Table of Contents Preface . XXI Introduction . 1 Section 1: Waking Up in the Morning Halachah 1: When Is the Custom to Say Modeh Ani? . 13 Halachah 2: Is One Required to Wear a Kippah? . 15 Halachah 3: What Is Tikun Hatzot? . 17 Halachah 4: How Should One Position One’s Bed? . 19 Halachah 5: Where Can One Wash Netilat Yadayim in the Morning? . 21 Halachah 6: How Does One Wash Netilat Yadayim? . 23 Halachah 7: When Else Is Netilat Yadayim Performed? . 25 Halachah 8: When Should Al Netilat Yadayim and Birkot Hashahar Be Recited? . 27 Halachah 9: Does One Wash Hands If One Stays Up All Night? . 29 Halachah 10: Is There a Time Limit for Reciting Asher Yatzar? . 31 Halachah 11: Is One Required to Wash after Using the Restroom? . 33 Halachah 12: Must a Man Go to the Mikveh? . 35 Section 2: Tallit and Tzitzit Halachah 13: How Does One Put On a Tallit? . 39 Halachah 14: What Is the Custom regarding Covering One’s Head with a Tallit? . 41 IX X Magen Avot Halachah 15: May One Untangle the Tzitzit Strings on Shabbat? . 43 Halachah 16: Are the Tzitzit to Be Worn Outside One’s Garment? . 45 Halachah 17: What If One’s Tallit Falls Off? . 47 Halachah 18: Is the Tallit Katan Obligatory? . 49 Halachah 19: With What Materials and Colors Does One Fulfill the Mitzvah of Tzitzit? . 52 Halachah 20: Which Clothes Require Tzitzit? . 54 Halachah 21: How Does One Tie the Tzitzit? . 56 Halachah 22: Does One Recite a Blessing on a Borrowed Tallit? . 58 Halachah 23: What Is the Minimum Size of a Tallit Katan? . 60 Section 3: Tefillin Halachah 24: What If One Touches One’s Tefillin before Wearing the Tallit? . 65 Halachah 25: Is the Tefillin Shel Yad Placed While Sitting or Standing?. 67 Halachah 26: Where Is the Tefillin Shel Yad Positioned? . 69 Halachah 27: Can One Wear Tefillin If One Has Long Hair? Can One Wear a Watch under His Tefillin? . 71 Halachah 28: Which Arm Should the Tefillin Be Placed On? . 73 Halachah 29: Where Is the Proper Place of the Tefillin Shel Rosh? . 75 Halachah 30: How Does One Put Away the Tefillin? . 77 Halachah 31: Can Tefillin Be Worn at Night? . 79 Halachah 32: Can a Sephardi Wear Ashkenazic Tefillin? . 81 Halachah 33: What Are Rabbenu Tam Tefillin? . 83 Halachah 34: What Typeface Is Used in Tefillin? . 86 Halachah 35: How Long Should Tefillin Be Worn? . 88 Halachah 36: Can a Child Wear Tefillin? . 90 Section 4: Shaharit Halachah 37: What Are Birkot HaTorah?. 95 Halachah 38: May One Recite Verses before Birkot HaTorah? . 97 Halachah 39: Does Sleep Constitute an Interruption for Birkot HaTorah? 99 Table of Contents XI Halachah 40: What Is the Order of Korbanot? . 101 Halachah 41: Is Hodu Recited before or after Baruch She’amar? . 103 Halachah 42: May One Interrupt Pesuke Dezimrah? . 105 Halachah 43: When Is Mizmor LeTodah Skipped? . 107 Halachah 44: What If One Is Late to Pesuke Dezimrah? . 109 Halachah 45: What Is the Proper Conduct of a Shaliah Tzibbur? . 111 Halachah 46: Giving Tzedakah before Prayer: When Should Charity Be Given? . 113 Halachah 47: May One Repeat Words in the Prayer? . 115 Halachah 48: Can a Child Be Part of a Minyan? . 117 Halachah 49: Where Does One Have to Be to Be Included in a Minyan? . 119 Halachah 50: Does Someone Watching a Minyan through Live Broadcast Have to Answer the Prayers? . 121 Halachah 51: Where and When Does One Stand for Kaddish? . 123 Halachah 52: Does One Bow during Kaddish and Barechu? . 126 Halachah 53: Is the Custom to Recite Yishtabah during Barechu? . 128 Section 5: Keriat Shema and Its Berachot Halachah 54: How Is Kedushah of Berachot Keriat Shema Said? . 133 Halachah 55: Does One Take One’s Tzitzit during the Blessing of Ahavat Olam? . 135 Halachah 56: What Is the Latest Time for Keriat Shema? . 137 Halachah 57: What Is the Proper Conduct for Shema? . 139 Halachah 58: May One Interrupt Keriat Shema? . 141 Halachah 59: May One Recite Shema near a Woman with Uncovered Hair? . 