KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Al haNissim for Yom Yerushalayim, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom. Text composed together with Dr. Avi Shmidman Since the miraculous days of June 1967, we have celebrated the reunification of Yerushalayim, the city of our chief joy. Along with reciting Hallel, there have been various liturgical poems (פיוטים) written for the occasion. In order to be able to incorporate thanks to Hashem for the great mira...

Parashat Bamidbar with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Why Does It Matter How the Shevatim Were Organized in the Midbar? #2 - Contemporary Commentators - The Purpose - and Danger - of the Flags: A Profound Insight from R. Yaakov Kaminetzky #3 - Midrash - What Does Moshe Have to Do With Ahron's Children? #4 - Sparks of Musar - "The Torah Was Given With Fire, Water and In the Desert...

What is So Important about Yerushalayim? by Rav Dovid Gottlieb, shiur given to the weekly women's group in Kehilat Ha'Ela Appreciating the dual religious purpose of the holy city will also help us appreciate the modern miracle of Yom Yerushalayim. Sourcesheet >>  

From Redemption to Consolation: Between Pesach and 9BeAv. Our Best Strategies for Bi'at Ha-Go'el. #3 Shavuot as the Culmination of Pesach, by Rabbi Gidon Rothstein In this third installment, we will discuss how the offering of two loaves of leavened bread on Shavuot unlocks key lessons of the holiday of Shavuot and the progression from Pesach to Shavuot. An alumnus of Har Etzion (1982), Rabbi Dr....

Parashat Behar-Bechukotai with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 Classical Commentators - The Torah's Approach to Real Estate #2 Modern Commentators - How Do We Survive Galus? The Meshech Chochma's Incredible Insight #3 Midrash - Making the Right Choices - A Midrashic Perspective #4 Sparks of Chassidut - What is True Freedom? A Profound Thought from the Sefas Emes #5 Halacha from the Parsha - Balancing Bitach...

Bechukotai | Avraham's Path, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The first 11 verses of Parashat Behukotai comprise the "berakha", the promised reward for the people's obeisance of the covenant at Sinai. The opening phrase אם בחקתי תלכו is puzzling and has led to a range of interpretation; building from this notion of "walking" as a description of a way of life and charting the history and development of thi...

From Rabbi Akiva's Students to Contemporary Israel, Why Can't We All Just Get Along, shiur given to the weekly women's group in Kehilat Ha'Ela

Understanding Anti-Semitism - The Jews are the Sand Barrier of Humanity, by Rav Moshe Taragin Special shiur given in London at Mizrachi Day of Inspiration May 15, 2022

Mapping Modern Redemption through Past Miracles, by Rav Moshe Taragin Special shiur given in London at Mizrachi Day of Inspiration May 15, 2022

Rabbi Sacks and the Four Jewish Lessons for Modern Society, by Rav Moshe Taragin. Special shiur given in London at Mizrachi Day of Inspiration May 15, 2022 Source sheet >>

Appreciating the Religious Impact of Eretz Yisrael on ALL Mitzvot, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb, shiur given to the weekly women's group in Kehilat Ha'Ela If there wouldn't be a State of Israel, we ourselves wouldn't be living here. Given that we are here, what impact does being here have on our lives? Regarding actual mitzvot that are not in and of themselves "land" related.

From Redemption to Consolation: Between Pesach and 9BeAv. Our Best Strategies for Bi'at Ha-Go'el. #2 What Are We Counting, Where Are We Going, by Rabbi Gidon Rothstein In this second installment, we will discuss the counting of the Omer: Is it connected to the Omer sacrifice, to the Giving of the Torah, or to something else entirely? One act or many acts together? What does that mean for how it sh...

Behar | Fear My Mikdash - Which Mikdash? by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The short Parasha of Behar Sinai is, as alluded to in its heading, out of sequence and was given by Hashem at an earlier point during the Stand at Sinai. We explore several options of what "Behar Sinai" may mean here and conclude that the reference is to the revelation given to Moshe when he was at the foot of the mountain, inside t...

