West Deal Torah Center

Rabbi Moshe Tobal hosts classes every day at 6:50 AM at West Deal Shul. This class on Berachot 21b focuses on the question of whether women are obligated in Birkat Hamazon on a Torah level. Rabbi Tobal analyzes Tosafot's position, which centers on the role of Brit and Torah in the Birkat Hamazon text, explaining that since women are not obligated in these two elements — and omitting them inval...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class continues the sugya in Pesachim 40b dealing with adding flour to a cooking pot on Pesach and the role vinegar plays in either accelerating or inhibiting the leavening process. The Gemara identifies the Yesh Omrim opinion — that vinegar added first still permits adding flour — as belonging to the Biyuda, bas...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class begins on Pesachim 40b with a case involving a boatload of wheat that sank in a river near Pesach. Rava initially ruled the grain could be sold to non-Jews, but was challenged with a comparison to a garment containing a lost kilayim thread — in both cases, a gentile buyer might resell to an unsuspecting Jew. Rava then...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. Rabbi Ike Hanon explores the story of Miriam and Aharon speaking about Moshe Rabbeinu, beginning with the well-known lesson that Lashon Hara is punished by tzarat, but quickly deepening the discussion to reveal why there is a mitzvah in Sefer Devarim to remember this story every day. He connects the story to the Rambam's sev...

Rabbi Moshe Tobal hosts classes every day at 6:30 AM at West Deal Shul. In Parashat Beha'alotecha, Rabbi Tobal draws a connection between the upward-reaching flame of the Menorah and the Jewish soul, which is always striving to connect to Hashem. He focuses on the pasuk 'Vayisu Mehar Hashem,' which the rabbis interpret as Bnai Yisrael running away from Sinai like a child fleeing school...

Mr. Sammy Saka hosts classes on Zoom Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30PM. Contact Jacob Betesh to be added to the chat. In this class on Pirkei Avot Chapter 2, Mishnah 4, Mr. Sammy Saka explores the teaching of Rabban Gamliel to treat Hashem's will as your own and to nullify your personal will before His. He explains the positive side of the Mishnah — investing in mitzvot, Torah, and community wit...

Rabbi Moshe Tobal hosts classes every day at 6:50 AM at West Deal Shul. This class covers several interconnected halachic topics beginning with whether women fulfill Kiddush through candle lighting on Shabbat, and how the answer differs between those who follow the Syrian custom and those who follow Hacham Ovadia. Rabbi Tobal discusses the debate over whether a bracha is made before or after perfo...

Mr. Sammy Saka hosts classes on Zoom Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30PM. Contact Jacob Betesh to be added to the chat. In this class, Mr. Sammy Saka teaches Pirkei Avot Chapter 2, Mishnah 3, which warns us to be careful of rulers, noting that they draw close to people only for their own benefit and do not stand by others in times of need. He explores the tension between this warning and the genuine s...

Rabbi Moshe Tobal hosts classes every day at 6:50 AM at West Deal Shul. In this class on Berachot 20b, Rabbi Tobal explores the Gemara's question of whether women are obligated in Birkat Hamazon from the Torah or only rabbinically, and why the distinction matters practically — specifically regarding whether a woman can be motzi a man. The class draws a parallel to the reverse problem with Kidd...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class covers the Talmudic discussion in Pesachim 40a-40b regarding whether one may rinse wheat kernels before Pesach or during it, tracing a spectrum of opinions ranging from Rav Nachman who considers it praiseworthy, to Rabba who advises against it for the extra-scrupulous, to Ravah who initially forbids it entirely before...

Rabbi Moses Hidary hosts classes every Monday night at 8:00 PM at West Deal Shul. In this class, Rabbi Hidary explores a section of Shaar HaBitachon dealing with the misguided pursuit of wealth for the sake of honor. He explains that people who chase money primarily for kavod are trapped in a cycle that can never be satisfied, as illustrated by the story of Haman and supported by the Gemara's...

