Halacha Headlines

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2/28/26 – Shiur 550 – How Mental Illness Can Wreck a Marriage and a Divorce Feb 27, 2026

Show notes

Is failure to disclose a significant personality disorder considered a mekach ta’us in marriage?
Are there halachos guiding how to treat one’s spouse during divorce, especially in high-conflict cases?
When is it appropriate to turn to secular courts during divorce proceedings – for example, to obtain a restraining order against a spouse?
Can refusal to go to the mikveh be considered a halachic violation when used as a tool in marital conflict?

Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job

With Rabbi Moshe Mordechai Lowy – Rav of the Agudah of Toronto – 11:00
with Rabbi Yoni Rosensweig – Rav, Posek and author – 43:59
with Dr. Shmuel Harris – psychiatrist, author and founder and director of Machon Dvir Institute, Yerushalayim – 1:15:14
with Dr. Jacob Freedman – psychiatrist, speaker and author – 1:15:14
with Mark Schreck – New York divorce and family law attorney – 1:43:56

Conclusions and takeaways – 2:09:06

מראי מקומות

2/21/26 – Shiur 549 – THANK YOU HASHEM FOR THE EMESDIKE TZADDIK!! Feb 20, 2026

Show notes

What’s the best path for serving Hashem in our generation?
Does it have to be one or the other?
Can it be a combination?

Host: Rabbi Efrem Goldberg – Rov of Boca Raton Synagogue

with Rabbi Daniel Glatstein – Rov of Kehilas Tiferes Mordechai Cedarhurst NY, Renowned lecturer and author – 8:26
with Rabbi Yaakov Danishefsky – Rov Avodas HaLev in Chicago – Mechaber Seforim, LCSW – 28:28

מראי מקומות

2/14/26 – Shiur 548 – Semicha for Women? Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

Can a woman receive semicha and give halachic guidance?
Does the historical precedent against it prohibit change? Does is violate our Mesorah?
Is the Israeli Supreme Court’s push for women’s Rabbanut Semicha a religious goal or part of a broader feminist push?

Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job

with Rabbi Yonah Reiss – Av Beis Din of the CRC – 11:17
with Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer, Esq. – kashrus professional and Chairman of the Rabbinic Circle at Coalition for Jewish Values – 39:53
with Rebbitzen Miriam Kosman – lecturer for Nefesh Yehudi, Author of "Circle, Arrow, Spiral: Exploring Gender in Judaism" – 54:33
with Mrs. Michal Horowitz – lecturer and teacher, author of “Abled: Living with a Disability, a Torah View” – 1:16:24

Conclusions and takeaways – 1:29:55

מראי מקומות

2/7/26 – Shiur 547 – Mental Health Challenges of Boys in Yeshiva & Girls in Seminaries Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

How does coming to Israel for yeshiva and seminary affect a student’s mental health?
When do difficult emotional feelings cross the line from normal struggles to something that should be addressed?
Should a student who believes another is emotionally unstable report that behavior to the school administration?
What are the key similarities and differences in how boys and girls experience stress, anxiety, depression, or other emotional pressures?

Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job

with Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz – Posek, Rosh Yeshiva & Rav, Givat Ze’ev, Israel – 8:50
with Dr. Jacob Freedman – psychiatrist, speaker and author – 29:43
with Dr. Shmuel Harris – psychiatrist, author and founder and director of Machon Dvir Institute, Yerushalayim – 29:43
with Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox – Dayan, forensic and clinical psychologist, Director of Crisis and Trauma Services for Chai Lifeline – 1:02:35
with Mrs. Debbie Fox – clinical social worker and author of Seminary Savvy – 1:02:35

Conclusions and takeaways – 1:40:40

מראי מקומות

1/31/26 – Shiur 546 – The Ban on AI – Why was it banned? | Will Artifical Intelligence ever replace Rabbonim? When perfected will you be able to rely on AI for Psak? Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

Do you need a human mind for Psak?
Do you need Shimush?
Do you need human emotion for Psak?
Can a computer be called שופט שבימיך?
And much more……
Why would there be a Kol Korah against AI?

with Rabbi Dovid Cohen – Rov of Gvul Yaavetz – 6:27
with Rabbi Hershel Schachter – Rosh Yeshivah of YU, Poseik of the OU – 8:07
with Rabbi Yoni Levin – Rosh Yeshiva of South Florida, Assistant Rov of Aish Kodesh, Woodmere NY – 11:04
with Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky – Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivah of Greater Washington Tiferes Gedaliyahu – 21:11
with Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt – Associate Rabbi of Young Israel of Woodmere – 47:39
with Rabbi Chezki Glatt – Magid Shiur Yehivah Toras Shraga, Founder of AI startup – 47:39

מראי מקומות

1/24/26 – Shiur 545 – Join the Headlines $3,000 challenge – Solutions to Break the Phone Habit Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

What practical strategies can help us reduce phone usage and establish healthy boundaries?
Does someone need to stop usage fully or can partial solutions be effective?
What behaviors can we change in as little as thirty days? Does it last?

Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job

with Rabbi Elyada Goldvicht – Rav of KLR in Raanana, Rosh Yeshiva of Semichas Chaver – 8:04
with Rabbi Duvi Rubin – Rav of Kehillas Ohr Yisrael, Baltimore – 8:04
with Mr. Richard Simon – author of Unplug: How to Break Up with Your Phone and Reclaim Your Life – 35:19

Conclusions and Takeaways – 56:52

To sign up for the Headlines “30-day Phone Challenge”: https://chat.whatsapp.com/EAGHMhEm2mQ4ilA7FTNXby

To donate for Rav Zev Leff’s Haggada Set - https://pay.banquest.com/mchonkisveiravzevleff; for donations in Israel https://nedar.im/BGEu; for more information contact Shimon Leff at leffshimon@gmail.com

1/17/26 – Shiur 544 – Breaking the Phone Habit – From Compulsion to Conscious Use Jan 15, 2026

Show notes

Can a cellphone be used in shul for non-tefillah purposes?
Does mindless scrolling on a phone constitute an issur of bitul zman?
Is it preferable to daven from a physical siddur rather than from a phone?
How do our phones affect our relationships with our spouse, children, and friends?
What practical strategies can help us reduce usage and establish healthy boundaries?

Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job

with Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz – Rav of Bais Haknesses of North Woodmere, Head of Semicha at RIETs – 9:39
with Rabbi Efrem Goldberg – Rav of Boca Raton Synagogue, Founder of the Yeshivah of South Florida – 9:39
with Mr. Noach Levin – digital media expert and former contractor for Google – 54:46

Conclusions and takeaways – 1:18:35

מראי מקומות

1/10/26 – Shiur 543 – How can you know an abuser (or other criminal) is no longer a threat? Is there a mitzvah of “Pidyon Shvuyim” to get a Jew out of jail when he was convicted of a crime? Jan 09, 2026

Show notes

Is it possible to determine that an abuser is no longer a risk? What’s the success rate of treating serious abusers?
Why do community leaders sometimes advocate for the early release of an abuser?
How does halacha view cases where a Jewish prisoner receives a disproportionate sentence?
Should the community celebrate someone’s release from prison?

Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job

with Dr. Gavriel Fagin – Director of Tikunim Counseling Services – 14:49
with Rabbi Yonah Reiss – Av Beis Din of the CRC – 50:20
with Rabbi Chaim Aryeh Zev Ginzberg – Rav of the Chofetz Chaim Torah Center, Cedarhurst NY – 1:17:47
with Mrs. Nicole Meyer – advocate against abuse – 1:50:14

Conclusions and takeaways – 2:09:07

מראי מקומות

1/3/26 – Shiur 542 – Are you taking medication? Are you seeing a therapist? These are Seminary Application questions Jan 01, 2026

Show notes

Why are they asking?
Is it legal?
May you lie?
How’s it affecting High School girls?

with Rabbi Zecharya Greenwald – Dean of Me’ohr Bais Yaakov Seminary – 13:17
with Mindy Blumenfeld – Renowned Therapist, lecturer and author – 35:36
with Dayan Yitzchok Grossman – Renowned Dayan of Bais Havaad and Poseik, Rosh Kollel in Silver Springs – 54:17
with Yair Bruck – Renowned Attorney – 1:15:16

מראי מקומות

12/27/25 – Shiur 541 – Are sheitels only b’deieved? Dec 25, 2025

Show notes

Why do married women cover their hair?
Is a tichel preferable to a sheitel?
Why do some women shave their heads after marriage?

Host: Ari Wasserman, author of the newly published, revised and expanded book Making it Work, on workplace challenges and Halachic Q & A on the Job

with Rabbi Michoel Frank – Mora D'Asra of Kehilas Ohr HaTorah, Silver Spring, MD – 10:36
with Rabbi Dovid Genish – Rav of Kehillat Meam Loez, Ramat Beit Shemesh – 10:36
with Rabbi Tzvi Ortner – Rav of Linas Hatzedek in Boro Park, Director of Halacha and Technology for the OU – 59:43
Summary of the Above Poskim – 1:25:36
with Rebbetzin Shalvie Friedman – senior educator and seminary teacher – 1:29:57

מראי מקומות

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