Category Archives: Halacha
Fundamentals of Mesirah
By: Rav Yitzchak Grossman Posted with permission of the Journal of Talmudic Law & Finance and the Bais HaVaad Institute of Talmudic Law “And Moshe was afraid” – in addition to the Peshat that he feared the temporal consequences of the discovery of his vigilante execution of the Egyptian, Rashi cites a Medrash that what […]
Consequences of failing to consider halacha when planning an estate
What are the halachic results of neglecting to plan an estate according to halacha? Teshurat Shai (R. Solomon Leib Tabak, Hungary, 1832-1908), chapter 159 (cited by Pitchei Choshen, Hilchot Yerushah, Chapter 1, fn 4), addressed the following situation. A man died survived by a son and four daughters. Pursuant to local law, the decedent’s estate was divided […]
What is the Torah’s Economy? (Election Day Post)
Today’s election is widely seen as a referendum on the Democrat controlled Congress and first two years of Obama’s presidency, and specifically, the Democrats’ handling of the economy and the legislative agenda they pursued. The theoretical question for this blog today, and a theme I hope to return to in the future: What is the […]
Interfering with business relationships
Rabbi Max Sutton’s recent column in Community discusses the halachot of interfering with another person’s contract or business relationship. Rabbi Sutton uses hypotheticals to highlight the following questions: May one negotiate with a licensor for exclusive rights to a license currently held by a competitor? May a salesman who leaves an employer for a competitor […]
Obligations of a guarantor in halacha
Rabbi Max Sutton, Rosh Bet Din Aram Soba in Jerusalem, published an article in the May 2010 issue of Community on the halachot of loan guarantors and sureties. Rabbi Sutton writes: There are two basic types of guarantee arrangements. The first is known as an ordinary guarantor (arev). An ordinary guarantor is a third party […]
Arkaos: Litigation in non-Jewish courts
In an earlier post I discussed a teshuvah of Rav Ovadiah Yosef as to whether a non-yoresh (e.g., a daughter if the decedent leaves a son and a daughter) may claim a portion of an estate in court under local law. After summarizing Rav Ovadiah Yosef’s ruling that dina demalchuta dina does not apply, I […]
The Importance of Custom, Usage and Course of Conduct in Jewish Monetary Law
This week’s Parsha email from the Bais HaVaad Institute of Talmudic Law includes a brief discussion of the concept that Jewish Law recognizes the accepted business of the time a place and place in which a transaction occurs. In Choshen Mishpat 201:1-2, the concept of situmta is explained. A situmta was a kind of mark […]
Court allows non-Jewish widow to transfer body of Jewish husband to non-Jewish cemetery
A Supreme Court judge in Queens County permitted the non-Jewish spouse of a deceased Jewish man to exhume his body from a Jewish cemetery for reburial in what the judge termed a “non-denominational” cemetery, St. Elizabeth. The decedent was buried in the family plot next to his father. His mother and sister opposed the exhumation, […]
Wild salmon debate
In connection with the debate over the kashrut of wild salmon, Rabbi Gil Student has an interesting post outlining three possible approaches to halacha when current scientific knowledge appears to contradict the scientific premise of settled halacha. The article can be read here.
Opinion of Rav Ovadiah Yosef on yerushah and intestacy
Rav Ovadiah Yosef, in his collection of responsa, Yehaveh Daat, volume 4, responsum 65, addresses the following question: May a family member who is not a yoresh (halachic heir), but is legally entitled to a share of a decedent’s estate, claim a portion of the estate in civil court under the doctrine of dina demalchutah […]
Rabbi Max Sutton on contract performance
Rabbi Max Sutton, Rosh Bet Din Aram Soba in Jerusalem, published an article, “Time is Money,” in the February 2010 issue of Community. Using cases that have come before the bet din, the article discusses the halachot of contract performance, the duty to inspect merchandise, and the timeliness of objections to incomplete performance. Rabbi Sutton […]
Meaning of the word "Yerushah"
To follow on yesterday’s post regarding Rav Yisrael Moshe Hazan’s explanation of the word “nahalah,” the following is from Dayan Dr. I. Grunfeld, The Jewish Law of Inheritance: As to the inner meaning of the other word used by the Torah in connection with inheritance, namely ירושה (yerushah), R. Hazan is not quite sure. He […]
