The Maimonides Minute

Join the Maimonides Minute for the rerelease of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. Today we continue with the laws of matzah, including the prohibition of eating matzah on erev Pesach, and the necessity of the afikoman being the last thing that a person eats at the Seder. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. Today we start looking at the laws of eating matzah on the first night of Pesach – namely, what is the exact nature of the obligation, and what kind of matzah is acceptable to fulfill the mitzvah. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. This shiur examines the laws of hag'alah – that is, kashering vessels so that they may be used for Pesach. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. Today we continue with additional details of forbidden and permitted products, such as animal food and edible soaps, and we also discuss the propriety of adding spices and flavorings to matzah. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. What are the restrictions on baking on Pesach? At what point must one begin to watch the grain to ensure that it does not come into contact with water? What is the concept of “mayim shelanu”? This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. Today's shiur deals with the process of making chametz: what types of grain can become chametz? Under what circumstances do they become chametz? Does fruit juice added to grain create chametz just as water does? And how do kitniyot fit into this discussion? This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. This shiur offers additional conditions regarding the sale of chametz to a non-Jew, as well as details about which types of chametz a person is allowed to own over Pesach. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. In this shiur, we discuss the twin prohibitions of “bal yera'eh” and “bal yimatzeh” – that is, possessing chametz during Pesach – and their numerous ramifications. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. In this shiur, we discuss the concept of bitul chametz (nullifying chametz), the times that bitul does not work, and the paradoxical idea that even if one does not destroy his chametz, the Torah nevertheless takes it out of his possession, while simultaneously considering it “his” chametz such that he violates the prohibition of owning chametz. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. In today's shiur we discuss what one should do with the chametz he leaves over after bedikat chametz, how a person checks for chametz when erev Pesach falls on Shabbat, and at what point the requirement to check for chametz expires if a person failed to do bedikat chametz on erev Pesach. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. In this episode, we discuss the laws of bedikat chametz – looking for chametz on the night before the Seder – including questions about animals dragging chametz into the house after bedikat chametz, chametz that is decorative rather than edible, people traveling away from home long before Pesach, and the issue of whether the owner or the renter is responsible for checking a given house. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. In this episode, we discuss the laws of bedikat chametz – looking for chametz on the night before the Seder. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the rerelease of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. In this episode, we discuss the implications of eating less than a kezayit of chametz, and the various biblical and rabbinic prohibitions of eating chametz on the day before Pesach. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the rerelease of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover. In this first episode, we discuss the specific prohibitions of eating and possessing leaven on Pesach, and the consequences of violating these prohibitions. This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya and Yehuda ben Avraham. To subscribe to Jewish Coffee House's Patreon page to get bonus episodes, including lots of divrei Torah for the Pesach Seder, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

What prayer does a person say when leaving the study hall? How about upon entering or exiting a city? Is there a general rule about when we say prayers like these?

May a person pray for something that already took place - like hearing a cry in a city, and praying to G-d that it not be from your house?

What is the meaning behind Birkat HaChamah, the blessing said once every 28 years when the sun is ostensibly in the same place as it was at the moment of creation? How is that calculated? Why must a person pray before and after having a medical procedure?

What beracha is made over natural wonders like mountains, hills, and seas? What about over the Mediterranean Sea? What beracha is said when seeing a rainbow? And what is the text and meaning of the blessing of Kiddush Levana?

Join the Maimonides Minute podcast for the final episode of our five part series on Hilchot Megilah.

Join the Maimonides Minute podcast for the fourth of our five part series on Hilchot Megilah.

Join the Maimonides Minute podcast for the third of our five part series on Hilchot Megilah.

Join the Maimonides Minute podcast for the second of our five part series on Hilchot Megilah.

Join the Maimonides Minute podcast for the first of a five part series on Hilchot Megilah.

What is the proper beracha upon seeing a comet or a meteor? What about if you see beautiful trees, or hear the sound associated with an earthquake?

When a person sees a place where miracles occurred, what beracha does he make? What if the miracle were a personal miracle that he experienced, rather than a miracle for all of Israel? What about a miracle that was for a famous individual, like Daniel who escaped from the Lion's Den?

What four events require a person to make a beracha of thanksgiving to G-d?

