KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Pesach | How Many Matzot? by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom There are two disputes between Rambam and the Tosafists regarding the Seder. Rambam maintains that the Pesach could be eaten all night, allowing for the "Afikoman" to be eaten quite late; Tosafot takes the position that the Pesach must be eaten by midnight; consequently, the final matza of the evening must be eaten by then. In what seems to an unrelated dispute, Rambam maintains that we use 2 matzot at our Seder whereas Tosafot argue that we need 3. In this shiur, we examine the role of matza in our commemoration and inquire as to how many different matzot there are in the story. We then use this inquiry to explain the odd inclusion of R. Elazar b. Azariah's promotion of remembering the Exodus every night... Source sheet >>

Pesach | Insights into the Haggada, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb, shiur given to the weekly women's group in Kehilat Ha'Ela

Pesach | Cleaning and Kashering for Pesach, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb, shiur given to the weekly women's group in Kehilat Ha'Ela

Pesach | The Four Sons Revisited, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom One of the most beloved and well-known passages in the Haggadah is the Midrash of the "Four Sons". We take a look at that Midrash "top-down," by first examining the context and text of the passages in the Torah and then suggesting what motivated the composer of the Midrash to create the four sons. We explore the variant versions of the Midrash, leading up to the popular version found in our Hagadah - and discover lots of surprises along the way. Source sheet >>

Special | Two Types of Chinuch, shiur given by Rav Mordechai Willig to the Overseas Students, followed by a short Q+A session.

Parashat Tazria Metzora with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Was Tzara'as a Physical or Spiritual Ailment? A Surprising Debate in the Rishonim #2 - Contemporary Commentators - Defining Greatness: How We Respond to Failure #3 - Midrash - Who Wants Life? Appreciating The Power of Speech #4 - Sparks of Musar - The Gift of Giving - A Remarkable Insight from R. Chaim Shmuelevitz #5 - Halacha from the Parsha - Is It Assur to Speak Lashon Hara?

Pesach | An Overview of the Halakhot of the Seder, part 1 of 3, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb, shiur given to the weekly women's group in Kehilat Ha'Ela

Hasmadah, Anavah and Ahavah: A Tribute to Rav Chaim Kanievsky zt"l, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb Reflections on various aspects of Torah - most notably hasmadah - in a shiur to 1st year students

How Many Questions? Re-examining the Mah Nishtnah, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom One of the most well-known and beloved passages in the Hagadah is the "Four Questions" - which are introduced with the line מה נשתנה הלילה הזה מכל הלילות. But are there really four questions here? Examining the sources, including variant versions of the Mishnah and a careful reading of that source, suggests that perhaps there are fewer questions here - perhaps 3, perhaps 1 - and perhaps none at all! Source sheet >>

Parashat Shemini with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Why Keep Kosher? 3 Approaches #2 - Contemporary Commentators - Moshe Forgot Something - Cause for Embarrassment? #3 - Midrash - What Was So Bad About What Nadav V'avihu Did? #4 - Sparks of Chassidus - Appreciating Aharon's Apprehension: A Beautiful Insight from the Sefas Emes #5 - Halacha from the Parsha - Must One Drink Chalav Yisroel?