by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Haber | Jun 6, 2016
The custom in many communities is to recite Kiddush Levana (bless the New Moon) on the first possible Saturday night. Halachically it must be three days after the ‘birth’ of the new moon, but before the apex of the moon. (The exact calculations needed to determine the...
by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Haber | Oct 30, 2014
The Gemara (Berachos 55a) states that there are three things that cause a person’s life to be shortened. 1) If he is asked to read from the Torah and refuses, 2) If he refuses to accept a Kos Shel Beracha when offered (lit. a cup of blessing, referring to the cup of...
by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Haber | Apr 7, 2014
Although the usual blessing made before drinking wine is Borei Pri Hagefen, in very specific circumstances one may make the blessing of Hatov Vehameitiv. The specific circumstances is worthy of an article of its own, however in a nutshell, when a second wine is...
by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Haber | Feb 8, 2009
Some years ago, I was invited to a Tu B’Shvat Seder/Friday Night Seudah / Potluck dinner in the Old City of Jerusalem. Although my recollections of that evening are somewhat fuzzy, I do recall that the company was great, there were many excellent wines (hence the...
by Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Haber | Jan 12, 2009
Growing up Haber, it was the regular thing. Every Friday night after Kiddush, we would all line up in front of our parents for a bracha, a blessing that we should be like Ephraim and Menashe for the boys, or like the Matriarchs for the girls, followed by the standard...
