Eretz Hemdah Institute
Chief Editor: Rabbi Daniel Mann
• Does a place of business require a mezuzah, and, if so, does
one make a blessing when affixing it?
• Is there a minimum time that Shabbat and Yom Tov candles
must remain lit?
• Should one pray from a siddur or by heart?
These questions, and the more than 100 others in this book have
been culled from thousands of queries that have been sent by Jews
from different backgrounds and levels of observance throughout the
world to the Eretz Hemdah Institute in Jerusalem, Israel. They touch
upon every area of Jewish law and reveal the basic desire of all
Jews to understand their belief system.
The answers themselves reveal the unique way that the Eretz Hemdah
Institute melds sound halachic responses with a sensitivity to the
individual and an awareness – not easily found today –
that it is not necessary to burden the Jewish people with unnecessarily
stringent laws.
In a detailed introduction, the editors present the development
of halachic literature over the centuries. They give the reader
a behind-the-scenes look at the process a rabbi goes through and
the different approaches used to form a teshuva (response to a question).
“The Eretz Hemdah Kollel (Institute), headed by Rabbis Yosef
Carmel and Moshe Ehrenreich, shlita, answers the questions of
individuals and institutions throughout the four corners of the
world. Some of the answers appear weekly in the column “Ask
the Rabbi,” which is edited by my dear and prominent friend
and student, Rabbi Daniel Mann, shlita. The answers were written
with quotations of sources and logical explanations, and it is
proper that the Kollel should publish a full book that gathers
the answers for the benefit of the community.”
Rabbi Mordechai Willig
Rabbi of Young Israel of Riverdale,
Rosh Yeshiva at the Mazer School of Talmudic Studies
“In addition to a concise but thorough overview of the Halachic
process, this volume contains clear, well-researched and elegantly
presented answers to many sheailot that were posed to the Kollel
Eretz Hemdah. The teshuvot found in this volume span the orbit
of Halachic literature. They provide a wonderful and accessible
resource for the advanced student of Halacha as well as the beginner.
I have no doubt that this book will be a tremendous resource for
everyone who is interested in Halacha.”
Richard Joel
President, Yeshiva University
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