Answering YUr Shailos

🔥 Remilk and Halachic Status of Lab-Created “Milk”  

 – Remilk is an Israeli product that **copies the gene for cow milk protein (BLG)** and inserts it into yeast, which through fermentation produces **milk-identical proteins**.  

 – These proteins are then blended with **non-animal fats, sugars, vitamins, and minerals** to create dairy-like products with **no lactose, cholesterol, hormones, or antibiotics**.  

 – The company claims there is **no cow or animal source at all** in the process; it is positioned as “milk without cows.”  

 – They report **Israeli kosher pareve certification**, including from **Badatz Igud Rabbanim** and the **Chief Rabbinate of Israel**, and advertise that it is **halachically pareve**.  

 – Contrast with **lab-grown meat**:  

  – Lab meat often begins with cells taken from animals; this raises **“yotzei min ha’asur asur”** issues and questions of **shechita / issur cheilev / ever min hachai**, etc.  

  – Remilk claims to avoid these because it **does not start from animal tissue**.  

 – Assuming the factual claim is correct (no animal source), halachically it can be treated as **kosher pareve** with no issue of “yotzei min ha’asur.”  

 – However, there is a major **mar’it ayin concern** when used with meat:  

  – It **tastes, looks, and functions like real milk**, including curdling and cheese-making.  

  – Chazal imposed mar’it ayin restrictions on **human milk with meat**:  

   • Human milk is technically kosher (not “gidulei ha’aretz”) and not basar bechalav.  

   • Yet **cooking meat in human milk** is rabbinically forbidden because it looks like meat-and-milk.  

   • If only a small amount of human milk is mixed and is not visible, one may rely on bitul; e.g., rinsing a baby bottle of breast milk in a fleishig sink is permitted.  

  – Parallel cases:  

   • **Dam dagim (fish blood)** is kosher but must be served with **scales visible** to avoid mar’it ayin.  

   • **Almond milk with meat**: Gemara and Rambam say to place **almonds next to it** so observers recognize it is not dairy.  

   • Some discuss whether the same applies to human milk; Rambam is more lenient by **chicken with almond milk**, since chicken-and-milk is only derabbanan.  

  – For Remilk, which **fully mimics dairy**, mar’it ayin is potentially stronger than with almond milk, which is essentially “nut juice.”  

 – Practical implication:  

  – **Drinking Remilk alone** is halachically fine (assuming valid supervision).  

  – **Using it with meat / at a fleishig meal / in a fleishig restaurant** raises mar’it ayin concerns, at least **until the product becomes widely known** and recognized as pareve.  

  – Once a practice/product is widely recognized, mar’it ayin can fade (analogy: Rav Schachter’s comment that once it was common for visibly religious Jews to have **kosher food delivered to non-kosher venues**, observers no longer assume they are eating non-kosher food).  

📖 Women and Obligation in Kriat HaTorah (Torah Reading)  

 – Question: If a woman comes late to shul and leining has already started:  

  – Should she **delay her own Shacharit** to listen to kriat haTorah?  

  – If she’s in the middle of **Pesukei DeZimra or between Pesukei DeZimra and Shema**, should she pause to listen?  

 – Background question: **Is kriat haTorah a chovat yachid or only chovat hatzibur?**  

  – Some hold it’s mainly a **communal obligation**: if a tzibur already read, an individual who missed is **not required** to seek out another minyan.  

  – Some report that Rav Soloveitchik would sometimes organize a **special minyan for kriat haTorah** (e.g., on a plane), implying he related to it as a serious **individual need**, at least for himself.  

 – Are women obligated?  

  – **Magen Avraham** (cited in **Mishnah Berurah O.C. 282:11**) states that **women are obligated to hear kriat haTorah**, despite being exempt from general Talmud Torah, because this is a **specific takanah** of public Torah reading.  

  – Other poskim (e.g., **Alter Rebbe, Sefer HaChinuch style approaches**) say women are **exempt** from kriat haTorah.  

  – Mishnah Berurah quotes the Magen Avraham but notes:  

   • **“Ein no’hagos l’hizaher b’zeh”** – women are not careful to fulfill this.  

   • Some women even have the **custom to leave** during kriat haTorah.  

  – Common practice: women are **not treated as strictly obligated** to hear leining.  

 – If a woman is present during kriat haTorah:  

  – **Piskei Teshuvot** notes she should not **talk, disturb, or disrespect** the Torah reading.  

  – Implication: if she is in shul and staying in the room, she ideally **should listen** and not treat the time as background for unrelated activity.  

 – Practical answers:  

  – She is **not obligated** to delay her entire davening to catch leining, given the prevalent psak and minhag that women are not bound to kriat haTorah like men.  

