The Gemara in Sanhedrin 63a asks why the Jews spoke in plural when they said, “This is your god, O Israel.” Rav Yochanan says they hadn’t fully rejected Hashem—they included Him with the Egel. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai argues that joining Hashem with anything else is itself a terrible sin. We analyze this machlokes.
Rashi (Breishis 7:11 and 11:7) says that the words the Torah used to describe Hashem’s punishments of Dor Hamabul (rabba) and Dor Haflaga (hava) correspond to their sins. In explaining these strange examples of Midda knegged Midda, we uncovered fundamental ideas about the different sins of these two generations.
The Gemara in RH 16a cites a 5-way machlokes when/how often the world is judged. This episode analyzes this machlokes.
The Mishna in Yomah 85b tells us how fortunate we are: Before Whom do we purify ourselves and Who purifies us? Our Father in Heaven. This episode discusses the uniqueness of Teshuva during the days leading up to Yom HaKippurim.
The Gemara in Brachos 12b discusses whether saying Hamelech Hakadosh during eseres yemei teshuva is me’akeiv.
We start with trying to understand the Rambam in Teshuva 2:2 about a testimony of/before Hashem that a baal Teshuva won’t return to his sin. To do so, we analyze the Rambam’s proof text - Hoshea 14, the Haftora for Shabbos Shuva.
The Gemara in Eiruvin 13a describes Rabbi Akiva rejecting a student’s proposal while simultaneously praising it. We analyze this and discover nuances involved in teaching.
In Devarim 26:12-15, the Torah tells us about the “confession” a person makes after finishing the cycle of maasros. We analyze the significance of this mitzvah.
Why do we blow shofar in Elul? The Tur brings down three reasons.
The gemara in RH 16b says we blow shofar twice on Rosh Hashana to confuse the Satan. This episode analyzes Tosafos’s interpretation of this gemara.
The gemara in RH 16b says we blow shofar twice on Rosh Hashana to confuse the Satan. This episode analyzes Rashi's interpretation of this gemara.
This episode discusses the Rashi (Devarim 19:17) that says people standing before judges should view it as if they’re standing before Hashem.
The Gemara in Eiruvin 13b describes how the three year argument between Beis Shamai and Beis Hillel culminated in a bas kol saying, “These and these are the words of the living God, and the Halacha is like Beis Hillel.” The Gemara goes on to explain that the psak is like Beis Hillel because of various good middos they had. We analyze these middos and discuss why they’re relevant for halachik psak. We also discuss the meaning of the bas kol.
Yirmiyahu 9:22-23 says: “Thus says Hashem, "Don't let the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, don't let the rich man glory in his riches. But, let him who glories glory in this, that he has understanding, and knows Me, that I am Hashem who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth, for in these things I delight," says Hashem.”
This episode discusses the following question: Why should a person praise himself (glory) in anything at all? To answer, we briefly address the Rambam (last chapter of Morah), give Rabbi Zimmer’s explanation, and then discuss the importance of praising one’s self—and doing so appropriately.
As we approach Tisha B’av, we gain some insight from the Gemara in BB 60b that discusses the basis of putting ashes on the head of the chassan—specifically on the place of the tefillin.
Rashi (Bamidbar 31:8) says that we killed Bilaam with the sword - the weapon of nonjews- because he tried to kill us with his mouth - the weapon of the Jews.
Rashi (Bamidbar 26:5) teaches that the Torah puts a yud and a hey around the names of the Jewish families to testify that the Jews lineage is pure, thereby undermining the ridicule of the nations who claim that the Egyptians had their way with the Jewish women.
In Parshas Pinchas, Rashi (Bamidbar 26:54) tells us that after dividing the land of Israel based upon size of the shevatim AND after the lottery confirmed this division, the lottery itself yelled out which shevet got which piece of land. Why was this massive miracle necessary?
This episode analyzes the basis of the mitzvah of kibud av va’aim and provides a helpful perspective on the mitzvah.
The episode analyzes the incident of the fiery serpents, with the assistance of Rashi.
