West Deal Torah Center

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class opens with a teaching from Rav Yehuda in the name of Shmuel that Yosef gathered all the gold and silver in the world and brought it to Egypt, which the Jewish people then took with them at the Exodus. The Gemara then traces the remarkable journey of this wealth through history — from Rehoboam to Shishak, to...

Rabbi Albert Setton hosts classes every Saturday at 7:00 AM at West Deal Shul. This series of classes covers the first eighteen Mishnayot of Perek Gimel of Pirkei Avot, tracing a unified theme of living a meaningful and God-centered life. The classes open with Akavya ben Mehalalel's call for humility, awareness of mortality, and accountability before God, and continue through discussions on th...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. Rabbi Ike Hanon explores Pirkei Avot 1:14, the famous Mishnah of Hillel HaZaken: 'If I am not for myself, who will be for me? And when I am for myself, what am I?' He explains that the first phrase teaches that Torah and mitzvot cannot be fulfilled by proxy — each person must recognize the unique and irreplac...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. This class covers the Gemara in Pesachim 118b-119a, focusing on a series of Midrashim describing the end of days, when various nations will attempt to gain favor with the Jewish people. The Gemara critiques Rome for its violence against the Jewish people and its culture of bribery, while also noting that the Jewish p...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. Rabbi Ike Hanon opens with a brief halachic discussion on Birkat Ha'Ilanot, clarifying that according to Shulchan Aruch one may recite the blessing as long as fruits have not yet grown, even after the month of Nisan, though the Kabbalistic preference is to recite it during Nisan. He then turns to the opening Mishnah of Pirke...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class begins on Pesachim 118b by completing the discussion of Hallel, exploring midrashic interpretations of several pesukim in Tehillim. Resh Lakish explains that the tzaddikim lament being forced to hide like weasels due to the sins of the Jewish people in galut, while Ravah teaches that Israel's love of Ha...

Rabbi Joseph Dana hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:50 AM at West Deal Shul. The class opens on Berachot 17a by completing a discussion of the pasuk in Yeshayah identifying the 'avdei lev,' the strong-hearted people far from righteousness, concluding with Rav Ashi's criticism of the gentiles of Mata Mehessia who witnessed Torah glory twice yearly and never converted. The bulk of...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class covers Pesachim 118a-118b, exploring why we recite the standard Hallel when the Hallel HaGadol appears to be a greater praise. The Gemara answers that our Hallel contains five critical themes: Yetziat Mitzrayim, Kriyat Yam Suf, Matan Torah, Tehiyat HaMeitim, and Chevlei HaMashiach, each sourced from specifi...

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 Mishna 1:7, Mr. Sammy Saka explores Nitai HaArbeli's three teachings: distance yourself from a bad neighbor, do not associate with a wicked person, and do not despair of retribution. He contextualizes these lessons as a natural extension of Mishna 1:6, where Yesh...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class opens on Pesachim 118 by identifying two opinions on what Birkat HaShir means — the standard blessing ending Hallel or the addition of Nishmat Kol Chai — and then examines a Berayta requiring the recitation of Hallel HaGadol after the fourth cup. The Gemara explores where Hallel HaGadol begins, with three T...

A shiur from our beloved founding Rabbi of West Deal Shul, Rabbi Ezra Labaton A"H. In this class, Rabbi Ezra Labaton begins by situating the listener at one of the most emotionally charged moments on the Jewish calendar — the passage from Yom HaShoah to Yom Ha'Atzmaut — exploring what it means for a Jew to hold both tragedy and celebration at once. He surveys the rich She'elot U'Teshuvot literatur...

Rabbi Moses Hidary hosts classes every Monday at 7:30 PM at West Deal Shul. In this class, Rabbi Moses Hidary begins the fourth and longest chapter of Shaar HaBitachon, focusing on how hishtadlut (human effort) intersects with bitachon (trust in God). He walks through the Chovot HaLevavot's detailed breakdown of human activities into two main categories: things that pertain to this world and t...

Rabbi Joseph Dana hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:50 AM at West Deal Shul. This class covers Daf Yud-Zayin Amud Aleph of Berachot, opening with Rav's famous teaching about Olam Haba — that the Next World contains no eating, drinking, procreation, jealousy, or competition, but rather righteous souls sitting with crowns, basking in the divine radiance. Rabbi Dana explores the Rambam&#39...

