Lemaan Yishmeu - Rabbi Braun - Details, episodes & analysis

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Lemaan Yishmeu - Rabbi Braun

Lemaan Yilmedu

Religion & Spirituality

Frequency: 1 episode/13d. Total Eps: 23

A weekly halacha podcast from the Lemaan Yilmedu Institute, featuring Rabbi Yosef Y. Braun, Mara D’asra of Crown Heights, who shares fascinating, real-life halachic questions that reach his desk—together with the clear rulings he gave in each case.

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Can You Take a Cold Shower in the Mikvah on Shabbos?

Episode 23

Wednesday, November 4, 2026 • Duration 31:58

In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:

Dips and salads on the table before Kiddush

Should the dips, salads, and other foods be on the Shabbos table before Kiddush, or brought only after it?
If they are on the table before Kiddush, must they be covered like the challah?
Does the reason given by the She’iltos, that the meal should be brought in honor of Shabbos, apply to all the food or only to the bread?
What can be learned from the Seder night, when the kaarah is set up before Kiddush with only the matzos covered?

Talking during sheva brachos at a wedding

At a wedding, may one talk between bentching and the end of the sheva brachos?
Is sheva brachos an obligation on each individual present, or only on the group as a whole?
May guests leave the wedding meal before sheva brachos, whether or not they make their own zimun?
No one is supposed to talk from when the one leading bentching picks up the kos until he says hagafen. Does that rule cover the sheva brachos too?

How long a bracha on food lasts

At what point does a bracha on food expire, so that more food needs a new bracha rishona and it’s too late for a bracha acharona?
After eating only a small amount, must the bracha acharona be said immediately, or is there a window of a few minutes?
What should one do if unsure whether the original bracha has expired?
Is it true that one generally has 72 minutes to say a bracha acharona?

Accompanying a widowed mother to a wedding during the year of aveilus

May a woman in the year of aveilus for her father go to a wedding because her widowed mother wants her to drive her and sit with her?
Which comes first: kibbud em for the living mother, or kibbud av for the father who passed away?
Is this like a parent asking a child to violate halacha, where there is no obligation of kibbud av va’em?
Since the child is there to help the mother, are they like a waiter working at the simcha?

Measuring the place of the tefillin shel yad on a bar mitzvah boy

On a bar mitzvah boy, should the spot for the tefillin shel yad be measured with his arm stretched out or bent?
Since Chabad tefillin are large, should smaller bar mitzvah boys get smaller batim so they fit in the right place?
Must the entire tefillin sit within that spot, or may the ma’avarta extend beyond it?

Showering in the mikvah on Shabbos and Yom Tov

May one take a cold shower in the mikvah on Shabbos or Yom Tov?
How can a “cold” shower still involve bishul or other melachos, given how water tanks, single-lever mixers, and tankless heaters work?
Where does the minhag not to bathe even in cold water on Shabbos come from, and how binding is it?
Is there room to be lenient for someone in great discomfort (tza’ar gadol), and does it matter if the shower is private or public?

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Too Tired to Daven Maariv – Can You Make It Up?

Episode 22

Monday, October 26, 2026 • Duration 33:27

In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:

A tefillin shel yad cover that won’t come off

If the cover on the tefillin shel yad is so tight it can barely be removed, are the tefillin still kosher?
Is there a problem of bayis she’eino ro’eh es ha’avir, chatzitzah, or bal tosif, or does the cover take away from the tefillin being square?
Should the cover be removed before making the bracha, and does this apply to contemporary covers that have openings?
Did the Rebbe and the Frierdiker Rebbe use a cover on their tefillin?

Shabbos candles for a widower

When a widower, lo aleinu, starts lighting Shabbos candles, should he light two, or keep to the number his wife lit?
Where does the minhag of a candle for each child come from, and do its reasons apply to a man as well?
Does he keep up an extra candle his wife added as a knas for missing a week, or one she took on for some other reason?
Since a wife lights as her husband’s shliach, does that bind him to her number, for instance when she is away from home?

Lighting Shabbos candles where you won’t eat or sleep

If someone is stuck on the way to 770 right before Shabbos, or is helping out at a CTeen program, can they light candles where they won’t be eating or sleeping?
If someone eats out on Friday night, should they light where they eat or where they sleep, and does electric lighting make a difference?
Can we learn from the halacha that a woman may light in the women’s shul in certain circumstances?
What does the halacha of a blind person lighting Shabbos candles tell us about lighting where others benefit from the light?

