Ask The Rabbi

Ask The Rabbi

category:  Other

In our shul, (Beit Knesset, synagogue,) there is a large electric urn in which water is boiled for several days at a time. The water is not changed every morning, and this presents a problem due to ‘ruach ra’ah, (evil spirit,) and the Alter Rebbe decides in his laws of looking after one’s bodily and mental health”A person should not drink liquids that sat overnight… in a vessel made of metal…” and I heard that in ‘770’, the Rebbe’s shul, there is also a large electric urn and the water is not changed there on a daily basis either. Is it permissible to drink the water from the urn in the abovementioned circumstances?

There are no hard and fast rules about white shirts. In general, a white shirt is considered to be a modest but respectable garment, and a person should wear clothing that is respectable.


Also, part of the day is spent standing in prayer in front of the Creator, and this certainly warrants respectable attire.


In any case, the main thing is not the external garments, but rather the spiritual ones, namely, a person’s thought, speech, and deed. Physical clothing is only a means to the end, the goal being purity of spiritual garments.

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