Posts by Rabbi Yair Hoffman
8 Shavuos Customs of Maran Rav Chaim zt”l
Rav Chaim zt”l did not put grasses, trees, or plants in his home nor in the Lederman shul on Shavuos. This was in accordance with the view of the Vilna Gaon (see Mishna Brurah 494:10). Rav Chaim zt”l avoided getting a haircut on Erev Shavuos itself, because of the danger involved in letting blood that…
Read MoreRav Chaim zatzal on Lag BaOmer
A question was posed to Maran Rav Chaim zatzal regarding Lag BaOmer: What exactly is the joy that on Lag BaOmer the students of Rabbi Akiva ceased dying? They were all gone – there were no more left! That’s why they stopped dying. Rav Chaim answered: Most of them died, but a minority were left. …
Read MoreChanukah Rulings
Q: The Mishna Brurah in 671:9 writes that a woman does not light Chanukah candles because “Ishto k’Gufo” – a man’s wife is like his own self. Yet, later on (in MB 675:9), the Mishna Brurah cites the Olas Shmuel that if the wife desires to light – she recites a bracha! A: She is…
Read MoreBroken Engagements
Reb Naftali Weinberg in his Rav Chaim Kanievsky on Shidduchim had posed a queestion to Maran Sar HaTorah about whether one may ask a Shadchan to return the shadchanus if the engagement was broken. Rav Chaim zatzal ruled that one may not. Broken engagements are never a pleasant item of discussion, and there are often…
Read MoreRav Chaim zatzal on Wedding Costs
It is well-known that wedding expenses are one of the most enormous costs that parents can have. Reb Naftali Weinberger shlita (printed in his new Sefer, “Rav Chaim Kanievsky on Shidduchim” posed a number of questions on wedding expenses to Rav Chaim. Below are a number of those questions: At what point should parents start…
Read MoreMaran Rav Chaim zt”l and More on Younger Siblings and Shidduchim
It was why Yaakov Avinu married Leah prior to his marrying Rochel, and it is something that comes up over and over again. Yet, notwithstanding its frequency, people have only vague ideas of when it is okay for a younger sibling to marry first and when it is not. Some people wonder about the actual…
Read MoreRav Shaya Kanievsky shlita, son of Rav Chaim zt”l, and the Nais Nuchal
It was a week after the end of the shiva of Maran Sar HaTorah Rav Chaim Kanievsky zatzal. According to an Orchot Yosher administrator, an Avreich knocked upon the door of Rav Shaya Kanievsky Shlita, the eldest son of Rav Chaim. He asked to enter to speak with Rav Shaya. My wife is about to…
Read MoreWhen You Don’t Have Water..
It happens every so often, that one does not have water available. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 4:22) addresses this issue and writes that in such a situation one should use a midi d’menaki – an item that cleans. The question is, however, how is this done? Does one merely wipe both sides of the…
Read MoreAttending a Sefardic Minyan For a Shidduch
Someone posed a question to Maran Rav Chaim zt”l about shidduchim: There are numerous young men and you women that are having difficulty finding their zivug. Does Maran have a suggestion for them? Rav Chaim t”l suggested that they should have in mind during Birchas Kohanim that their zivug come quicker. The question was further…
Read MoreStaying Up Late at Night
Rav Chaim was asked by a Rosh Yeshiva the following question: I often tell my talmidim to get an early start in the mornings and not to stay up late. They respond that there are many stories of Gedolim who stayed up late at night to learn. What should I tell them? Rav Chaim zatzal…
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