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By Rabbi Haim Jachter | January 21, 2021 Modern authorities have vigorously debated whether a sound heard through a microphone, hearing aid (which functions much like a microphone), or telephone shares the status of the original sound. This issue impacts the fulfillment of numerous mitzvot, such as listening to the blowing of a shofar or to Torah and Megilla readings, by hearing them through these electronic media. Rav Ovadia Yosef (Teshuvot Yechave Da’at 3:96) strongly endorses the stringent opinion. How Does a Microphone Work? Before addressing the halachic aspects of elect...

Remembering Rav Gedalia Dov Schwartz ztz”l When putting pen to paper, I am challenged to properly express the greatness of Rav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, longtime rosh beis din at the Chicago Rabbinical Council (the cRc, where I am kashrus administrator) as well as at the Beth Din of America. In interactions with him, he gave the impression of a European-born gadol, steeped in the great Lithuanian yeshivos. But the truth was that he finished public high school in Newark and graduated from RIETS with a French Prize. So where did he come from, and how did he become a major talmid chacham who was i...

Orthodox Union Joins the Chicago Jewish Community and Klal Yisrael in Mourning the Passing of HaRav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, zt”l Release / Orthodox Union Orthodox Union Joins the Chicago Jewish Community and Klal Yisrael in Mourning the Passing of HaRav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, zt”l Spread the word. (December 20, 2020, Chicago, JNS Wire) Rav Schwartz led the American Jewish community for over sixty years and the Chicago Jewish community for over thirty, serving as the present Rosh Beth Din of the Chicago Rabbinical Council and as Av Beth Din of Beth Din of America. He was a universally recogni...

The American Rabbi’s Rabbi By Rabbi Haim Jachter | December 16, 2020 If I were to ask our readers if they heard of Rav Hershel Schachter and Rav Mordechai Willig, their answers most likely would be “of course.” However, if we asked if they are familiar with Rav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, zt”l, who passed away last week at the age of 95, the answer would likely be no. Although Rav Schwartz was of the same stature and  caliber (and hashkafic orientation) as Rav Schachter and Rav Willig, he forged a different rabbinic path. Rav Schachter and Rav Willig are quin...

The 5 Towns Jewish Times December 14, 2020 Responding to the challenges that many smaller Orthodox Jewish shuls are experiencing in engaging and growing their communities during the pandemic, the Orthodox Union’s Pepa and Rabbi Joseph Karasick Department of Synagogue & Community Services recently convened rabbinic and lay leadership from more than 21 smaller Orthodox communities to virtually discuss and collaborate on strategies to help them unite and ignite their synagogues throughout turbulent times where communal physical gatherings in their buildings have been on pause for c...