Say baruch ha'mavdil bein kodesh l'chol (without saying God's name!) if:

• It is already “dark” (you can see three medium-size stars--tzeit ha'kochavim), and
• You want to end the Jewish festival (and Shabbat) before saying ma'ariv's amida or havdala.

Lighting the candles starts the holiday of Yom Kippur.  If you want to start the holiday later, you must:

• Make a condition when lighting candles that you are not yet starting the holiday (by saying “I am lighting Yom Kippur candles but not starting Yom Kippur until 7 minutes before sunset”-this may only be done in urgent situations) and
• Omit the she'hecheyanu blessing at candle lighting.  Men say she'hecheyanu later (in kol nidre).
  Note Women then say she'hecheyanu at least 7 minutes before sunset! (One may not make a condition for she'hecheyanu!)

The general rule for yichud is that a man and a woman who is not his wife or a woman and man who is not her husband may not be secluded together. If another adult can enter the room at any time without knocking, there is no problem with yichud, even if the adult is not present initially. Yichud does not apply whenever:

• A woman has a lockable door that only she controls, which is locked (in this case, men are permitted elsewhere in the building).
• Direct descendants or ancestors are in a room together (in this case, all other men/women combinations are permitted--even if the other people are not related).
• Three (or more) women and one man (or more) are in a room, except when they will be sleeping. At those times, four (or more) women and one man (or more) are permitted in a room or enclosed area.
• Two (or more) men and one (or more) woman/women are in a room.
• Other people have keys to the room and may enter at any time.
• One (married) woman is with one or more men and the woman's husband is in the same area (RMH looks at the local business district as the “area,” so wherever businesses would be advertising or marketing would be a local area).
• For other cases, consult a rabbi.

 

You may say any blessing on a mitzva—such as kiddush, hallel, Torah—for another person, even if you have already fulfilled the mitzva for yourself, as long as that other person is required to do that mitzva.

Here is a typical order of waking/morning prayers for weekdays (many people say these blessings at the synagogue instead of at home):

• Wake
  Wake and wash hands (Three-Times Method).
• Bathroom
  Take care of any toilet needs, wash your hands (One-Time Method).
  Say blessings al netilat yadayim and asher yatzar (until l'fgarim meitim).
• Torah Blessings

• Talit Katan
  Put on talit katan (for men).
  Say blessing if not married or if not putting on talit gadol later.
    Note You may put on the talit katan before washing your hands

• Birchot HaShachar

• Talit/Tefilin

 

• Talit (for married men or other men with that custom).
• Tefilin (for men).

• L'olam Yihei Adam/Korbanot

• L'olam yihei adam,
• Short shema,
• Paragraph ending mekadeish et shimcha ba'rabim,
• Readings on sacrifices/korbanot,
• 13 rules.

• Psukei D'Zimra

• Psalm 30/Mizmor Shir Chanukat habayit.
• Baruch she'amar through yishtabach (includes ashrei).

• Bar'chu/Shema/Amida

• Psalms/Alenu

Terms To Know

• Neitz, HaNeitz—Sunrise
• Alot HaShachar—72 minutes before sunrise
• MiSheyakir-- 36 minutes before sunrise in New York in winter and 40 minutes in summer. Nearer to the equator, the maximum time is shorter.

When Things Happen
Before Alot HaShachar (72 minutes before sunrise)
You can put on tzitzit/talit and tefilin without blessings.

Alot HaShachar
You can say:

• Birchot ha'shachar.
• Shema and amida, b'di'avad.

Mi'sheyakir (36-40 minutes before sunrise)
You can say:

• Blessings over tefilin and tzitzit/talit.
• Shema and amida as necessary.

K'Vatikin
You can say shema l'chatchila--and begin saying the amida exactly at sunrise.

By Third Halachic Hour of the Day
You have until the third halachic hour of the day to say:

• The blessing mekadeish et shimcha ba'rabim if you want to include the word Adonai.
• Morning shema.

By Fourth Halachic Hour of the Day
You have until the fourth halachic hour of the day to say any of the prayers from barchu until the end of the amida.

Halachic Mid-Day
You have until halachic mid-day, b'di'avad, to say the shacharit amida.

          

Any adult Jew, male or female, may say kiddush for him/herself and, as long as he/she still needs to say kiddush for him/herself, may include any other Jews of any age or gender.
Any Jewish male, 13 years old or older, may say kiddush for anyone else, either gender and any age, even if he has already fulfilled his personal requirement of saying kiddush.
Any Jewish female, 12 years old or older, may say kiddush for any other females but not for men, except that on the 2 Passover seder nights, a Jewish female who is at least 12 years old may even say kiddush for men, if the men are not able to say it for themselves. (Women may also say kiddush for men on Shabbat evening).
Reason Any person who is obligated to fulfill the mitzva of kiddush may say it for another person.  It is questionable whether women are obligated to say (or have said for them) Jewish festival morning kiddush.
 

