Halacha Line

The Halacha Line is an innovative initiative of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA), designed to provide member rabbis with direct access to the YU/RIETS Beis Medrash for timely and authoritative halachic guidance. This essential service facilitates direct consultation with YU/RIETS Roshei Yeshiva as halachic resources. Responses are intended exclusively for the inquiring rabbi and do not represent official RCA halachic policy. The Halacha Line provides RCA member rabbis with a dependable platform for accessing expert halachic guidance, enhancing their ability to serve their communities effectively.

We are most appreciative to Rav Aryeh Lebowitz, who has offered to pose questions to the Roshei Yeshiva / Poskim with help from R’ Michael Fagin, Rav Schachter’s long-time shiur assistant and one of the excellent talmidim of RIETS. We are also most appreciative to Rav Yaakov Neuberger, Rav Hershel Schachter, Zvi Sobolofsky, and Rav Mordechai Willig who have volunteered time to provide our RCA rabbanim with guidance as part of this initiative.

The service is intended for halachic inquiries rather than ideological questions. It is not intended as a substitute for the most straightforward issues that can easily be researched by a rabbi. Rav Lebowitz maintains discretion to recommend that questioners consult directly with Poskim when circumstances warrant such referral.

All responses remain strictly confidential and are provided exclusively to the inquiring rabbi. The confidential nature of all communications ensures that rabbis can seek guidance on sensitive matters with complete discretion. In certain cases where broader benefit may be derived, the RCA may request permission to share particularly relevant she’eilos and teshuvos internally with the RCA membership. However, they will not be available for distribution in print to wider audiences.

Process

The program will operate on Mondays through Thursdays (when Yeshiva is in session) and follows this process:

Submission of Questions: Rabbis can submit questions via a dedicated email at . Submissions must be received by 12 noon on the day of inquiry. Those received after that time will most likely receive a response by the next “business” (Mon-Thu) day. Submissions should include as much relevant detail as possible, along with the mobile phone number of the rabbi.
Initial Review: Michael Fagin will review and organize all incoming questions. If needed, between 12 and 1 p.m. he will contact submitting rabbis for clarification or additional details.
Special Requests: If a rabbi requests that a specific Posek address their question, the team will make efforts to accommodate the request. However, responses in such cases may take more than one day.
Response Delivery: Responses will be transmitted back to the submitting rabbis that evening (bli neder) – through the same method used for submission.
Confidentiality and Logging: All answers will be logged for internal purposes but will remain confidential as per above.