Podcasts about Mishneh Torah

Send us a textThe Rambam teaches us that true strength comes from self-control, especially at the dinner table. When we make healthy food choices and resist unhealthy temptations, we earn the prestigious title of "Gibor" (strong person).• Rambam's laws in Mishneh Torah identify certain unhealthy foods to avoid• A wise person restrains themselves and doesn't eat simply to satisfy cravings• Choosing healthy foods over unhealthy options earns you the title "Gibor"• Self-control is considered a "davartella" (wondrous act) in Jewish tradition• Reb Yerucham honored a man who lost weight as showing extraordinary discipline• Making good food choices forms the foundation of Jewish self-disciplineThink twice before ordering that triple-fried schnitzel and choose to live with self-control. Choose to be called a gibor by simply eating healthy.Support the showJoin The Motivation Congregation WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content!Elevate your impact by becoming a TMC Emerald Donor! Your much-needed backing is crucial for our mission of disseminating the wisdom of the Torah. Join today for just $18.00 per month. (Use your maaser money!) https://buy.stripe.com/00g8xl5IT8dFcKc5ky---------------- SUBSCRIBE to The Weekly Parsha for an insightful weekly talk on the week's Parsha. Listen on Spotify or 24six! Access all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our website, themotivationcongregation.org ----------------Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com

TThe Rambam in the Mishneh Torah on the correct hashkafah re: Korbanos and other Mitzvos that make no sense. The remarkable anguish of King David re: such matters

התוכן הרמב"ם במשנה תורה ואדה"ז בשו"ע כותבים "בכל דור ודור חייב אדם להראות את עצמו כאילו הוא עתה יוצא משעבוד מצרים", וב"נוסח ההגדה" (וכן אדה"ז בתניא) כותבים "לראות כו'". כי החיוב בליל הפסח, שאודותיו מדובר ברמב"ם ובשו"ע, הוא שסיפור יצי"מ צ"ל באופן ד"והגדת לבנך" – לא רק "לראות את עצמו" (כבכל יום) אלא גם "להראות" לאחרים. אבל בשעה שמקיים ה"להראות" ע"י אמירת ההגדה אומר "חייב לראות", כי החיוב שנשאר לאח"ז (בכל יום) הוא רק "לראות". וזה שבשאר הפוסקים כתוב [נוגע לחיוב בליל הפסח] "לראות" הוא – כי לדעתם ה"והגדת לבנך" ("להראות") שבליל הפסח הוא דין בפ"ע ורק "לכתחילה", ואין לכללו בעיקר החיוב המעכב – "לראות" מה ש"עשה ה' לי בצאתי ממצרים". ויה"ר שכל א' יקיים בעצמו בימים שלפני הפסח הענין ד"לראות את עצמו וכו'", והעיקר – שכל אחד מישראל יצא מהגלות [שאפילו "פושעי ישראל" הם "ישראל", משא"כ אפי' "חסידי אוה"ע" הם "אומות העולם", ויש לבטל את הענין ד"עמלק בגימטריא ספק" שבזה וכו'].א' השיחות דהתוועדות יום א' פ' שמיני, י"א ניסן ה'תשל"ה ל"הנחה פרטית" או התרגום ללה"ק של השיחה: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=15-04-2025 Synopsis The Rambam writes in Mishneh Torah, and the Alter Rebbe writes in his Shulchan Aruch, that, “In every generation, a person is obligated to show himself as if he is now leaving the slavery of Egypt.” However, the Rambam's wording in the text of the Haggadah (and likewise, the Alter Rebbe's wording in Tanya) is “to see himself….” The reason is because the halachos in Rambam and the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch are discussing the obligation on Pesach night, where one must tell the story of leaving Egypt by “telling your son” – not just “seeing oneself” (which is a mitzvah every day), but also telling someone else, “to show.” But during the Seder itself, when one is actually reciting the Haggadah (in fulfillment of the obligation “to show”), he says, “A person is obligated to see,” because from that point on, the obligation remaining afterward (every day) is only “to see.” The reason that other Poskim write “to see” (even in the context of describing the obligation of Pesach night) is because they hold that the mitzvah to “tell your son” (“showing”) on Pesach night is a separate law in its own right, that should be done lechatchilah, but isn't strictly necessary for, and shouldn't be included in, the main obligation, which is “to see” what “Hashem has done for me when I came out of Egypt.” May it be Hashem's will that in the days leading up to Pesach, everyone merit to “see himself leaving Egypt” etc., and the main thing – that every Jew leave exile. (Every Jew, even the “sinners of the Jewish people, are still “Jewish people,” whereas even the “pious of the nations of the world” are still “nations of the world”; any doubts (“Amalek”) and confusion concerning the distinction between the two (regarding the “Who is a Jew?” issue) should be nullified etc.)Sichah from farbrengen of Sunday, Parashas Shemini, 11 Nissan 5735 For a transcript in English of the Sicha: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=15-04-2025