New Series: From Redemption to Consolation: Between Pesach and 9BeAv. Our Best Strategies for Bi'at Ha-Go'el, by Rabbi Gidon Rothstein We will progress from the heights of Pesach to the seeds of hurban, to the road to restoration, finding ways halakha guides us towards the key pieces of a life well lived. By spotting where our predecessors went wrong--from the start, in the middle, and to the end-...

Parashat Emor with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Sefiras HaOmer - The Deeper Reason Why We Count #2 - Modern Commentators - Why Do We Celebrate Holidays? The Remarkable - and Surprising - Insight of the Netziv #3 - MIdrash - What do the Arba Minim Symbolize? 3 Approaches from the Midrash #4 - Sparks of Musar - The Destructive Power of Negative Speech #5 - Halacha from the Parsha...

Kedoshim Tiheyu | The Responsibility of Atzma'ut, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Yom Ha'Atzmaut always falls out during the season that we read אחרי מות and קדושים. A fresh look at the end of אחרי מות and the first half of פרשת קדושים presents the Divine recipe for our sustained independence and sovereignty in the Land. Not only are we adjured to avoid the pagan fetishistic practices of the prior inhabi...

Thanking Rosh Beit Midrash  SKA Migdal Oz בית המדרש לנשים מגדל עז Rabbanit Esti Rosenberg for speaking with us today about her father, Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Aharon Lichtenstein zt'l on his 7th Yahrtzeit, 1 Iyar 5782 חים שאין בהם בושה וכלימה

Torah of HaRav Aharon Lichtenstein: How Did Rav Lichtenstein zt"l Impact Religious Zionism, shiur given by Rav Moshe Taragin at Cong. Rinat Yisrael (Teaneck, NJ) in honor of Harav Lichtenstein's 7th yahrzeit, Sunday May 1, 2022. 

Kedoshim | לא תקום ולא תטור - Vengeance AND/OR/ON ACCOUNT OF Bearing a Grudge, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The crescendo of laws governing interpersonal relationships is undoubtedly "You shall love your fellow as yourself" - ואהבת לרעך כמוך. This command is prefaced with an unusual pair of prohibitions - לא תקום ולא תטור את בני עמך - "Do not take vengeance nor hold a grudge against the members of you...

Parashat Acharei Mot - Kedoshim with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - The Timeless Message of Sa'ir HaMishtaleach #2 - Contemporary Commentators - Understanding the Mitzvah of Rebuke: Hashem's Policeman or Loving Brother? #3 - Midrash - "Kedoshim Tihiyu" - 3 Insights from the Midrash #4 - Sparks of Chassidus - Appreciating the Sanctity of Every Jew: An Amazing Teaching of the Lubav...

Yom HaAtzma'ut | מדיניות ומדינה - Statecraft and State, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Proper appreciation not only for the miracle of Jewish statehood but for the significance of the state in the larger scope of Jewish destiny and legacy is a vital preface to understanding the role of thanksgiving to Hashem for the precious gift of Medinat Yisrael. This shiur examines both steps - the significance of t...

Yom HaShoah | Rav Asher Weiss on Emuna, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb What are the three things we must teach about the Shoah?

Pesach | As if We Came Out from Egypt - The Pedagogy of the Pilgrimage Festivals, by Rav Alan Haber What does it mean that we are to see ourselves as if WE left Egypt? Why does the Torah describe the 3 Regalim (Pilgrimage Festivals) in primarily agricultural terms? Why do we tell the story of the Exodus when bringing Bikkurim (First Fruits)? What does all of this have to do with our Pesach Seder?...

Pesach | "Five" Phrases of Redemption, pre-Pesach zoom shiur by Rav Moshe Taragin, April 7, 2022 The core part of the seder which describes the actual exodus often gets "passed over". How can we learn about the actual liberation from the 4 pesukim known as Arami Oved Avi?

Pesach | עמלנו: אלו הבנים - The Depths of our Tragedy in Egypt, pre-Pesach shiur given over zoom by Rosh Hayeshiva Harav Mosheh Lichtenstein, April 7, 2022 What exactly is the level of suffering that Bnei Yisrael experienced in Egypt? Source cited is "Redemption, Prayer, Talmud Torah" in Tradition 17:2 (Spring 1978)