[By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for the Five Towns Jewish Times] In honor of the wedding of the author’s daughter this evening, please find below some Psakim from rav Elyashiv zt”l regarding weddings.  Unless otherwise noted, these p’sakim were heard from Rav Elyashiv zt”l by either Rav Lipa Israelson or one of his brothers. THE WEDDING […]

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com The world is about to enter a new era that we can call, “ASAT Wars.”  It is an era that military think-tanks knew we would eventually get to, but who knew that it would come upon us so fast?  [ASAT, by the way, stands for anti-satellite technology – a […]

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com So what are the top seven things to know about Shabbos Nachamu? #1. Firstly, being joyous and celebrating Shabbos Nachamu is a custom with deep historical roots.  The Maharil (1365 – 1427)  in his Minhagim (27) explains that the entire nation should rejoice on this special Shabbos.  He further […]

Reviewed by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com This author predicts that this sefer will sell out immediately as soon as it arrives in the United States.   Rav Dovid Feinstein zatzal (1929-2020) was the leading Posaik in the United States since his father Rav Moshe zt”l (1895-1986) passed away.  Rav Moshe zatzal answered thousands of halachic […]

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com It is called, “B’Ikvei HaGalus”, and its over 700 pages makes it, in all probability, the most comprehensive Torah work on the Churban and subsequent galus  – ever printed. Written by Rabbi Yaakov Beer an Avreich in BMG and a grandson of Rav Mordechai Gifter zt”l, the sefer is structured […]

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com The Gemorah in Yevamos 79a that we were just mesayem tells us that Dovid HaMelech said, There are three simanim of this ummah, Klal Yisroel. They are  baalei rachamim – merciful, they are baishanim (bashful – hm.. is there a word connection here?), and they perform acts of chessed. […]

by Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com Sunday, the 18th of Tammuz is when we observe the 17th of Tammuz Fast Day!   Let’s get some background. But first, some crucial times: In New York City, the fast begins at  dawn – 3:55 AM if calculating by degrees or at 4:26 AM if calculating by fixed minutes […]

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com In the early 1900’s, Judaic studies professors applied mathematical models to estimate the devastating impact of the Roman Catholic Church upon a specific subset of our holy texts.  Namely, the impact was upon the Midrashim. They determined that 90% of the Midrashim that we had in Europe, sadly, are […]

By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5TJT.com Picture a non-observant young man with his entire life ahead of him.  Nachal lives in Teverya with his father, mother and two brothers.  He engages in water activities and has a girlfriend. Nachal discovers, however, that his girlfriend is not Jewish.  It bothers him slightly, but not that much. […]

The Window Opened or Closed Debate By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com H.M. versus A.M.  These are the initials of two young women. They have been arguing since they were in the third grade.   They are now in high school.  HM wanted the window opened – even though it was winter. AM wanted the window […]