143 Halachah 60: May One Think Divre Torah in the Shower? . 145 Halachah 61: Can One Recite Shema near Human Waste? . 147 Halachah 62: How Should One Read the Shema? . 149 Halachah 63: What Is the Connection between Shema and Aseret Hadibrot?. 151 Halachah 64: Why Is the Index Finger Kissed? . 153 XII Magen Avot Halachah 65: Does One Add the Word “Emet” to the End of Shema? . 155 Halachah 66: Emet Veyatziv . 157 Section 6: Amidah Halachah 67: May One Pray before Sunrise? . 161 Halachah 68: How Loud Should One Pray the Amidah? . 163 Halachah 69: How Does One Begin the Amidah? . 165 Halachah 70: Can One Start the Amidah While Taking Steps Back? . 167 Halachah 71: How Should One Bow during the Amidah? . 169 Halachah 72: What Is the Proper Kavanah in the First Blessing of the Amidah? . 171 Halachah 73: What Is the Proper Kavanah in the Second Blessing of the Amidah? . 173 Halachah 74: Why Is Mehaye Hametim Mentioned Three Times? . 174 Halachah 75: Which Version of Honen Hada’at Is Correct? . 175 Halachah 76: How Does One Pray for Teshuvah? . 177 Halachah 77: Does One Strike One’s Chest during Selach Lanu? . 179 Halachah 78a: Geulah and Refuah: Which Name Should One Use When Praying for Health? . 181 Halachah 78b: Refuah: Must One Use an Honorific When Praying for One’s Parent? . 183 Halachah 78c: How Does One Pray for a Recovery or for Livelihood? . 185 Halachah 79: Can One Pray for One’s Livelihood in Birkat Hashanim? . 187 Halachah 80: Which Birkat Hashanim Is Recited in the Southern Hemisphere? . 188 Halachah 81: What Should One Contemplate in the Berachot of Teka BeShofar Gadol and Hashivah Shofetenu? . 191 Halachah 82: How Does One End the Berachah of Minim? . 193 Halachah 83: What Are We Blessing in Birkat Tzaddikim? . 195 Halachah 84: Why Do We Interject during Boneh Yerushalayim of the Repetition of the Amidah? . 196 Halachah 85: What Are We Praying for in the Blessing of Et Tzemah David? . 198 Table of Contents XIII Halachah 86: Can One Ask for All of One’s Needs in Shome’a Tefillah? . 200 Halachah 87: The Blessing of Retze: Do Prayers Have the Status of Korbanot? . 202 Halachah 88: How Important Is Bowing at Modim? . 204 Halachah 89: Why Were Pronunciations Changed in Modim? . 206 Halachah 90: Why Do Moroccans Say “Ke’me’az” before Modim? . 208 Halachah 91: Is Shalom Rav Ever Recited? . 209 Halachah 92: How Can One Pray to Find a Spouse in Yihyu Leratzon? . 211 Halachah 93: What Are the Benefits of Reciting Lamnatze’ah Binginot? . 213 Halachah 94a: Why Do We Take Three Steps Back after the Amidah? . 215 Halachah 94b: How Big Is Each Step after the Amidah? . 217 Halachah 95: What Other Prayers Can One Insert into the Amidah? . 219 Halachah 96: Bowing, Three Steps Back, and Waiting in One’s Place: May One Sit after the Amidah? . 221 Section 7: Hazarat Hashatz and Birkat Kohanim Halachah 97: What If the Hazan Arrives Late? . 225 Halachah 98: Why Is the Amidah Repeated by the Hazan, and When Can the Hazarah Be Omitted? . 227 Halachah 99: Talking during Hazarat HaShatz: How Problematic Is Speaking during the Prayer? . 230 Halachah 100: Can the Hazarah Proceed with Less than a Minyan? . 232 Halachah 101: Can a Latecomer Recite Kedushah? . 234 Halachah 102: What Is the Mitzvah of Birkat Kohanim, and What Kavanot Must One Have? . 236 Halachah 103: When Is Birkat Kohanim Recited? . 238 Halachah 104: Can Minors Say Birkat Kohanim? . 240 Halachah 105: Can a Kohen Who Killed Someone Say Birkat Kohanim? . .242 Halachah 106: Can a Kohen Perform Birkat Kohanim after Drinking Alcohol? . 244 Halachah 107: What Relationships Disqualify a Kohen? . 246 Halachah 108a: Gazing Upon the Kohen: May One Look Directly at the Kohen? . 247 XIV Magen Avot Halachah 108b: Why Are Children Covered with the Tallit during Birkat Kohanim? . 249 Halachah 109: May One Recite Verses during Birkat Kohanim? . 251 Halachah 110: Starting Birkat Kohanim: Who Says the First Word of Birkat Kohanim? . ..