Send us a textWhat extraordinary abilities might be lying dormant within you, waiting to be awakened? The ancient Jewish concept of "Nosoi Libo" (raising one's heart) reveals a profound truth about human potential that's as relevant today as it was when the Mishkan was built thousands of years ago.When the Israelites needed to construct the Tabernacle, they faced a seemingly impossible challenge. After generations of slavery, no one possessed the sophisticated craftsmanship skills required. Yet remarkably, individuals stepped forward, their hearts stirred to volunteer despite having no experience. As Ramban (Nachmanides) beautifully explains in Parshas Vayakel, these people discovered within their very DNA talents they never knew they possessed—simply because they had the courage to say "I'll do it" first.This pattern repeats throughout Jewish history. The Rambam (Maimonides) undertook writing the entire Torah in clear, accessible language—an almost unimaginable task that resulted in the monumental Mishneh Torah. Modern examples abound too, like the mother who lifted a one-ton car to save her trapped son, accessing superhuman strength through sheer necessity and commitment.The wisdom here is counterintuitive yet powerful: we don't volunteer for tasks because we're capable; rather, we discover our capabilities by volunteering first. Opportunity and accountability precede the revelation of ability. This principle applies to everything from addressing communal challenges like the shidduch crisis to personal growth in Torah learning—success follows initiative, not the other way around.Are you curious what might be encoded in your spiritual DNA? What talents remain undiscovered because you haven't yet raised your heart to say "I'll find a way"? Take on responsibility, commit yourself to worthy causes, and watch as previously unknown abilities emerge. As our ancestors who built the Mishkan discovered, the question isn't if you'll succeed, but when.Support the showJoin The Motivation Congregation WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content!Elevate your impact by becoming a TMC Emerald Donor! Your much-needed backing is crucial for our mission of disseminating the wisdom of the Torah. Join today for just $18.00 per month. (Use your maaser money!) https://buy.stripe.com/00g8xl5IT8dFcKc5ky------------------Check out our other Torah Podcasts and content! SUBSCRIBE to The Motivation Congregation Podcast for daily motivational Mussar! Listen on Spotify or 24six! Find all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our website, themotivationcongregation.org Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com

התוכן 1. ב' הנקודות ב"הדרן" על הש"ס שבמאמרו של אדמו"ר מהר"ש [א) התחלת הש"ס היא במ"ם פתוח, "מאימתי", וסיום הש"ס במ"ם סתומה, "בשלום". ב) חתימת הש"ס היא מעין הפתיחה] מצינו גם במשנה תורה להרמב"ם: א) שם הספר (שזהו התחלת הספר) – "משנה תורה", והספר עצמו מתחיל עם הפסוק "משוך חסדך וגו'". וסיום הספר – "כמים לים מכסים". ב) סיום הספר, "לא יהי' עסק כל העולם אלא לדעת את ה' בלבד .. ישיגו דעת בוראם .. מלאה הארץ דעה את ה' וכו'", הוא מעין הפתיחה – "לידע שיש שם מצוי ראשון", ושבזה תלוי כל מציאות הבריאה וכו'. 2. ביאור הרמז במספר פ"ג הלכות שבספר הרמב"ם עפמ"ש בגמ' עה"פ "והסירותי מחלה מקרבך", ש"מחלה זו מרה, ולמה נק' שמה מחלה – ששמונים ושלשה חלאין יש בה, מחלה בגימט' הכי הוו, וכולן פת של שחרית וקיתון של מים מבטלן". ע"י לימוד הלכות שבתורה, מזון הנשמה, שנתבארו בפ"ג הלכות שברמב"ם, נפעל ענין הרפואה שע"י התורה באופן ש"מלכתחילה לא אשים עליך".משיחת מוצאי "זאת חנוכה" ה'תשמ"ו ל"הנחה פרטית" או התרגום ללה"ק של השיחה: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=28-02-2025 Synopsis (1) In the Hadran on Shas in the Rebbe Maharash's maamar, we find two points: (a) The Shas begins with an open mem (Me'eimasai) and ends with a closed mem (bashalom); (b) The end of Shas parallels the beginning. We find both of these in the Rambam's Mishneh Torah as well: (a) The name of the sefer is “Mishneh Torah,” and it also begins with the verse “Meshoch chasdecha…”, while it concludes with “kamayim layam mechasim.” (b) The end of the sefer, “The entire world will be occupied solely with the knowledge of Hashem…they will attain knowledge of their Creator… the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem, etc.,” parallels the beginning – “To know that there is a Primary Being” upon which all of existence depends etc. (2) On the verse, “I will remove illness from your midst,” the Gemara explains that “Illness refers to bile. And why is it called illness (machalah)? Because [bile] contains eighty-three illnesses; which is the Gematria of machalah (83), and all of them are negated by bread in the morning and a flask of water.” This is the allusion in the 83 sets of halachos in Rambam: Studying the halachos of the Torah – which is the sustenance of the soul – as set forth in the 83 sets of Halachos in Rambam, brings healing through the Torah, in such a way that “I will not place it upon you to begin with.”Excerpt from sichah of Motzei Zos Chanukah 5746 For a transcript in English of the Sicha: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=28-02-2025 לע"נ ר' ארי׳ ליב אברהם יעקב בן יוסף ע"ה שיינער ליום היארצייט שלו א' אדר (שני). ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.

