PODCAST · religion
Responsa Radio
by Hadar Institute
A podcast where you ask and we answer questions of Jewish law in modern times. Hosted by Rabbi Ethan Tucker and Rabbi Avi Killip. To submit a question, email [email protected].
Episodes
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4th of July Special: R. Ethan Tucker: 250 Years of Judaism in America
Over 250 years in America, Judaism—a way of life that centers obligation—has had to negotiate a culture defined by autonomy and freedom. How has that tension shaped Jewish life, mitzvot, and halakhah over the past 250 years? What will it take to sustain a culture of mitzvot over the next 250…
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Can You Count the Omer Early?
Many communities begin Shabbat services early during the summer months — sometimes before sunset. This poses a probem during the Omer when the service includes counting the new day of the Omer before its proper time. What should one do in this situation? Should they not say the blessing or count...
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Are Women Exempt from Mitzvot?
I grew up in a non-egalitarian Jewish community where I was taught that women are exempt from many mitzvot and that's why egalitarian prayer is not an option. Is that true? Does egalitarian prayer simply ignore this part of halakhah or is there some way of addressing it? Source sheet:...
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Does Jewish Law Permit Getting a Reversible Vasectomy?
Jewish law has long prohibited certain forms of sterilization, particularly for men. But what happens when medical technology changes the equation? Does the possibility of reversal affect the halakhic status of vasectomy? Source sheet: https://voices.sefaria.org/sheets/714995 Have a question…
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Are Jews Allowed to Spay or Neuter Pets?
I was surprised to hear recently that Jews are not allowed to neuter pets. Is that true? What is that about, where does it come from, and are there any ways around it, given that most people I know have pets that aren’t able to reproduce? Source sheet: https://voices.sefaria.org/sheets/711708…
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Is Buying Jewish a Mitzvah?
Is there a Jewish obligation to support your Jewish-owned local businesses? If prices are higher or the store is farther away, how much effort or expense does halakha expect? Source sheet: https://voices.sefaria.org/sheets/711520 Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at...
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Can Women Give the Priestly Blessing?
The priestly blessing (Birkat Kohanim) is a powerful moment in Jewish communal prayer. Traditionally performed by kohanim, it raises important questions about lineage, ritual roles, and gender equality. Can women offer this blessing to their communities? How can we think about this ritual in a...
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Is Seeing Yourself on Zoom Like Looking in a Mirror During Shiva?
A long-standing mourning practice is to cover mirrors during shiva. But what happens when shiva takes place on Zoom? Does seeing yourself on screen raise the same concern as an uncovered mirror? This episode explores the meaning behind the custom of covering mirrors and how Jewish practice adapts...
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Can I Lead Prayer if I Don't Believe in God?
What does it mean to serve as shaliach tzibbur—the representative of a community in prayer—if you struggle with belief in God? This episode explores the halakhic and theological dimensions of a question that sits at the heart of Jewish spiritual life. Does disbelief disqualify someone from…
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Can We Have Joint/Group Aliyot?
I recently started attending a shul that gives joint aliyot. What, if any, are the halakhic issues with two people receiving an aliyah at the same time? Do any of the issues rise to the level that I should privately request only solo aliyot from the gabbai, or perhaps even ask not to receive an...
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Can We Add Aliyot to the Torah Reading?
I am starting an adult b'nai mitzvah program this year and will be holding a Shabbat morning service for the students in the program. I have twelve students participating and am trying to figure out a way to give them each an individual aliyah. Is it permissible to add aliyot in order to do so?…
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Can I Get a Reiki Treatment?
I occasionally get a massage. Recently, there was a change in massage therapists. The new therapist emphasized that she uses Reiki, which is concentrating an energy field to help in healing. I mentioned this to a friend who is very knowledgeable in Reiki, and she mentioned that Reiki is an...
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What Is the Scope of Pikuach Nefesh (Can I File a Death Penalty Appeal on Shabbat)?
I am an attorney currently working on a death penalty appeal on behalf of a convicted client. We have a brief in the case due on a Friday, and I lined up assistance from non-Jewish colleagues in case the brief isn’t ready when Shabbat starts. Was that necessary here, given that I am trying to...
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What Does Halakhah Have to Say About Plasma Donation?
Can one sell their plasma for export? The US is a major player in this field of plasma export. Does Halacha say anything relevant about this? Are there any specific considerations about use of blood? And do we need to take into account the risk of taking advantage of desperate people, who may not...
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How Do I Dispose of Christian Religious Items After I Convert?
I grew up in a very religious Catholic family and attended Catholic schools through college. Through my upbringing, I accumulated a number of rosaries, bibles, and other accoutrements. When I started converting, I took all these things and put them in a box. My family is no longer religious...
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Can I Attend a Wedding in a Church?
A close friend is getting married in a church and I'm very conflicted about what to do. I have always avoided entering churches as I was taught that this was forbidden. But I feel terrible skipping my friend's wedding. What are the relevant halakhic considerations and sources? Have a question…
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Blowing the Shofar: Tips, Tricks, and Considerations
It's my first time blowing the shofar for my community this year. What tips can you share and what considerations should I be thinking about as I prepare? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at [email protected] Music featured in this episode: Girl Can Wail by Chloe...
