Dose of Halacha

Question: Should one make havdala on beer on motzaei Pesach ? Answer: The Shulchan Aruch (OC 296:2) writes that one cannot say havdala over bread. One may use beer, however, providing that it is chamar medina , a national beverage. This is different to Friday night kiddush where the Shulchan Aruch (OC 272:9) writes that one should use bread for kiddush rather than other drinks, though similar to the daytime kiddush when beer would be second best. The Rema (OC 296:2) writes that the minhag is to use beer for havdala on motzaei Pesach as one appreciates beer more then. The Taz (296:3) and Shulchan Aruch Harav (OC 296:10) note that this is subjective, and if one prefers wine then one should use wine for havdala . R’ Chaim Volozhin (Maaseh Rav 185) notes that the Vilna Gaon was particular to eat chametz on motzaei Pesach. The Taamei Haminhagim (Kuntres Acharon 593) explains that he wanted to demonstrate that the reason that he avoided chametz for the past week was only...

Question: I have always found it difficult to stay awake until the end of seder night. Can I have a coffee after I’ve eaten the afikoman ? Answer: The Mishna (Pesachim 119b) teaches that we mustn’t eat anything after the pesach afikoman . We include this halacha in our answer to the chacham, wise son. Rambam (Chametz Umatza 8:9) writes that nowadays when we don’t have the korban pesach , one mustn’t eat after the afikoman . The rishonim offer various reasons for this. According to Rambam this is to ensure that the taste of the matza remains in one’s mouth. The Baal Hamaor (Pesachim 119b) explains that immediately after eating, everyone would go outside and sing hallel on the rooftops. It was important not to eat anything else that may have delayed them. The Ramban (Milchamos Hashem), however, explains that the reason is that the afikoman had to be eaten at the end of the meal with the korban Pesach which must be eaten when a person is full. There is a machlokes , howeve...

Question: Do I say a beracha when I check my car for chametz ? Does it matter when I check it? Answer: The Rema (OC 433:13) writes that one should properly clean every room of their house before they do bedikas chametz . This applies to any room where one may have taken chametz into throughout the year. One must, therefore, clean one’s car before Pesach. The Chayei Adam (119:18) writes that even though one needs to check one’s pockets and containers, the main mitzva of bedikas chametz is specifically to check their house. One would, therefore, only recite a beracha upon checking their house. There is a discussion, however, whether one should recite a beracha upon checking their car. R’ Ovadia Yosef (Yechave Daas 1:5) writes that one should do bedikas chametz in one’s car after they’ve looked around their house the night before Pesach. One should not repeat the beracha even if it took a while to get to one’s car. R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Halichos Shlomo, Pesach 5:5)...

Question: I’m baking a big batch of biscuits. The recipe doesn’t call for any water. Do I take challa from the batter? Answer: The Mishna (Challa 1:5) writes that one isn’t obligated to separate challa from a thin batter unless it takes on a thicker consistency when it is baked (See Rashi). Following this, the Shulchan Aruch (YD 329:2) writes that, providing it contains enough flour, one has to take challa when baking something from a liquid batter just as one does from a thick dough. R' Avraham Borenstein (Avnei Nezer YD 413) writes, however, that one shouldn’t separate challa until after the cake or biscuits have baked. The Aruch Hashulchan (YD 329:15) disagrees, writing that as cakes and biscuits are not considered to be bread, there is no need to separate challa from them in chutz la’aretz when separating challa is only miderabanan. R’ Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (Minchas Shlomo 68:n1; Shemiras Shabbos Kehilchasa 42:n41) disagrees, however. After all, if one were t...