Say the morning amida by the first third of the day (by the 4^th hour), but you may still say it until halachic midday, b'di'avad, except if you delay intentionally.
Situation
You are running out of time to say the morning amida. You have said the shema without saying yishtabach or anything following yishtabach (except for the shema).

What To Do

Just say the amida.

We are required to eat two meals on Jewish festivals, each preceded by kiddush, one in the evening and one in the morning. For both meals for each Jewish festival day (and all three meals on Shabbat), say ha'motzi over two complete loaves of bread, each of which is at least 1.3 fl. oz. in volume. 

Source of Saying Jewish Festival Kiddush
Some kiddushes are commanded by the Torah (d'oraita); the others are from Chazal (d'rabanan), as follows:
Kiddush d'Oraita

• First night of Jewish festivals
• Night of seventh day of Passover
• Night of Shmini Atzeret.

Kiddush d'Rabanan

• First day of Jewish festival
• Second night of Jewish festival
• Second day of Jewish festival
• Seventh day of Passover
• Eighth night of Passover
• Eighth day of Passover
• Shmini Atzeret day
• Night and day of Simchat Torah.

Source of Jewish Festival Kiddush Location
Saying Jewish festival kiddush at the place where you will eat your meal is a rabbinical (d'rabanan) enactment.
Jewish Festival Kiddush-Meal Quantities: Evening

• For evening kiddush for a first-night (d'oraita) Jewish festival, a minimum of 4 fl. oz. (119 ml) of wine must be blessed on and at least half must be drunk.
• For evening kiddush for a second-night (d'rabanan) Jewish festival, a minimum of 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of wine must be blessed on and at least 2.0 fl. oz. must be drunk.
• For the evening meal, as on the first two Shabbat meals and for all required Jewish festival meals, a minimum of 1.9 fl. oz. (56 ml) of bread must be eaten within four minutes.

Eating Requirements for Jewish Festival Morning Kiddush
There are two separate eating requirements during the daytime. They may be combined (say/hear kiddush and start the main meal right away) but are often done separately (say/hear kiddush and then eat some light foods and beverages; the main meal is eaten later in the day).
Note Since eating and drinking requirements on all morning kiddushes (both Shabbat and Jewish festivals) are d'rabanan, the required beverage amount for morning kiddush is only 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) instead of the d'oraita 4 fl. oz. (119 ml) (which is required for kiddushes for Shabbat evening and all first-night Jewish festivals).

• Morning kiddush requires a halachically legal “meal” with these elements:
  • Blessing on a minimum of 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of wine (or other beverage),
  • Someone's drinking at least half the beverage, followed by
  • Eating at least 1.3 fl. oz. (39 ml, or 1/6 cup) of some type of mezonot within four minutes. 
    Note If you drink at least 3.3 fl. oz. (99 ml) of wine within 30 seconds, you do not need to eat mezonot.
    Note You do not need to drink the wine or other kiddush beverage to fulfill “establishing a meal.” You may hear kiddush and then simply eat the required amount of bread or mezonot. This applies to Shabbat or Jewish festivals, evening or morning.
     

 

• The real meal (kovei'a se'uda) requires eating at least 1.9 fl. oz. (56 ml) of bread (or matza during Passover!) within four minutes. It must include enough food to satiate. 
  Note You can simultaneously fulfill the requirement to “establish a meal” and to “eat a meal” by eating one (the same) piece of bread.

Studying Torah is a basic requirement for all Jews and such study is considered to be a prestigious commandment (Torah study is as important as doing all the other mitzvot: talmud Torah k'negged kulam). Setting time for Torah study (k'viat zman l'Torah) means that we show how important Torah study is by setting a specific time each day and a specific duration for such study.

But all commandments that you must do (mitzvot aseh) take precedence over studying Torah. That is, you may NOT ignore the need to do another positive commandment because you are studying!

The minimum requirements for Jews to learn:

• Men:  All parts of the Torah plus whatever halacha is relevant for them.
  Note The most important subjects for men to study are whatever is practical for them in their lives
• Women:  All halachot relevant for them, and hashkafa.

 

As on Shabbat, light Jewish festival candles wherever you will eat dinner that night.

In general, the right side is given priority in our actions. This is considered to be proper behavior and not just good advice; however, it is a custom, not a halacha.

Here are some suggestions (they are NOT halachot!) of what to prepare in advance of Jewish festivals. Add or delete to suit your needs!
  
