The Torah granted executive powers to the Chachomim when It commanded us to listen to them. But do the Rabbis sometimes go too far? The Torah commanded us to perform the Mitzvah of Eglah Arufah – but the Chachomim abolished it because they felt there were too many murderers. How can the Chachomim uproot an express command from the Torah? What about scenarios where the increase in murderers doesn’t make a difference? How far does the power of the Chachomim really reach?

כבוד ההורים היא מצוה גדולה וחשובה עד מאד. אך ממבט ההלכה, מהי הגדרת המצוה והמגבלות שלה? מהו נכלל בכבוד או במורא? למען יאריכון ימיך.

Displaying a Torah Fragment in a Glass Case – A Sefer Torah is the most revered and holy item in Judaism, treated always with the utmost respect. Is it respectful to feature fragments of a Sefer Torah behind a glass? What is the Halachic perspective on publicly displaying in this manner a Sefer Torah that was confiscated by the Nazis? 

• Breathing Space – Many breathing exercises are techniques recommended by health care professionals to manage anxiety. But some of these are practiced by Eastern religions that are associated with idolatry. Are there breathing practices that are sourced in Kabbalah or Chassidus that are Kosher? 
• A Father’s Pain, a Child’s Secret – The joyous reunion of Yaakov and Yosef, a father and son separated for over twenty years, is shadowed by a powerful question: why did Yosef not tell Yaakov he was alive? He was the viceroy of Egypt, the second most powerful man in the land – surely he could have told Yaakov that he lived? How could he let his father anguish in sorrow for no apparent reason? 
• Blessing a Pretzel – The twisty curves of the Pretzel befuddles the mind with its simple query: what Brochah do you make on me? Learn the correct Brochah for a Pretzel.
• Where is Israel? – With the current crises in Israel, knowing the exact boundaries the Torah set for Ertetz Yisroel has never been more crucial, and has never been more difficult. Where are those borders now? How are we to find those lands on modern maps? Where are the three lands that were promised as an inheritance to us when Moshiach comes?
• Legend of a Cookie – The Purim cookie. Three corners, folded to swathe a filling. Supposedly it is named after the wicked Haman from the Purim story. How is this cookie reminiscent of the wicked Haman?

(1)  
The parallels of the wedding-Matan Torah
metaphor; (2) What may and may not be done in a Shul; (3) Homiletics for a
hadran on Mishnayos (4) If the name of a man is Abba, may his children call him
Abba? (5) Why do we read the parshiyos of vehayah ki yeviachah specifically
while wearing the Tefillin of Rabbeinu Tam? (6) What is the halachic view about
playing music after the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash? (7) Was it
considered a sin for Adam to engage in relations before Shabbos?

1. What is the
   significance of turning ninety years old? (Shliach in Canada)
2. Does Torah see
   advantages to land ownership? (Shliach in Pennsylvania)
3. Should someone
   put on Tefillin during Mincha if they did not do so during Shacharis? (Shliach in Virginia)
4. What are the obligations of an institution
   in terms of severance pay? (Shliach in Australia)
5. Why do the
   righteous suffer and the wicked prosper? (Shliach in Ohio)
6. Were the
   waters of the Mabul waters of blessing or of curse? (Shliach in Iowa)