  – If she is already davening and will otherwise **miss key parts like Shema or Shemoneh Esrei**, she can **continue her tefillah** and not pause for leining.  

  – There is no strict requirement for women to sacrifice their personal tefillah structure to hear leining, though **if she is free and present**, it is better to **listen respectfully**.  

🙏 Purpose of Tefillah vs. Outcomes (When Davening “Doesn’t Work”)  

 – Question: If **non-daveners sometimes get what they want** and daveners sometimes do not, what is the purpose of tefillah?  

 – The assumption that **“tefillah’s purpose is to get what I want”** is incorrect.  

  – Hashem already **knows what we want** without our asking.  

  – Asking is primarily **an act of recognition**: acknowledging that all needs are provided **only by Hashem**.  

 – Sources and ideas:  

  – Rabbeinu Yonah (end of Berachot) describes tefillah as a way to **declare dependence on Hashem**, not just a wish-list mechanism.  

  – Chazal: Hashem made the **Avot and Imahot barren** because “**mit’aveh le-tefillatan shel tzadikim**” – He wanted their tefillot, not merely the result.  

  – Rashi on the creation narrative: rain was withheld until **there was a human being to daven for it**, showing that **tefillah is a built-in condition** for certain blessings.  

 – Primary purpose of tefillah: **relationship and connection** with Hashem.  

  – It is structured time in which a person stands **in front of the Creator**, speaking and being present with Him.  

  – Just as in human relationships, approaching others primarily with a **“what can I get out of you”** mindset undermines the relationship, so too with Hashem.  

 – Happiness and tefillah:  

  – Human beings ultimately seek **happiness**, not any specific object.  

  – Research and common experience show that **giving** often brings more happiness than receiving.  

  – A deep relationship with Hashem, built through tefillah, is a **fundamental path to happiness**, more than getting particular outcomes.  

 – When tefillah seems unanswered:  

  – Tefillah is not a **contractual guarantee** for particular outcomes.  

  – Its value lies in **closeness, recognition, humility, and avodah**, even when events unfold differently than hoped.  

🚽 Shabbat: Tearing Toilet Paper vs. Using a Towel  

 – Scenario: On Shabbat, in the bathroom, there is **no tissue or prepared toilet paper**. Two apparent options:  

  – Tear regular toilet paper now.  

  – Use a **cloth hand towel** that will need to be washed later.  

 – Halachic issues:  

  – **Tearing toilet paper on Shabbat**:  

   • Cutting paper to usable size is akin to the melacha of **“mechatech”** or **“makeh b’patish”** (giving final form).  

   • At minimum, it is **mekalkel / derabbanan**, but if torn **to a specific size and on perforations**, many hold it may be **mechatech de’oraita**.  

   • Ideal practice: **pre-tear** toilet paper before Shabbat.  

  – But there is also **kavod habriyot**:  

   • Gemara in Shabbat and Beitzah allows handling normally-muktzeh **stones for wiping**, because **kavod habriyot pushes aside certain derabbanan prohibitions**.  

   • Tosafot (Sukkah 11b) extend kavod habriyot also to some other derabbanan issues (e.g., certain hotza’ah derabbanan when absolutely necessary).  

   • Shulchan Aruch and Mishnah Berurah adopt that **kavod habriyot can override some rabbinic restrictions** in this context.  

 – Practical ruling for this case:  

  – **Using a cloth towel** for wiping is **not allowed**; it involves **soiling fabric in a way that necessitates laundering**, raising issues of **melaben (washing/whitening)** and intentional creation of strong cleaning need.  

  – **Tearing toilet paper** is the **preferable and only viable option** here, but:  

   • **Do not tear along the perforations** to avoid obvious mechatech.  

   • **Use a shinui** (change of manner) to downgrade the prohibition: e.g., tear with **elbows, foot, or back of hand**, not in the usual way.  

   • Many poskim (Tzitz Eliezer, Mishneh Halachot, Az Nidberu) advise that because tearing may be **close to de’oraita**, one should **always employ a shinui**.  

   • With **kavod habriyot** and a **shinui**, the act is treated as a **double-derabbanan** that can be pushed aside for basic human dignity.  

💼 Married Woman’s LinkedIn Photo with Uncovered Hair  

 – Question: A woman recently married, now covering her hair, still has a **LinkedIn profile photo from before marriage** with uncovered hair. Must she remove/replace it immediately?  

 – Halachic considerations:  

  – Before marriage, her uncovered hair **was not erva** halachically; the photo reflects a **permitted past state**.  