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Minor Fast Days
I grew up fasting on Yom Kippur, and usually on Tisha B’Av also, but I never even knew about the minor fast days. Now I am in a community that does observe them, and I am curious about their importance. Is my obligation to fast on these days the same as on Yom Kippur? Why is there so much variety...
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Can We Decorate Shul With Flowers for Shavuot? And Should I Pull an All-Nighter?
This episode deals with Shavuot questions about decorating shul with flowers, as well as the custom of having a Tikkun Leil Shavuot, a night of staying up to learn Torah. Where do these customs originate, and what is their status? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at...
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Can I Bring in a Second Day of Yom Tov Early?
As a parent of little children, our family always has a lot of tension around the second night of a two day Yom Tov, especially when it gets dark very late. I was always taught that you have to wait until it is fully dark after the first day of Yom Tov to start preparing anything for the second...
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Can I Say the Names of Other Gods?
What are the halakhic considerations about saying “Chr***” given the prohibition on uttering names of other gods? How does that work in interfaith and academic contexts? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at [email protected] Music featured in this episode: Planets…
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Should I Purchase Life Insurance?
What does halakhah have to say about life insurance? Should we get it or is relying on the community sufficient, or even expected? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at [email protected] Music featured in this episode: Human Life by Tiffany Thompson
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Suicide and Burial
Should a person who died by suicide be buried "outside the fence?" How does mental illness factor into this question? And are there grounds to consider reburial of someone so that they can be near family members? Trigger warning: This episode deals with sensitive and painful content. Please take...
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Which Direction Should I Face During Prayer?
When davening in a prayer space that is not oriented towards Jerusalem, is there ever a time when it would be appropriate to physically orient oneself toward the east? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at [email protected] Music featured in this episode: New…
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What Do You *Mean* I Still Can't Eat Bread? (re-release)
I like to go out the night after Passover to grab a cool beer in celebration of eating hametz (leaven) again. Do I need to worry if the owner of that bar is a Jew that didn't remove his hametz for the holiday? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at [email protected]
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Does Everything Need a Kosher for Passover Certification? (re-release)
Can I use ingredients like spices, pure dried fruit, oil, or nut butter, without Passover certification on Passover? Are there ingredients you can use without a certification? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at [email protected].
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Keeping Kosher for Passover When I'm Not in Control (re-release)
If I spend Passover with family members who don't kasher their kitchens for the holiday can I eat kosher for Passover food from their pots or dishes? Is there room for leniency because they're my family? What if my roommates want to use non-kosher for Passover dishes and products? How can we…
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Can I Do Something Forbidden For Shalom Bayit?
What is the halakhic weight of shalom bayit and to what extent is it permissible to do something forbidden for the sake of preserving one’s marriage? For example, I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine during the week, mostly because it prevents me from snoring and disturbing my spouse’s…
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Can I Have a Karpas Course at the Seder?
I have only ever been to seders where karpas is a simple piece of parsley dipped in saltwater, but there seems to be a growing trend of people doing much more elaborate karpas courses, often with multiple, full-blown appetizer dishes. Is this halakhically permissible? Have a question you'd like...
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How Do I Forge My Own Religious Path While Respecting My Parents?
I am a teenager who is becoming more observant. My parents are less then thrilled. For example, I would like to be observe Shabbat and not use my phone, but this sometimes creates difficulties as they will call or text me things during Shabbat. How can I balance my observance with honoring my...
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Can I Print an Overlay to Make Torah Reading More Accessible?
As a gabbai, I am often reluctant to correct the person reading Torah so as not to add to their anxiety. I am wondering if we are entering a moment where technology might be helpful, such as writing the vowels and trope onto the Torah itself, or, less radically, making a see-through overlay.…
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Can I Read My Horoscope?
Can I read my horoscope? Does it matter whether I’m reading it “just for fun” or if I’m really trying to predict the future? Are horoscopes more forbidden for us than they were for medieval rabbis, who probably considered astrology a legitimate science? Have a question you'd like answered on...
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Should the Torah Be Translated as it's Read to Make it More Accessible?
In the mishnah we see the idea of a person who would translate the Torah into Aramaic after each verse is chanted from the Torah scroll. Would it be appropriate to have something like this now in order to enhance the understanding of the community? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa...
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Making Sense of the Mechitzah
What is the history and reasoning behind the mechitzah? Why do they vary so much in size and material? In a setting where this is a mechitzah, can a man walk over to the women’s side to carry a Torah? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at [email protected]
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Thanking God for "Opening the Eyes of the Blind" When I'm Disabled
As a person who is disabled, how am I supposed to relate to a system of mitzvot that often assumes its audience is able-bodied? For example, the morning blessings include the line thanking God for "opening the eyes of the blind"—but what if I am blind? Am I supposed to say this blessing? Have a...