Tashlumin after going back to sleep without Maariv

If someone woke up at night, remembered he hadn’t Maariv, and went back to sleep because he was too tired, may he make it up with an extra at Shacharis?

Is Your Mezonos Wrap Really Mezonos?

Episode 21

Monday, October 19, 2026 • Duration 30:30

In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:

Hakafos on Simchas Torah without a minyan

May hakafos on Simchas Torah be done b’yechidus, for example by a shliach who has no minyan, or is a minyan required?
Is there a prohibition to take out a Sefer Torah for fewer than ten, as the Maharil writes regarding Hoshaanos?
How do Simchas Torah hakafos differ from Hoshaanos, which the Maharil says an individual should say without circling the bimah?
Is each individual obligated to get his own hakafa, or is it enough to be present while others go around?

V’sein tal umatar for travelers

When someone travels between Eretz Yisroel and chutz la’aretz before v’sein tal umatar begins at home, do they follow the practice of their home or of the place they are in?
Does it make a difference whether they plan to return, are traveling with their family, or how long they are staying?
If someone began asking for rain in Eretz Yisroel and then came to chutz la’aretz, do they stop, and does it matter if they are returning to their original home?
Can the whole shaila be avoided by asking for rain in Shomea Tefilah, as some suggest?

Double head coverings for davening and brachos

Is a second head covering for davening, bentching, brachos, or any mention of Hashem’s name an obligation or a minhag, and what is its source?
Does a large or two-layered yarmulke count as a double covering?
May one place his bare hand on top of his yarmulke as the second covering when making a bracha, and what about for davening and bentching?

How Do I Toivel a Keurig?

Episode 20

Sunday, August 23, 2026 • Duration 35:08

In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:

Public birthday parties and ayin hora

Is there a concern of ayin hora in making large public gatherings for a seventieth or eightieth birthday?
Since the Korban Todah was brought with forty challos specifically so that a crowd would be invited, is publicizing Hashem’s kindness in fact the entire point of a seudas hoda’ah?
Does such a seuda carry its own protection, since the kiddush shem shamayim offsets the merits that are otherwise deducted when a miracle is done for a person?
What could we learn from the Rebbe’s conduct in this regard?

Tevilas keilim for electric appliances

Must electric appliances be toiveled even when the label warns that immersion will ruin them, and what practical steps make it workable?
If the appliance would be ruined or the water cannot reach inside, is one exempt because a mitzvah one cannot perform does not apply, or must one simply not use the utensil?
Having a Jewish professional reassemble it renders it Jewish-made. What about an amateur doing so?
How much weight do the various arguments for leniency carry (mechubar lekarka, plugging it in as “finishing” it, beis hastarim, not being a kli seudah, and merely being the non-Jew’s “store merchandise”), given that tevilas keilim is deoraysa?

Tevilah for a Keurig machine

Is a Keurig different from other electric appliances, being a pump rather than a kli, and one that will certainly be ruined by immersion?
If it’s not merely a matter of damage but genuinely impossible for the water to reach the area requiring immersion, could it be that the chiyuv of tevilah never applied at all?
May one rely on giving it as a gift to a non-Jew and borrowing it back, even though it will stay in the Jew’s hands indefinitely?

May I Use a Lemon Squeezer on Shabbos?

Episode 19

Sunday, August 9, 2026 • Duration 34:35

In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:

Greeting others before davening

What are the parameters of the halacha against greeting someone in the morning before davening, and how does going to a friend’s house differ from meeting him in shul or on the street?
Since “good morning” is now a standard greeting, does it still count as a valid shinui from saying “Shalom”?
Is calling someone on the phone comparable to going to his house, and does it matter whether the call is specifically to say hello or for another purpose?
How do the Zohar’s stringency on one hand, and the mitzvah of hevei makdim l’shlom kol adam and kevod habriyos on the other, shape the practical approach?

“Words of inspiration” at a levaya on Chol Hamoed

On days when hespedim are prohibited (e.g., Chol Hamoed, Rosh Chodesh), is saying divrei hisorerus a legitimate alternative, or merely renaming a hesped?
If one may not even leave the coffin standing in the street lest people come to eulogize, would that apply also to speeches inside a shul or chapel?
Is praising the niftar itself the problem on these days, or is anything said for kavod hameis permitted?
What other factors can be relied on when using the opportunity to inspire those gathered to Torah and mitzvos?

