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18 Feb 0Comments 0Likes

Purim Se’udah on Friday

Hi, TY for your Purim 5781 guidelines. Can I ask, for someone who has no possibility to have a “brunch” seudah and the only way is to start before Shabbat and continue into the Friday night meal – how would that work in practice, for instance with davening, etc. Many thanks Celia Dear Celia TY for your question re Purim…

03 Feb 0Comments 0Likes

Slow Cooker on Shabbat

Dear Rabbi Simon I wonder if you could answer this question: I have just bought the below slow cooker. It has a setting to keep food warm. Would it be ok to leave the setting on “warm” and keep the cooker plugged in on Shabbat? Or do I need to use a timer to make sure it’s not permanently switched on? https://www.robertdyas.co.uk/tower-1-5l-stainless-steel-slow-cooker-silver…

16 Dec 0Comments 0Likes

Ask the Rabbi – Doughnut Crisis

The following Q&A is based on a text exchange: Q) Hi Rabbi Simon. I saw that one day this Chanukah customers of a certain Kosher bakery were encouraged to return for a refund any doughnuts purchased that day because the fryer was turned on by a non-Jewish employee. I know the principle that a fire should be started by a Jew –…

02 Dec 0Comments 0Likes

Corrective for Signing on Shabbat  

Dear Rabbi Simon Shavua tov. I had a distressing Shabbos. Due to a very unfortunate oversight, I was locked out of my flat on Friday night–with my dog on the inside. With the help of a neighbour, I managed to summon a locksmith to rescue the two of us. However, the tradesman insisted that I sign a form in order…

19 Nov 0Comments 0Likes

Alexa and Shabbat

Dear Rabbi Simon If you don’t mind I have a question for you.  On Friday night, my children were in the kitchen chatting and for some reason our Amazon Echo (Alexa) started playing music even though they hadn’t said “her” name!  Rap music was playing loudly until midnight in spite of us smothering Alexa with towels!  Under these circumstances would we have…

22 Oct 0Comments 0Likes

Chore or Mitzvah?

Dear Rabbi Simon This may be a stupid question but is the act of taking down the Sukkah also a mitzva or at least part of it? Suki Dear Suki Dismantling the Sukkah would have the status of הכשר מצוה (preparatory to a mitzvah) if taking it down is necessary to enable one to fulfil the mitzvah effectively next year.…

30 Sep 0Comments 0Likes

No Sukkah, No Sukkah Invitations

Dear Rabbi Simon The “rule of six” has knocked my Sukkot plans for 6. I have no means of building a sukkah in or around my flat, and sukkah invitations for Ruchie and me are very difficult to come by this year, due to the coronavirus crisis and the Rule of Six . And truthfully, I am uneasy about eating…

22 Sep 0Comments 0Likes

Questioning Kaparot

Dear Rabbi Simon, Shana tova. I hope you had inspiring tefillah at Kesher on RH. You may have seen the clips that are going round about the use of chickens for kaparot in New York.  The way in which these chickens are treated is disturbing to me.  Even if the conditions of keeping the chickens would improve, I still think…

16 Sep 0Comments 0Likes

Meeting with Royalty

Note: On Rosh HaShanah we feel acutely the Kingship of Hashem. The Talmud teaches that one should seek out an opportunity to see earthly royalty, to gain a faint, symbolic echo of the Divine Kingship. There is even a blessing to be recited on seeing a monarch (king or queen), “Who has given of His glory to flesh and blood.”…

03 Sep 0Comments 0Likes

When Does Shabbat End?

Dear Rabbi Simon, I read in the Kesher Connections weekly newsletter that Shabbat Parashat Shofetim (21-22 August 2020) ends at 9.03pm. But there are at least two other times which some people follow as authoritative. There is a slightly earlier end time of 9.00pm, quoted in the Jewish Chronicle and the Jewish Weekly newspapers and used by the United Synagogue.…

Questions & Answers
this week

Questions and Answers

Ask the Rabbi: Quinoa on Pesach
Dear Rabbi Simon,
Where do you stand on quinoa (and the kitniyot ban) for Pesach?
Many thanks,
Tzippy
***
Dear Tzippy,
In line with other American authorities, I am in favour of quinoa. Although I reject completely the voices (mostly from Israel) seeking to abolish the ban on kitniyot entirely, IMO we do not need to include in the prohibition pseudo-grains that were unknown in the Old World until modern times. Best to buy with a Pesach hechsher though, to be free of any possible wheat contamination.
Rabbi Rashi Simon
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