Rabbi Joseph Dana hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:45 AM at West Deal Shul. This class covers the obligations of women, slaves, and children in Kiryat Shema and daily prayer, drawing from the Gemara, Shulchan Aruch, and Mishnah Berura. Regarding women and Shema, the class explores the opinion of the Ohel Moed, who holds that while women are exempt from the full Shema, they are obligated in...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class covers the final portion of Pesachim 39b-40a, focusing on various ways moisture can interact with grain to cause chametz. The Gemara discusses the prohibition of thickening a Pesach dish with roasted flour, the risk of scalding or singeing multiple wheat kernels simultaneously, and the debate between Abaya and Rava ove...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class opens a new Mishnah on Pesachim 39b dealing with chametz, covering practical cases where water contacts grain — feeding chickens, bathing scrubs, and wound salves — and why each is forbidden on Pesach. The Gemara then analyzes a Beraita listing baking, cooking, and scalding as processes that prevent chametz...

Rabbi David Semah hosts classes every day at 6:45 AM at West Deal Shul. In this class on Parashat Naso, Rabbi Semah explores the profound spiritual depth of Bircat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing. He opens with a Midrash teaching that the Shechina, God's divine presence, rests upon the Kohen's outstretched fingers, making the blessing truly come from God Himself. Rabbi Semah then addresses...

Rabbi Moshe Tobal hosts classes every day at 6:30 AM at West Deal Shul. In this class on Parashat Naso, Rabbi Moshe Tobal explores the episode of the Nesiim bringing inaugural korbanot to the Mizbeach. He explains how the Nasi of Shevet Yisachar inspired all twelve tribal leaders to set aside personal honor and bring identical offerings in perfect unison, stepping in complete synchrony as a single...

Mr. Sammy Saka hosts classes on Zoom Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30PM. Contact Jacob Betesh to be added to the chat. In this class, Mr. Sammy Saka explores Pirkei Avot 2:2, taught by Rabban Gamliel son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, which contains three interconnected teachings. The first teaching emphasizes that Torah study must be paired with Derech Eretz — good ethical conduct and character — because w...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. This class covers a section of Pesachim 39b dealing with the laws of Maror, beginning with a question about planting the five Maror species together and whether kilayim concerns apply. The Gemara works through several possible explanations for Rav's statement about planting in one plant bed, ultimately concluding...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class covers the Mishnah and Gemara in Pesachim 39a-39b discussing which vegetables may be used for Maror on Pesach. The Gemara establishes criteria for valid Maror species, including having sap and a pale green color, and concludes that both criteria are required according to the halacha. A lengthy discussion ex...

Rabbi Moses Hidary hosts classes every Monday night at 8:00 PM at West Deal Shul. In this class, Rabbi Hidary continues the fourth chapter of Shaar HaBitachon in Chovot HaLevavot, focusing on how a wise person correctly handles the pursuit of wealth. The three positive traits of the maskil are explored: pursuing income only through permissible means, recognizing that some of his money is designate...

Mr. Sammy Saka hosts classes on Zoom Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30PM. Contact Jacob Betesh to be added to the chat. In this class, Mr. Sammy Saka opens Perek Bet of Pirkei Avot with the famous Mishna of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who asks what the proper path in life is and answers that it is one that brings credit to oneself and earns the esteem of others. Drawing on the Rambam, Mr. Saka explains that...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. This class covers Pesachim 39a, which opens with the Mishnah listing the five vegetables that fulfill the mitzvah of Maror on Pesach night. Rabbi Hanon works through the identification of each species — including hazeret (lettuce), tamcha, charvina, ulshin, and maror — noting that the order in the Mishnah reflects th...

Mr. Sammy Saka hosts classes on Zoom Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30PM. Contact Jacob Betesh to be added to the chat. In this final class of Pirkei Avot Chapter One, Mr. Sammy Saka explores Mishnah 1:18, in which Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel teaches that the world endures on three things: justice (Din), truth (Emet), and peace (Shalom). He distinguishes this Mishnah from the earlier one about Torah, Av...

A shiur from our beloved founding Rabbi of West Deal Shul, Rabbi Ezra Labaton A"H. In this class, Rabbi Ezra Labaton A"H continues his exploration of ta'amei hamitzvot — the reasons behind God's commandments — building on the tension between the Rambam's rationalist approach and the Ramban's more mystical objections. He surveys how modern Jewish thinkers such as Rabbi Sol...

A shiur from our beloved founding Rabbi of West Deal Shul, Rabbi Ezra Labaton A"H. In this class, Rabbi Ezra Labaton A"H introduces the topic of Ta'amei HaMitzvot — the reasons behind the commandments — framing it as one of the most fundamental yet overlooked questions in Jewish thought. He explores the central tension between whether Hashem commands out of divine wisdom, implying ra...