This guest lecture was hosted by Bais Medrash HaGra, Jerusalem https://beit-midrash-hagra.com/home

התוכן יום הילולא של צדיק, ועאכו"כ של הרמב"ם, צריך להביא לידי הוספה בעניני תומ"צ אצל כל בנ"י. ולכל לראש בנוגע ללימוד חיבורו "משנה תורה" שבו לומדים ההלכות דכל התורה כולה וכו'. ובמילא ה"ז הזמן מתאים לעורר עוה"פ אודות המנהג שהונהג לאחרונה ללמוד רמב"ם בכל יום, ומה טוב - שלשה פרקים בכל יום ע"מ לסיימו בכל שנה (לערך). ויה"ר שבקרוב לקויים היעוד שבסיום ספר הרמב"ם שלא יהי' עסק כל העולם אלא לדעת את ה' בלבד.. שנאמר ומלאה הארץ דעה את ה' כמים לים מכסים", ואז יראו בגלוי בכל העולם (מ"ש בהתחלת הרמב"ם) ש"מאמתת המצאו נמצאו כל הנמצאים וכו'".ב' חלקים משיחת כ' טבת ה'תש"נ ל"הנחה פרטית" או התרגום ללה"ק של השיחה: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=20-01-2025 Synopsis The hilula of a tzaddik, all the more so of the Rambam, must lead to an increase in Torah and mitzvos among all Jews, first and foremost in the study of his Mishneh Torah which includes the halachos of the entire Torah. Therefore, this is the time to once again encourage the daily study of Rambam, especially three chapters per day, to finish the entire Mishneh Torah within (about) one year. May it be Hashem's will that we very soon merit the fulfillment of the promise at the end of the Rambam that “The occupation of the entire world will be solely to know Hashem” and, “The world will be filled with the knowledge of Hashem as the waters cover the sea.” At that time, the entire world will see openly that (as it says at the beginning of the Rambam), “From the truth of His being, all existence comes into being.”2 excerpts from sichah of 20 Teves 5750 For a transcript in English of the Sicha: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=20-01-2025 לזכות ר' נפתלי ב"ר שלמה ע"ה אבן חיים ליום היארצייט שלו כ' טבת. ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.נדבת בנו ר' אברהם שי' אבן חיים

The biblical character Lot presents a unique challenge. He appears in three portions, Noach this week, Lekh L'kha next week, and Va-yera two weeks from now. He is a supporting actor in multiple chapters in Genesis: chapters 11, 12, 13, 14, and 19. And yet no one ever talks about him. We don't mine his story. We avoid him. There is good reason why we stay away from Lot. The end of his story is gross, in fact doubly gross. Incomprehensibly, he offers his two virgin daughters to the rapists of Sodom in a bizarre attempt to protect the visitor/angels from being raped. After God destroys Sodom, and Lot and his daughters escape to a cave, those daughters get him drunk, sleep with him, get pregnant, and thereby create the nations of the Moabites and Ammonites. Yuck. The cringe factor of these two concluding Lot stories explains why we never talk about Lot. But Lot has a lot to teach us. What do we learn from the early and middle parts of his story that can help explain its unspeakable end? Lot's story is a cautionary tale. What are its lessons? To answer these questions, we will consult an evocative and wise passage from Rambam's Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot De'ah, 6:1-2.

