Question
I will be davening Shachrit in Sydney Australia on Wednesday 21 December before flying to the United States of America I arrive in America at 06:00 am on Wednesday 21 December (same day as I leave Australia) Do I need to daven Shachrit again in America ?

Question
Dear Rabbi, Politics aside, according to Judaism does a person have a civic or a religious obligation to strengthen and support the ruling authorities in the place they live? Thank you!

Question
As anyone who uses them knows, tefillin straps have a smooth black and a rough brown side. I learned one is supposed to don tefillin with the black side facing out. If one mistakenly dons tefillin with the brown side facing out, is it still valid?

Question
I daven Nusach Sefard but often daven in a minyan that is Nusach Ashkenaz. Which version of Kedushah should I say when responding to Kedusha in Chazoras Hashats?

Question
What posuk does one choose at the end of shmonei esrei if one has two names? Do you use two pesukim? Or take the posuk that starts with the first initial of the first name and ends with the last initial of the second name?

Question
Psalm 27, the special prayer for month of Elul, is recited during Shacharit and Maariv. At what point in the prayer service is this psalm recited? Based on notes in the prayer book, I believe that this psalm is recited immediately before the Mourner's Kaddish. The order would be Aleinu, Psalm 27, Mourner's Kaddish. This year there is a different person leading our daily services. His order is Aleinu, Mourner's Kaddish, Psalm 27, Mourner's Kaddish. He repeats Mourner's Kaddish. Which order is correct? When should psalm 27 be recited?

Question
Dear Rabbi, I read that Judaism teaches that God can do anything. So, I pray to Him to help me succeed. The problem is, He doesn't seem to hear. Why is God not answering my prayers?

Question
Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. That which we don't daven with hands outstretched as paskened by Rabbi Akiva Eiger in O.C. 89:1, does this only apply to the shemoneh esrei? For example, would one be permitted to raise one's hands during the tehillim that follow hamapil and the first paragraph of Shema that is said before retiring? Thanks a lot.

Question
Does prayer on an airplane require a minyan and standing, as is done in the Synagogue? A colleague at my workplace asked me this and I told him I’d check with a rabbi. Thanks.

Question
Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. The Rema in O.C. 426:16, regarding the Kiddush Levanah, writes "He should say to his fellow three times 'Shalom alecha.' Responding to this is like greeting with it." Does this mean that if 3 different people wish him shalom aleichem and he responds aleichem shalom to all 3, he doesn't have to say shalom aleichem to 3 more people? Is it the current custom to say "shalom aleichem" to 3 more people even if one has already responded "aleichem shalom" to three different people? Thanks a lot.