Candle Lighting

• Check candle lighting time
• Set the candles in their holders (and have matches nearby)

 
Set the Table
Set the table, including the challa and its cover
 
Kitchen Preparation

• Sharpen knives
• Tear paper towels
• Refrigerator: Turn off or unscrew lights; disconnect any LEDs or fans
• Turn on blech, stove, oven, etc., for whatever you will need
• Set up hot water urn
• Turn off stove, oven, if needed

 
Food Preparation

• Thaw frozen meat, fish, and other food that might take hours to defrost before being cooked
• Cook whatever can be cooked ahead of time
• Squeeze lemons; do any other boreir-type preparations
• Chill wine
• Open bottles and cans that will be needed on the Jewish festival

 
Cleaning

• Make beds
• Sweep or vacuum
• Dump garbage

 
Clothing

• Do laundry
• Empty pockets of muktza
• For men, set out Jewish festival talit

 
Muktza
Check that nothing you will need is beneath a muktza item
 
Personal Care

• Cut hair and nails, if needed
• For men, shave or trim beard and mustache, if needed
• Tear dental floss
• Tear toilet paper or put out tissues in bathrooms
• Open any new boxes of tissues

 
Electronics

• Set heat or air conditioning
• Turn on or off lights, or set timers for them
• If desired, turn off or disconnect:

• Alarms 
• Cellphones and phones
• Computers
• Microwave detectors
• Other electronics

Here are some suggestions (these are NOT halachot!) of what to prepare in advance of Shabbat. Add or delete to suit your needs!
 
Candle Lighting

• Check candle lighting time
• Set the candles in their holders (and have matches nearby)

 
Set the Table
Set the table, including the challa and its cover and the wine cup.
 
Kitchen Preparation

• Sharpen knives
• Tear paper towels
• Refrigerator: Turn off or unscrew lights; disconnect any LEDs or fans
• Set up blech
• Set up hot water urn
• Turn off stove, oven

 
Food Preparation

• Thaw frozen meat, fish, and other food that might take hours to defrost before being cooked
• Cook whatever can be cooked ahead of time on Thursday night, Friday morning, or earlier in the week
• Squeeze lemons; do any other boreir-type preparations
• Chill wine
• Open bottles and cans that will be needed on Shabbat
• Prepare tea essence

 
Cleaning

• Make beds
• Sweep or vacuum
• Dump garbage

 
Clothing

• Do laundry
• Empty pockets of muktza (or if there is no eruv, of everything!)
• For men, set out Shabbat talit

 
Muktza
Check that nothing you will need is beneath a muktza item
 
Personal Care

• Cut hair and nails, if needed
• For men, shave or trim beard and mustache, if needed
• Tear dental floss
• Tear toilet paper or put out tissues in bathrooms
• Open any new boxes of tissues

 
Electronics

• Set heat or air conditioning
• Turn on or off lights, or set timers for them
• If desired, turn off or disconnect:

• Alarms 
• Cellphones and phones
• Computers
• Microwave detectors
• Other electronics

 
Eruv
Check that the eruv (if any) is good

Purim commemorates the saving of the Jews in the Persian Empire from Haman's plan to wipe them out completely. The story is a classic example of how God intervenes in human history in a hidden manner. The essential element was that the Jews were saved from physical destruction/death (contrast with Chanuka, where the Jews were not being threatened with physical death but with the destruction of their religious beliefs and practices).
 

• Giving charity to poor people.
• Giving gifts of ready-to-eat food to friends.
  Reason To promote friendship and a feeling of community.
• Reading the megila of Esther at night and the next day.
• Eating a festive meal.
• Giving three half-dollars (or whatever the local unit of coin currency is where you live) to charity in commemoration of the half-shekel, which was given by all Jews to the Temple when it stood in Jerusalem.
  Note This is not actually an observance of Purim, but it has become traditional to give the 3 half-dollars on Purim.

• Dressing up in costumes.
• Making noise during the reading of Haman's (and his wife's) name in the megila, in order to wipe out their names.
• Drinking more wine than normal.

Charity/Tzedaka: To Whom: General Rules

Charity: Family First

Give charity first to family; then to your local or nearby community. Only then may you give to remote communities, especially if the remote communities are in Eretz Yisrael.

Who Qualifies To Receive Charity

A person may receive charity if he or she has so little money that he or she must worry about having sufficient funds to buy a non-luxury item.

An institution is needy if it does not have enough money for basic needs (repairing buildings, maintenance, utilities...).

There is no need to donate to people or institutions if their basic needs are covered.

Charity/Tzedaka: To Whom: Beggars

Charity to a Jewish Beggar for Himself

If a Jewish beggar asks for money for him/herself, and you know him/her to be needy, you should at least give something, but it does not need to be much.

Charity to a Beggar for Jewish Institution

If a beggar asks for money for a Jewish institution, you do not need to give.

Charity/Tzedaka: Assumed Beggar at Door

If someone knocks on your door and you assume that he or she is a beggar, you do not need to answer the door.

Charity/Tzedaka: To Whom: Purim

Charity on Purim

On Purim, give money to anyone who asks.
Note If for an institution, you are not required to give.

Charity/Tzedaka: To Whom: Poor Brides/Hachnasat Kalla

Charity/Tzedaka: Poor Brides (Hachnasat Kalla): How Much

Hachnasat kalla means helping a poor woman pay the expenses to hold a wedding and set up a household for married life. The minimum required is enough so that she is not embarrassed. It does not include paying for an opulent wedding. There is not any absolute amount of money that you should give per guest and even the quality of the food, decorations, and any entertainment are dependent on the individual.