The Mishlei Podcast

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! פְּעֻלַּת צַדִּיק לְחַיִּים תְּבוּאַת רָשָׁע לְחַטָּאת: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (2/22/21 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we learned a pasuk which, like many pesukim in Mishlei, focused on the difference between a tzadik and a rasha. We ended up DEFINING the terms "tzadik" and "rasha," based on my understanding of...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! מַלְוֵה י״י חוֹנֵן דָּל וּגְמֻלוֹ יְשַׁלֶּם לוֹ: This morning (2/22/21 at YBT) we learned a difficult pasuk with a seemingly inappropriate metaphor. We struggled to figure out an approach, turned to Rabbeinu Yonah for guidance, and then proposed an explanation. We'll revisit this pasuk tomorrow to see if we can refine today's ide...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! שֹׁמֵר מִצְוָה שֹׁמֵר נַפְשׁוֹ בּוֹזֵה דְרָכָיו יָמוּת: This morning (2/18/20 at YBT) we learned a pasuk that seemed ambiguous on multiple levels, but we found that "all rivers run into the sea" (i.e. all of the translation permutations led to the same basic idea). This isn't the first time I've encountered a pasuk like...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! עַצְלָה תַּפִּיל תַּרְדֵּמָה וְנֶפֶשׁ רְמִיָּה תִרְעָב: This morning (2/17/20 at YBT) we consulted the meforshim on the pasuk we learned yesterday. We began with Saadia Gaon's commentary (as presented by the Meiri), then learned the Meiri's own interpretation, and concluded with Rabbeinu Yonah's explanation. We also read Ras...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! עַצְלָה תַּפִּיל תַּרְדֵּמָה וְנֶפֶשׁ רְמִיָּה תִרְעָב: This morning (2/16/20 at YBT) we starting learning a pasuk about laziness. Knowing my fondness for Saadia Gaon's definition of laziness as stated in his Introduction to Mishlei, it was inevitable that we'd end up there. Thankfully, we were able to work out an idea combining...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! הוֹן עָשִׁיר קִרְיַת עֻזּוֹ מְחִתַּת דַּלִּים רֵישָׁם: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (2/15/21 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we tackled a pasuk that was mystifying in some ways and obvious in others. We discussed a LOT of methodology, both during and after shiur, including topics such as the difference between Mishlei and Pirkei Avos, th...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! בַּיִת וָהוֹן נַחֲלַת אָבוֹת וּמֵי״י אִשָּׁה מַשְׂכָּלֶת The last pasuk we learned was about a contentious wife, and the pasuk we learned this morning (2/15/20 at YBT) was about an intelligent wife. This was one of those pesukim that was unclear on a number of levels: what it means, who it's for, and what are its implications. We came...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! הַוֺּת לְאָבִיו בֵּן כְּסִיל וְדֶלֶף טֹרֵד מִדְיְנֵי אִשָּׁה: This morning (2/11/20 at YBT) we continued our analysis of yesterday's pasuk about the negative impact of foolish sons and nagging wives. We learned Rabbeinu Yonah and the Meiri, then compared and contrasted the two interpretations, with a few observations of our own. We co...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! הַוֺּת לְאָבִיו בֵּן כְּסִיל וְדֶלֶף טֹרֵד מִדְיְנֵי אִשָּׁה: This morning (2/10/20 at YBT) we began a pasuk about the negative impact of foolish sons and nagging wives. Since we had 30 minutes instead of the usual 45, we only had time to raise the questions and begin developing an approach. Tomorrow (בג"ה) we'll develop our appr...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! חֲכָמִים יִצְפְּנוּ דָעַת וּפִי אֱוִיל מְחִתָּה קְרֹבָה: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (2/8/21 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we learned yet another pasuk about chachamim, fools, and speech. Our analysis was an exercise in balancing our understanding of terms based on previous pesukim with keeping our minds open to new interpretations. W...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! נַהַם כַּכְּפִיר זַעַף מֶלֶךְ וּכְטַל עַל עֵשֶׂב רְצוֹנוֹ: This morning (2/9/20 at YBT) we continued our analysis of yesterday's pasuk. First we reviewed the idea from Rabbeinu Yonah, then we compared it to the Metzudas David, and then we did something we usually don't do: we attempted to understand Rashi's interpretation, w...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! נַהַם כַּכְּפִיר זַעַף מֶלֶךְ וּכְטַל עַל עֵשֶׂב רְצוֹנוֹ: MORNING MISHLEI IS BACK, BABY! The pasuk we learned this morning (2/8/20 at YBT) features a bizarrely asymmetrical metaphor whose meaning and practical import is not at all clear. We spent the morning experimenting with various approaches and concluded with (what I consider to be)...