  – A **static image** is not actual erva in the halachic sense used for live exposure in front of someone davening or learning.  

  – There is generally **no retroactive obligation** to erase images from before hair-covering was required.  

  – Comparisons: many publicly available childhood photos (e.g., of rebbetzins or public figures as little girls) exist without being treated as a halachic issue.  

 – Practical:  

  – There is **no halachic requirement** to take down such a photo solely because her status changed.  

  – If she feels it **misrepresents her current religious practice** (e.g., employers or community might assume she doesn’t cover hair), she can choose to update it for **personal or hashkafic reasons**, but that is **optional**, not obligatory.  

📚 Sefarim and Mezuzah in a Bedroom (Including Marital Tashmish)  

 – Gemara Berachot: In a house/room with a **Sefer Torah or tefillin**, it is forbidden to have **tashmish hamitah (marital intimacy)** unless the items are **removed or double-covered** (**kli betoch kli**), and one cover must be **non-designated** for that sefer.  

 – Mezuzah in a bedroom:  

  – Mishnah Berurah notes that relying only on the **mezuzah case** is not sufficient, as it is the **designated kli**.  

  – Many poskim require a **second covering** (e.g., cloth or box) or positioning the mezuzah such that it is **technically outside** the bedroom.  

  – The Rosh disagrees and argues that since we are obligated in **both mezuzah and pru urvu**, the mitzvot must be **reconcilable without extra coverings**, but the mainstream psak follows the more stringent approach.  

 – Sefarim on shelves in a bedroom:  

  – Strictly, the Gemara speaks about **sefer Torah and tefillin**, but the contemporary practice is to **extend the sensitivity** to other sefarim.  

  – Recommended:  

   • Ideally, **do not keep open sefarim shelves** in a master bedroom.  

   • If there is a bookcase of sefarim, **cover the sefarim** (e.g., with a sheet or door) when engaging in **tashmish hamitah**.  

 – Definition of bedroom for mezuzah:  

  – A room whose primary function is **disgraceful use** (e.g., a bathroom) is **exempt from mezuzah**.  

  – A standard bedroom is used for many normal activities and is **obligated in mezuzah**, but then usage must follow the above guidelines for **kavod kedushat sefarim and mezuzah** (double covering or equivalent).  

📉 Yeshiva Bachur Feeling Burned Out in Learning – Regaining Joy and Motivation  

 – Question: A yeshiva student has felt **unmotivated and unsuccessful** in learning for several weeks. How can he **reset**, regain **simchah in learning**, and still strive to give full effort?  

 – Key tension:  

  – Sometimes **pushing harder** and showing up despite fatigue leads to **breakthroughs**; some of the **best sedarim** are those one nearly skipped.  

  – Other times, over-pushing can **break a person**, deepen burnout, and damage long-term motivation.  

 – Strategies:  

  – **Change of pace / environment**:  

   • Short, planned changes can be rejuvenating (example: spending a week in another yeshiva’s beit midrash to experience a different style).  

   • Temporary change is to **re-invigorate**, not abandon, the core learning framework.  

  – **New projects in learning**:  

   • Start a **structured project**: writing up a sugya, producing **organized notes** on a masechta or shiur series, or preparing a **chabura**.  

   • The sense of **ownership and creativity** in learning often restores enthusiasm.  

  – **Physical exercise**:  

   • Daily exercise helps mental health, clarity, and stamina; constant sitting without movement is mentally draining.  

   • Even consistent light exercise can markedly improve **mood and focus** in the beit midrash.  

  – **Breaks vs. escapism**:  

   • A person may genuinely need **short breaks**; the goal is not ceaseless grinding.  

   • However, breaks should be **structured and limited**, not a slide into habitual avoidance.  

 – Overall approach:  

  – The student should be attuned to whether pushing is producing **growth or collapse**, and adjust responsibly.  

  – Seeking guidance from **rebbeim or mentors** can help gauge whether he needs **more effort, a new structure, or a targeted break**.  

🧱 Davening with a Minyan Behind Glass – Does It Count as Tefillah B’Tzibur?  

 – Scenario: A minyan is davening in a room **separated by glass**. The person stands nearby, **cannot enter or hear**, but davens at the same time. Does this count as **tefillah b’tzibur**?  

 – Halachic distinctions:  

  – There is a difference between:  

   • **Tefillah b’tzibur** – praying as an actual member of the minyan.  

   • **Tefillah b’sha’at tefillat hatzibur** – davening individually at the **same time** as a minyan prays elsewhere.  

  – Shulchan Aruch O.C. 90 and 104:  

   • One should strive to daven **in shul with the tzibur**.  

