Maharal

Rabbi Shulman continues unpacking *Hallel HaGadol* (Tehillim 136) through the lens of the Maharal, showing how its sequence is a guided descent from Hashem's transcendent governance—mediated through distinct classes of מלאכים—down into the created physical order of שמים וארץ and their details. He explains why “לעושה נפלאות גדולות לבדו” is placed before the description of the heavens: miracles flow from realms beyond the physical. Finally, Rabbi Shulman frames the transition from creation to יציאת מצרים as the “tenth,” sanctified stage—because the emergence of כלל ישראל is itself a completion of מעשה בראשית, giving the world its purpose. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-65f-20260816-160429-outline-20260816-160508.pdf

Episode Notes Notes go hereRabbi Shulman explains the Maharal's approach to the structure of the cups at the Seder, emphasizing that the Gemara's primary girsa points to two distinct cups beyond the basic four: the fourth for Hallel (with ברכת השיר) and an additional fifth connected to הלל הגדול. From there, Rabbi Shulman develops the Maharal's central theological idea: why הלל הגדול is “great”—because it highlights Hashem not only as Creator but as the constant Sustainer, the “עילה” upon which all “עלולים” (dependent beings) rely for ongoing existence and פרנסה. He then connects the 26 refrains of “כי לעולם חסדו” to Shem Havayah (יהוה), and begins unpacking the hierarchy of angelic roles implied by “אלהי האלהים” and “אדוני האדונים.” Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-65e-20260802-160430-outline-20260802-160514.pdf

Rabbi Shulman analyzes the closing structure of Hallel as it appears in *Nishmat* and *Yishtabach*, focusing on why some sections emphasize **eight** praises “from our side” while *Yishtabach* enumerates **fifteen** praises “from Hashem's side.” He explains the conceptual difference between **הלל** (praise for Hashem's beneficence) and **שירה** (song about Hashem's might), and why the “big finish” of Hallel must culminate with a heightened form of praise. He then transitions to the sugya of a possible **fifth cup** at the seder, why it's absent from the Mishnah's required cups, and why *הלל הגדול* is called “great” as it highlights Hashem's ongoing providence—especially sustaining all creation with food. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-65d-20260729-121702-outline-20260729-121750.pdf

Rabbi Shulman analyzes why the Mishnah in Pesachim refers to the concluding berakhah after Hallel on the seder night with the unusual title **ברכת השיר** rather than the standard **יברך אחריו** (i.e., *Yehallukha*). He explains the Maharal's approach: on leil Pesach, Hallel functions as **שירה**, and that “song-status” creates an added requirement for a formal concluding berakhah. From there, Rabbi Shulman explores Rabbi Yochanan's position that **נשמת** (culminating in **ישתבח**) is “the song,” highlights the theme of **eight praises**, and then presents the Maharal's critique of the practical Ashkenazic compromise (saying *Yehallukha* without its closing and then finishing with *Nishmat/Yishtabach*). Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-65c-20260719-160533-outline-20260719-160610.pdf

Rabbi Shulman continues the Maharal's discussion (פרק סה) of praising Hashem with the word “אָז,” explaining how “אָז” signals transcendence beyond the natural world of “seven” and even beyond time. He develops the Midrashic image that Israel “clothes” Hashem כביכול with a “חלוק של תפארת,” since honor functions like a garment, and the Torah's expressions of עֹז are engravings on that robe. Rabbi Shulman then connects the “tearing” of this garment not primarily to the חטא העגל but to the חורבן בית המקדש, when Hashem's splendor in the lower world is diminished. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-65b-20260712-150529-outline-20260712-150600.pdf

Episode Notes Notes go hereR

Episode Notes Notes go hereRabbi Shulman explains a teaching of the Maharal on the concluding “הודו לה׳” in Tehillim 118, showing that the chapter opens and closes with gratitude to highlight that the entire story is fundamentally about הודאה. Drawing on a Gemara in Pesachim that assigns different verses to different figures around David HaMelech (David, Yishai, Shmuel, and David's brothers), Rabbi Shulman emphasizes the Maharal's central point: Hashem's good is not a “main recipient plus incidental bystanders,” but a perfectly ordered plan in which each participant's benefit is directly intended.

Rabbi Shulman analyzes the Mishnah and Gemara's debate over what “ברכת השיר” is at the end of the Seder, explaining why many Haggadot incorporate both יהללוך and נשמת כל חי. He then focuses on a precise claim in the Gemara: within יהללוך there are specifically **eight** concentrated expressions of praise, and this “eight” aligns with a broader Torah pattern where songs are introduced by **אז** (whose letters total eight). Rabbi Shulman closes by introducing a Midrash (R. Akiva) about Hashem “wearing” a garment engraved with all the occurrences of אז in the Torah—torn after sin and restored in the future—setting up how the Maharal will interpret this symbolism. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-65a-20260706-170730-outline-20260706-170800.pdf

Rabbi Shulman explains a teaching of the Maharal on why Tehillim both opens and closes with “הוֹדוּ לַה׳,” framing the entire chapter as an exercise in הודאה (gratitude). He then traces a Gemara in Pesachim that assigns successive verses to different figures around David HaMelech (David, Yishai, Shmuel, and David's brothers), showing that the goodness of Hashem is not “mainly” for one person with incidental spillover to others. Rather, every beneficiary is intentionally included in Hashem's ordered plan, and therefore each one has a distinct obligation to thank—while all ultimately unite in gratitude to the single Source. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-64p-20260706-170432-outline-20260706-170503.pdf