In this episode, we sit down with Rabbi Avi Grossman to explore the complexities of Halakha and its relevance to contemporary Jewish life. Rabbi Grossman begins by discussing why "Demystifying Halakha" is crucial for understanding and practicing Judaism today. We dive into the idea that the entire Torah was always meant to be practiced, a concept that significantly shapes our understanding of Halakha. Rabbi Grossman explains how Maimonides' Mishneh Torah stands out from other halakhic codes, particularly in its detailed guidance on practices like observing Passover with a paschal lamb and instructions for when it is not available. Rabbi Grossman further elaborates on the Mishneh Torah's intention to serve as a complete legal code for all generations and all aspects of Halakha. We also discuss the Vilna Gaon's role in reviving “orphaned” commandments, understanding the importance of these commandments, and their impact on Halakhic practice. The conversation takes shifts to the importance of maintaining a critical approach to halakhic issues, questioning the automatic precedence given to later authorities. We explore the significance of national obligations and self-governance in Halakha, questioning why these aspects may have fallen out of common practice. Finally, Rabbi Grossman challenges the “fallen-out-of-use” fallacy, addressing the belief that if certain practices are no longer observed, it must be by divine will. You don't want to miss this fascinating discussion. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/judaismdemystified/support

“It's quite clear to me that he was trying to recreate the hillside of Haifa with the gardens... It comes from somebody being ripped out from their home.” Syrian Jewish Playwright Oren Safdie, son of world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, who designed Habitat 67 along with much of modern Jerusalem, knows loss, regret, and longing. Oren and his father explore their Syrian heritage and their connection to the Jewish state that has developed since Moshe's father left Aleppo, Syria and moved, in the mid-20th century, to what is modern-day Israel. Oren also knows that being Jewish is about stepping up. Describing his frustrations with modern anti-Israel sentiments and protests that harken back to 1943, Oren is passionately combating anti-Israel propaganda in theater and academia.  Abraham Marcus, Associate Professor Emeritus at University of Texas at Austin, joins the conversation with historical insights into Jewish life in Syria dating back to Roman times. —- Show notes: Sign up to receive podcast updates here. Learn more about the series here. Song credits:  Al Fadimem, Bir Demet Yasemen, Fidayda; all by Turku, Nomads of the Silk Road Aleppo Bakkashah  Pond5:  “Desert Caravans”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI), Composer: Tiemur Zarobov (BMI), IPI#1098108837 “Oud Nation”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI); Composer: Haygaz Yossoulkanian (BMI), IPI#1001905418 “Arabic (Middle Eastern Music)”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI), Composer: Andrei Skliarov, Item ID #152407112 “Fields Of Elysium”; Publisher: Mysterylab Music; Composer: Mott Jordan; ID#79549862 “Middle Eastern Dawn”: Publisher: Victor Romanov, Composer: Victor Romanov; Item ID #202256497 “Ney Flute Melody 01”: Publisher: Ramazan Yuksel; Composer: Ramazan Yuksel; P.R.O. Track: BMI 00712367557 “Uruk”: Publisher: Pond5 Publishing Beta (BMI); Composer: Marcus Bressler; Item ID: 45886699 “Suspense Middle East” Publisher: Victor Romanov, Composer: Victor Romanov; Item ID: 196056047 ___ Episode Transcript: OREN SAFDIE:  I've sort of wanted to shine a light on North American Jews being hypercritical of Israel. Because I've spent a lot of time in Israel. And I know what it is. It's not a simple thing. And I think it's very easy for Americans in the comfort of their little brownstones in Brooklyn, and houses in Cambridge to criticize, but these people that live in Israel are really standing the line for them. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: The world has overlooked an important episode in modern history: the 800,000 Jews who left or were driven from their homes in the Middle East and North Africa in the mid-20th century. Welcome to the second season of The Forgotten Exodus, brought to you by American Jewish Committee. This series explores that pivotal moment in history and the little-known Jewish heritage of Iran and Arab nations. As Jews around the world confront violent antisemitism and Israelis face daily attacks by terrorists on multiple fronts, our second season explores how Jews have lived throughout the region for generations despite hardship, hostility, and hatred, then sought safety and new possibilities in their ancestral homeland. I'm your host, Manya Brachear Pashman. Join us as we explore untold family histories and personal stories of courage, perseverance, and resilience from this transformative and tumultuous period of history for the Jewish people and the Middle East.  The world has ignored these voices. We will not.  This is The Forgotten Exodus. Today's episode: leaving Aleppo. MANYA: Playwright and screenwriter Oren Safdie has had just about enough of the anti-Israel sentiments on stage and screen. And what irks him the most is when it comes from Jewish artists and celebrities who have never spent time in the Middle East's one and only democracy. Remember film director Jonathan Glazer's speech at the 2024 Academy Awards? JONATHAN GLAZER: Right now, we stand here as men who refute their Jewishness and the Holocaust being hijacked by an occupation which has led to conflict for so many innocent people. Whether the victims of October the … [APPLAUSE] MANYA: Yeah, Oren didn't much appreciate his own Jewishness being hijacked in that moment. Drawing a moral equivalence between the Nazi regime and Israel never really sits well with him. OREN: I do feel like they're very selective in their criticism of Israel. You know, it's very easy to say, ‘Oh, well, they didn't do that. They don't do this.' But it's a complicated situation. And to simplify it, is just to me beyond, especially if you're not somebody who has spent a lot of time in Israel. MANYA: Oren Safdie has penned more than two dozen scripts for stages and screens around the world. His latest film, Lunch Hour, starring Alan Cumming, is filming in Minnesota.  