Rashba’s view on bracha covering a more chashuv food

According to the Rashba, who holds that a bracha on a less important food doesn’t cover a more chashuv one, is it enough to know you will eat the other food, or must you specifically intend to exempt it with your bracha (kavana liftor)?
When a guest’s bracha covers whatever their host will serve later, does that apply even to more chashuv foods served by the host, since the guest never specifically intended to exempt them with his original ?

Miscarriage: when does the neshama enter?

Episode 18

Sunday, July 26, 2026 • Duration 35:22

E-scooter safety for children

May parents allow young children to ride e-scooters and e-bikes, given the serious injuries these vehicles can cause?

Are parents halachically liable for damage caused by a child riding an e-scooter, and which factors may determine their responsibility?
Does dina d’malchusa dina obligate us to keep traffic and safety laws, such as the ban on riding e-scooters on the sidewalk?

Miscarriage: when does the neshama enter?

After a missed miscarriage, was there a neshama that came into this world and will merit olam haba?
At what stage can a child’s neshama enter olam haba: from when the seed is implanted, from the bris, or from when he first answers amen?
How do the rulings of the Rama and the Alter Rebbe (regarding children answering amen and washing negel vasser) relate to the opinions in the Gemara?
How does the Rebbe reconcile the various opinions, and connect it to the halacha that we are mechalel Shabbos to save a fetus?

Ignoring someone and onaas devarim

Does deliberately ignoring someone in order to hurt or humiliate them violate the issur of onaas devarim, which literally refers to hurtful words?
Is onaas devarim limited to speech, or does it include actions (such as eyeing merchandise you cannot afford) and even inaction?

Sternos and shehiya on Shabbos

Does food placed before Shabbos on a sterno require a blech covering the flame?
Is a sterno comparable to a Shabbos hot plate with no adjustable setting (as the questioner’s AI suggested), which most poskim permit without a covering, or is that comparison incorrect?
Does the concern of shema yechateh b’gechalim apply where there are no actual coals, such as with liquid or gel fuel, or where one can only turn a knob higher or add fuel?

Will the Third Beis Hamikdash Have Wi-Fi and Elevators?

Episode 17

Sunday, July 19, 2026 • Duration 34:12

In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:

Modern technology in the third Beis Hamikdash

Will the third Beis Hamikdash include modern inventions, such as central air conditioning, heating, Wi-Fi, electric lights, sound systems, and elevators?
Does the rule of hakol bichsav forbid any additions or changes, and does it apply to the entire Har Habayis, even underground?
Is there room to permit additions that are not for the avodah itself, items that are detached from the structure, or features built in from the very start of construction?
Why did some shuls in the past not allow heating systems?

Rubbing the hands during netilas yadayim

Is the practice recorded in Hayom Yom, rubbing the hands together with the extra water of the final pour, limited to washing for bread, or does it extend to washing for davening and other washings?
Is the rubbing meant to satisfy the opinion that washing extends beyond the fingers, or is it purely for added tahara and cleanliness (“erchatz b’nikayon kapai”)?
Should one also rub the hands when washing in the morning, as indicated in numerous Kisvei Arizal?
Does the practice apply when washing merely for cleanliness or because of ruach raah (e.g., after leaving the bathroom)?

Wrapped challos on top of the cholent pot

May one place dry challos wrapped in aluminum foil on top of a cholent crockpot on Shabbos to warm them?
Does the wrapping constitute hatmanah (insulation), and does it depend on whether the purpose is to retain heat or only to keep the challos from drying out?
Does the leniency of covering food to protect it (e.g., from mice) apply even when the covering is heated by the fire below and adds heat?

Ladling from and covering pots on Shabbos

Is ladling food out of a pot on the fire a form of meigis (stirring), and must the pot first be removed from the flame even when the food is fully cooked?

Did Italy Exist in Moshe’s Time?