Rabbi Shulman continues an explanation of Hallel (Tehillim 118), focusing on how Hashem elevates the despised “stone” into a “cornerstone,” revealing salvation as overtly miraculous and pre-planned from Creation. He then turns to the pleas of **“אָנָּא ה׳ הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא”** and **“אָנָּא ה׳ הַצְלִיחָה נָּא”** as requests for deliverance from opposition and for continued success. Finally, he offers a striking reading of **“אִסְרוּ חַג בַּעֲבֹתִים עַד קַרְנוֹת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ”** as a call to intensify thanksgiving through עבודת הקרבנות, and notes how the chapter's closing “הוֹדוּ” mirrors its opening. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-64o-20260629-142239-outline-20260629-142323.pdf

Rabbi Shulman continues learning the Maharal's explanation of Hallel (פרק סד), focusing on the pasuk **“עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה”** and how its grammar shapes its meaning. He develops a theme that praise and song from צדיקים “add strength,” כביכול, by opening channels for Divine revelation—linking this to the Ramchal's framing of “עלינו לשבח.” Rabbi Shulman then pivots to several pesukim in the same chapter about יסורים, שערי צדק, and הודאה, presenting hodaa not only as gratitude but as admission/acknowledgment that creates דביקות by returning one's “ownership” back to Hashem. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-64n-20260621-160730-outline-20260621-160818.pdf

Rabbi Shulman continues learning the Maharal on Hallel, focusing on the “מן המצר” section and how Midrash reads “סבוני” as referring to Gog U'Magog—the archetypal head of the nations opposing Malchut Shamayim as expressed through Israel. He outlines a Midrash describing three escalating attempts by Gog U'Magog to attack Yerushalayim, then pivots to a Zohar-based reading of “דחה דחיתני לנפל” as spoken directly to the yetzer hara. Finally, Rabbi Shulman begins unpacking the Maharal's careful reading of “עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה,” emphasizing that the “yeshuah” is attributed to Hashem Himself, not to “strength and song.” Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-64m-20260608-031337-outline-20260608-031412.pdf

This dvar Torah (based on the Maharal's approach) develops the idea that **הודאה** is not merely saying “thank you,” but a form of **תשלומים**—“repayment” through giving oneself back to Hashem, which creates **דבקות**. It explains why Hallel singles out three groups—**ישראל**, **בית אהרן**, and **יראי ה׳**—first as recipients of distinct חסדים, and then more deeply as possessing distinct modes of דבקות. The derash then moves to “מִן הַמֵּצַר קָרָאתִי יָּהּ,” using Midrash to show that the Divine Name invoked shapes the form of the response, and that the Name **י־ה** specifically embodies *merchav*—expansion—because “בְּיָ־הּ ה׳ צוּר עוֹלָמִים.” Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-64l-20260510-151330-outline-20260510-151406.pdf

This dvar Torah (following the Maharal's flow through Hallel) addresses a theological tension: if Hashem governs with chessed—giving beyond strict deserving—does that compromise emes (truth/consistency)? The answer is that Hashem's chessed itself is integrated into emes through a larger, exact accounting across time and roles in Creation. The piece then reframes “repayment” to Hashem: we cannot truly pay Him back with offerings or mitzvot as transactions, only through הוֹדָאָה—acknowledgment that returns the gift to its source by giving ourselves over to Him. Finally, it explains why Hallel highlights different circles—Israel, Beit Aharon, and Yir'ei Hashem—each receiving a distinct manifestation of chessed. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-64k-20260506-194558-outline-20260506-194641.pdf

This dvar Torah focuses on the “strange” logic of Tehillim 117: why the non-Jewish nations are commanded to praise Hashem specifically because “His kindness overpowered *us*.” Using the Gemara in Pesachim and the Maharal's framing, the shiur resolves the question by splitting the pasuk's praises into different categories: the nations praise Hashem for His demonstrations of power in the world (nissim and gevurot), while Israel uniquely praises for chasadim done *to us*. Along the way, it develops a conceptual map connecting nissim to Shem Havayah/rachamim, gevurot to din, and chasadim to chesed, and it critiques an attempted reading that “נבראים” here means specifically Klal Yisrael. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-64j-20260426-151225-outline-20260426-151309.pdf

This dvar Torah unpacks the symbolism of the “cup” in Tehillim as a metaphor for *kabbalah*—the human experience of receiving from Hashem—whether for salvation or (chas v'shalom) punishment. Building on the Maharal, it explains why “lifting the cup” means publicizing Hashem's salvation and why gratitude must be expressed openly to avoid being a *kefui tovah*. It then addresses the difficult phrase “יָקָר בְּעֵינֵי ה׳ הַמָּוְתָה לַחֲסִידָיו,” reinterpreting “יָקָר” as “costly/heavy” and resolving the tension between Hashem's desire to sustain tzaddikim and the “truth” of natural order, which tzaddikim themselves accept. The section concludes by defining true *avdut* to Hashem as total indebtedness: when Hashem “opens my bonds,” all of my actions become His service. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-64i-20260423-193255-outline-20260423-193402.pdf

Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/gvuros-hashem-64h-20260316-001456-outline-20260316-001540.pdf