Halachic Highlights

Question: May a non-observant Jew serve as the chazan?

Short Answer: While it is certainly preferable to have a shomer Torah u’mitzvos serve as the chazan, there is room to be lenient in many circumstances and to allow a non-observant Jew to serve as the chazan.

Question: May a child ever receive help from a parent?

Short Answer: Yes, a child may accept an offer for help from a mother or a non-“ben Torah” father. If the ben Torah father insists on helping, many hold that a child may accept the help. There is also room to be lenient if the father is just performing basic tasks for the child or is helping the child perform a mitzvah.

Question: Must children follow the last will and testament of their parents?

Short Answer: Yes. Although some disagree, Rabbi Akiva Eiger ruled that a child must follow a parent’s last will and testament. However, when this requires the child to make a financial expenditure, it is unclear whether he still must obey.

Question: May a child place an elderly parent in a nursing home instead of caring for the parent in his own home? If yes, who pays for the nursing home?

Question: May a child name-drop his famous and respected parent in order to receive a promotion or honor?

Short Answer: If a child is going to mention his own reputation/name in order to receive a promotion or honor, he should instead mention his parent’s name, assuming his parent is respected, as this gives the parent the honor.

Question: Is a son ever obligated to stop learning Torah to perform kibud av va’eim?

Short Answer: Yes, depending on the situation, a son must sometimes stop learning Torah in order to perform kibud av va’eim, especially if the task will only take a few minutes.