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Question: May a kohen perform Birkas Kohanim by standing in the place where his father normally stands during Birkas Kohanim?

 Short Answer: A kohen should not perform Birkas Kohanim by standing in his father’s set place. However, the kohen may stand next to his father, but his father should ideally stand in the middle of the platform with the son at his side.

Question: May a kohen walk in front of another person who is in the middle of Sh’moneh Esrei in order to hide his shoes before performing Birkas Kohanim?

Short Answer: While it is important for a kohen to hide his shoes from plain sight when he recites Birkas Kohanim, he should not pass in front of a person reciting Sh’moneh Esrei in order to do so.

Question: A kohen washes his hands after going to the bathroom in the middle of davening. Must he wash his hands again before Birkas Kohanim?

Short Answer: No, a kohen who uses the bathroom before Birkas Kohanim need only wash his hands one time for both Asher Yatzar and Birkas Kohanim. Ideally, a Levi should be the one who washes the kohen’s hands.

Question: Must you slaughter a kosher animal that will not be eaten by Jews but will instead be sold to non-Jews?

Short Answer: Rav Moshe Sternbuch suggests that it is a machlokes between the Rambam and the Ramban whether an animal that will only be eaten by non-Jews needs to be slaughtered.

Question: May one drink milk nowadays?

Short Answer: It is permitted to drink milk nowadays, despite that many of the cows are treifos, because extract of a treifah is only forbidden when it is extracted from an animal that is recognizable as non-kosher.

Question: Must a person do t’shuvah if he accidentally eats a vegetable that has bugs?

Short Answer: Yes, a person who unknowingly eats bugs on a vegetable should do t’shuvah.