   • If prevented by circumstances (**ones**), one should daven at the **time the tzibur davens**, which carries a **special merit**, even if not technically tefillah b’tzibur.  

 – Requirements for joining a minyan while separated:  

  – Many poskim hold that if you are **“ro’in elu et elu”** (they can see each other), a **physical doorway connection isn’t strictly necessary** for certain aspects of minyan counting.  

  – **Hearing** is not always essential; example: in the large shul of Alexandria of Egypt, people could not hear the chazzan and responded **based on a waved flag**.  

 – Practical ruling here:  

  – If the person is **in view of the minyan through clear glass** and **they can see each other**, there is strong basis to treat him as **connected to the minyan** for tefillah b’tzibur purposes.  

  – If he truly cannot hear but can see, many poskim would allow **joining the tzibur**.  

  – If there is **no visual or acoustic connection** and he is simply davening at the same time in a totally separate space, it is **not tefillah b’tzibur**, but it is **tefillah b’sha’at tefillat hatzibur**, which still has significant value.  

🧪 Staying Motivated in Difficult Science Courses (Org Chem, Bio, Physics)  

 – Question: How to connect more to science subjects, find **intrinsic motivation**, and handle heavy memorization throughout the semester, especially for **pre-med** students.  

 – Meaning and purpose:  

  – If on a **pre-med track**, the long-term goal is **becoming a doctor**, which involves a **lifelong avodat chesed**: healing and caring for others.  

  – This is a substantial **mitzvah framework** that can give meaning to the grind of prerequisite courses.  

  – Additionally, **studying science is studying Hashem’s world**: exploring biology, chemistry, and physics is a form of **“Ma’aseh Hashem”**, understanding the systems Hashem created.  

 – Guarding spiritual balance:  

  – Even while taking demanding courses, one should ensure that **Torah learning and avodat Hashem** remain central and are not squeezed out.  

  – A recurring danger is that the **emotional and conversational focus** becomes entirely about exams, grades, and stress.  

   • One should **consciously steer conversations** at lunch and breaks towards **Torah, chessed, and meaningful topics**, instead of letting anxiety dictate topics.  

   • Part of avodah is not letting the academic load occupy **all mental bandwidth**.  

 – Memorization and semester-long motivation:  

  – While specifics about study techniques aren’t detailed, the key is to tie the effort to:  

   • **Clear long-term goals** (medical practice, helping patients).  

   • **Spiritual perspective** (this knowledge will be used to **save or improve lives**, and reflects the intricacies of Hashem’s creation).  

🧭 Interpreting Life Events: Test or Message to Change Direction?  

 – Question: When life circumstances challenge a person’s direction, how can one tell if:  

  – It is a **nudge from Hashem** to change trajectory, or  

  – A **nisayon (test)** meant to strengthen persistence on the current path.  

 – Limits of reading “signs”:  

  – We generally **do not assume** that every difficult event is a direct, clear **signal to change course**.  

  – Classic stories:  

   – A ring dropping before a wedding was interpreted by the Brisker Rav not as a sign the shidduch was wrong, but that it **wasn’t yet the right time**. The same event could be read in many ways.  

   – Rav Shternbuch describes the **Chatam Sofer** spilling coffee as a prompt to **re-examine a halachic conclusion**, not as a standalone proof of the halacha itself.  

   – The Vilna Gaon, when arrested the day he was working to reinstate Birkat Kohanim in chutz la’aretz, took it as a reason to **re-evaluate the sugya**, and ended up retracting from implementation.  

  – Only **great tzaddikim** with refined **da’at Torah** can possibly determine **when** something is a hint specifically about a particular action versus a general call to introspection.  

 – Rambam on events and introspection:  

  – In Hilchot Ta’aniyot, Rambam writes that when troubles befall the community and people say,  

   – “This is just coincidence / natural statistics,”  

   – such an attitude is **“derech achzariyut” (cruel)** and leads to **more troubles**.  

  – Instead, one must view events as **occasions for teshuvah and cheshbon hanefesh**, regardless of whether one can pinpoint the exact message.  

 – Balancing persistence and change:  

  – Sometimes obstacles are from the **Satan**, to block a person from doing the right thing (e.g., Avraham at Akeidat Yitzchak, where he pressed forward despite severe hindrance).  

  – Sometimes obstacles may be a **warning** that something is off and needs revisiting.  

  – The practical approach:  

   – Use life events primarily as prompts for **general self-examination and improved avodat Hashem**.  

   – Re-examine one’s decisions with **Torah guidance** and, when possible, consultation with **rebbiim or mentors**.  

   – Avoid making life decisions **solely** on “signs” without thorough **halachic and hashkafic analysis**.

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