The Mishlei Podcast

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 25:1-2 - Kavod Elohim vs. Kavod Melachim (Part 1) גַּם אֵלֶּה מִשְׁלֵי שְׁלֹמֹה אֲשֶׁר הֶעְתִּיקוּ אַנְשֵׁי חִזְקִיָּה מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה: כְּבֹד אֱלֹהִים הַסְתֵּר דָּבָר וּכְבֹד מְלָכִים חֲקֹר דָּבָר: Length: 47 minutes Synopsis: This morning (9/22/25), in our Morning Mishlei shiur, we began a new chapter AND a whole new section of M...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:33 - Mishlei's Definition of Yiras Hashem (Part 2) יִרְאַת יְיָ מוּסַר חׇכְמָה וְלִפְנֵי כָבוֹד עֲנָוָה:  Length: 44 minutes Synopsis: This morning (9/18/25), in our Morning Mishlei shiur, we ended up going in a different direction than I anticipated. As usual, we started with a review of yesterday's findings, adding s...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:33 - Mishlei's Definition of Yiras Hashem (Part 1) יִרְאַת יְיָ מוּסַר חׇכְמָה וְלִפְנֵי כָבוֹד עֲנָוָה:  Length: 47 minutes Synopsis: This morning (9/17/25), in our Morning Mishlei shiur, we learned what I consider to be one of the most important pesukim in Sefer Mishlei. If I had to name the subject of Sefer Mishlei, I&ap...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 17:2 - Intelligent Servant vs. Embarrassing Son עֶבֶד מַשְׂכִּיל יִמְשֹׁל בְּבֵן מֵבִישׁ וּבְתוֹךְ אַחִים יַחֲלֹק נַחֲלָה: Length: 1 hour 42 minutes Synopsis: This evening (9/15/25), in our Monday Night Mishlei shiur, we took up a pasuk that I was worried was too obvious. We ended up raising eighteen (!) question on it, then came u...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:32 - The Consequences of Loosening or Negating Mussar (Part 2) פּוֹרֵעַ מוּסָר מוֹאֵס נַפְשׁוֹ וְשׁוֹמֵעַ תּוֹכַחַת קוֹנֶה לֵּב: Length: 30 minutes Synopsis: This morning (9/11/25), in our Morning Mishlei shiur, we began with a quick review of what we covered yesterday, including a more developed analysis of Ralbag, in which we...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:32 - The Consequences of Loosening or Negating Mussar (Part 1) פּוֹרֵעַ מוּסָר מוֹאֵס נַפְשׁוֹ וְשׁוֹמֵעַ תּוֹכַחַת קוֹנֶה לֵּב: Length: 43 minutes Synopsis: This morning (9/10/25), in our Morning Mishlei shiur, we learned a pasuk that was clearly connected to the theme of the local cluster. On the surface, it seemed obvious, bu...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 17:1 - A Dry Piece of Bread vs. a House Filled with Meat טוֹב פַּת חֲרֵבָה וְשַׁלְוָה בָהּ, מִבַּיִת מָלֵא זִבְחֵי רִיב: Length: 1 hour 42 minutes Synopsis: This evening (9/8/25), in the first Monday Night Mishlei shiur of the 2025–2026 season, we began Chapter 17. The challenge was that I’ve given so many classes on so many pesuki...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:31 - How Non-Chachamim Can Get Into the Chachamim Club (Part 2) אֹזֶן שֹׁמַעַת תּוֹכַחַת חַיִּים, בְּקֶרֶב חֲכָמִים תָּלִין: Length: 45 minutes Synopsis: This morning (9/5/25), in our Morning Mishlei shiur, we began by reviewing the questions and approaches from yesterday, refining some and discarding others. Then we delved into...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:31 - How Non-Chachamim Can Get Into the Chachamim Club (Part 1) אֹזֶן שֹׁמַעַת תּוֹכַחַת חַיִּים, בְּקֶרֶב חֲכָמִים תָּלִין: Length: 30 minutes Synopsis: This morning (9/4/25), in our first Morning Mishlei shiur of the 2025-2026 yeshiva year, we picked up where we left off in June. This one happens to be a favorite of my rebbi,...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 16:1 - From Hashem is the Tongue's Reply (Part 2) לְאָדָם מַעַרְכֵי לֵב, וּמֵיְיָ מַעֲנֵה לָשׁוֹן: Length: 1 hour 1 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (7/24/25), we continued our analysis of the pasuk we began yesterday. After a quick review and some elaboration on Saadia Gaon, I shared my interpretation, which we examined throu...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 16:1 - From Hashem is the Tongue's Reply (Part 1) לְאָדָם מַעַרְכֵי לֵב, וּמֵיְיָ מַעֲנֵה לָשׁוֹן: Length: 1 hour 2 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (7/23/25), in an unexpected plot twist, I was asked to give a two-part SUMMER Mishlei shiur! I chose the one pasuk from Chapter 16 that we skipped this year. Since this was a spec...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:30 - Happy Hearts and Fat Bones (Part 2) מְאוֹר עֵינַיִם יְשַׂמַּח לֵב, שְׁמוּעָה טוֹבָה תְּדַשֶּׁן עָצֶם: Length: 47 minutes Synopsis: This morning (6/12/25), in our last morning Mishlei shiur of the season, we began by reviewing yesterday's approaches, then delved into the peshat approach given by Rashi (!) and the Rid (!...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:30 - Happy Hearts and Fat Bones (Part 1) מְאוֹר עֵינַיִם יְשַׂמַּח לֵב, שְׁמוּעָה טוֹבָה תְּדַשֶּׁן עָצֶם: Length: 46 minutes Synopsis: This morning (6/11/25), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we took up a pasuk which I anticipated to be difficult, due to the unfamiliar (and possibly outdated) references in the pasuk. Fortunately,...