KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Pesach | The Meaning of Matzah: Between Becoming and Being, by Rav Chanoch Waxman Shiur given at the Etzion Foundation Annual Dinner, March 20, 2023

The Obligation to Reexperience the Exodus, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom What is the source for the obligation to reimagine ourselves as having personally participated in the Exodus? The Mishna  ( Pesachim 10:5 ) establishes the obligation - in every generation - for a person to view himself (or, per Rambam's nuanced wording, "to show himself") as if he was personally part of the Exodus. It is not at a...

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 20: Rambam and Ramban on Nivul Peh, by Rav Gidon Rothstein Conclusion to the series, Rambam and Ramban on nivul peh, and a wrap up of the messages of this series, of Rabbenu Yonah's closing the 3rd sha'ar with these four groups.

Ki Tisa | Inspiration: Day by Day, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The Parashiot of the Mishkan direct us how to construct a dwelling place for Hashem. This ideal is introduced at the outset of the commands as its goal: "They shall fashion a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them" (25:8) - but is also reiterated, with greater clarity, at the conclusion of the core commands, with the directive to o...

From Bereishit to Esther: A Midrashic Journey, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Chazal take the position that "Esther was the end of the (era of) miracles" (BT Yoma 29b). We explore how the Ba'alei haMidrash were guided by this perspective, seeing the story of Mordekhai and Esther as the ultimate resolution of remaining tensions that were created in the stories in Bereshit. Understanding the Purim story a...

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 19: Unrefined Speech and Complaining Too Much, by Rav Gidon Rothstein The last two categories of negative speech, nivul peh and nirgan, speaking in unrefined and low-class ways, and complaining too much about life, not seeing the good in it.

Yeshivat Har Etzion joins in mourning the passing of Dr. Atarah Twersky z"l, widow of Professor Isadore Twersky z"l, daughter of "The Rav", Harav Joseph B. Soloveitchik z"l, sister of Dr. Tovah Lichtenstein and YU Professor of Jewish History Dr. Haym Soloveitchik and mother of Rabbi Moshe Twersky HY"d, RIETS Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Mayer Twersky, and Tzipporah Rosenblatt. We post here a recording of a...

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 18: Proper Discretion with Information, When To Spread It and When Not, by Rav Gidon Rothstein When lashon hara involves information that is not inherently negative or false, and yet will deny a person the merit of greeting God's Presence.

Purim | Midrash Esther and the Sinaitic Covenant, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom One of the types of Midr'shei Aggadah utilized by the composers of Midrashim is the "petichta" - (proem) which served as an introduction to the public reading of the text to which the Midrash attached. Among the more prolific and well-known פתיחתאות are those that preface מדרש איכה as well as those recorded by both the Midr...

The Arba Parashiot: More than Meets the Eye, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The annual cycle of Keriat haTorah is punctuated in the weeks before Pesach with the addition of the "Arba Parashiot" - four special readings read as the Maftir on those weeks. We analyze the historic-halakhic reality of this practice, along with the hashkafic implications of these readings, coming as they do in the weeks leadin...

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 17: True Negative Emotion, When To Spread It and When Not, by Rav Gidon Rothstein We may not share irrelevant negative information about others, we must share it when it is relevant. Which is which?

Special sicha with Rav Yonasan Sacks, Rosh Yeshiva, Beis Medrash L'Talmud, Lander College Feb 8, 2023 We thank Rav Sacks for coming to speak with our talmidim.

Yitro | On The Third Day: Echoes of Moriah at Sinai, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Why the three-day waiting period before the theophany at Sinai?  The exciting, frightening preparatory period before the great theophany at Sinai is defined by the Divine Command: "Be ready for the third day..." We explore the motif of the three-day anticipatory period in Tanakh, from Akeidat Yitzchak to the eschatologic...

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 16: The Overall Evil in Slandering Others, by Rav Gidon Rothstein Rabbenu Yonah's general introduction to lashon hara, why it is treated as so significantly bad a set of sins.

Tu Bishvat | The Well-Rooted Righteous Man, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom In honor of טו בשבט, we examine the opening chapter of Tehillim which uses the tree as a metaphor for the righteous person. Familiar passages from Yirmiyah and later on in Tehillim (92) are invoked to build a broader picture of this metaphor and to explain the placing of this Mizmor at the beginning of the book of praises (Tehill...

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 15: Final Thoughts on Chanifa, by Rav Gidon Rothstein Various commentators showing how far we should go to avoid giving the impression that wrong is right.

Beshalach | Moshe: Catalyst for Redemption, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The text interrupts the narrative of the Exodus to highlight Moshe's taking Yosef's bones up from Egypt, per the oath that was administered by Yosef to his brothers at his deathbed. We explore both the explicit mention as well as the unusual placement of this note in the text by looking at other actions that Moshe took that seem...

Ashkenazim and Sefardim: The Goals of Talmud Study, special lecture by Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Woolf On methodological and cultural differences and their practical applications Rabbi Prof. Jeffrey Woolf is an internationally known scholar, lecturer and public figure. He serves as an Associate Professor in the Talmud Department at Bar-Ilan University where he specializes in the History of Halakhah, Medie...

Beshalach | A Thought on the Parasha, by Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky, followed by Q+A with the overseas talmidim Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky is the Rosh HaYeshiva of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington – Tiferes Gedaliah, accepting the position in July of 2014. He studied and received rabbinic ordination from the Mir Yeshiva of Jerusalem. In Israel, Rabbi Lopiansky taught at Aish HaTorah from 1983-1990, and t...

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 14: Finishing R. Yonah's Flatterers, by Rav Gidon Rothstein The rest of RY"s Flatterers. Four more types of refusing to step up and call out evil, and what's wrong with it. The importance of at least recognizing evil when it occurs.

Bo | Korban Pesach: Personal, Communal, Epochal, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The Korban Pesach is the centerpiece of Chapter 12 in Shemot - but how did Bnei Yisrael understand its significance, the specifics of the ritual and their own role in history in that context? This shiur explores 3 aspects of the Korban Pesach which may have informed the people's awareness at that great time. Source sheet >>

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 13: The First Five Flatterers, by Rav Gidon Rothstein Chanifa, when we tell evil it is good, in some way or other.

Vaera | The Surprising Genealogy, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Just as Hashem's magnificent promises and ominous threats are about to be broadcast by Moshe, both to B'nei Yisrael as well as to Pharaoh, the text interrupts with a most unusual mini-genealogical list. We are told, all so briefly, about the families of Reuven and Shimon, after which we are given a somewhat detailed presentation of the Lev...

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 12: Fabricating a Quote and Its Challenges, by Rav Gidon Rothstein When might we be allowed to fake a quote to bring people to a truth they would not realize otherwise.

Shemot | Elokei Avikha - The God of Your Father, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom When God first summons Moshe to his great agency, He introduces Himself to his prophet as "the God of your father" - however, during the course of their testy interaction at Horev, it shifts to "the God of their (the Hebrews') fathers" and the direct association with Moshe is left behind. We explore why this sobriquet was th...