What is the accepted psak regarding a woman speaking from the pulpit in a shul (a) on Shabbos morning following the end of davening, and (b) at a non-davening time. The pulpit is in front of the men's section, with the mechitzos and women's section on the sides.

Dear Scholar/ Rabbi, I am considering selling Jewish-themed products to the general public on the internet. These are not religious items like tefilin, but rather common consumer products with inscriptions in Hebrew and verses from the Tanakh written on them. The potential pitfalls are the fact that some of the target audiences such as Evangelical Christians, who may believe that Jews don't have a place in the afterlife and might have an interest for missionary activity. I woulnd't want my products to become "missionary tools", no matter how far-fetched that scenario is. 1. Is it permissable to purposely market these Jewish products to Evangelicals, who usually support Israel and Jews? 2. Do I bear any ethical / moral responsibility in how these Hebrew-language products are used? 3. Do I need to follow any rules, other than the obvious one not to print names that must be respected on the products? Thank you for your help!

Regarding the tradition of breaking a glass at a wedding, I know that in israel, I've been to weddings where the glass is broken at the beginning of the ceremony accompanied by singing of an appropriate song as a moment of true mourning which seems to make much more sense than the American custom of breaking the glass at the end. What is the origin of the American and the israeli customs?

Can you give me the origins of planting a tree to honor the memory of a departed loved one? I always assumed this practice was Jewish related and steeped in Judaic custom, tradition or mythology. My mother just passed away, I told a co-worker that there were no flowers at a traditional Jewish funeral and that I had always heard in my youth about planting a tree as a "living" tribute. I can back from her funeral and found two wonderful fruit trees that my co-workers had purchased for me. I would now like to thank them for their kindness and wish to cite an appropriate reference. Can YOU PLEASE ASSIST ME????

I am writing a paper for school and I wanted to know where I can find infomation on the following topics either on the net or in books 1 Describe THE Jewish belief sysytem and its values. 2 Describe Judaism's view of Race,sex,childhood and family, and, sexual orientation.Thank you