KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Asseret HaDibrot: Belief in Hashem | Idolatry, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb First of 5 shiuirim on what is arguably the single most important "unit" on mitzvot and values anywhere in the Torah! Individually they are all fascinating and important - and as a unit you can really appreciate them.

Ramban On The Torah | 30 | Beshalach, by Rav Eli Weber Why did God send us the long way if we were going to fight with Amalek anyway? What made Pharaoh chase us in the sea?

Tu Bishvat | Choni, the Carob and the Dream, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom How are the Choni legends - the long slumber, the carob tree and the rain-circle - related to each other? In honor of Tu biSh'vat, we explored the story of Honi HaMa'gil (or Hame'agel) and the various Aggadot associated with him, in the scholion of Megilat Ta'anit, the Mishna, Bavli and Yerushalmi - and in Josephus' Antiquities. In our survey we noted that these narratives had a number of conflicting details. We discussed how to address differing narratives about what seems to be the same event and proposed several strategies for resolving these discrepancies. The shiur was given at GPATS (Graduate Program for Advanced Talmudic Studies) at Stern College for Women.

Bo | The Four Parashot of Tefillin, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom KeNegged arba'a tefillin dibra Torah. What is unique about each of the four Parashot of Tefillin? Source sheet >>

Ramban On The Torah | 29 | Bo, by Rav Eli Weber What really happened in Makkat Choshekh? What is the mitzva of "החודש הזה לכם ראש חודשים"?

Women and Kaddish, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb "Why can't I say kaddish like my brother?" Or can she??

Kiddush: Principles and Practical Applications | 2, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb 3rd part in a series on The Sanctity of Shabbat, combining questions of both philosophy and halakha. Shiur given to the weekly women's group in Kehilat Ha'Ela. Topics discussed include: grape juice vs wine, whisky, who has to drink, plastic cups and more

Special | Thoughts about the "Trial of Israel" in The Hague, by Rav Moshe Taragin As we stand "on trial" in The Hague we are literally living through a prophecy. Fortunately, we know how it ends.

Vaera | The Makkot In Narrative and in Song, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Why are only 7 of the Makkot mentioned in Tehillim 78? Why are a different 7 or 8 listed in Tehillim 105? Although we are all instinctively familiar with "10 Makkot", we have a wide range of approaches to read the story of God's punishment/education of the Egyptians; indeed, in the famous Midrash which appears in the Haggada, as many as 50 Makkot are suggested. Yet in two of the Psalms, the Makkot are adumbrated yet only 7 of them are listed - and not the same 7. In Tehillim 78, כנים (lice), שחין (boils) and חשך (darkness) are omitted. In Psalm 105, the cattle plague (דבר) and boils (שחין) are left out - and the "swarm" (ערוב) may also be omitted. We explore each of these lists, the order of their presentation and the rhetoric of their description to suggest that the author of each of these psalms utilized those Makkot and particular features of each of them to drive home the particular message of his psalm. To that end, we explore the overall theme of each psalm and then suggest how the selected Makkot and their particular order and descriptions fit each of those themes. Source sheet >>

Ramban On The Torah | 28 | Vaera, by Rav Eli Weber How can God suspend Paroh's free will? It seems unfair. The Pasuk וידבר ה' אל משה לאמור is the most repeated Pasuk in the Torah. But what does it really mean? That and more in this week's Ramban al HaParsha!