Episodes

  • Mezuzahs in the Ghetto
    Sep 5 2022

    Did the homes in the ghetto require a mezuzah?

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    14 mins
  • Use of Electric Lights for Shabbos Candles
    Aug 28 2022

    May one use electric lights as Shabbos candles in the ghetto?

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    5 mins
  • Pidyon Haben/Redemption of a First-Born Son with a Missing Father
    Aug 14 2022

    With regards to a first-born son with an absent father, who may perform the mitzvah of pidyon haben, redeeming the first-born son? 

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    13 mins
  • Circumcision by a Nonreligious Jew
    Jul 31 2022

    A young man raised in an assimilated home wishes to undergo a circumcision in the Kovno ghetto. Can a nonreligious doctor perform this procedure? This is a question which applies even today with regards to many men who have had circumcisions performed by either non Jewish doctors or nonreligious mohels. Here is Rabbi Oshry's response. 

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    14 mins
  • Reciting the HaGomel Blessing in the Ghetto
    Jul 17 2022

    Should someone in the ghetto  recite the special blessing of HaGomel, which is said when saved from a dangerous situation, when they are spared from being rounded up by the Nazis? 

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    12 mins
  • Suicide in the Ghetto
    Jul 10 2022

    Can someone in the ghetto commit suicide to avoid having to witness the murder of his family? A heartbreaking question, a dubious source, and a not-so-simple answer. 

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    28 mins
  • Cooking on the Sabbath in the Ghetto
    Jun 28 2022

    Is it better to perform hard labor or transgress the Sabbath by cooking? And can someone eat the food cooked on the Sabbath? 

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    15 mins
  • Using Clothing from Martyred Jews
    Jun 15 2022

    Can the clothes of martyred Jews be used by someone else? Rabbi Oshry responds. 

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    10 mins