Dose of Halacha

Question : I have noticed that certain Scotch whiskies now have a hechsher on them. Does whisky need a hechsher? Answer : The poskim agree that ordinary Scotch whisky (whether single malt or blended) which has no mention of any wine casks is perfectly Kosher. The question arises when whisky has been matured in wine casks, such as the Macallan Sherry Oak. R’ Moshe Feinstein famously addresses this issue in 2 responsa: Igros Moshe YD 1:62-63. While the Shulchan Aruch (YD 134:13) forbids drinking a gentile’s beverage when it is customary to add non-Kosher wine to it, R’ Moshe follows the more lenient Rema. Providing the wine is nullified against 6 parts whisky (as opposed to the usual 1:60 ratio), the wine is Kosher. While R’ Moshe advises that a baal nefesh should best avoid such whisky, seemingly he was specifically referring to a scenario where wine had actually been added to whisky. As Scotch Whisky Regulations dictate that Scotch may only contain water, grain yeast and caramel col...

Question: I recently davened in a shul where the chazan repeated several words during chazaras hashatz . Should I have said something to him? Answer: The Mishna (Berachos 33b) instructs us to silence someone who repeats the word modim . The Gemara explains that doing so could create the impression of addressing two authorities, G-d forbid. Similarly, the repetition of shema is prohibited (see Shulchan Aruch, OC 121:2; 68:9). The Maharam Schick (OC 31) extends this prohibition to other parts of davening and provides five reasons why repeating words is problematic. These include the potential violation of bal tosif , adding to the mitzvos . Furthermore, inserting additional words can amount to falsehood and cause a hefsek (interruption). He also highlights how the Tur (OC 51; 113; 114; 582) often underscores the deliberate number of words in various tefillos . R’ Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe OC 2:22) emphasises that a chazan must refrain from repeating words during chazaras hasha...