Halacha Headlines

Do we also receive a Neshamah Yeseirah on Yom Tov? Does it have any effect on our capacity to eat? Is there any medical or scientific basis for the claim that calories are “absorbed” by the Neshamah Yeseirah and therefore don’t count on Shabbos and Yom Tov? What are some practical ways to manage our eating on Pesach while still fully enjoying the Yom Tov? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job with Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen – Dean of Kinyan Hilchos Shabbos, author of 5 seforim – 14:14 with Dr. Diana (Miriam) Isaacs – Endocrine Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Cleveland Clinic – 34:45 with Coach K – licensed social worker in New Jersey and Running Coach – 55:26 with Adam Ezekiel – certified fitness trainer and performance coach – 1:15:08 Conclusions and takeaways – 1:28:15 מראי מקומות Sign-up to jog or walk with Coach K at: https://www.runnergize.com/headlines Sign-up to exercise with Adam Ezekiel at: https://www.soulactive.health/30daychallenge

What makes gambling so alluring, and how widespread is it? To what extent is gambling linked to following professional sports? What strategies are effective in helping someone quit gambling? Should watching professional sports be banned? If a child uses a parent’s credit card to gamble without permission, is that considered stealing? Halachically speaking, is the parent responsible for charges made by the child? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job with Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz – Rav of Bais Haknesses of North Woodmere, Head of Semicha at RIETs – 18:06 with Dr. Jacob Freedman – psychiatrist, speaker and author – 48:02 with Menachem Poznanski, LCSW – Director of The Living Room – 1:04:36 with Ike Dweck – Founder and CEO of the Safe Foundation – 1:35:55 Conclusions and takeaways – 1:59:29 מראי מקומות

Does collateral damage in war have a limit – can you destroy a missile base that will kill many civilians in the town nearby. Can you hit a nuclear reactor that will contaminate millions? Are citizens who support the regime considered combatants? What Issurim can you be Doche because of mental health – using phones on Shabbos, or other electric devices that will calm them down? Does Iran have a Din of an active Rodef if it's only something in the future – they're in middle of making a nuclear bomb that won't be ready for another two years? Is it a Milchemes Mitzvah to start it on Shabbos ? Can you be Mechalel Shabbos for preventive action – such as attacking on Shabbos to preempt an act (Is it תלוי בהותרה או דחויה- smoking while driving a tank)? Do you have to go to a shelter (odds of getting hurt are very small)? Is a tank Chayuv in Mezuza? Can you make it into a Sukkah? Light Chanukah Neiros? Can you listen do the Megillah on zoom? And more.... with Rabbi Binyamin Zimmerman – Rosh Kollel of World Musmachim Semicha Kollel, Senior Educator at the Zomet Institute of Halacha and Technology, Captain (Res.) IDF Rabbinate – 19:17 with Rabbi Elyada Goldvicht – Rov in Ranana, Founder and heaod of Semichas Chaver – 53:04 מראי מקומות

Can a family member who is less qualified be hired before a more qualified candidate? Must admissions be based on merit? When is nepotism allowed? Can the Menahel/Principal keep any donations (bribes?) made to him personally? What if they are non-monetary, like expensive liquor, a new megillah, etc. Can the son of the Menahel sell access to his father? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job with Rabbi Eliezer Breitowitz – Rosh Yeshiva, Yeshiva Darchei Torah in Toronto – 15:48 with Mr. Chaim Book – Senior Partner at Book Law LLP in New York – 48:30 with Benjamin A. Goldburd – Partner at Goldburd McCone LLP – 48:30 with Rabbi Jonathan (Yoni) Schick – president of GOAL Consulting Group – 1:15:20 Conclusions and takeaways – 1:33:54 מראי מקומות

