Rambam Bekius

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 21 minutes 24 seconds Synopsis: I was originally going to record an episode for tomorrow, Tishah b'Av itself, but I ended up discussing the halachos of seudah ha'mafsekes (the concluding meal before the fast) with my chavrusa this afternoon, and decided to record an episode about that instead, hoping that some people will...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 12 minutes 23 seconds Synopsis: We conclude the fifth chapter of Hilchos Taaniyos with the halachos of tearing our garments when we encounter the Cities of Judah, Jerusalem, and the Mikdash in their states of destruction. The final halacha is about the status of these fast days in the time of Moshiach. I share a beautiful article f...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 9 minutes 50 seconds Synopsis: Today's halachos are about the enactments and decrees that Chazal set up to commemorate the destruction of the Mikdash and Yerushalayim. Some of these are familiar to us; others seem to no longer be practiced, or at least, are not as visible. Nevertheless, the halachos are here to guide us in how...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 15 minutes 22 seconds Synopsis: Today we finish the Rambam's halachos of Tishah b'Av itself, stopping to discuss an interesting minority manuscript and its implications. Tomorrow we'll move on to the next topic in the chapter: the commemorative practices that Chazal instituted to recall the destruction of the Mikdash...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 7 minutes 52 seconds Synopsis: We continue in Hilchos Taaniyos 5 with the halachos pertaining to the month of Av and Erev Tishah b'Av. As I said, we're keeping this in a "strictly bekius" mode for now to ensure that we finish the chapter before Tishah b'Av itself. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר ז...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 11 minutes 20 seconds Synopsis: We'll be taking another detour into the Laws of Fasts in order to prepare for Tishah b'Av, "Rambam Bekius style." Today we read the introductory halachos in which the Rambam tells us about each of the national fast days, why we fast on them, and what we're commemorating. Tomo...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 12 minutes 2 seconds Synopsis: Today we examine the Rambam's examples of the different ways that different people used to daven. There are some nuances in the Rambam's language that I never noticed before. We end off with a CORRECTED reading of the statement about facing Mikdash (which, turns out, I had been reading and t...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 13 minutes 32 seconds Synopsis: Today we reread the Rambam's formulation of the obligation of tefilah from the Torah and make several inferences from the nuances of his formulation. These nuances help us to know what the actual chiyuv de'oraisa is, and also shed further light on the nature of tefilah. And if anyone has a...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 14 minutes 15 seconds Synopsis: Well, THIS episode took an unexpected turn! I intended to just review one point we covered yesterday and read ten words from the Meiri on how to "make" God have mercy on you, but that little addition turned into a whole episode which touched upon the fundamental mechanisms of how tefilah wo...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 11 minutes 26 seconds Synopsis: And we're BACK to "actual bekius"! In this episode we cover two topics: (a) my mini-rant on how publishers (a.k.a. doofuses) screwed up the Rambam's division of the mini-halachos, and (b) how to understand the Rambam's use of the phrase "mispalel u'mischanein"...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 6 minutes 26 seconds Synopsis: We conclude this examination of women's obligation in tefilah by reading the Mishnah Berurah, who arrives at a similar conclusion to the Aruch ha'Shulchan but spells out a few more details in terms of practicality. Note: I recorded this late into the taanis and I had just woken up from a taa...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 11 minutes 45 seconds Synopsis: Today we finish the Aruch ha'Shulchan's analysis of how the machlokess on the mitzvah of tefilah de'oraisa plays itself out for women. After taking up the positions of Rashi, Tosafos, Ramban, and Talmidei Rabbeinu Yonah, the Aruch ha'Shulchan arrives at his practical conclusion. N...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 20 minutes Synopsis: Because today is the 17th of Tammuz, I wanted to take a brief pause in our topic to address inyanei d'yoma , and what better way to do so than to review one thing that the Rambam and the Ramban both agree on: that zaakah b'eis tzarah (crying out to Hashem at a time of trouble) is a mitzvah from the To...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 10 minutes 49 seconds Synopsis: The next step in our analysis of the machlokess between the Rambam and Ramban and its impact on women's obligation in tefilah is to learn Gemara according to both sides. Turns out, this issue is complicated by the fact that there are three different girsaos (textual versions) of the Gemara. Usin...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 7 minutes 26 seconds Synopsis: Instead of continuing what we started yesterday, we're gonna slow down. After three weeks of Rambam Bekius, there's one change I'd like to make.  ----- The Torah Content for the remainder of July has been sponsored by the Lichters in honor of Jonny Schneeweiss, just "for being Jonn...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 17 minutes 32 seconds Synopsis: Guess what? We're taking another detour! Since the machlokess between the Rambam and Ramban on tefilah de'oraisa has a direct bearing on the nature and parameters of women's obligation in tefilah , we're going to take up that topic for the next few episodes. In this episode, we go...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 20 minutes 8 seconds Synopsis: Well, I can't put it off any longer: here's the approach my chavrusa and I have been developing to explain the machlokess betweenthe Ramban and the Rambam on tefilah de'oraisa . I did my best to present it clearly, which means that the fact that this episode ended up being 20 minutes is...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 9 minutes 13 seconds Synopsis: Before I share the theory that my chavrusa and I have been working on, I'd like to share what the Aruch ha'Shulchan wrote. Like the Rav, he attempts to minimize the machlokess between these two "pillars of the world." What do you think of his line of reasoning? ----- מקורות: ערוך ה...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 12 minutes 11 seconds Synopsis: Last time we read the Ramban's critique of the Rambam's view that daily tefilah is a mitzvah from the Torah. Before I share the theory that my chavrusa and I have been working on, I'd like to share a famous explanation given by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (a.k.a. the Rav).    ----- מק...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 21 minutes 29 seconds Synopsis: Today we'll go over the facts of the Ramban's machlokess with the Rambam regarding the mitzvah of tefilah from the Torah. If you've heard of this machlokess , do yourself a favor: BEFORE you listen to the episode, summarize what you THINK the Ramban's view is, then listen to the e...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 11 minutes 22 seconds Synopsis: I could have moved on after answering yesterday's question, I figured that once we were already discussing the Rambam's take on Rabbinical hermeneutics, I might as well recap my current understanding of his position, as explained by Moshe Halbertal in Maimonides: Life and Thought (and devel...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 15 minutes 24 seconds Synopsis: Today we take up another question from a different listener. Unbeknownst to the listener, this question cuts deep to the core of a HUGE machlokess between the Rambam and the Ramban about the nature of the Torah text and Rabbinic authority. Although we aren't going to delve TOO deeply into this,...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 17 minutes 23 seconds Synopsis: Before we take up the question about the inclusion in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos of the halacha about facing Mikdash during tefilah, I'd like to attempt to answer three questions that were sent to me by a listener, and in so doing, refine our understanding of avodah as tefilah and as talmud Torah...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 15 minutes 8 seconds Synopsis: We last left our hero (i.e. Rambam) on an open question: "What is the Rambam's idea of the mitzvah of 'avodah' such that it encompasses all mitzvos AND is a specific commandment for tefilah AND an injunction to study Torah?" Here is how the Ralbag answers that question. -----...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 11 minutes 2 seconds Synopsis: Yesterday we read the Rambam's formulation of the mitzvah of tefilah in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos. Today we raise several questions on this formulation, and then acquaint ourselves with the facts of his three formulations in the Mishneh Torah. We will spend the next week (if not more) delving int...