Shabbat

After the Marriv Amidah is said on Friday evening, we recite: (1) Va-Ya-Chu-Lu (2) Baruch Atah ... Ko-Nei Sha-Ma-Yim Ve-Aretz (3) Magen Avot Is a minyan required to recite Birkat Me-eyn Sheva [combination of (2) and (3)]? If yes, why?

Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. A Jew b'shogeg cooked grilled cheese by lighting a burner under a pan on Shabbos. He meant to do it and knew it was Shabbos, but he didn't know the penalty for it, which is s'kilah God forbid. So it qualifies as shogeg. By lighting this burner, he thereby warmed the pot next to it that contained completely cooled off, fully cooked soup that was fully cooked before Shabbos. Would another Jew be able to eat this soup, even though it may have been warmed by the other Jew's forbidden act, and it probably was because the soup pot is warm to the touch from being heated by the burner next to it. Or would it possibly be mutar to eat it because the Jew would have eaten it anyway, even without it being warmed up. Thanks a lot.

Hi Rabbi, why is there Kiddush Friday night? Thanks!

Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. If a pillow contains a zipper, would that pillow be muktzeh on Shabbos, and if not, would the zipper itself be muktzeh on Shabbos, even when it is attached to the pillow? Thanks a lot.

Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. Is one allowed to unscrew the top of a sippy cup on Shabbos, the top of the sippy cup containing the straw, dump out the water, put new water in the sippy cup and then screw the top back on, or would this be forbidden because one is thereby making a vessel? Thanks a lot.

I woke up in the middle of the night and wondered: “Why is it Jewish practice to dip the Challah or bread we eat in salt?” What’s so important about salt in Judaism?

I was a guest at the home of a religious family this past Shabbat, and they served the tastiest delicacy into which I’ve ever sunk my teeth. It had an intoxicating aroma and looked like a molasses-colored potpourri. I believe they called it “Jolt.” What is the significance of this tasty tradition?

Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. On Shabbos, if someone asks you who you are going to vote for for President, are you allowed to say? Or would this be forbidden because it is talking about doing something after Shabbos which you are not allowed to do on Shabbos? Thanks a lot.

Shalom aleichem Rabbi Lauffer. Thank you for answering my last question. If one notices that there is a sharp piece/sliver of wood, or whatever those things are that you step on in the house, in one's sock on Shabbos, is one allowed to take off his sock and remove the sharp thing in his sock, and if this is permitted, would it also be permitted even if it is embedded in the fabric of the sock? Thanks a lot.