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Can I Say Birkat Kohanim While Carrying a Gun?
I am a kohen who lives in Israel where I make the priestly blessing every day. After October 7th, I was recruited to my town’s First Response Team and am now required to carry my gun at all times, including the synagogue. Is it prohibited to make the blessing of Birkat Kohanim, which is…
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Kashrut and the Modern Dairy Industry
There is a principle that says that milk from a deathly sick animal is not kosher. But in today's modern dairy industry it may be reasonable to assume that most if not all cows fall into this category. Can we justify consuming factory milk? If so, how? This episode was recorded live at Hadar's…
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What is the Role of Doubt in Jewish Law?
I was at a meal at a non-Jewish colleague's home. We agreed to order food from a kosher restaurant but one of the dishes looks homemade. I don't want to be rude. Can I eat it? How can the framework of "sfeik sfeika," having two axes of doubt, help us make decisions when we don't have all of the...
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Can I Swim on Shabbat?
My community has a retreat over Yom Tov where almost everyone spends a lot of time at the pool. I grew up in a community that never swam on Shabbat or Yom Tov and now I'm trying to navigate a community where everyone does it. What should I do? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa…
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Why is the Age of Bar/Bat Mitzvah Gendered?
While almost all Jewish communities celebrate a boy's Bar Mitzvah at 13, many communities are split for girls—some 12, some 13. Why should girls be required to do mitzvot before boys? What does this age split accomplish? And is it still relevant in egalitarian Jewish communities? Have a question...
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Should I Say "Amen" in the Bathroom?
You're not supposed to pray somewhere unclean, like a bathroom. But if I'm in the bathroom and can hear the prayers nearby, am I allowed to say "amen"? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at [email protected]
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Can I Use Generative Artifical Intelligence?
With any new industry, there are important questions to address from legal and religious perspectives. Responsa Radio creator David Zvi Kalman comes back to ask this question about generative AI for his new podcast, Belief in the Future. Given the way the new large language models trawl the...
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Does Jewish Law Care About Non-Jewish Life?
There's a stereotype that I've seen on the internet recently that Jews don't care about non-Jewish life. How am I supposed to respond when somebody uses this argument? What do Jewish sources say about the imperative of saving the lives of non-Jews? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa...
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Are Jews Responsible for One Another? How so?
I've often heard the phrase "all of Israel are responsible for each other" (kol yisrael areivim zeh be-zeh). But what does this mean? What does the responsibility entail? How is it supposed to change my actions toward other Jews? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at...
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Coming Soon: More Responsa Radio
You asked and we answered! A new season of Responsa Radio begins next week. We're going to dig in to topics like artificial intelligence, the value of human life, and our responsibilities toward fellow Jews, just to name a few. Have a halakhic question you want answered on Responsa Radio? Send…
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R. Ethan Tucker on the Multivocality of Halakhah
Halakhic works are often a dizzying compendium of multiple perspectives on a given issue, often making it difficult to determine how to behave in a given situation. In this lecture, R. Ethan Tucker argues this is a feature rather than a bug. Critical values that are meant to guide our lives are...
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Do the Laws of Eruv Make Any Sense At All? 100th Episode Update
In celebration of 100 episodes of Responsa Radio, we're re-releasing our favorites with an update from Rav Eitan and Rav Avi at the end of the episode. Our producer, Jeremy Tabick's favorite is episode #7: The laws of eruv—constructing a sometimes questionable boundary around a neighborhood to...
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Is Impossible Pork Kosher? 100th Episode Update
In celebration of 100 episodes of Responsa Radio, we're re-releasing our favorites with an update from Rav Eitan and Rav Avi at the end of the episode. Our sound engineer, David Khabinsky's favorite is episode #78: A few months ago, one of the largest kosher certification agencies announced that…
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Is There a Blessing on Seeing a Solar Eclipse?
I'm planning on going to the total solar eclipse that will be visible in North America on April 8th. is there a blessing or some other liturgy that I should say as I see it? Have a question you'd like answered on Responsa Radio? Email us at [email protected]
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Can I Buy a Non-Jew a Sandwich on Passover?
I was trying to help someone on the street get some food. They asked for a sandwich, so I went into a nearby shop—and suddenly panicked because I realized it was Passover! What was I supposed to do in this case? What are the parameters of buying and touching hameitz for non-Jews during the…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast where you ask and we answer questions of Jewish law in modern times. Hosted by Rabbi Ethan Tucker and Rabbi Avi Killip. To submit a question, email [email protected].
HOSTED BY
Hadar Institute
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Responsa Radio have?
Responsa Radio currently has 161 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Responsa Radio about?
A podcast where you ask and we answer questions of Jewish law in modern times. Hosted by Rabbi Ethan Tucker and Rabbi Avi Killip. To submit a question, email [email protected].
How often does Responsa Radio release new episodes?
Responsa Radio publishes regularly with 161 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to Responsa Radio on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Responsa Radio?
Responsa Radio is created and hosted by Hadar Institute.
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