Machshavah Lab

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In tonight's Chumash Methodology shiur (given at YBT on 12/30/20) we continued R' Avraham ben ha'Rambam's essay on the midrashim of Chazal, beginning with his classification of the four types of Talmudic anecdotes. The first of these four types had four subcategories, each with a couple of examples. We spent most of the...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In this morning's shiur (12/25/20 at Lomdeha) we set out to accomplish three objectives: (1) to learn, on a basic level, the prophecy in Sefer Yechezkel about the event we are commemorating today (2) understand the transgressions which led to the catastrophe that are being highlighted in this prophecy (3) to translate these insights i...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning's shiur (12/18/20 at Lomdeha) was an adventure in "tefilah archaeology" focusing on a curious addition to the end of Al ha'Nissim involving a request for miracles. After surveying the evidence which establishes that this is the authentic version of Al ha'Nissim, we investigate the reason why most Ashke...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In tonight's Chumash Methodology shiur (given at YBT on 12/16/20) we continued R' Avraham ben ha'Rambam's essay on the midrashim of Chazal, completing the 4th and 5th categories of drashos, supplemented by the relevant footnotes in the new edition. Part 1: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1576750/7068922 Part 2: https://www.b...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning's shiur (12/11/20 at Lomdeha) is a continuation of our exploration of the midrash about Hashem transforming into a human barber and cut Sancheriv's hair. After a methodological introduction from the Rambam and Rav Hirsch, we conduct a general overview of seven approaches to the most difficult part of this midrash - o...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In tonight's Chumash Methodology shiur (given at YBT on 12/9/20) we continued R' Avraham ben ha'Rambam's essay on the midrashim of Chazal - THIS time with the recently published critical edition. We went back and read a section from the introduction which didn't appear in our version, as well as some jam-packed foo...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning's shiur (12/4/20 at Lomdeha) was prompted by a question I was sent by a listener about a statement in the Gemara to the effect that Hashem transformed into a human barber and cut Sancheriv's hair. I was asked what I thought about this Gemara and figured this would make for a good "midrash workshop." In Part...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In tonight's Chumash Methodology shiur (given at YBT on 12/2/20) we began R' Avraham ben ha'Rambam's essay on the midrashim of Chazal. We covered his introduction, in which he praises Chazal's intellectual honesty and criticizes those people who would accept their non-halachic statements simply because Chazal said...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning's Sunday shiur (11/22/20 at YBT) was inspired by a poem by Richard Feynman entitled, "The Universe in a Glass of Wine." Our aim in this shiur was three-fold: (1) to conceptualize the mitzvah of kiddush as "the universe of Torah in a glass of wine," (2) to explain a trio of strange midrashim, and (3) to...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In tonight's Topics in Jewish Philosophy shiur (11/19/20 at YBT) we reviewed the Rambam's Palace Allegory in the Moreh ha'Nevuchim 3:51 in order to see what insights it yielded this time around, and in order to respond to those who accuse the Rambam of being an elitist. ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:נא -----...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In tonight's Chumash Methodology shiur (given at YBT on 11/18/20) we learned through the Rashbam's three "introductions" to his commentary. The word "introductions" is in quotations because he doesn't have a formal introduction; rather, these are three sources in which he states his approach and different...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's Lomdeha Seminar shiur (11/13/20) we took up the juicy question in the title, focusing primarily on the framework provided by the Rambam's explanation of "al tifnu el ha'elilim" and "lo sasuru acharei levavchem v'acharei eineichem." I won't spoil the answer with any teasers. Let's...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In tonight's Chumash Methodology shiur (given at YBT on 11/11/20) we concluding learning the Ibn Ezra's introductions to Chumash. After reviewing the first four methods, learning the fourth one inside the text his "Shitah Acheres" commentary, we read his presentation of the fifth method - HIS method. In addition to desc...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's Lomdeha Seminar shiur (11/6/20, Parashas Vayeira) we took up three non-mainstream explanations of Akeidas Yitzchak: that of Shadal, Ralbag, and Rashbam. We also applied a useful three-question Chumash methodology formula to maximize what we gained from these three approaches. DISCLAIMER: some of these views might be perceiv...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In tonight's Chumash Methodology shiur (given at YBT on 11/4/20) we continued learning the Ibn Ezra's introduction to Chumash. We began with his criticism of "the third approach," in which he discusses when it is and isn't acceptable to interpret pesukim allegorically. We read about this in two other places: the in...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's Lomdeha Seminar shiur (10/30/20) we took up the midrash in Berachos 5a about how to vanquish the yetzer ha'ra: "le'olam yargiz adam yetzer tov al yetzer ha'ra etc." We learned through the commentaries of R' Avraham ben ha'Rambam and the Meiri, then attempted to come up with our own cohesiv...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In tonight's Chumash Methodology shiur (given at YBT on 10/28/20) we began learning the Ibn Ezra's introduction to Chumash. We spent the first part of shiur defining "pshat" according to Ibn Ezra, and then we delved into his intro. Ibn Ezra says that he's going to analyze five approaches to Chumash, and we discusse...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's Lomdeha Seminar shiur (10/23/20) we addressed what some might consider to be a controversial topic: the questions and problems raised by science against the narrative of The Flood in Parashas Noach. We began with an overview of four major problems. After briefly outlining three possible approaches to addressing these proble...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In tonight's Chumash shiur (given at YBT on 10/21/20) we began learning the Ralbag's commentary on Gan Eden. We encountered some Aristotelian bumps along the way - most of which had to do with the Active Intellect - but we at least got most of what he was saying. Certainly an original and creative approach! ---------- מקורות: רלב...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's Lomdeha Seminar shiur (10/16/20) we took up the midrash in Sukkah 48b about the two heretics, Sasson and Simchah. We learned and evaluated three approaches, and concluded with a fourth quasi-original approach, with plenty of methodological insights along the way. -------------------- מקורות: שמואל הנגיד - מבוא התלמוד תלמוד...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! The topic of tonight's Chumash shiur (given at YBT on 10/14/20) was the Ralbag's preface to his allegorical commentary on Gan Eden. We began with the Abravanel's objections to taking Gan Eden as a mashal. We then learned through the Ralbag's intro to Gan Eden in which he gives an overview of the ideas in the nimshal. Wh...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In this third and final installment in this series (given at YBT on 9/30/20) we conclude our learning of the Ralbag's Introduction to Chumash. This was a jam-packed shiur in which we: - revisit the last two paragraphs we rushed through last time, raising questions, giving answers, and providing clarifications along the way - read thro...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This is a video of the YBT Sunday shiur on 9/27/20, Erev Yom ha'Kippurim 5781. The aim of this shiur is threefold: (1) to provide a general framework for understanding the 13 middos ha'rachamim in context, (2) to define each middah, and (3) to learn how to incorporate the recitation of these middos into our davening in a manner t...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This evening (9/23/20) we continued our learning of the Ralbag's Introduction to Chumash, going back to what we skipped last time and finishing the main part of the intro, up until the Mekomos. The Ralbag discusses the limitations on our knowledge of Torah, the interrelationship between the parts of the Torah regimen, and the correspo...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Out of all the Chumash commentaries I've learned and loved, nothing has impacted me more than the Ralbag's framework, as set forth in the introduction to his Torah commentary. I decided that this would be a fitting place to start my inaugural Chumash shiur at YBT (given on 9/16/20). After a brief intro to who the Ralbag was, we l...