Is This Permitted?

Hello, I am a film student in college and I was wondering if it is okay for characters to put on Tefilin for a movie. This will probably entail the people to wrap multiple times for multiple takes until it is right. Is it okay to put on Tefilin and take it off in that manner? Thank you & Shanah Tova

Is there ever an exception to the prohibition against hugging a member of the opposite sex when doing so is an act of chesed? Last week, I visited a not-orthodox woman who was sitting shiva for her husband who died suddenly and unexpectedly. She received few visitors and was feeling extremely broken and was desperately in need of a hug. There was no time to ask a rabbi. She needed it literally that very second. It just seemed like the right thing to do. I hugged her more than once over the course of my two-hour visit, once for several minutes, and these hugs brought her the comfort she so desperately needed at that moment. It maybe even saved her life, as one can die from a broken heart. Regardless, I couldn’t see myself saying no. Now I am feeling conflicted about what I did. Did I do the right thing?

Is it problematic to have a ringtone of a woman singing if there might be men around? What if the men around listen to women singing anyway? What if it’s just in a public place with a regular chance of Jewish men being around?

If a man is married to a barren woman and he loves her and does not wish to divorce her, is it permitted for him to have a relationship with another woman that his wife consents to in order for him to have children, just like Abraham did with Hagar?

Are wine barrel aged coffee beans from non Jews kosher? I can see two heterim for purchasing this, although I’d like to ask to confirm intellectually, nishtaneh, the non kosher wine absorbed into the coffee bean changes when the coffee is brewed, and zeh v’zeh gorem, the coffee bean and wine absorption are both contributing to the final product

The Talmud in chullin, establishes a principle of Nat Bar Nat, meaning pareve food cooked in fleishig or milchig pots/pans can be eating with the opposite (like eating fish cooked In meat pan with milk). Does this principle in the Gemara mean one can cook dumplings on milchig pan, as the casing is pareve and the pareve casing would be permissible to eat with fleishig due to nat bar nat? Is it different lechatchila or B’dieved

Dear Rabbi, Yesterday I was in the supermarket when a middle aged woman got angry at the customer service for a reason unknown to me. She then went on a profanity laced tirade in which she screamed at the employees. For most of the approximately 6 minutes this went on, I filmed the incident and showed the footage to my immediate family and a few friends. She then left quickly when she heard the police were on the way. As far as I know, her identity is unknown to the store and the police, and I surely have no idea who she is. The police just took a report, but because no money was stolen and no one was hurt, they don’t have any further plans to identify her. I have seen a lot of viral videos just like that on YouTube, taken by people who chose to film it just like I did. What I would like to know is if Jewish law permits publishing videos like this. I am concerned it could be Lashon Hara, or if any other laws prohibit posting this, since it is shameful to the woman who lost control.

Does the biblical prohibition against crossdressing apply only to wearable garments, or does it extend to accessories that are not worn? I am asking because I acquired many of my grandmother’s possessions as she is selling her house. Most of them I find useful are gender neutral, but one of them is an airline carry-on bag that is the best quality, most practical thing like it I have ever seen. The only problem: it is pink with flowers and looks so feminine.

My neighbor above me has loud drinking parties every Shabbat. They invite what appears to be dozens of young orthodox men over who get drunk and sing loudly and stomp on the floor all night. The noise they make really bothers me and I can’t stand it. I have tried talking to them, but they refuse. I have also spoken with a local rabbi who says he can’t help me. The apartment management hasn’t been of any help either. I am so frustrated. These men call what they are doing ‘oneg.’ Perhaps it is oneg for them, but for me it is utter cacophony that spoils the oneg of my Shabbat. I have thought of talking to the police about this and arranging in advance of Shabbat for an officer to come at that time and see it firsthand, but I don’t know if it is permitted to call the police on my fellow Orthodox Jews like that. What do you think?