Meanwhile, The Man Who Saved the Internet with A Sunflower, another script he co-wrote, is on the festival circuit. And his latest play Survival of the Unfit, made its North American debut in the Berkshires this summer, is headed to Broadway. And by the way, since an early age, Oren Safdie has spent quite a bit of time in Israel. His father Moshe Safdie is the legendary architect behind much of modern Jerusalem, Ben-Gurion International Airport, and the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum.  Oren's grandfather, Leon, emigrated from Syria. OREN: I'm sort of a synthesis of the two main parts that established Israel because my mother came from Poland, escaped the Holocaust. And my father's family came from Syria. So, I'm a half breed.  I've never been asked about my Sephardic side, even though that was really the dominant side that I grew up with. Because my mother's family was quite small. I grew up in Montreal, it was much more in the Syrian tradition for holidays, food, everything like that. My grandfather was from Aleppo, Syria, and my grandmother was from Manchester, England, but originally from Aleppo. Her family came to Manchester, but two generations before, had been from Aleppo. So, they're both Halabi Jews.  MANYA: Halabi refers to a diverse group of Jews from Aleppo, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world that has gone by several names. The oldest? Haleb.  Halabi Jews include Mizrahi Jews -- the name for Jews who call the Middle East or North Africa home; and Sephardi Jews, who fled to the region after being expelled from Spain in the 15th Century.  Jews are believed to have been in what is now Syria since the time of King David and certainly since early Roman times. ABRAHAM MARCUS: It's a community that starts, as far as we can record, in the Greco-Roman period. And we see the arrival of Islam. So the Jews were really the indigenous people when Arabs arrived. MANYA: Abraham Marcus, born to parents from Aleppo, is an internationally renowned authority on the city. He served as director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. For the past 16 years, he has been working on a book about the history of Aleppo's Jews that goes well beyond what has been previously published. As part of his research, he examined thousands of documents from the Syrian national archive and the Ottoman archive in Istanbul. He also did extensive fieldwork on the ground in Aleppo, documenting the synagogues, cemeteries, residential districts, and workplaces.  MARCUS: One of the synagogues, the famous ancient synagogue of Aleppo, which dates to the 5th Century, meaning it predates the arrival of Arabs. It is a remarkable structure. Unfortunately, what is left of it now is really a skeleton. MANYA: Abraham is referring to the Great Synagogue or Central Synagogue of Aleppo, which functioned as the main house of worship for the Syrian Jewish community for more than 1,600 years. For 600 of those years, its catacombs safeguarded a medieval manuscript believed to be the oldest, most complete, most accurate text of the Hebrew Bible, known as the Aleppo Codex. The codex was used by Maimonides as a reference for his magnum opus, the Mishneh Torah, or Jewish religious legal code. In the 7th Century, Aleppo was conquered by Arab Muslims and a Great Mosque was built. For the next four centuries, the Byzantine Empire, Crusaders, and various Muslim rulers fought to gain control of Aleppo and the surrounding region. A savage Mongol invasion, a bout of the Black Death and another invasion took its toll on the city, and its Jews.  For most of this time, Muslim rulers treated them as dhimmis, or second-class citizens.  MARCUS: There were restrictions on dress, which were renewed time and again. They could not carry arms. They could not ride horses. MANYA: After half of Spain's Jews converted to Christianity following the pogroms of 1391, the Catholic monarchs issued the Alhambra Decree of 1492 – an edict that expelled any remaining Jews from the Iberian Peninsula to ensure their descendants didn't revert back to Judaism.  As Jews fled, many made their way to parts of the Ottoman Empire. In 1516, Aleppo became part of that empire and emerged as a strategic trading post at the end of the Silk Road, between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia, or modern-day Iraq. As was the case in other parts of the Ottoman Empire, Jews lived relatively comfortably, serving as merchants and tax collectors.  MARCUS: The policy of the Ottoman Empire was to essentially welcome the Sephardic Jews. The Sultan at the time is reputed to have said, ‘I don't understand the King of Spain. But if he's thinking at all, giving up all this human capital, essentially, we can take it.'  Many of the successful Jews in Aleppo and Damascus–in business, as leaders, as rabbis–were Sephardic Jews. They revived these communities, they brought new blood and new energy to them, a new wealth. MANYA: This was not always the case throughout Ottoman Syria as persecution and pogroms erupted at times.  By the mid-19th Century, Aleppo's Jewish population was slightly smaller than that of Baghdad, by about 2,000. In 1869, the opening of the Suez Canal shifted trade away from the route through Syria. Aleppo lost much of its commercial edge, motivating many Jews to seek opportunity elsewhere. MARCUS: The story of Aleppo is one of a society gradually hemorrhaging, losing people. They went to Beirut, which was a rising star. And Egypt became very attractive. So they went to Alexandria and Cairo. And many of the rabbis from the 1880s began to move to Jerusalem where there were yeshivot that were being set up. And in effect, over the next several decades, essentially the spiritual center of Aleppo's Jews was Jerusalem and no longer Aleppo.  