Rabbi David Semah hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:45 AM at West Deal Shul. Rabbi Semah delivers a short but powerful Dvar Torah on the meaning of the Omer period. He traces the remarkable life of Rabbi Akiva, who spent his first 40 years as an ignorant man, his next 40 becoming a towering Torah scholar and leader of his generation, and his final 40 years supporting Torah institutions. The...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class covers a series of Talmudic discussions on Pesachim 117b-118a, beginning with the distinction between Ga'al Yisrael and Go'el Yisrael, explaining why blessings of praise use the past tense while the Amida uses the present tense for redemption and sanctification. The Gemara then explores the requirem...

You can experience Rabbi Albert Setton in-person every Shabbat at 7:00 AM minyan at Congregation Magen David of West Deal. In this class, Rabbi Setton begins Perek 2 of Pirkei Avot, starting with Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi's teaching about finding the proper path in life - one that brings glory both to oneself and recognition from others. He explores the concept that we cannot distinguish between &#...

A shiur from our beloved founding Rabbi of Congregation Magen David of West Deal, Rabbi Ezra Labaton A"H. In this class, Rabbi Labaton begins an in-depth analysis of whether Rambam incorporated his famous 13 Principles of Faith from his Mishnah commentary into his later masterwork, Mishneh Torah. He explores the apparent contradiction between Rambam's harsh condemnation of those who doubt...

Rabbi Joseph Dana hosts classes every morning at 6:45 AM at West Deal Shul. Rabbi Dana opens with an overview of Parashat Shemini, covering the inauguration of the Mishkan, the tragic death of Nadav and Avihu, and the laws of Kashrut. He focuses on a sugya in Gemara Chulin which teaches that any fish with scales automatically has fins, and explores why the Torah mentions both signs even though sca...

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every weekday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. This class covers Pesachim 117a-117b, focusing on the origins and authorship of Hallel. The Gemara explores who instituted Hallel, presenting opinions ranging from Moshe at the splitting of the sea to the prophets who established it for all future generations of distress and redemption, with the Chachamim reconciling that Ha...

Rabbi David Semah hosts classes every weekday at 6:45 AM at West Deal Shul. Rabbi Semah opens by highlighting the immense spiritual significance of Rosh Chodesh Nisan as the day of the Mishkan's inauguration, noting that ten special gifts were granted to the Kohanim on that day. He then explores why Aharon hesitated to approach the Mizbeach, explaining — based on Rashi and the Ramban — that th...

You can experience Mr. Sammy Saka on Zoom Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30PM. Contact Jacob Betesh to be added to the chat. Mr. Sammy Saka explores Mishna 1:6 from Pirkei Avot, focusing on Yehoshua ben Perekhiya's three-part teaching. The class emphasizes choosing one primary rabbi for both halachic guidance and life mentorship, while understanding when to become your own decision-maker by asking wha...

You can experience Rabbi Ike Hanon in-person every morning at 6:10 AM at Congregation Magen David of West Deal. This class explores Pesachim 116b-117a, focusing on the laws of the Haggadah recitation. The Gemara discusses which items to lift during Rabban Gamliel's explanations, debates whether blind people are exempt from the Haggadah (ultimately rejecting this view based on the practices of...

You can experience Rabbi Joseph Dana in-person every morning at 6:50 AM at Congregation Magen David of West Deal. Rabbi Dana explores Berachot 17a, beginning with the halachic question of making a siyum on individual books of Tanach, citing Rav Moshe Feinstein's position allowing celebrations for meaningful Torah completion. The class examines the profound message of Iyov according to the Ramb...

Pray and learn with Rabbi Albert Setton in-person every Shabbat at 7:00 AM minyan at Congregation Magen David of West Deal. This series introduces Pirkei Avot as preparation for receiving Torah on Shavuot, emphasizing that Torah study must translate into improved character and behavior. Rabbi Setton explains how Pirkei Avot teaches us to perfect our actions rather than just intellectual understand...

A shiur from our beloved founding Rabbi of Congregation Magen David of West Deal, Rabbi Ezra Labaton A"H. In this class, Rabbi Labaton explores Rabbi Soloveitchik's classic work 'The Lonely Man of Faith' by first examining what makes any work a 'classic' - its transgenerational relevance and endless capacity for new insights. He then reviews the fundamental distinction bet...