Episode 16

Sunday, July 12, 2026 • Duration 30:26

Spelling “Tverya” with an alef or hei

In a kesubah or get, should the city name Tverya be spelled with an alef, as found throughout Shas, or with a hei, as in modern Hebrew?
If the city is named after the Roman emperor Tiberius, how could the Gemara say it is called Tverya because of “tovah re’iyasah” (its good vision) or because it sits at the “tabur” (belly) of Eretz Yisrael?
How does this compare to the term “Sanhedrin,” a Greek word, being commonly usedin Chazal instead of the Torah terms shoftim or dayanim?

Calabrian esrogim in Moshe Rabbeinu’s time

Why is there a Chabad tradition to use esrogim specifically from Calabria, Italy?
If the Gemara says Italy came into existence only when Shlomo HaMelech married the daughter of Pharaoh, how could shluchim have brought esrogim from Calabria in the times of Moshe Rabbeinu?
Which sources indicate that Italy existed already at Matan Torah, and how is the contradiction resolved?
What about the bracha of “oseh ma’aseh bereishis” on Italian mountains, or the date for reading the Megillah in a walled Italian city?

Makeup on Shabbos during shiva

May a woman sitting shiva put on makeup for Shabbos if she does so every single Shabbos, given that its absence would be noticeable aveilus b’farhesya (public mourning)?
Is refraining from a routine practice itself considered public mourning, comparable to not wearing shoes or not eating meat when Tisha B’Av falls on Shabbos?
Does it matter that the makeup would need to be applied before Shabbos, while the shiva restrictions are still fully in force?
What about cutting overgrown hair or shaving (a discussion onto itself) during shiva, when their absence would be noticeable on Shabbos?

Sending a Shabbos Goy to prevent a Kashrus mishap

Episode 15

Sunday, July 5, 2026 • Duration 33:13

In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:

Kiddushin ring alternatives:

• When the chassan’s ring is lost, is it preferable to use a borrowed ring or a coin?

• May a paper bill or contemporary coin, which have no intrinsic value, be used for kiddushin the way a valuable coin could?

• What are the halachic advantages of using a ring specifically?

• Is it an option to use both a coin and a borrowed ring together, or would that backfire?

Sending a Shabbos Goy to prevent a kashrus mishap

• May one ask a non-Jew to drive on Shabbos to warn people about milchig dessert at a sheva brachos?

• Can a non-Jew be asked to do a melacha d’oraisa for a mitzvah need?

• Does “michshol derabim” justify asking a non-Jew to do melacha?

• What is actually the true nature of the michshol in the case of an unknown milchig dessert or torn eruv?

• Does the possibility that one of the participants might be dangerously allergic to dairy create a pikuach nefesh justification?

Making up tachanun and v’hu rachum

• If tachanun and v’hu rachum were skipped by mistake, e.g., in the mistaken belief that a bris would follow, must they be made up later, such as at mincha?

• Does the Alter Rebbe’s ruling that one who was genuinely exempt (as in a mourner’s home) need not make them up apply equally when the omission was simply an error?

• Does the status of being a direct continuation to Shemoneh Esrei depend on the , whether is recited before or after ?

Can ChatGPT Pasken Halacha?

Episode 14

Monday, June 15, 2026 • Duration 33:50

In this week’s episode, the topics discussed by Rabbi Braun include:

Challah knives

Is there a preference to use a smooth knife over a serrated one for cutting challah on Shabbos?
Does a serrated knife create a halachic concern because it has “pegimos”?
What are the reasons for sharpening knives before Shabbos? And does it apply to serrated knives?

AI and psak:

Is it halachically proper to rely on AI for halachic rulings? Does a posek need to be human?
Theoretically, if and when an AI were perfectly accurate, would that change the halachic status of using it for answering shailos?
What are the dangers involved in asking halachic questions to AI?

Bracha on tzitzis:

When is a bracha on tallis katan appropriate, and when should the tallis gadol cover it?
Is wearing “night tzitzis” a good idea or does it become a kesus lailah (a garment designated for sleeping)?
What is the best way to arrange the rotation of tzitzis to be able to make the bracha every morning?
Is the interruption of a night’s sleep sufficient to require a new bracha in the morning?

Birchas kohanim at a chuppah:

Is a kohen obligated to go up for birchas kohanim when called independent of davening (e.g. at a chuppah)?
Why do non-kohanim use the nusach of birchas kohanim when blessing children?

Lemaan Yishmeu - Rabbi Braun - Details, episodes & analysis

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Lemaan Yishmeu - Rabbi Braun - Details, episodes & analysis

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