Is failure to disclose a significant personality disorder considered a mekach ta’us in marriage? Are there halachos guiding how to treat one’s spouse during divorce, especially in high-conflict cases? When is it appropriate to turn to secular courts during divorce proceedings – for example, to obtain a restraining order against a spouse? Can refusal to go to the mikveh be considered a halachic violation when used as a tool in marital conflict? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job With Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Lowy – Rav of the Agudah of Toronto – 11:00 with Rabbi Yoni Rosensweig – Rav, Posek and author – 43:59 with Dr. Shmuel Harris – psychiatrist, author and founder and director of Machon Dvir Institute, Yerushalayim – 1:15:14 with Dr. Jacob Freedman – psychiatrist, speaker and author – 1:15:14 with Mark Schreck – New York divorce and family law attorney – 1:43:56 Conclusions and takeaways – 2:09:06 מראי מקומות

What’s the best path for serving Hashem in our generation? Does it have to be one or the other? Can it be a combination? Host: Rabbi Efrem Goldberg – Rov of Boca Raton Synagogue with Rabbi Daniel Glatstein – Rov of Kehilas Tiferes Mordechai Cedarhurst NY, Renowned lecturer and author – 8:26 with Rabbi Yaakov Danishefsky – Rov Avodas HaLev in Chicago – Mechaber Seforim, LCSW – 28:28 מראי מקומות

Can a woman receive semicha and give halachic guidance? Does the historical precedent against it prohibit change? Does is violate our Mesorah? Is the Israeli Supreme Court’s push for women’s Rabbanut Semicha a religious goal or part of a broader feminist push? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job with Rabbi Yonah Reiss – Av Beis Din of the CRC – 11:17 with Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer, Esq. – kashrus professional and Chairman of the Rabbinic Circle at Coalition for Jewish Values – 39:53 with Rebbitzen Miriam Kosman – lecturer for Nefesh Yehudi, Author of "Circle, Arrow, Spiral: Exploring Gender in Judaism" – 54:33 with Mrs. Michal Horowitz – lecturer and teacher, author of “Abled: Living with a Disability, a Torah View” – 1:16:24 Conclusions and takeaways – 1:29:55 מראי מקומות

How does coming to Israel for yeshiva and seminary affect a student’s mental health? When do difficult emotional feelings cross the line from normal struggles to something that should be addressed? Should a student who believes another is emotionally unstable report that behavior to the school administration? What are the key similarities and differences in how boys and girls experience stress, anxiety, depression, or other emotional pressures? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job with Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz – Posek, Rosh Yeshiva & Rav, Givat Ze’ev, Israel – 8:50 with Dr. Jacob Freedman – psychiatrist, speaker and author – 29:43 with Dr. Shmuel Harris – psychiatrist, author and founder and director of Machon Dvir Institute, Yerushalayim – 29:43 with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox – Dayan, forensic and clinical psychologist, Director of Crisis and Trauma Services for Chai Lifeline – 1:02:35 with Mrs. Debbie Fox – clinical social worker and author of Seminary Savvy – 1:02:35 Conclusions and takeaways – 1:40:40 מראי מקומות

Do you need a human mind for Psak? Do you need Shimush? Do you need human emotion for Psak? Can a computer be called שופט שבימיך? And much more…… Why would there be a Kol Korah against AI? with Rabbi Dovid Cohen – Rov of Gvul Yaavetz – 6:27 with Rabbi Hershel Schachter – Rosh Yeshivah of YU, Poseik of the OU – 8:07 with Rabbi Yoni Levin – Rosh Yeshiva of South Florida, Assistant Rov of Aish Kodesh, Woodmere NY – 11:04 with Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky – Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivah of Greater Washington Tiferes Gedaliyahu – 21:11 with Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt – Associate Rabbi of Young Israel of Woodmere – 47:39 with Rabbi Chezki Glatt – Magid Shiur Yehivah Toras Shraga, Founder of AI startup – 47:39 מראי מקומות

