I grew up in a very religious Catholic family and attended Catholic schools through college. Through my upbringing, I accumulated a number of rosaries, bibles, and other accoutrements. When I started converting, I took all these things and put them in a box. My family is no longer religious whatsoever and also has no use for them. I didn't want to throw all these things away because this felt disrespectful, but I I feel uncomfortable still owning all of them. Is there a proper way to dispose of the items?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Music featured in this episode: Finer Things In Life by The Texas Gypsies 

A close friend is getting married in a church and I'm very conflicted about what to do. I have always avoided entering churches as I was taught that this was forbidden. But I feel terrible skipping my friend's wedding. What are the relevant halakhic considerations and sources?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Music featured in this episode: Wedding March (Mendelssohn) by Cyrus Farrah

I like to go out the night after Passover to grab a cool beer in celebration of eating hametz (leaven) again. Do I need to worry if the owner of that bar is a Jew that didn't remove his hametz for the holiday?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Is it allowed? Is it appropriate?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Is this prohibition meaningful? Is it even prohibited?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Does the Jewish legal discussion have a distinct take on car morality?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

When can you say, "It's just business?"

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

This episdoe first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Is it about risk, or just distance travelled?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

How do the laws of teshuvah work in the real world?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

And if yes, how does that work?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

And what if they want to donate their body to science?

This episode appeared first on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

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.

Does the source of the money matter? What if the donor's lifestyle conflicts with your morals?

This episode appeared first on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Can you say Hallel at night if your minyan doesn't meet during the day?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

When is it ethical OK to take without asking?

The post Responsa Radio: Can I “Borrow” Office Supplies? appeared first on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

And do I need to respect my community's custom?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Because learning is so important to Judaism, there is the idea that we should distance ourselves when we're learning from gross things. So... does that mean we can listen to learning podcasts (like this one) while we're at the gym?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Also: Can I "write off" any expenses for tzedakah purposes?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

People convert to Judaism for all sorts of reasons, but one of the more common ones is for the sake of marriage. How should we think about converts like this? Is this a true or ulterior motive?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Can chronic pain prevent you from leading prayers?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

If not, why not?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Is mountain climbing kosher? How about cigarettes?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

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? 

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

French Press? Automatic? What can I use?

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

When should my kid start keeping kosher? Also: bar/bat mitzvah is more complicated than you think.

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Do forbidden acts become OK if you do them weirdly enough? An explanation for some odd behavior you might have seen.

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

This episode first appeared on Jewish Public Media.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

What is the halakhic weight of shalom bayit and to what extent is it permissible to do something forbidden for the sake of preserving one’s marriage? For example, I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine during the week, mostly because it prevents me from snoring and disturbing my spouse’s sleep. My spouse wants me to use it on Shabbat too, since we have young children and sleep is a precious commodity in our home. Should I acquiesce and use the CPAP machine on Shabbat for the sake of shalom bayit?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Music featured in this episode:  Breathe Easy by Tai Shan.

I have only ever been to seders where karpas is a simple piece of parsley dipped in saltwater, but there seems to be a growing trend of people doing much more elaborate karpas courses, often with multiple, full-blown appetizer dishes. Is this halakhically permissible?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Music featured in this episode: Salty by Robbi Atkins https://soundcloud.com/robbi-atkins/salty-v3

I am a teenager who is becoming more observant. My parents are less then thrilled. For example, I would like to be observe Shabbat and not use my phone, but this sometimes creates difficulties as they will call or text me things during Shabbat. How can I balance my observance with honoring my parents?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Music featured in this episode: Mom and the Radio by Bill Harley.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=q20XpkwGSUO9DD-w&v=yqeKu23CJ2E&feature=youtu.be

As a gabbai, I am often reluctant to correct the person reading Torah so as not to add to their anxiety. I am wondering if we are entering a moment where technology might be helpful, such as writing the vowels and trope onto the Torah itself, or, less radically, making a see-through overlay. Would any of those options be acceptable to make reading Torah more accessible to all?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Music featured in this episode: Help You Stand by Justin James. https://youtu.be/ICnzG6Qfibo?si=3n9K_3FRlNGQnBVD

