KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Vayishlach | Hegemonism or Conquest? by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom ולזרעך נתתי את הארץ - What was at the core of Yaakov's dispute with his sons after the massacre of Sh'khem?  Continuously throughout Sefer Bereishit, our Patriarchs are promised by Hashem that their descendants will be "given" the Land - but there is no indication of how that gift will be given, of how that "inheritance" will be achieve...

Vayetze | Back to Gerar (The Parenthetic Statement), by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom How do we explain the references to Avraham having passed away in Beresheet 26 if, as proposed, this narrative cycle took place before Yaakov and Esav were born (i.e. well before Avraham passed on).  As a follow-up to our shiur about Gerar and my argument that the events described in Bereishit 26:1-33 took place during t...

And Thou Knowest No God but Me | Vayetze | 5786, by Rav Eli Weber Hoshea 12:13-14:10. On the difficulties in the Jews' relationship with God

Yet I Love Yaakov. And I Hated Esav | Toldot | 5786, by Rav Eli Weber Malachi 1:1-2:7. How should we worship God?

Toldot | The Gerar Conundrum, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom What happened during Yitzchak and Rivka's twenty years of childlessness?  In reading through the presentation of Yitzchak's life in Parashat Toldot, there seems to be a disconnect between the opening narratives of the birth and early years of Yaakov and Esav, and the subsequent narrative cycle of Yitzchak and Rivka in Gerar (chapter 26:1-33)....

Chayei Sara | Ketura and the Sons of the East, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Why Ketura? As the story of Avraham's life comes to a close, we are informed that at some point (perhaps after Sara died), he took another wife - Ketura and, as the straightforward reading indicates, he also took several concubines. He had children with all of these and sent the sons of his concubines away - to the east - with...

Now King David was Old | Haftara | Chayei Sara | 5786, by Rav Eli Weber Rav Eli Weber begins a new series of shiurim, "This Week's Haftara". What is the legacy of David HaMelekh?

Lekh Lekha | Avraham's Early Years: The Genesis of Midrashic Visions, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom What are the sources of the well-known Midrashim about Avraham's early years?  There are numerous Midrashim that explore the early years of Avraham, attempting to explain his selection as the progenitor of a great nation and the source of blessing for "all of the families of the earth." Some of these Mid...

Noach | "My Covenant", by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom What Berit is Hashem referring to before the Flood?  In Hashem's instructions to Noach regarding the construction of the Ark, He prefaces the command that Noach, his family and the representatives of the animal kingdom all enter the Ark with an odd phrase - "I will fulfill My covenant with you" - והקימותי את בריתי אתך - to which ברית is this alluding...

Leil Hoshana Rabba 5786 | Should You Make a Berakha on Seeing the Freed Hostages, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb IY"H they will be released in the morning, Hoshana Rabba. 

Thoughts About the Coming Week and The Release of our Hostages, by Rav Moshe Taragin

Sukkot | Zman Simchatenu, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb Sukkot and the simcha of second chances, in the words of the Alei Shur. Source sheet >>

Rav Soloveitchik on Teshuva (12): How To Free Ourselves from Our Fears, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb Most people are beset by many fears: fear of dying, fear of poverty, fear of loneliness, etc. Surprisingly, if we internalize one specific  - and big - fear of Heaven we can free ourselves from all of our other fears.

The Glory of "Teshuva Gedola", Shabbat Shuva 5786, derasha by Rav Moshe Taragin

Nitzavim | The Devarim "Revolution", by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom What are we to make of Moshe's "Teshuva speech" in Devarim 30:1-10? The "Parashat haTeshuva" (Devarim 30:1-10) seems to double back on itself, introducing Teshuva and then - introducing it again. Based loosely on a wonderful shiur by Rav Baruch Gigi, Rosh Yeshivat Har Etzion, we analyze the difference between the obeisance directed in S...

Sefer Yonah | Chapter 3, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Why did the king of Nineveh respond so quickly and so forcefully to Yonah's declaration?  As we continue our study of Sefer Yonah, we note the many peculiarities of the narrative in chapter 3. In only 10 verses, it tells us of Yonah's immensely successful prophetic mission to Nineveh, where his simple cry elicits immediate fasting, mourning and (ap...

Sefer Yonah | Overview, Introduction and Chapter 1, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom In this opening shiur of a three-part series, we explore the historic background of both Yonah and the Assyrian Empire and its impending conquest of Samaria. We then analyze the first chapter of the story - Yonah on the boat - looking for textual and literary clues to understand the underlying message of the story. More t...

Ramban on the Torah | 5785 | 39 | Ki Tavo, by Rav Eli Weber How do we show gratitude to Hashem? How do we deal with failure in Avodat Hashem?

Rav Soloveitchik on Teshuva (11): Appreciating Our Dual Relationship With Hashem, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb What is the basis of our relationship with Hashem - what we inherit from our parents or something more personal? What does sin do to that relationship and how does teshuva repair the relationship?

Ki Tetze | 5785 | Sha'atnez, by Rav Tzvi Chaim Kaye The issur appears twice in the Torah; what does the word itself mean?! And what processes are required to create a violation of this mitzva. This and more...

Ramban on the Torah | 5785 | 38 | Ki Tetze, by Rav Eli Weber What is behind the order of the parshiot? What does the Torah say about the ethics of war? 

Rav Soloveitchik on Teshuva (10): The Secret Power that Makes Teshuva Possible, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb What is it that allows us to achieve atonement for our sins - what happened to "do the crime, do the time"?

Rav Soloveitchik on Teshuva (9): Deciding to Repent Even When the Temptation of Sin Remains, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb What's the thought process  of a person who decides to repent for a sin even though he/she is still tempted by that sin?

Rav Soloveitchik on Teshuva (8): Mourning Our Lost Selves and the Emotions of Repentance, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb Eighth in a series of mini-shiurim on R Soloveitchik's approach to Teshuva based on his famous and incredible sefer Al HaTeshuva.  What are the primary emotions associated with teshuva and how do they motivate us to repent?

Shoftim | 5785 | Appointing a King, by Rav Tzvi Chaim Kaye Is it an option or a commandment?