KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 19: Unrefined Speech and Complaining Too Much, by Rav Gidon Rothstein The last two categories of negative speech, nivul peh and nirgan, speaking in unrefined and low-class ways, and complaining too much about life, not seeing the good in it.

Yeshivat Har Etzion joins in mourning the passing of Dr. Atarah Twersky z"l, widow of Professor Isadore Twersky z"l, daughter of "The Rav", Harav Joseph B. Soloveitchik z"l, sister of Dr. Tovah Lichtenstein and YU Professor of Jewish History Dr. Haym Soloveitchik and mother of Rabbi Moshe Twersky HY"d, RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Mayer Twersky, and Tzipporah Rosenblatt. We post here a recording of a lecture given ten years ago by Dr. Twersky, commemorating the 20th yahrzeit of her father, the Rav. Yehi zikhra barukh.

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 18: Proper Discretion with Information, When To Spread It and When Not, by Rav Gidon Rothstein When lashon hara involves information that is not inherently negative or false, and yet will deny a person the merit of greeting God's Presence.

Purim | Midrash Esther and the Sinaitic Covenant, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom One of the types of Midr'shei Aggadah utilized by the composers of Midrashim is the "petichta" - (proem) which served as an introduction to the public reading of the text to which the Midrash attached. Among the more prolific and well-known פתיחתאות are those that preface מדרש איכה as well as those recorded by both the Midrash (Esther; introduction) and the Bavli (BT Megilat 11) that preceded the public reading of Esther. These proems consistently start with a verse from another part of Tanakh, artistically weaving its way, verse by verse, comment by comment, until it concludes with a direct quote from the object text. We look at how Midrash Esther uses the proem to answer a question about Vayikra - and comment on the salvation of Purim.

The Arba Parashiot: More than Meets the Eye, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The annual cycle of Keriat haTorah is punctuated in the weeks before Pesach with the addition of the "Arba Parashiot" - four special readings read as the Maftir on those weeks. We analyze the historic-halakhic reality of this practice, along with the hashkafic implications of these readings, coming as they do in the weeks leading up to Pesach. Source sheet >>

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 17: True Negative Emotion, When To Spread It and When Not, by Rav Gidon Rothstein We may not share irrelevant negative information about others, we must share it when it is relevant. Which is which?

Special sicha with Rav Yonasan Sacks, Rosh Yeshiva, Beis Medrash L'Talmud, Lander College Feb 8, 2023 We thank Rav Sacks for coming to speak with our talmidim.

Yitro | On The Third Day: Echoes of Moriah at Sinai, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Why the three-day waiting period before the theophany at Sinai? The exciting, frightening preparatory period before the great theophany at Sinai is defined by the Divine Command: "Be ready for the third day..." We explore the motif of the three-day anticipatory period in Tanakh, from Akeidat Yitzchak to the eschatological vision of Hoshea - and solve a mysterious Midrash along the way. Source sheet >>

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 16: The Overall Evil in Slandering Others, by Rav Gidon Rothstein Rabbenu Yonah's general introduction to lashon hara, why it is treated as so significantly bad a set of sins.

Tu Bishvat | The Well-Rooted Righteous Man, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom In honor of טו בשבט, we examine the opening chapter of Tehillim which uses the tree as a metaphor for the righteous person. Familiar passages from Yirmiyah and later on in Tehillim (92) are invoked to build a broader picture of this metaphor and to explain the placing of this Mizmor at the beginning of the book of praises (Tehillim). Source sheet >>