MANYA: Another turning point for Aleppo came in World War I when the Ottoman Empire abandoned its neutral position and sided with the Central Powers–including Bulgaria, Austria-Hungary and Germany.  Many wealthy Jews had acquired foreign nationalities from countries that were not allies. Now considered enemy citizens, they were deported and never came back. In addition, Jews and Christians up to that point could pay a special tax to avoid serving in the army. That privilege ended in 1909. MARCUS: Because of the Balkan Wars, there was a sense that the empire is going to collapse if they don't essentially raise a large force to defend it. And there was a kind of flight that really decimated the community by 1918, when the war ended. MANYA: Besides those two wartime exceptions, Abraham says the departure of Jews from Syria was almost always motivated by the promise of better opportunities. In fact, opportunity might have been what drew the Safdie family to and from Aleppo. MANYA: Originally from Safed, as their name suggests, the Safdie family arrived in Aleppo sometime during the 16th or 17th centuries. By that time, the Jewish community in Safed, one of the Four Holy Cities in Judaism located in modern-day Israel, had transformed it into a lucrative textile center. So lucrative that the sultan of the ruling Ottoman Empire ordered the forced deportation of 1,000 Jewish families to Cyprus to boost that island's economy.  It's not clear if those deportations or the decline that followed pushed the Safdie family north to Aleppo. Most of them stayed for roughly three centuries–through World War One and France's brief rule during the Interwar period. But in 1936, amid the Great Depression, which affected Syria as well, Leon Safdie, the ninth of ten children born to textile merchants, moved to Haifa and set up his own trading business. Importing textiles, woolens, and cottons from England and fabrics from Japan and India.  A year later, he met his wife Rachel who had sailed from Manchester to visit her sister in Jerusalem. She spoke English and a little French. He spoke Arabic and French. They married a month later. OREN: My grandfather lived in Haifa, he was a merchant like many Syrian Jews were. He imported textiles. He freely went between the different countries, you know, there weren't really so many borders. A lot of his people he worked with were Arab, Druze, Christian, Muslim. Before independence, even though there was obviously some tension, being somebody who is a Syrian Jew, who spoke Arabic, who spoke French, he was sort of just one of the region. MANYA: Moshe Safdie was born in 1938. He says the onset of the Second World War created his earliest memories – hosting Australian soldiers in their home for Shabbat and making nightly trips into air raid shelters. Every summer, the family vacationed in the mountain resorts of Lebanon to visit aunts and uncles that had moved from Aleppo to Beirut. Their last visit to Lebanon in the summer of 1947 culminated with all of the aunts, uncles, and cousins piling into three Chrysler limousines and caravanning from Beirut to Aleppo to visit their grandmother and matriarch, Symbol. MOSHE: I remember sort of the fabric of the city. I have vague memories of the Citadel of Aleppo, because it was an imposing structure. I remember her – a very fragile woman, just vaguely. MANYA: While most of Moshe's memories of Aleppo are vague, one memory in particular is quite vivid. At that time, the United Nations General Assembly was debating the partition plan that would divide what was then the British Mandate of Palestine between Jews and Arabs. Tensions ran high throughout the region. When Moshe's uncles noticed Moshe wearing his school uniform on the streets of Aleppo, they panicked.  MOSHE: They were terrified. We were walking in the street, and we had khaki shirts and khaki pants. And it had stitched on it, as required in our school, the school badge, and it said, ‘Thou shalt be humble' in Hebrew. And they saw that, or at least they noticed we had that, and they said: ‘No, this is very dangerous!' and they ripped it off.' MANYA: It would be the first and last time Moshe Safdie visited Aleppo. On the 29th of November, the UN voted on a resolution to divide Palestine into two states, one Arab and one Jewish. The news arrived in Aleppo the following morning. MARCUS: This was New York time, in the evening, when the decision was made. So already, people started planning demonstrations for the next day, in support of the Palestinians. And that next day began with what was a peaceful demonstration of students, and then all kinds of people joined in and before long it became an attack on Jewish property. The synagogues were set ablaze. Many Jewish homes were burned, businesses were looted. And so the day ended with the Jews really in a state of fright.  MANYA: The mob looted the Jewish quarter and burned the Great Synagogue, scattering and desecrating the pages of the Aleppo Codex. The caretaker of the synagogue and his son later returned to the ashes to salvage as much as they could. But most of the community's leadership took a train to Beirut and never looked back.  Of course, as previously mentioned, Aleppo had already witnessed a steep decline in its Jewish population. The numbers vary widely, depending on the source, but by 1947, on the eve of the Jewish exodus from Syria, Iraq, and other Arab countries, Aleppo had anywhere between 6,000 and 15,000 Jews, whereas Baghdad had between 75 and 90,000. MARCUS: More than half the population left within a month. The community after that, in the next two, three weeks, was in a situation in which some people decided that was the end.  They took possessions that they could, got on buses and left for Beirut. That was the safe destination to go to. And there was traffic between the two areas.  