הרב ישראל מאיר מלכה
Rabbi Yosef Sprung
Vaeira 5779 The Higher Perspective of the Mitzva of V’chai Bahem – ‘And you shall live by them’. (Danger to life overrides all of the sins in the Torah) ‘The river shall swarm with frogs, and they shall ascend and...
Rabbi Yossi SprungAre Bandages or Hair Implants a Chatzitza for Tefillin?
Tetzaveh 5779 “You shall place the Mitznefes on his head and put the crown of sanctity upon the Mitznefes” (Shemos 29:6) One of the common sha’alos in Hilchos Tefillin is: if a person has a bandage on his head (due to a...
To Give is To Receive
Trumah 5779 ‘Speak to the Children of Israel and let them take for me a portion; from every man whose heart motivates him you shall take my portion.’ ...
Kidney Donation & Bal Tashchis
Shoftim 5779 “When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to seize it, do not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them, for from it you will eat, and you shall not cut it down.” (Devarim 20:19...
Where Does the Glycerin Come From?
Shmini 5779 “To distinguish between the impure and the pure, and between the creature that may be eaten and the creature that may not be eaten” (Vayikra 11:47) Glycerin is a very common ingredient in the modern food and...
Are Patient Rounds Bikur Cholim?
Reeh 5779 “You shall follow Hashem your God and you shall fear Him…” (Devarim 13:5) The Gemara (Sotah 14a) derives from the words “You shall follow Hashem” that a person should endeavor to emulate Hashem’s Midos...
Food Allergies, Celiac Disease and Mishloach Manos
Tzav – Purim 5779 “To observe them as days of feasting and gladness, and sending portions to one another, and gifts to the poor.” (Esther 9:22) “What are the obligations of this meal (the Seudas Purim)? A person...
Pikuach Nefesh vs. Shmiras haMitzvos
Pinchas 5779 “Therefore say: Behold, I give him My covenant of peace. And it shall be for him and his offspring after him a covenant of eternal priesthood, because he took vengeance for his G-d, and he atoned for the...
The Quickest Seder: A Guide for Medical Professionals and Patients
Pesach 5779 Paragraph If a doctor or other medical staff is on duty in a hospital on Seder night, it is important to know how to conduct an abridged Seder in order to fulfill the special Mitzvos of the night properly. A...
Hashem’s Decree & PGD
Pekudei 5779 Paragraph Parents at high-risk of transmitting genetic disease to their offspring can ensure the birth of healthy babies through Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). PGD enables the genetic diagnosis...
May I Use My Friend’s Body as a Resource for Saving My Own life?
Bo 5779 ‘And Moshe called to all the elders of Yisrael and he said to them ‘draw forth and take for yourselves a sheep for your families, and slaughter the Pesach offering’ (Shemos 12:21) Paragraph The Mitzva of...
Paternity Testing and the Adulterous Wife in Halacha
Naso 5779 “If a man’s wife will go astray and commit a treachery against him.” (Bamidbar 5:12) Paragraph In this week’s Parsha, the Torah outlines the laws of the Sotah – the woman whose husband suspects her of being...
Performing Medical Procedures on Parents
Mishpatim 5779 ‘And somebody who strikes his father or mother shall surely die’ (Shemos 21:12) Paragraph In this verse we learn of the grave sin of striking one’s father or mother. The Gemara in Sanhedrin (84b-85a)...
Chatzitza and Contraceptive Devices
Metzorah “And he shall wash his clothes and immerse his body in water, and he will be pure.” (Vayikra 14:9) This verse is the source of the law...
Switching Shabbos Shifts with Non-Observant Colleagues
Matot-Masei 5779 “But if her husband shall annul them on the day of his hearing, anything that came out of her mouth regarding her vows or the prohibition upon herself shall not stand; her husband had annulled them and...
Chillul Shabbos and Experimental Therapy
Korach 5779 “And Moshe said to Aharon, Take the fire-pan and place fire on it from upon the altar and place incense …” (Bamidbar 17:11) In this week’s Parsha, following the death of Korach and his followers, a raging...
Forceps Delivery and Pidyon Haben
Ki Tisa 5779 “Every first issue from the womb is Mine; and all your livestock that produce a male, that which emerges from an ox or a sheep. That which first emerges from a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb, and if...
