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Tefillin on Chol HaMoed: The Halakhic Dispute
Sources examine the central halakhic question of whether tefillin are worn during the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot. The dispute turns on whether Chol HaMoed constitutes a time requiring tefillin, with medieval and later authorities offering differing positions and practical rulings based on the concept of multiple signs and festival sanctity.
שבת ויו״ט לאו זמן תפילין הן
Israeli Visitor to Diaspora: Melacha on Yom Tov Sheni
The halakhic status of a resident of Eretz Yisrael who travels to the Diaspora for Pesach and intends to return, particularly whether melacha may be performed on the second day of Yom Tov and how intention to return affects observance in a settled area.
בני ארץ ישראל שבאו לחוצה לארץ אסורים לעשות מלאכה ביו״ט שני ביישוב
Status of Objects Designated for Burning
Jewish legal sources examine the halakhic treatment of items set aside for destruction by fire, particularly in contexts of sacrificial law and chametz before Passover. The sources address when an object's future burning affects its present legal status and practical requirements for its destruction.
כל העומד ליזרק כזרוק דמי
Wearing Tefillin on Chol HaMoed
Sources explore the halachic status of wearing tefillin during the intermediate days of Pesach and Sukkot. The sources present a foundational principle that tefillin are not worn on days that are themselves signs (Shabbat and Festivals), along with divergent customs between Sephardic and Ashkenazi communities regarding Chol HaMoed.
בחוה״מ ג״כ אסור להניח תפילין מהטעם הזה בעצמו
Adding Days to Pesach: Torah Law and Rabbinic Authority
These sources address the apparent tension between the Torah's prohibition against adding to commandments and the rabbinic institution of an eighth day of Pesach outside the Land of Israel. They explain how rabbinic enactments, enacted for legitimate purposes such as preventing confusion about festival dates, operate within the framework of Torah law and rabbinic authority.
תקנה ראשונה לא זזה ממקומה
Music and Rejoicing During Sefirat HaOmer
These sources explore the mourning customs observed during the omer period between Pesach and Shavuot, tracing the prohibition on music and joyful celebrations from Talmudic sources through later halachic codifications. The restrictions derive both from the historical tragedy of Rabbi Akiva's students and broader laws of semi-mourning applied by analogy.
בַּשִּׁיר לֹא יִשְׁתּוּ יָיִן