KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Thoughts about Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks - based on the Netziv's profile of Sara Imenu, by Rav Moshe Taragin For more in tribute to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l >>

Parashat Vayera 5782 with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - What Event Led to Akeidas Yitzhak? #2 - Sparks of Chassidus - The Secret to Avraham's Success: A Remarkable Insight from the Kozhnitzer Maggid #3 - Contemporary Commentators - The True Beneficiary of Our Chessed: A Powerful Chiddush from Rav Nissan Alpert #4 - Sparks of Mussar - Sara's Laughter And Our (non)Belief in Mashiach - An Incredible Teaching of the Chafetz Chayim #5 - Midrash What Happened to Avraham and Yitzchok On the Way to the Akeida?

Vayera | "If There Are Fifty": Why Fifty, Why Ten...Why Not One?, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Avraham's famous negotiations with God to spare the city of Sodom are perhaps the most gallant confrontational stand any human has taken against God - yet the power of the scene eclipse some of the oddities of the give-and-take. Why does Avraham start his negotiations with "If there are 50 innocent people..." - and why does he stop when he successfully gets God to agree to spare the city if there are only ten innocents? More to the point - what are these numbers all about? Why not argue that if one innocent person dies, to borrow from Blackstone, that is a lack of justice. In addition, the text goes out of its way to tell us that Avraham gazed down at the destruction which leaves us wondering why this story is in Chumash at all. Sourcesheet >>

Parashat Lekh Lekha with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Did Avraham Sin By Leaving Eretz Yisroel and Putting Sarah in Danger? #2 - Sparks of Chassidus - Why Was Avraham Chosen? An Inspiring Insight from the Sefas Emes #3 - Sparks of Mussar - Overcoming Life's Challenges #4 - Contemporary Commentators - What Does it Mean to be "Tamim"? A Fascinating Explanation from the Beis HaLevi #5 - Halacha from the Parsha - Is Conversion a Mitzvah?

Lekh Lekha | Who is Avraham's Future, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom When we are first introduced to Avra(ha)m, he is married to Sara(i)h - and the first thing we learn about her is that she is barren. Yet, Hashem commands Avraham to go to K'naan where He will make him into a great nation. The apparent incongruity of the command and the reality shape one of the two journeys in Avraham's life - and the entire Parashat Lekh Lekha is the road map of those two journeys. While Avraham continues to seek out "the land that I will show you", he also continues to attempt various solutions to the progeny problem - until Hashem informs him of how it will all play out. But there are numerous surprises along the way... Source sheet >>

Shabbat Candles, Why, Who, What and When Part 1, given as part of the weekly women's shiur in Kehilat Ha'Ela, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb

Noach | Avraham and Terach: A Midrashic Take When Hashem charged Avraham with his mission, He directed him to leave his father's house. This could easily be seen as an obstacle to his mission - for how could he demonstrate "the way of Hashem, doing justice and righteousness" if he abandoned his father for the last 60 years of his life. We explore several Midrashic (and proto-Midrashic) traditions about their relationship and find that these traditions do not speak in one voice. We also explore the textual basis for these traditions and note the nuances which allow for these exegetical approaches to develop. Source Sheet

Tidbits for VeZot HaBerakha and Sukkot Appreciating Eretz Yisrael - Important Mussar from Rav Yerucham Understanding the Deeper Message of Sukkos Through Prism of Koheles Chag sameach!

Parsha Tidbits with Rav Dovid Gottlieb, Vayelech-Ha'azinu-Special Yom Kippur Vort Vayelech #1 - Sparks of Chassidus - An Inspiring Teaching from R. Tzadok Hakohen - Connecting the Parsha to the Yamim Noraim Haazinu #1 - Contemporary Commentators - R. Soloveitchik's Approach to Reward and Punishment #2 - Sparks of Chassidus - Historical Sensitivity as a Catalyst for Teshuva - The Remarkable Insight of the Shem MiShmuel #3 - Sparks of Mussar - Is Success in Torah Study a Gift or a Result of Hard Work? Special Yom Kippur: The Culmination of 40 Days of Transformation

R. Yosef Babad_Minchat Chinuch__23 Elul 5634, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Nitzavim 5767 With this installment we conclude this series. Ketiva vechatima tova.