Question
After decades of going to a reformed temple for high holy day services, I am going to an orthodox synagogue this year. The orthodox synagogue does Birkat Cohanim. I went to an orthodox synagogue growing up. I am a Cohen and participated in it. As of today, I have lived with my gentile partner for almost 40 years, but never officially married her. She and I raised two kids together who are now fully grown. If this is the case, do I qualify to participate in the Birkat Cohanim ritual?

Question
Is a man allowed to be yotze on a woman’s bracha? I just formed a carpool to work, with a Jewish woman and a gentile. When I am a passenger, it is easy for me to say Tefilas Haderech, and the Jewish woman always says amen to me. But I can’t read when I’m driving. Can the Jewish woman in my carpool say Tefilas Haderech, and then I say amen and be yotze?

Question
If you relieve yourself far from a fresh water source (such as in a port-a-pot), and cannot wash your hands for a while, do you recite Asher Yatzar immediately after, even though you did not wash your hands? Or do you wait until you find a water source? And if you reach a water source a substantial amount of time later, do you recite Asher Yatzar then, or do you skip it altogether?

Question
Is a ritual washing cup a holy object that is supposed to be reserved for just ritual washing? My friend uses her ritual washing cup for a myriad of other purposes for which she finds it practical. Including washing the kitchen floor, washing windows, cleaning other parts of the house, cleaning her baby during diaper changes, watering the plants, and filling the urn with water, to name a few.

Question
Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. When saying hallel with the minyan, are you supposed to say "hodu lashem ki tov ki l'olam chasdo" after the chazzan says the last line, even though that is the end of the little poem there and there is nothing else to say after the chazzan says that last line? Thanks.

Question
I am ethically Jewish and was not at all raised religious. My family stopped practicing because of immigrating and the Holocaust. I’m currently in college and have recently learned about Chabad On Campus. I have started attending events as I am drawn to returning to my heritage as I find truth in the Torah. Despite already being a Jew, I feel like I’m an imposter and I feel like I don’t truly belong. I feel like I don’t measure up to people who were raised religiously. I feel embarrassed knowing that I don’t have the same knowledge as everybody else. What do I do?

Question
My cousin is transgender. We are planning on having her at our seder. She was born a boy and became a woman through a series of surgical procedures when she grew up. She now looks and dresses feminine and is hard to distinguish from any other woman. We plan to have exactly two males above 13 at our seder, me and our oldest son. Does Jewish law still consider her male for ritual purposes? Can we include her as a ‘male’ for the third person in a zimmun?