Some people decided to stay. I mean, they had business, they had interest, they had property that they didn't want to leave. You can imagine the kind of dilemmas face people suddenly, the world has changed, and what do I do? Which part of the fork do I go?  MANYA: Those who left effectively forfeited their property to the Syrian government. To this day, the only way to reclaim that property and be allowed to sell it is to return and become Syrian citizens. Those who stayed were trapped. Decimated and demoralized, Aleppo's Jews came under severe travel restrictions, unable to travel more than four kilometers from their homes without permission from the government, which tracked their comings and goings. MARCUS: The view was that if they leave, they'll end up in what's called the Zionist entity and provide the soldiers and aid to the enemy. So the idea was to keep them in.  So there's a reality there of a community that is now stuck in place. Unable to emigrate. That remained in place until 1970, when things began to relax. It was made possible for you to leave temporarily for a visit. But you have to leave a very large sum as a deposit. The other option was essentially to hire some smugglers to take you to the Turkish or the Lebanese border, and basically deliver you to another country where Jews had already networked. The Mossad had people who helped basically transfer them to Israel. But that was very risky. If you were caught, it's prison time and torture.  Over the next 45 years, many of the young left gradually, and many of them left without the parents even knowing. They will say ‘I'm going to the cinema and I'll come back'. MANYA: On May 14, 1948, Israel declared independence. But the socialist politics of the new Jewish state did not sit well with Leon Safdie who much preferred private enterprise. He also felt singled out, as did many Sephardi and Mizrahi Jews in Israel at the time.  OREN: In some ways, it almost created some tension for him on several fronts, right? First of all, between him and his clients, who he had been doing business with in the Arab world, for many years. All of a sudden, those relationships are called into question. And as my grandfather was an importer of textiles, it was considered a luxury good. And when you're in wartime, there were rations.  The high tariffs really killed my grandfather's business. So, he wanted to stay in Israel. He helped with the war effort. He really loved the country and he knew the people, but really for three years, he sat idle and just did not have work. He was a man that really needed to work, had a lot of pride. MANYA: In 1953, Leon and Rachel sought opportunity once again – this time in Montreal – a move Moshe Safdie would forever resent. When in 1959 he married Oren's mother Nina, an Israeli expat who was trying to return to Israel herself, they both resolved to return to the Jewish state. Life and phenomenal success intervened. While studying architecture at McGill University, Moshe designed a modern urban apartment building [Habitat 67] that incorporated garden terraces and multiple stories. It was built and unveiled during the 1967 World's Fair in Montreal, and Moshe's career took off.  OREN: It's quite clear to me that he was trying to recreate the hillside of Haifa with the gardens. And it's something that has sort of preoccupied him for his whole career. It comes from somebody being ripped out from their home. Those kinds of things I think stay with you. MANYA: Eventually, in 1970, Moshe opened a branch of his architecture firm in Jerusalem and established a second home there. Oren recalls visiting every summer – often with his grandfather Leon.   OREN: And I remember going with him when he'd come to Israel when I was there, because we used to go pretty much every summer. He would love to go down to Jericho. And we'd sit at the restaurants. I mean, there was a period of time, you know, when it was sort of accepted that Jews could travel to the West Bank, to Ramallah and everything. And he loved to just speak with the merchants and everything, he loved that. He felt so at home in that setting. It was not dangerous, as it is today, obviously. I think everyone back then thought it was a temporary situation. And obviously, the longer it goes, and the more things happen, it feels more permanent. And of course, that's where we are today. But that time, in my head, sort of just is a confirmation that Jews and Arabs have a lot more in common and can get along … if the situation was different. MANYA: As the son of an Israeli citizen, Oren is considered an Israeli citizen too. But he concedes that he is not fully Israeli. That requires more sacrifice. In 1982, at the age of 17, he signed up for Chetz V'Keshet, at that time a 10-week program run in conjunction with the Israel Defense Forces for American and Canadian teens and designed to foster a connection to Israel. The program took place during the First Lebanon War, Israel's operation to remove terrorists from southern Lebanon, where they had been launching attacks against Israeli civilians. OREN: So this was a mix of basic training, where we trained with artillery and things and did a lot of war games. And from there, you know, their hope was that you would join the military for three years. And I did not continue.  I guess there's a part of me that regrets that. Even though I'm an Israeli citizen, I can't say I'm Israeli in the way that Israelis are. If the older me would look back, then I would say, ‘If you really want to be connected to Israel, the military is really the only way. I'd say at that young age, I didn't understand that the larger picture of what being Jewish, what being Israeli is, and it's about stepping up. MANYA: Now in his early 50s, Oren tries to step up by confronting the anti-Israel propaganda that's become commonplace in both of his professional worlds: theater and academia. In addition to writing his own scripts and screenplays, he has taught college level playwriting and screenwriting. He knows all too often students fall prey to misinformation and consider anything they see on social media or hear from their friends as an authoritative source.  