KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Rav Soloveitchik on Teshuva (1): The Duality of Sin and the Duality of Repentance, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb First in a series of mini-shiurim on R Soloveitchik's approach to Teshuva based on his famous and incredible sefer Al HaTeshuva In order to understand how teshuva works we first need to understand the impact of sin - once we appreciate in what way(s) sin is damaging, then we can analyze how teshuva rehabilitates us.

The Road to Teshuva | Parts 1 and 2, by Rav Moshe Taragin Is Teshuva Optional; How Did Rav Aharon Lichtenstein View the Realm of "Reshut" Why is There No Mitzva for Teshuva?; Maximizing Free Will; Teshuva for Lost Opportunities

Shoftim | The Prohibition of "Raising" a Stele, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Why is the matzeiva described as "abhorred by God"? In the middle of the presentation of the laws of the Beit Din HaGadol (the central national court), the Torah interjects three seemingly disconnected prohibitions - planting a tree near the altar, raising a stele (מצבה) and offering a blemished animal. We address the middle of these passages and note the curious phrasing of the prohibition - אשר שנא ה' אלקיך and observe that both אשר as well as שנא has multiple possible meanings within the verse. We then briefly survey the history of the מצבה in the narrative of the תורה, where it seems to have Divine approval - and then we see three main approaches in the Midrashim and the Rishonim, each with its own difficulties. We then suggest a variation of one of these approaches, based on a careful reading of our text. This shiur was dedicated to the memory of the six חטופים who were murdered, in cold blood, just before their imminent rescue. השם יקום דמם ויהא זכרם ברוך Source sheet >>

Ramban on the Torah | 58 | Shoftim, by Rav Eli Weber Why do people die in wars? What is the point of Egla Arufa? What does it mean to be "Tamim"?

Reeh | Ish haYashar beEinav | Revisiting a Biblical Conundrum, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom What did Moshe mean when he said "that which is right in each man's eyes" in reference to the Mikdash? Moshe Rabbenu, in describing the difference between the sacral worship in the desert and that which the people are imminently going to practice once they enter the Land, uses an odd phrase - "You shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatever is right in his own eyes". We explore the various ways in which this phrase was understood by the Rishonim and, inspired by a comment in the Pesikta Zutrata (Lekah Tov), use the parallel phrase at the end of Sefer Shoftim for a deeper understanding of the role of the Mikdash and its association with justice and proper behavior in the Land. Source sheet >>

Ramban on the Torah | 57 | Reeh, by Rav Eli Weber What is the role of the navi?

Explaining the Wisdom of Harav Yehuda Amital zt"l (Part 34), by Rav Moshe Taragin In light of the recent publication of the sefer לעולם יהא אדם, מתורותיו של הרב יהודה עמיטל, Rav Taragin discusses with his talmidim many of the issues brought up in his rebbe's sichot: Should a Person Develop Personal Torah Chiddushim? The Price of Shifting Torah Authority from Community Rabonim to Roshei Yeshiva

Ramban on the Torah | 56 | Ekev, by Rav Eli Weber How could Moshe Rabbeinu willingly shatter luchot written by the hand of HaKadosh Barukh Hu?! This and more... about our intimate relationship with God.

Ramban on the Torah | 55 | Vaetchanan, by Rav Eli Weber Which is the "real" text of the aseret hadibrot? Treating a derabanan mitzva as deoraita - is that bal tosif? And more...

Ekev | How Do You Spell "Mezuzot"? by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom How many ways can "Mezuzot" be legitimately spelled? The Orthography of the Torah Rashi, in his comment on Devarim 6:9, infers from the written form of "Mezuzot" - מזוזת - that we need only write the words of שמע...ואהבת (and the rest) on one doorpost, since the written version alludes to "Mezuzat". However, our Sifrei Torah all have that word written מזזות. We explore the phenomenon of כתיב מלא וחסר - (plene and "defective" orthography), where Hebrew letters are used to "guide" reading and are read as vowels. We also explore the rabbinic history of variant texts of the Torah and how that challenge was met. Source sheet >>