Can I read my horoscope? Does it matter whether I’m reading it “just for fun” or if I’m really trying to predict the future? Are horoscopes more forbidden for us than they were for medieval rabbis, who probably considered astrology a legitimate science?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Music featured in this episode: All The Stars Have Aligned by The Morning Glass

In the mishnah we see the idea of a person who would translate the Torah into Aramaic after each verse is chanted from the Torah scroll. Would it be appropriate to have something like this now in order to enhance the understanding of the community?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

What is the history and reasoning behind the mechitzah? Why do they vary so much in size and material? In a setting where this is a mechitzah, can a man walk over to the women’s side to carry a Torah?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

It's my first time blowing the shofar for my community this year. What tips can you share and what considerations should I be thinking about as I prepare?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Music featured in this episode: Girl Can Wail by Chloe Dolandis

As a person who is disabled, how am I supposed to relate to a system of mitzvot that often assumes its audience is able-bodied? For example, the morning blessings include the line thanking God for "opening the eyes of the blind"—but what if I am blind? Am I supposed to say this blessing?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

I am a kohen who lives in Israel where I make the priestly blessing every day. After October 7th, I was recruited to my town’s First Response Team and am now required to carry my gun at all times, including the synagogue. Is it prohibited to make the blessing of Birkat Kohanim, which is essentially a blessing about peace, while carrying a weapon?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

There is a principle that says that milk from a deathly sick animal is not kosher. But in today's modern dairy industry it may be reasonable to assume that most if not all cows fall into this category. Can we justify consuming factory milk? If so, how? This episode was recorded live at Hadar's 2024 Halakhah Intensive.

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

I was at a meal at a non-Jewish colleague's home. We agreed to order food from a kosher restaurant but one of the dishes looks homemade. I don't want to be rude. Can I eat it? How can the framework of "sfeik sfeika," having two axes of doubt, help us make decisions when we don't have all of the information? This episode was recorded live at Hadar's 2024 Halakhah Intensive. 

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

My community has a retreat over Yom Tov where almost everyone spends a lot of time at the pool. I grew up in a community that never swam on Shabbat or Yom Tov and now I'm trying to navigate a community where everyone does it. What should I do?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

While almost all Jewish communities celebrate a boy's Bar Mitzvah at 13, many communities are split for girls—some 12, some 13. Why should girls be required to do mitzvot before boys? What does this age split accomplish? And is it still relevant in egalitarian Jewish communities?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

You're not supposed to pray somewhere unclean, like a bathroom. But if I'm in the bathroom and can hear the prayers nearby, am I allowed to say "amen"?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

With any new industry, there are important questions to address from legal and religious perspectives. Responsa Radio creator David Zvi Kalman comes back to ask this question about generative AI for his new podcast, Belief in the Future. Given the way the new large language models trawl the internet for content, is it permitted to use them or does it count as theft?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

There's a stereotype that I've seen on the internet recently that Jews don't care about non-Jewish life. How am I supposed to respond when somebody uses this argument? What do Jewish sources say about the imperative of saving the lives of non-Jews?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

I've often heard the phrase "all of Israel are responsible for each other" (kol yisrael areivim zeh be-zeh). But what does this mean? What does the responsibility entail? How is it supposed to change my actions toward other Jews?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

I grew up fasting on Yom Kippur, and usually on Tisha B’Av also, but I never even knew about the minor fast days. Now I am in a community that does observe them, and I am curious about their importance. Is my obligation to fast on these days the same as on Yom Kippur? Why is there so much variety in how they are observed by people who are otherwise observant?

Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at responsa@hadar.org

Music featured in this episode: A Hymn For Tomorrow By Anjou

You asked and we answered! A new season of Responsa Radio begins next week. We're going to dig in to topics like artificial intelligence, the value of human life, and our responsibilities toward fellow Jews, just to name a few.

Have a halakhic question you want answered on Responsa Radio? Send your question to  responsa@hadar.org.