What practical strategies can help us reduce phone usage and establish healthy boundaries? Does someone need to stop usage fully or can partial solutions be effective? What behaviors can we change in as little as thirty days? Does it last? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job with Rabbi Elyada Goldvicht – Rav of KLR in Raanana, Rosh Yeshiva of Semichas Chaver – 8:04 with Rabbi Duvi Rubin – Rav of Kehillas Ohr Yisrael, Baltimore – 8:04 with Mr. Richard Simon – author of Unplug: How to Break Up with Your Phone and Reclaim Your Life – 35:19 Conclusions and Takeaways – 56:52 To sign up for the Headlines “30-day Phone Challenge”: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EAGHMhEm2mQ4ilA7FTNXby To donate for Rav Zev Leff’s Haggada Set - https://pay.banquest.com/mchonkisveiravzevleff; for donations in Israel https://nedar.im/BGEu; for more information contact Shimon Leff at [email protected]

Can a cellphone be used in shul for non-tefillah purposes? Does mindless scrolling on a phone constitute an issur of bitul zman? Is it preferable to daven from a physical siddur rather than from a phone? How do our phones affect our relationships with our spouse, children, and friends? What practical strategies can help us reduce usage and establish healthy boundaries? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job with Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz – Rav of Bais Haknesses of North Woodmere, Head of Semicha at RIETs – 9:39 with Rabbi Efrem Goldberg – Rav of Boca Raton Synagogue, Founder of the Yeshivah of South Florida – 9:39 with Mr. Noach Levin – digital media expert and former contractor for Google – 54:46 Conclusions and takeaways – 1:18:35 מראי מקומות

Is it possible to determine that an abuser is no longer a risk? What’s the success rate of treating serious abusers? Why do community leaders sometimes advocate for the early release of an abuser? How does halacha view cases where a Jewish prisoner receives a disproportionate sentence? Should the community celebrate someone’s release from prison? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job with Dr. Gavriel Fagin – Director of Tikunim Counseling Services – 14:49 with Rabbi Yonah Reiss – Av Beis Din of the CRC – 50:20 with Rabbi Chaim Aryeh Zev Ginzberg – Rav of the Chofetz Chaim Torah Center, Cedarhurst NY – 1:17:47 with Mrs. Nicole Meyer – advocate against abuse – 1:50:14 Conclusions and takeaways – 2:09:07 מראי מקומות

Why are they asking? Is it legal? May you lie? How’s it affecting High School girls? with Rabbi Zecharya Greenwald – Dean of Me’ohr Bais Yaakov Seminary – 13:17 with Mindy Blumenfeld – Renowned Therapist, lecturer and author – 35:36 with Dayan Yitzchok Grossman – Renowned Dayan of Bais Havaad and Poseik, Rosh Kollel in Silver Springs – 54:17 with Yair Bruck – Renowned Attorney – 1:15:16 מראי מקומות

Why do married women cover their hair? Is a tichel preferable to a sheitel? Why do some women shave their heads after marriage? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job with Rabbi Michoel Frank – Mora D'Asra of Kehilas Ohr HaTorah, Silver Spring, MD – 10:36 with Rabbi Dovid Genish – Rav of Kehillat Meam Loez, Ramat Beit Shemesh – 10:36 with Rabbi Tzvi Ortner – Rav of Linas Hatzedek in Boro Park, Director of Halacha and Technology for the OU – 59:43 Summary of the Above Poskim – 1:25:36 with Rebbetzin Shalvie Friedman – senior educator and seminary teacher – 1:29:57 מראי מקומות

What draws men to these gatherings? How do they impact the home — especially when alcohol is involved? What is the halachic basis for tasting food before Shabbos? What are the halachic concerns with entering Shabbos intoxicated or eating too close to Shabbos? What should an ideal Erev Shabbos look like? Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job with Rabbi Chaim Aryeh Zev Ginzberg – Rav of the Chofetz Chaim Torah Center, Cedarhurst NY – 13:11 with Rabbi Isaac Rice – Mora De’asra of Congregation Anshei Chesed, Hewlitt NY – 34:36 with Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser – Rav of Khal Bais Yitzchok, Flatbush NY – 1:05:41 with Mrs. Elisheva Liss – Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, lecturer, and author – 1:22:52 Conclusions and takeaways – 1:42:55 מראי מקומות