KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 15: Final Thoughts on Chanifa, by Rav Gidon Rothstein Various commentators showing how far we should go to avoid giving the impression that wrong is right.

Beshalach | Moshe: Catalyst for Redemption, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The text interrupts the narrative of the Exodus to highlight Moshe's taking Yosef's bones up from Egypt, per the oath that was administered by Yosef to his brothers at his deathbed. We explore both the explicit mention as well as the unusual placement of this note in the text by looking at other actions that Moshe took that seem to foreshadow the redemptive process. A closer look suggests that he may have been doing more than merely prefacing the redemption - he may have become an active agent to spur God's involvement in the redemptive process. The roots of this role may be found in the narrative surrounding Moshe's own salvation at the sea, as we discuss at the end of the shiur. The shiur was given in memory of טוביה בן יואל צבי הלוי ז"ל Source sheet >>

Ashkenazim and Sefardim: The Goals of Talmud Study, special lecture by Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Woolf On methodological and cultural differences and their practical applications Rabbi Prof. Jeffrey Woolf is an internationally known scholar, lecturer and public figure. He serves as an Associate Professor in the Talmud Department at Bar-Ilan University where he specializes in the History of Halakhah, Medieval and Renaissance Jewish History, and the inter-action between Judaism, Islam and Christianity. He is the director of Bar Ilan's Institute for the Study of Post-Talmudic Halakhah.

Beshalach | A Thought on the Parasha, by Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky, followed by Q+A with the overseas talmidim Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky is the Rosh HaYeshiva of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington – Tiferes Gedaliah, accepting the position in July of 2014. He studied and received rabbinic ordination from the Mir Yeshiva of Jerusalem. In Israel, Rabbi Lopiansky taught at Aish HaTorah from 1983-1990, and then taught at the Mir for five years before assuming the post of Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva Gedolah of YGW in 1995.

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 14: Finishing R. Yonah's Flatterers, by Rav Gidon Rothstein The rest of RY"s Flatterers. Four more types of refusing to step up and call out evil, and what's wrong with it. The importance of at least recognizing evil when it occurs.

Bo | Korban Pesach: Personal, Communal, Epochal, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The Korban Pesach is the centerpiece of Chapter 12 in Shemot - but how did Bnei Yisrael understand its significance, the specifics of the ritual and their own role in history in that context? This shiur explores 3 aspects of the Korban Pesach which may have informed the people's awareness at that great time. Source sheet >>

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 13: The First Five Flatterers, by Rav Gidon Rothstein Chanifa, when we tell evil it is good, in some way or other.

Vaera | The Surprising Genealogy, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Just as Hashem's magnificent promises and ominous threats are about to be broadcast by Moshe, both to B'nei Yisrael as well as to Pharaoh, the text interrupts with a most unusual mini-genealogical list. We are told, all so briefly, about the families of Reuven and Shimon, after which we are given a somewhat detailed presentation of the Levites - with a curiously selective strategy informing the list. Some of the great-great grandsons of Levi are identified, whereas others are elided. We survey a few of the approaches proposed by the traditional commentators, after which, building on Rashbam and Bekhor Shor, suggest a context-driven solution to the conundrum of this odd and somewhat jarring insert into to Exodus narrative. Source sheet >>

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 12: Fabricating a Quote and Its Challenges, by Rav Gidon Rothstein When might we be allowed to fake a quote to bring people to a truth they would not realize otherwise.

Shemot | Elokei Avikha - The God of Your Father, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom When God first summons Moshe to his great agency, He introduces Himself to his prophet as "the God of your father" - however, during the course of their testy interaction at Horev, it shifts to "the God of their (the Hebrews') fathers" and the direct association with Moshe is left behind. We explore why this sobriquet was the ideal - and why it was lost, only to be recovered at a later stage in Moshe's career. This shiur was given in honor of Ariella Etshalom and her חתן, Yoni Broth, on the occasion of their week of marital celebration - כן ירבו שמחות בישראל. Source sheet >>