Four Questions

Question

Hello. I have a few questions to ask:

1) I’m an Orthodox person, yet I do have a non-Jewish Vietnamese friend (purely platonic). My question is; Is it permissible for her to hold the Havdala candle while I make Havdala? Also, can she drink from the Havdala wine (and Kiddush wine / Challa)?

2) Netilat- yadayim after the toilet – only after the hands were dried, is that correct?

3) If I’m having a shower and I happen to soap my feet – my hands will have “Tumah” on them – can I do netilat-yadayim while undressed in the shower first (without a beracha of course), so that I can than scrub the rest of my body with soap? And do I need to dry my hands after the netilat-yadayim, before continuing to soap the rest of my body?

4) If I eat a fruit, for example an orange and say the beracha ‘borei pri haetz’, and than open the fridge and decide to eat an apple, and after a few minutes I eat a pear – do I need to say ‘bore pri haetz’ on each fruit separately, even tho they are all fruit and the beracha is the same?

 

 

0

Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    It is hard for me to answer your question as the relationship that you are currently in is completely forbidden. In general, there is no prohibition against a non-Jew drinking Kiddush wine or the wine from Havdalah. Nor is there is a problem with a non-Jew eating challah.

    Only when hands are washed in order to eat bread is there an obligation to dry them first before making the Bracha over the bread. Otherwise there is no obligation to make sure that one’s hands are dry before reciting the Bracha after having been to the bathroom.

    A person is obligated to wash their hands when they touch a part of their body that is normally covered. The correct way to wash is to use a washing cup and to wash each hand at least once. This should be done only after the person is wearing something (even just a towel) and the person should then be careful after washing not to touch a normally covered part of the body.

    If, when you made the initial Bracha, you knew that there were other kinds of fruits in the fridge then you do not need to make another Bracha. If you were not aware that there were the best thing is to make an After-Bracha and then wait a short period of time before making another Bracha over the new fruit.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team