed Pafi in a tree, refusing to let him down until he agreed to…
Lashon Hara: “Say It Ain’t So, Joe”
An avid Mets fan used to love to talk about the Mets at every opportunity. Back in 1997, they had a pitcher named Barry Manuel. In his spring training debut for the Mets, Manuel faced three batters and walked them all…
Are Pets Muktzeh?
While the Daf continues plowing through Bava Metzia, many monetary topics are studied. Interestingly enough, someone once asked Rav Yaakov Hagiz (1620-1674) a question about whether a singing bird was muktzeh.
Special Delivery
This article will touch on some issues regarding ordering food items from Amazon that will be delivered on Purim day. Does it qualify as mishloach manos?
Gold Overboard
Yehuda and Tzvi are traveling together on a ship. Unfortunately, they hit turbulent weather and stormy seas. Yehuda is forced to throw his gold bars into the sea to lighten the boat’s load.
Stolen Wedding Food
Boruch: Mazal tov, Shimon! I’m so thrilled that I was able share in your daughter’s wedding! The food, by the way, was fantastic. Shimon: Thank you so much for coming; it means a lot to me!
Of Giving and Receiving
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…
Catch 22
Many attorneys are familiar with the case of Pierson v. Post. It is often the first case studied in law school when property rights are taught.
Is Olam Haba for Sale?
A few years ago, a Jewish individual put his portion of Olam Haba, the World to Come, up for auction on eBay. The bidding started in the morning at 99 cents and had jumped to $100,000 by the afternoon.
Stealing to Save a Life?
Rav Shlomo Halberstam, zt”l, the Bobover Rebbe, was instrumental in saving many lives during the Holocaust. The Bobover Rebbe borrowed whatever money he could to secure visas and travel documents for would-be victims.
Flyover Country
Amidst a discussion about the laws of inheritance, the Gemara in Yevamos (37b) introduces the following scenario: There is a field that is surrounded by other fields.
Shopping Cart Considerations
One Thursday night, I was shopping at a supermarket. That store is open until midnight on Thursday nights, which is perfect for people who wait until the last minute to do their Shabbos shopping.
Is eBay For-Bid-Den?
If you had asked someone 2,000 years ago what “eBay” means, he would have told you “it’s fruit.” Onkelos uses the word “ebay” many times in his translation of Bereishis. Nowadays, eBay is an Internet success story.
Is Olam Habah for Sale?
The story is related that a Jew, who had only five rubles to his name, was in dire need of a large sum of money for his daughter’s upcoming marriage. He went to his Rebbe for advice.
Lots Of Land: Daf 119b in Zevachim
On daf 119b in Zevachim, the Gemara discusses the words “nachalah” and “menuchah” in the verse “For you have not yet come to the resting place (menuchah) or the inheritance (nachalah).” According to one opinion, both…
Chametz for Sale
There is a well-known and widely used technique to free oneself from violating the prohibition of owning chametz on Pesach — selling one’s chametz to a gentile. Famously, the Vilna Gaon was against this practice.
Win Or Lose
It seems to me that it was around 25 years ago that the Chinese-auction phenomenon hit the Jewish world. The first question one must ask is: why is it called a Chinese auction?
Bench-Pressed
Rav Zilberstein, shlita, discusses an interesting halachic question relating to the daf learned this week (Bava Basra 100a). Someone had a half-height brick wall on the front of his property.
Simcha On The Side
“In what will surely go down in history as one the greatest architectural blunders, the town of Benidorm in Alicante, Spain, had almost completed its 47-story skyscraper when it realized it excluded plans for elevator…
Business Or Pleasure?
It is generally assumed that commerce is forbidden on Shabbos and yom tov due to a rabbinic decree. If people would engage in regular buying and selling on yom tov, they might mistakenly write down details of their…
What’s In A Name?
Dathan Ritzenhein (born December 30, 1982 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is an American long-distance runner. He held the American record in the 5,000-meter race (12:56.27) from 2009–10, when it was broken by Bernard Lagat.
The Test Of A Nest
A number of years ago, as Pesach approached, my daughter Sara Hindy noticed that there was a bird sitting on a nest in the tree right outside our front window.
Gemara stories on Buying and Selling
The Netziv and the Man Who Sold His Olam Haba
A man jokingly sells his share in Olam Haba for a ruble and then wants it back; the Netziv rules the sale is void, since the reward for mitzvos cannot be sold.