When there is a lot of rain (and the Rambam explains the definition of "a lot"), there are three different berachot that are recited based on who you are. What are they? How does your ownership of property affect your obligation to say the beracha?

What beracha does a person make over good news or bad news? What should be a person's mental state when making any beracha? And what beracha applies when a person hears good news that will eventually lead to problems, or bad news that will eventually lead to a positive result?

What is the beracha upon seeing a friend whom you haven't seen in a month? What if it has been a full year? At what point does one make a beracha upon a new fruit?

The Rambam lists the three categories of scent upon which a person does not make a beracha. What are they, and what are examples of each?

What is the beracha over a lily, or a rose, or rosemary? What beracha is made when several spices are joined together? And if someone works in a perfumer's store, does he make a beracha once a day or multiple times?

What is the beracha on oil that comes from fruit? Why is this different from the beracha upon smelling olive oil? If a person has both a myrtle branch and olive oil, upon which does he make the beracha?

What are the various berachot one says before smelling something fragrant? The Rambam offers several different possibilities.

If a person eats any of the five types of fruit included in the seven species - that is, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, or dates - what is the concluding beracha? What about after drinking wine? What if he has both during a meal - does that require one concluding beracha or two?

If a person isn't sure whether he said a beracha, must he say it just in case? If a person started eating without a beracha, what should he do? And if there are several foods in front of him requiring different berachot, which beracha takes precedence?

If a person says the beracha of haadama on an apple, has he fulfilled his obligation? How about the beracha of haeitz on lettuce? What is the halacha if a person begins the beracha with the correct conclusion in mind, but says the wrong conclusion by mistake - must he repeat the beracha?

What kinds of foods do not require any beracha at all? What about foods that are edible but spoiled, like moldy bread, unripe dates, and vinegar?

What is the proper beracha on sugar - is it haeitz, haadama, or shehakol? The Rambam offers all three possibilities.

A person normally says the beracha of Haeitz before eating fruit, and Ha'adama before eating vegetables. When, however, does a person forgo that beracha and say Shehakol instead?

What beracha does a person make on juice squeezed from a fruit? What kind of olive oil requires the beracha of "Ha'eitz" and what kind requires "Shehakol"?

The Rambam discourages talking during a meal. Why?

A person should make a beracha on a nice piece of bread, and on a full loaf of bread. What if the full loaf is of a lower quality than the nice piece - which takes precedence?

In a formal meal, who sits at the head? Who makes the blessing over the bread? Who leads Birkat Hamazon?

The Rambam says that a person may wrap his hands in a napkin and thereby avoid netilat yadayim. He also says, however, that if a person uses a fork and does not touch the food, he needs netilat yadayim. What's the difference between the two cases?

What are the practical differences between washing hands before eating and washing them afterwards? In what scenario is a person allowed to wash hands in the morning, and then not wash again all day long?

If you're not sure whether you washed your hands, must you do so again? What about if you are unsure whether the water was valid? Please stay tuned at the end of the podcast for a special message from Jewish Coffee House. To sponsor a Maimonides Minute podcast, write to scott@jewishcoffeehouse.com. To subscribe to Patreon, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Who is allowed to pour water for netilat yadayim? Can a monkey do it for you? Please stay tuned at the end of the podcast for a special message from Jewish Coffee House. To sponsor a Maimonides Minute podcast, write to scott@jewishcoffeehouse.com. To subscribe to Patreon, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

Can water for netilat yadayim be poured over several people's hands at once? What kind of vessel is invalid for use in netilat yadayim? Please stay tuned at the end of the podcast for a special message from Jewish Coffee House. To sponsor a Maimonides Minute podcast, write to scott@jewishcoffeehouse.com. To subscribe to Patreon, go to https://www.patreon.com/jewishcoffeehouse.

There are four ways that water can be invalidated for Netilat Yadayim. In today's shiur, the Rambam explains the details of each of the four.

Can you dunk your hands in a mikvah instead of using a vessel for Netilat Yadayim? What are the four things that invalidate Netilat Yadayim?

When is mayim acharonim - washing after eating - required? In what way is it more important than washing before eating? How much of his hand must a person wash when washing before eating bread?