Rambam Yomi with Rav Eytan

Perek ז: A Hundred Brachot a Day From the moment you open your eyes to the moment you fall asleep, the Rambam maps out a blessing for nearly everything: waking, dressing, standing, walking, even leaving the bathroom. This Perek catalogues the morning blessings one by one, explains the Chachamim's requirement to recite 100 Brachot daily, and lays out the full order of Shacharit, Mincha, and Maa...

Perek ו: Why We Need a Minyan Tefilla with a community carries a different weight than prayer alone. This Perek introduces the value the Rambam places on the role of the Chazan and the different pauses one must take in their daily activities in order to Daven.

Perek ה: Body and Mind in Prayer Where do you face? How do you stand? This Perek explores the physical postures of prayer and the inner focus the Rambam considers essential, not optional, for the Amidah to count.

Perek ד: Getting Ready to Stand Before HaShem Before you can pray, there's preparation. This Perek details the physical and mental readiness the Rambam demands: washing the hands, a clean body and place, appropriate dress, and the famous list of conditions for approaching prayer properly.

Perek ג: Who Prays, and When Three times a day, but not for everyone equally. This Perek covers the obligations of men, women, and those with exemptions, the windows of time for Shacharit, Mincha, and Maariv, and what happens when those windows are missed.

Perek א: The Structure of Shemoneh Esrei Why nineteen blessings, in this order, with this content? This Perek walks through the architecture of the Amidah blessing by blessing, and explains why the text had to be fixed rather than left to each person's own words.

Perek א: Where Does Prayer Come From? Is daily prayer a Torah obligation or a rabbinic one? The Rambam opens with a surprising answer, then walks through the history of how Ezra and the Anshei Knesset HaGedolah standardised the text of prayer after the exile, when Hebrew itself was slipping away from the people.

Perek ד: Impurity, Interruptions, and Exceptions Can someone who is impure still read Shema? What happens if you're interrupted mid-verse? This closing Perek works through the practical edge cases, including the halachic history of Ezra's decree and its reversal, rounding out the laws of when and how Kriyat Shema can be fulfilled.

Perek ג: Where You Can't Read Shema Kedusha demands the right setting. This Perek explores the physical conditions that disqualify a reading of Shema altogether, from unclean places to bad odors, and why the Rambam treats the environment around you as inseparable from the Mitzvah itself.

Perek ב: Reading With Precision Saying Shema isn't just about the words, it's about how you say them. This Perek covers the Rambam's rules for careful pronunciation, not swallowing letters, pausing correctly between words and phrases, and why intent (Kavana) on the first Passuk carries a weight of its own.

Perek א: The Mitzvah of twice daily Why do we declare HaShem's oneness morning and night, and where does that obligation actually come from? This Perek lays the foundation of Kriyat Shema, tracing its source to the Torah itself, defining the time windows for reading it each day, and clarifying who is obligated and who is exempt.

Perek י: Serving God Out of Love The Rambam closes Hilchot Teshuva with his ultimate goal: serving HaShem not from fear of punishment or hope of reward, but from love. This final Perek describes how contemplating HaShem's wisdom and creation leads to that love, the highest level a person can reach.

Perek ט: Reward, Punishment, and This World If Olam Haba is spiritual, what do all the physical blessings and curses in the Torah actually mean? This Perek explains the Rambam's approach to material reward and punishment as tools for serving HaShem properly in this world, distinct from the ultimate reward still to come.

Perek ח: What Is Olam Haba? What actually awaits the righteous in the World to Come? The Rambam offers his boldest and most debated formulation: a purely spiritual existence, without bodies, without eating or drinking. This Perek unpacks what that reward looks like and why it defies physical description.

Perek ז: The Power of Return Here the Rambam turns from law to praise. Teshuva doesn't just erase the past, it elevates a person, in some ways beyond someone who never sinned at all. This Perek explores the closeness to God that Teshuva makes possible, and why the ultimate redemption depends on it.

Perek ו: When Teshuva Is Taken Away Can a person lose the ability to repent? Building on the free will discussion, this Perek looks at cases like Pharaoh's hardened heart, where Teshuva itself is withheld as a consequence for certain grave choices. A sobering look at what's at stake in our decisions.

Perek ה: Do We Really Choose? One of the most famous chapters in all of Rambam's philosophy. Does God's foreknowledge cancel out human free will? The Rambam insists that free choice is absolute and non-negotiable, and this Perek lays out why, engaging directly with the hardest questions in Jewish thought.

Perek ד: Twenty Four Roadblocks to Teshuva Not every obstacle to Teshuva is dramatic. Some are as quiet as delaying, or as social as leading others astray. This Perek completes the Rambam's list of twenty four things that get in the way of genuine return, a practical checklist for self-examination.

Perek ג: Weighing a Life, Weighing a World The Rambam introduces a striking idea: every person, and the entire world, exists on a constant scale between merit and sin. Who is a Tzaddik, who is a Rasha, and who is in between? This Perek also opens the list of people whose sin isn't easily forgiven, and begins the list of things that can block Teshuva altogether.

Perek ב: The Anatomy of Complete Teshuva What actually makes Teshuva "complete"? The Rambam gives us a test: the same sin, the same opportunity, the same ability, and this time you don't do it. This Perek breaks down the components of real Teshuva, the exact wording of Vidui, and why sins between people demand a different kind of repair than sins against HaShem.

Perek א: What Is Teshuva, Really? Every Mitzvah in the Torah has one path back when it's transgressed: Teshuv. Perek א lays the foundation, defining the biblical obligation to confess (Vidui) and unpacking why confession, not just regret, is the technical core of the Teshuva process. We also look at the unique power of Yom Kippur to atone, and which categories of sin require more than confessi...

In this shiur, we conclude Hilchot Avodah Zarah by learning the twelfth Perek, where the Rambam discusses the prohibition of following the customs of the nations. The Perek focuses on practices such as forbidden hairstyles and shaving, emphasizing the Torah's call for the Jewish people to maintain a distinct identity rooted in holiness.

In this shiur, we learn the eleventh Perek of Hilchot Avodah Zarah, where the Rambam prohibits various forms of superstition, divination, astrology, and magic. The Perek teaches that a Jew should place complete trust in HaShem rather than in mystical or occult practices.

In this shiur, we learn the tenth Perek of Hilchot Avodah Zarah, where the Rambam continues the laws governing commercial and social relationships with idolaters. The Perek balances practical interaction with the need to safeguard Jewish belief and practice.

In this shiur, we study the ninth Perek of Hilchot Avodah Zarah, in which the Rambam discusses business dealings and other interactions with idolaters around their religious festivals. The Perek explores how to avoid supporting or participating in idolatrous observances.