The Mishlei Podcast

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! רַבּוֹת מַחֲשָׁבוֹת בְּלֶב אִישׁ וַעֲצַת י״י הִיא תָקוּם: This morning (3/10/21 at YBT) we learned a pasuk that many of us say every day as part of davening. The challenge with such familiar pesukim is to be able to look at them with fresh eyes. I believe we succeeded in that this morning, and developed some nice approaches which we will c...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! שְׁמַע עֵצָה וְקַבֵּל מוּסָר לְמַעַן תֶּחְכַּם בְּאַחֲרִיתֶךָ: This morning (3/9/21 at YBT) we learned the meforshim on yesterday's pasuk, after reviewing and developing what we came up with yesterday. Rabbeinu Yonah and Metzudas David took opposite approaches, each with its own advantages. Please feel free to leave your questions, in...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! מְכַסֶּה שִׂנְאָה שִׂפְתֵי שָׁקֶר וּמוֹצִא דִבָּה הוּא כְסִיל: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (3/8/21 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we learned a pasuk which leant itself to several different readings. Thankfully, the several streams of thought in the group flowed into a single river, and we arrived at a consensus about the main idea - on...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! שְׁמַע עֵצָה וְקַבֵּל מוּסָר לְמַעַן תֶּחְכַּם בְּאַחֲרִיתֶךָ: This morning (3/8/21 at YBT) we learned a pasuk that was complex in its simplicity: easy to translate, but broad and obvious-sounding enough that it posed some difficulty. We worked out a general approach which we hope to flesh out tomorrow with the aid of the meforshim. ------...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! [גְּדָל] (גרל) חֵמָה נֹשֵׂא עֹנֶשׁ כִּי אִם תַּצִּיל וְעוֹד תּוֹסִף: This morning (3/4/21 at YBT) we continued our analysis of yesterday's pasuk - this time, with help from the meforshim! Rabbeinu Yonah connected 19:19 with 19:18, taking a similar route to Rashi, but with greater elaboration and broader implications. Metzudas David wa...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! [גְּדָל] (גרל) חֵמָה נֹשֵׂא עֹנֶשׁ כִּי אִם תַּצִּיל וְעוֹד תּוֹסִף: This morning (3/3/21 at YBT) we began a pasuk which was REALLY challenging to translate! We began with a summary of the Abravanel's view of kri/ksiv, then we did the messy work of translating the pasuk, and we concluded by raising major questions and problems, and ve...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! יַסֵּר בִּנְךָ כִּי יֵשׁ תִּקְוָה וְאֶל הֲמִיתוֹ אַל תִּשָּׂא נַפְשֶׁךָ: This morning (3/2/21 at YBT) we continued the pasuk we began yesterday. We started with Rabbeinu Yonah, whose explanation was the closest to the approach we took yesterday. We then contrasted this with Rashi's explanation of the second half, which was almost the...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! אֹרַח לְחַיִּים שׁוֹמֵר מוּסָר וְעֹזֵב תּוֹכַחַת מַתְעֶה: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (3/1/21 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we faced another formidable pasuk, with many possible readings. Our discussions in shiur are often unpredictable. This time, instead of trying out many approaches that were clearly demarcated, we ended up proceed...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! יַסֵּר בִּנְךָ כִּי יֵשׁ תִּקְוָה וְאֶל הֲמִיתוֹ אַל תִּשָּׂא נַפְשֶׁךָ: Sometimes it's the straightforward-sounding pesukim that are the most difficult to understand. This morning (3/1/21 at YBT) we read a fairly straightforward pasuk addressing a father's rationalizations for not disciplining his son. Perhaps it's because...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! אֹרַח לְחַיִּים שׁוֹמֵר מוּסָר וְעֹזֵב תּוֹכַחַת מַתְעֶה: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (3/1/21 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we faced another formidable pasuk, with many possible readings. Our discussions in shiur are often unpredictable. This time, instead of trying out many approaches that were clearly demarcated, we ended up proceed...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! מַלְוֵה י״י חוֹנֵן דָּל וּגְמֻלוֹ יְשַׁלֶּם לוֹ: This morning (2/24/21 at YBT) we revisited and refined our idea from last time using a surprising source: the Rambam in the Peirush ha'Mishnayos to Peah 1:1. Then, in another shocking move, we tried our hand at understanding Rashi's interpretation, which was echoed by the Ri Nachmi...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! פְּעֻלַּת צַדִּיק לְחַיִּים תְּבוּאַת רָשָׁע לְחַטָּאת: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (2/22/21 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we learned a pasuk which, like many pesukim in Mishlei, focused on the difference between a tzadik and a rasha. We ended up DEFINING the terms "tzadik" and "rasha," based on my understanding of...