Rambam Bekius

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/7/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we returned to the topic of tzedakah with the goal of completeting Hilchos Matnos Aniyim Chapter 7 by the end of the week so that we can begin learning Hilchos Chanukah next week. We encountered some difficulties with the pshat of these halachos which we'll attempt to unravel...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/6/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began by going through a few more facts - in the Rambam, the Gemara, and the Aruch ha'Shulchan - before attempting to answer the general question we raised yesterday. We concluded with one of my favorite statements from the Meiri on how talmidei chachamim should relate to S...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/5/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we paused Hilchos Matnos Aniyim to take up a question I was asked in a Q&A this past Friday: Is there any sort of obligation to eat meat and drink wine on Shabbos? The Rambam codifies a halacha about meat and wine on Shabbos, but it's not entirely clear what the nature of...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/1/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we learned the halacha l'maaseh of tzedakah prioritization from the Aruch ha'Shulchan. He argues that you can't read this halacha on a superficial level, and he presents an alternative understanding which we found to be compelling. Next week we'll return to the...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/30/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we delved into the halacha l'maaseh of what we've been learning in the Rambam, beginning with the particulars of what it means to prioritize tzedakah for your family. We only managed to get through our initial reading of the Shulchan Aruch and Rema, which we'll foll...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/29/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we continued yesterday's sub-detour and delved further into the topic of what is now a word I can't get out of my head: "avunculate marriage." We began by reviewing the Gemara and three shitos we learned yesterday, and then we focused on the Rambam's view...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/28/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we took a brief detour - based on R' Makbili's recommendation - into the Moreh ha'Nevuchim, where the Rambam discusses the importance of caring for our relatives. This, in turn, led to a sub-detour about a halacha pertaining to what is now a very socially unacceptab...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/23/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we learned a very short halacha about the hierarchy of tzedakah recipients - a topic that might be viewed as controversial in the "woke" climate of 2022, which is all the more reason why we should learn it. Most of what we discussed was our own speculations. Next time (ב...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/22/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we reexamined the halacha that shocked us yesterday, in which the Rambam SEEMED to imply that women are to be suspected of thievery. After examining the issue as codified in the poskim, we saw that this is not the case. We also clarified whether/how the Rambam's halacha appli...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/21/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we reviewed what we did last time in an attempt to understand the Rambam's support from the Navi (which failed). We then read the next two halachos: one about collecting tzedakah from orphans and the other about collecting tzedakah from women and girls. The latter astounded u...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/17/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began by answering the question we left off with yesterday on the person who refuses to give tzedakah. We then read the halach about how we deal with the person who gives too much tzedakah. Very interesting to see how this pair of extremes from Hilchos Deios plays itself out in...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/16/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we reviewed yesterday's case of a person who refuses to accept tzedakah and compared it to the next case of a person who refuses to give tzedakah. We left off with a question about how Beis Din is allowed to force a person to give tzedakah "according to their assessment...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/15/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we moved on to the next halacha about how much to give aniyim who are passing through town - either on a weekday or on Shabbos. We couldn't figure out what the deal is with "beans and oil," nor did we know whether halacha acknowledges the dangers of allowing a total...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/14/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we revisited a halacha from last week on what to do if a poor person asks you for money and you don't have enough to give them. We compared this with a similar halacha in chapter 10, and although we couldn't explain why the Rambam didn't codify the two halachos toge...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/10/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we continued the Rambam's halachos about the recipients of tzedakah. We noted at the beginning of our topic that according to the Rambam, the mitzvah de'Oraisa is ONLY to give tzedakah to Jews. Today we learned where and how he codifies the obligation to give tzedakah to...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/9/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we took a brief detour to actually learn the premises we were all quoting from vague memory about kavod ha'briyos and public nakedness, in light of the tshuvah from R' Avraham ben ha'Rambam that we learned yesterday. We also raised a question about the berachah of ma...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/8/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we continued on in the Rambam with the halachos about whether it is necessary to investigate the financial circumstances of the poor person before giving him what he asks for. We raised a few questions, but our only solid take-away was that "naked" doesn't always mea...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/7/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we turned to the Aruch ha'Shulchan for answers to yesterday's questions. Not only did he clarify our understanding of the principles in the Rambam, but he also brought things down to the level of halacha l'maaseh, which is why we turned to the Aruch ha'Shulchan...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/3/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we turned to the Aruch ha'Shulchan for answers to yesterday's questions. Not only did he clarify our understanding of the principles in the Rambam, but he also brought things down to the level of halacha l'maaseh, which is why we turned to the Aruch ha'Shulchan...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/2/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we covered two separate topics: (1) how to help an orphan get married, including a review of the halachic definition of "orphan," and (2) how much money we're supposed to give - a topic which raises a NUMBER of questions which we will likely discuss tomorrow and into...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/1/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we did something a little different. Because our ultimate goal is to translate our learning of the Rambam into practical terms, we looked at how the Shulchan Aruch, Rema, and Aruch ha'Shulchan codified these first halachos in the Rambam. We might do this more as we proceed thr...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (10/31/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began by thinking about the interrelationship between the three pesukim cited by the Rambam as the source of the mitzvas aseh of tzedakah. Next, we read the halacha about what (NOT how much) we are commanded to give. We then analyzed the case in which we are commanded to restor...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (10/27/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we revisited and attempted to answer the question we left off with yesterday (about how the placement of the halachos of tzedakah in Sefer Zera'im changes our view of tzedakah). We then read the first halacha in Hilchos Matnos Aniyim, taking a brief detour to review the Ramba...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (10/26/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, after reviewing what we did yesterday, we attempted to answer our question on the Rambam's anomalous formulation in the minyan ha'mitzvos - and even though our answer failed, it nevertheless exhibited good methodology. We then played the "If YOU wrote the Mishneh To...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (10/25/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began the topic of tzedakah, starting with the Rambam's formulations in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos and the minyan ha'mitzvos in the Mishneh Torah. We raised a few questions, and we plan to go over his other two formulations tomorrow before making any moves. ----- מקורו...