Responsa Radio

After learning about green burials and mushroom death suits, I’m wondering about halakhic implications of such burials. It seems to me that such methods for burial uphold the charge to go up to the dust even better than traditional burial where the body remains intact in a casket or even sometimes in a concrete box for a very long time. Should all Jews switch to a mushroom burial? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org.

Torah should be read slowly. Very slowly. One idea—and maybe even one word—at a time. To experience Torah at its most sensual, most fragrant, is to read it slowly and lovingly.

I was recently at a sporting event where the line to exit the bathroom took close to five minutes. How long following an action or event requiring a berakhah can you still make the berakhah? How does one behave while waiting for the opportunity if you are conscious of the fact that you need to make the berakhah but are temporarily unable and what ultimately severs the connection to the berakhah? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org.

If I spend Passover with family members who don't kasher their kitchens for the holiday can I eat kosher for Passover food from their pots or dishes? Is there room for leniency because they're my family? What if my roommates want to use non-kosher for Passover dishes and products? How can we share the kitchen?

Can I use ingredients like spices, pure dried fruit, oil, or nut butter, without Passover certification on Passover? Are there ingredients you can use without a certification? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org.

It is common in some shuls for the family of the Bnei Mitzvah to say Shehehiyyanu at some point during the Shabbat service. What is the function of Shehehiyyanu in this context? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org.

On a previous episode (Can You Make Seltzer on Shabbat? Responsa Radio #80), you mentioned that there is room to be lenient on the rules of food preparation when welcoming guests on Shabbat. Is that the really the case? If so, what are the limits? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org.

The Shema is one of the most important prayers in Judaism, which is supposed to be recited when we go to sleep and when we wake up. But it's also part of the liturgy for morning and evening prayers. Which is more important? How many times a day should we be saying Shema? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org.

As a veterinary technology student, I'm struggling with ethics of the use of animals in biomedical research. How does the halakhic concept of avoiding pain experienced by living things - tza'ar ba'alei hayyim - inform the treatment of animals in modern research? And is there a Jewish way to mark the death of animal outside of ritual slaughter? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org.

Content warning: this episode discusses suicide. As an oncologist, I am often asked for guidance as patients approach end-of-life. To what extent am I obligated to encourage patients to continue life-prolonging treatment? How much does their quality of life matter? Am I allowed to mention physician-assisted suicide? Does anything if the patient is Jewish? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org.

I recently heard the idea that if the reason behind a rabbinic ruling (gezeirah) becomes irrelevant, because the surrounding factors are no longer applicable, the decree no longer applies. This sounds like it could undermine a lot of halakhah in modern times. What is the definition of this concept how and when can it be applied? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org.

We have an obligation to give tzedekah and care for those in need. At the same time, life is expensive and often requires having savings. Is it wrong to save money when others are suffering?

Can Jews conduct audit studies? These are studies in which researchers send out fictitious job or service applications, a random selection of which have a characteristic that may be discriminated against. Researchers then measure the differences in callback rates. This kind of study is often considered ethical because the scientific gains outweigh the deception and lack of consent, but is that the case in Jewish law? What does halakhah have to say about lying for the sake of research?

Can I make seltzer, using a home soda maker, on Shabbat? How about on Yom Tov? R. Ethan Tucker and R. Avi Killip discuss the religious instincts and halakhic issues at play.

Many people in aveilut (mourning) observe a practice of changing their usual seat in shul. But mourners are also supposed to avoid public demonstrations of mourning on Shabbat. If you are in mourning, and going to shul on Shabbat, should you change your seat?

In my family, after eating meat, we wait 3 hours until we eat dairy. Why 3 hours? And why don't I have to wait after eating dairy?

A 5-year-old named Ya'ara asks - when moshiach comes, and people come back from the dead, how old will everyone be? In this episode of Responsa Radio Kids Edition, R. Ethan Tucker and R. Avi Killip discuss the concept of the resurrection of the dead.

Did the sages have last names? When did people start using last names anyway? In the next episode of Responsa Radio Kids Edition, R. Ethan Tucker and R. Avi Killip answer a question from a 6th grader named Avital.

Can you make Kiddush on frozen grapes if that's all you have? In the first episode of Responsa Radio Kids Edition, a new mini-series produced with a little help from Hadar's Children and Families Division, R. Ethan Tucker and R. Avi Killip answer a scrumptious question from a 5th grader named Ronit.

A few months ago, one of the largest kosher certification agencies announced that it would not certify "Impossible Pork," despite the fact that nothing in the ingredients or preparation of Impossible Pork is not kosher. What determines whether or not a food is kosher, apart from the ingredients?