Yossi Sprung
A Practical Halachic Guide to Shaving and Haircuts in the Medical Setting Shaving and haircuts are routine activities that are subject to many wide-ranging Halachos. Comprehensive Halachic knowledge is required to...
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What’s Changed?
One of the recurring questions in Halachais how to reconcile Halachos that are predicated upon premises that are inconsistent with modern scientific knowledge, particularly in medicine. There are two main issues raised...
Bagels With Lox and Cream Cheese – Soul Food or Sakana?
This essay will discuss the fascinating Halacha of eating fish and milk together, though the focus of the discussion intriguingly does not relate to Halachic minutiae but to whether the Halacha exists at all! Does this...
The Sweetness of Shabbos
According to the United States National Diabetes Statistics Report (2020)[1], in 2018 there were 26.9 million people of all ages (8.2% of the US population) with a diagnosis of diabetes, including 210,000 children and...
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Are Thermometers Muktza?
Medida shel Mitzva In the past[1], we have discussed measuring and weighing on Shabbos for medical purposes and identified two reasons for the Issur d’Rabbanan of measuring on Shabbos. First, it may constitute...
From the Rabbi’s Desk: Shabbos Showers
Question: Dear Rabbi Sprung, I am a resident in Chutz laAretz. My supervisor allows me to go home for Shabbos, provided that I leave the hospital just before Shabbos begins and return immediately after Shabbos. Baruch...
Etzem Yom haZeh: A Halachic Guide to Asara b’Teves[1]
On the 10th of Teves, Nevuchadnetzar, king of Babylon, arrived and laid siege to the holy city of Yerushalayim. This marked the onset of the destruction of the first Beis haMikdash, prompting the Sages to designate this...
Responding to Psychotrauma on Shabbos
In times of war and terrorist attacks, psychotrauma first responder units play a crucial role in emergency healthcare services. These units consist of social workers and other mental health professionals whose main...
May I Go Home Now? – Part 5
The first four essays in the series extensively reviewed the Halachic issues related to medical personnel returning home on Shabbos after responding to an emergency or completing a shift in the hospital. In this week’s...