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:29 - Mishlei's Advice for Getting Your Tefilah Heard (Part 2) רָחוֹק יְיָ מֵרְשָׁעִים וּתְפִלַּת צַדִּיקִים יִשְׁמָע Length: 48 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/29/25), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we began with my own take on the pasuk, which overlapped several of the explanations from yesterday. We then learned some mef...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:29 - Mishlei's Advice for Getting Your Tefilah Heard (Part 1) רָחוֹק יְיָ מֵרְשָׁעִים וּתְפִלַּת צַדִּיקִים יִשְׁמָע Length: 34 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/28/25), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we took up one of only three pesukim in Mishlei that explicitly reference tefilah. The problem with this pasuk is glaring: it...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:28 - The Utterances of the Tzadik and Rasha (Part 2) לֵב צַדִּיק יֶהְגֶּה לַעֲנוֹת וּפִי רְשָׁעִים יַבִּיעַ רָעוֹת: Length: 44 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/22/25), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we began by examining a "hot take" translation of our pasuk, which we ended up rejecting. After reviewing the questions a...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:28 - The Utterances of the Tzadik and Rasha (Part 1) לֵב צַדִּיק יֶהְגֶּה לַעֲנוֹת וּפִי רְשָׁעִים יַבִּיעַ רָעוֹת: Length: 47 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/21/25), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we learned a pasuk that I've never learned before! We spent a longer-than-usual time trying to pin down the most accurate tran...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 16:33 - Does Hashem Determine Who Wins the Lottery? בַּחֵיק יוּטַל אֶת הַגּוֹרָל, וּמֵיְיָ כׇּל מִשְׁפָּטוֹ: Length: 1 hour 18 minutes Synopsis: This evening (5/19/25), in the last Monday Night Mishlei shiur of the 2024-2025 season, we concluded the 16th perek of Mishlei with a whopper of a pasuk! I was glad to see that I wasn&apos...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:27 - One Who Hates [Qatari] Gifts Will Live (Part 2) עֹכֵר בֵּיתוֹ בּוֹצֵעַ בָּצַע, וְשׂוֹנֵא מַתָּנֹת יִחְיֶה: Length: 45 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/15/25), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we began with an addendum to our translation of yesterday's pasuk. We then reviewed the approaches we took yesterday, learning thr...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:27 - One Who Hates [Qatari] Gifts Will Live (Part 1) עֹכֵר בֵּיתוֹ בּוֹצֵעַ בָּצַע, וְשׂוֹנֵא מַתָּנֹת יִחְיֶה: Length: 46 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/14/25), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we began learning a famous pasuk. (Well, the second half, anyway.) Not only that, but I'd bet money on the fact that this pasuk ap...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 16:32 - Better Than Strength and the Capture of Cities טוֹב אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם מִגִּבּוֹר, וּמֹשֵׁל בְּרוּחוֹ מִלֹּכֵד עִיר: Length: 1 hour 18 minutes Synopsis: This evening (5/12/25), in our Monday Night Mishlei shiur, we learned a pasuk I have taught many times because it so perfectly embodies Mishlei's fundamental approach to...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:26 - Abominably Evil Thoughts and Purely Pleasant Statements (Part 2) תּוֹעֲבַת יְ־הֹוָה מַחְשְׁבוֹת רָע וּטְהֹרִים אִמְרֵי נֹעַם: Length: 46 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/8/25), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we continued analyzing yesterday's pasuk. Our main focus was on the Malbim's creative read, which led us in...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:26 - Abominably Evil Thoughts and Purely Pleasant Statements (Part 1) תּוֹעֲבַת יְ־הֹוָה מַחְשְׁבוֹת רָע וּטְהֹרִים אִמְרֵי נֹעַם: Length: 43 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/7/25), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we learned a pasuk which SOME people thought was obvious. We raised a bunch of questions, came up with several approa...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 16:31 - How to Earn a Splendorous Hoary Crown עֲטֶרֶת תִּפְאֶרֶת שֵׂיבָה בְּדֶרֶךְ צְדָקָה תִּמָּצֵא: Length: 1 hour 25 minutes Synopsis: This evening (5/5/25), in our Monday Night Mishlei shiur, we learned an unusual pasuk - unusual both in its structure and in the specificity of its message. Our analysis flowed smoothly, and we c...

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Mishlei 15:25 - Haughty Houses and Helpless Widows (Part 2) בֵּית גֵּאִים יִסַּח יְיָ וְיַצֵּב גְּבוּל אַלְמָנָה: Length: 45 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/1/25), in our morning Mishlei shiur, we began by reviewing what we covered yesterday, with some new facts, observations, and insights sprinkled in. After an attempt at a new original...