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! מַלְוֵה י״י חוֹנֵן דָּל וּגְמֻלוֹ יְשַׁלֶּם לוֹ: This morning (2/22/21 at YBT) we learned a difficult pasuk with a seemingly inappropriate metaphor. We struggled to figure out an approach, turned to Rabbeinu Yonah for guidance, and then proposed an explanation. We'll revisit this pasuk tomorrow to see if we can refine today's ide...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! שֹׁמֵר מִצְוָה שֹׁמֵר נַפְשׁוֹ בּוֹזֵה דְרָכָיו יָמוּת: This morning (2/18/20 at YBT) we learned a pasuk that seemed ambiguous on multiple levels, but we found that "all rivers run into the sea" (i.e. all of the translation permutations led to the same basic idea). This isn't the first time I've encountered a pasuk like...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! עַצְלָה תַּפִּיל תַּרְדֵּמָה וְנֶפֶשׁ רְמִיָּה תִרְעָב: This morning (2/17/20 at YBT) we consulted the meforshim on the pasuk we learned yesterday. We began with Saadia Gaon's commentary (as presented by the Meiri), then learned the Meiri's own interpretation, and concluded with Rabbeinu Yonah's explanation. We also read Ras...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! עַצְלָה תַּפִּיל תַּרְדֵּמָה וְנֶפֶשׁ רְמִיָּה תִרְעָב: This morning (2/16/20 at YBT) we starting learning a pasuk about laziness. Knowing my fondness for Saadia Gaon's definition of laziness as stated in his Introduction to Mishlei, it was inevitable that we'd end up there. Thankfully, we were able to work out an idea combining...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! הוֹן עָשִׁיר קִרְיַת עֻזּוֹ מְחִתַּת דַּלִּים רֵישָׁם: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (2/15/21 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we tackled a pasuk that was mystifying in some ways and obvious in others. We discussed a LOT of methodology, both during and after shiur, including topics such as the difference between Mishlei and Pirkei Avos, th...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! בַּיִת וָהוֹן נַחֲלַת אָבוֹת וּמֵי״י אִשָּׁה מַשְׂכָּלֶת The last pasuk we learned was about a contentious wife, and the pasuk we learned this morning (2/15/20 at YBT) was about an intelligent wife. This was one of those pesukim that was unclear on a number of levels: what it means, who it's for, and what are its implications. We came...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! הַוֺּת לְאָבִיו בֵּן כְּסִיל וְדֶלֶף טֹרֵד מִדְיְנֵי אִשָּׁה: This morning (2/11/20 at YBT) we continued our analysis of yesterday's pasuk about the negative impact of foolish sons and nagging wives. We learned Rabbeinu Yonah and the Meiri, then compared and contrasted the two interpretations, with a few observations of our own. We co...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! הַוֺּת לְאָבִיו בֵּן כְּסִיל וְדֶלֶף טֹרֵד מִדְיְנֵי אִשָּׁה: This morning (2/10/20 at YBT) we began a pasuk about the negative impact of foolish sons and nagging wives. Since we had 30 minutes instead of the usual 45, we only had time to raise the questions and begin developing an approach. Tomorrow (בג"ה) we'll develop our appr...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! חֲכָמִים יִצְפְּנוּ דָעַת וּפִי אֱוִיל מְחִתָּה קְרֹבָה: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (2/8/21 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we learned yet another pasuk about chachamim, fools, and speech. Our analysis was an exercise in balancing our understanding of terms based on previous pesukim with keeping our minds open to new interpretations. W...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! נַהַם כַּכְּפִיר זַעַף מֶלֶךְ וּכְטַל עַל עֵשֶׂב רְצוֹנוֹ: This morning (2/9/20 at YBT) we continued our analysis of yesterday's pasuk. First we reviewed the idea from Rabbeinu Yonah, then we compared it to the Metzudas David, and then we did something we usually don't do: we attempted to understand Rashi's interpretation, w...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! נַהַם כַּכְּפִיר זַעַף מֶלֶךְ וּכְטַל עַל עֵשֶׂב רְצוֹנוֹ: MORNING MISHLEI IS BACK, BABY! The pasuk we learned this morning (2/8/20 at YBT) features a bizarrely asymmetrical metaphor whose meaning and practical import is not at all clear. We spent the morning experimenting with various approaches and concluded with (what I consider to be)...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! בְּשִׂפְתֵי נָבוֹן תִּמָּצֵא חׇכְמָה וְשֵׁבֶט לְגֵו חֲסַר לֵב: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (2/1/21 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT, broadcasting from Seattle due to a snow storm in NY) we learned one of those pesukim in which the two halves seem to have nothing to do with each other. On top of that, the pasuk contained technical jargon o...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! שִׂנְאָה תְּעֹרֵר מְדָנִים וְעַל כׇּל פְּשָׁעִים תְּכַסֶּה אַהֲבָה: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (1/11/20 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we learned a pasuk which is perennially relevant, but especially in the present era where it is so easy to offend and to be offended. At the very least this pasuk will help a person to avoid needness q...