Responsa Radio

In this episode: 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...

We explore wearable technology as it intersects with Shabbat, Jewish sexual norms in an age of delayed marriage, and the strange 18 minute period before Shabbat begins.

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...