Torah

Question: How should the aliyos for k’rias haTorah be divided up in minyanim that adhere to social distancing?

Short Answer: There are two major options in the poskim: either (i) the participants receive the aliyos from afar and do not approach the Torah, or (ii) the baal k’riah receives all the aliyos and makes a brachah before and after each aliyah.

Question: When davening by himself at home on Friday night, must a husband say VaYechulu (after Sh’moneh Esrei in Maariv) together with his wife?

Question: When minyanim are allowed, should we make up the parshiyos that we missed; and if yes, how?

Short Answer: Many contemporary poskim have ruled that there is no need to make up any of the missed parshiyos, but it is virtuous to do so.

Question: You commit to learn one masechta of Mishnayos in memory of a recently departed person. May you also sign up to learn the same masechta in memory of another recently departed person? In other words, your learning will be in memory of both people. Does this work?

Question: If someone has an infectious disease, such as COVID-19, and is hospitalized, Rachamana litzlan, may/should he bring his t’filin to the hospital if the t’filin will have to be burned afterwards because of the disease?

Question: May one daven next to his wife and daughters at home, or must they erect a m’chitzah if davening together?

Short Answer: While a m’chitzah is unnecessary, Rabbi Mordechai Willig shlita told this author that the wife and daughters should not be in the line of sight of the husband/father who is davening.