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! בְּשִׂפְתֵי נָבוֹן תִּמָּצֵא חׇכְמָה וְשֵׁבֶט לְגֵו חֲסַר לֵב: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (2/1/21 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT, broadcasting from Seattle due to a snow storm in NY) we learned one of those pesukim in which the two halves seem to have nothing to do with each other. On top of that, the pasuk contained technical jargon o...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! שִׂנְאָה תְּעֹרֵר מְדָנִים וְעַל כׇּל פְּשָׁעִים תְּכַסֶּה אַהֲבָה: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (1/11/20 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we learned a pasuk which is perennially relevant, but especially in the present era where it is so easy to offend and to be offended. At the very least this pasuk will help a person to avoid needness q...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! שֵׂכֶל אָדָם הֶאֱרִיךְ אַפּוֹ וְתִפְאַרְתּוֹ עֲבֹר עַל פָּשַׁע: The pasuk we learned this morning (1/11/20 at YBT) teaches an extremely beneficial strategy for dealing with anger. Rabbeinu Yonah maintains that "extremely beneficial" isn't enough. The difference between these two approaches to the pasuk reveals an important i...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! לֹא נָאוֶה לִכְסִיל תַּעֲנוּג אַף כִּי לְעֶבֶד מְשֹׁל בְּשָׂרִים: The pasuk we learned this morning (1/7/20 at YBT) was perplexing and led us to consult the meforshim sooner than we usual do. We couldn't quite figure out what Metzudas David was getting at, but Rabbeinu Yonah's approach proved to be fruitful - especially when we a...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! עֵד שְׁקָרִים לֹא יִנָּקֶה וְיָפִיחַ כְּזָבִים יֹאבֵד: This morning (1/6/20 at YBT) we experienced some serious déjà vu! Today's pasuk was EXACTLY the same as Mishlei 19:5, which we learned last week, with the exception of one word. We've seen pesukim which resemble other pesukim in PART, and we've seen pesukim which are ent...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! קֹנֶה לֵּב אֹהֵב נַפְשׁוֹ שֹׁמֵר תְּבוּנָה לִמְצֹא טוֹב: This morning (1/5/20 at YBT) we revisited yesterday's pasuk with the aim to understand Rabbeinu Yonah's explanation. First we took up the "machlokess" between Rabbeinu Yonah and R' Yosef ibn Kaspi on whether one should interpret the sequencing and juxtapositi...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! מְקוֹר חַיִּים פִּי צַדִּיק וּפִי רְשָׁעִים יְכַסֶּה חָמָס: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (1/4/20 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we had yet ANOTHER pasuk whose second half was a verbatim repetition of a pasuk we learned two weeks ago! This pasuk had a lot more "moving parts" and raised a lot more questions than the last. As usu...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! קֹנֶה לֵּב אֹהֵב נַפְשׁוֹ שֹׁמֵר תְּבוּנָה לִמְצֹא טוֹב: This morning (1/4/20 at YBT) we learned a very generic sounding pasuk about the pursuit of knowledge. The challenge was to interpret it in a manner that accounted for its generality but offered an idea that still felt like a chidush (novel insight). We came up with three approaches,...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! כָּל אֲחֵי רָשׁ שְׂנֵאֻהוּ אַף כִּי מְרֵעֵהוּ רָחֲקוּ מִמֶּנּוּ, מְרַדֵּף אֲמָרִים [לוֹ] (לא) הֵמָּה: This morning (12/31/20 at YBT) we learned yet another pasuk about poverty and its detrminents. The challenge was that the first half of this pasuk was very similar to 19:4, which also dealt with the phenomenon of a poor person being abando...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! רַבִּים יְחַלּוּ פְנֵי נָדִיב וְכׇל הָרֵעַ לְאִישׁ מַתָּן: This morning (12/30/20 at YBT) we continued our analysis of yesterday's pasuk, seeking more guidance from the meforshim. The Malbim's explanation was the closest to our own approach, but led us to a new insight. In the last 10 minutes of shiur we started the next pasuk, w...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! רַבִּים יְחַלּוּ פְנֵי נָדִיב וְכׇל הָרֵעַ לְאִישׁ מַתָּן: This morning (12/29/20 at YBT) we tackled what appeared to be a "cliche" Mishlei pasuk about generosity which provided us a good opportunity to practice "de-clicheifying" the pasuk by focusing on the nuances and looking for chidushim (novel insights). We develop...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! קֹרֵץ עַיִן יִתֵּן עַצָּבֶת וֶאֱוִיל שְׂפָתַיִם יִלָּבֵט: In our Monday Night Mishlei shiur (12/28/20 with Lomdeha, hosted by YBT) we found ourselves confronted with a pasuk whose first half was strange and difficult to translate and whose second half was a verbatim repetition of a pasuk we learned two weeks ago. Needless to say, this led...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! עֵד שְׁקָרִים לֹא יִנָּקֶה וְיָפִיחַ כְּזָבִים לֹא יִמָּלֵט: This morning (12/28/20 at YBT) we learned an interesting pasuk. It's interesting because it's difficult to tell whether the pasuk is TOO general or TOO specific. We ended up learning two ideas: one based on seeing the nuance in what would otherwise be a conventional Mis...