A few years ago, Oren assigned his students the task of writing a script based on real-life experience and research. One of the students drafted a script about bloodthirsty Israelis killing Palestinian children. When Oren asked why he chose that topic and where he got his facts, the student cited his roommate.  Oren didn't discourage him from pitching the script to his classmates, but warned him to come prepared to defend it with facts. The student turned in a script on an entirely different topic. OREN: You know, there were a lot of plays that came up in the past 10 years that were anti-Israel. You'd be very hard-pressed to find me one that's positive about Israel. No one's doing them. MANYA: Two of his scripts have come close. In 2017, he staged a play at the St. James Theatre in Old Montreal titled Mr. Goldberg Goes to Tel Aviv– a farce about a gay Jewish author who arrives in Tel Aviv to deliver a blistering attack on the Israeli government to the country's left-leaning literati.  But before he even leaves his hotel room, he is kidnapped by a terrorist. Investors lined up to bring it to the silver screen and Alan Cumming signed on to play Mr. Goldberg. But in May 2021, Hamas terrorists launched rockets at Israeli civilians, igniting an 11-day war. The conflict led to a major spike in antisemitism globally.  OREN: The money people panicked and said, ‘We can't put up a comedy about the Middle East within this environment. Somebody is going to protest and shut us down,' and they cut out. MANYA: Two years later, an Israeli investor expressed interest in giving the movie a second chance. Then on October 7 [2023], Hamas launched a surprise attack on 20 Israeli communities -- the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. More than 1,200 Israelis have been killed, thousands of rockets have been fired on Israel, and more than 100 hostages are still in captivity. OREN: Mr. Goldberg Goes to Tel Aviv collapsed after October 7th. I don't think anybody would have the appetite for a comedy about a Hamas assassin taking a left-wing Jew hostage in a hotel room. MANYA: Another play titled “Boycott This” was inspired by Oren's visit to a coffee shop in Oaxaca, Mexico in 2011. The walls of the cafe were plastered with posters urging boycotts of Israel and accusing it of blood libel. Oren and his daughter created their own posters and stood outside the coffee shop calling on customers to boycott the cafe instead. But the father and daughter's impromptu protest is just one of three storylines in the play, including one about the 1943 boycott of Jews in Poland–where his mother spent part of her childhood in hiding during the Holocaust.  The third storyline takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where Iran has succeeded in wiping Israel off the map. A Jewish woman has been forced to become one of the enemy's wives – a threat some hostages taken on October 7 have reported hearing from their captors.  OREN: It was really my attempt to try and show how the boycotts of Israel today, in light of, you know, 1943, were really not different.  MANYA:  Even now, Oren has not been able to convince a college or theater to stage “Boycott This,” including the Jewish museum in Los Angeles that hosted his daughter's bat mitzvah on October 7, 2023.    OREN: I've sort of wanted to shine a light on North American Jews being hypercritical of Israel, which I guess ties into BDS. Because I've spent a lot of time in Israel. And I know what it is. It's not a simple thing. And I think it's very easy for Americans in the comfort of their little brownstones in Brooklyn, and houses in Cambridge to criticize, but these people that live in Israel are really standing the line for them. MANYA: When Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton finally secured a legal way for Syrian Jews to leave between 1992 and 1994, most did. The last Jews of Aleppo were evacuated from the city in October 2016. MARCUS: They took all the siddurim and everything, put them in boxes. It was just essentially closing shop for good. They knew they're not coming back. MANYA: The food, liturgy, music, the traditions of hospitality and social welfare endure, but far from the world of which it was part. Walk into any synagogue in the Aleppo tradition after sundown on Shabbat and be treated to a concert until dawn – a custom called baqashot. MANYA: Before Oren's grandmother Rachel passed away, his cousin Rebecca did a piece for Canadian Broadcast News featuring their 95-year-old grandmother in the kitchen.  RACHEL SAFDIE: When we were children, we used to love all these dishes. My mother used to make them all the time and it's very, very tasty. Anything made, Middle East food, is very tasty. OREN: It's 10 minutes for me to see my grandmother again, in video, cooking the mehshi kusa, which is sort of the stuffed eggplant with the apricots and the meat. And there's really a great moment in it, because they're doing it together and they put it in the oven, and at the end of this 10-minute movie, they all come out of the oven, and like they're looking at it and they're tasting, and my grandmother points … RACHEL: I know which ones you did. You did this one.  CBN INTERVIEWER: How do you know?  RACHEL: I know. And this recipe has been handed down from generation to generation. OREN: It's so much like my grandmother because she's sort of a perfectionist, but she did everything without measuring. It was all by feel. The kibbeh, beans and lamb and potatoes and chicken but done in a different way than the Ashkenaz. I don't know how to sort of describe it.  The ka'ake, which were like these little pretzels that are, I'd say they have a taste of cumin in them. MARCUS: Stuffed aubergine, stuffed zucchini, tomatoes, with rice, pine nuts and ground beef and so forth. Meatballs with sour cherries during the cherry season. MANYA: Oren would one day like to see where his ancestors lived. But according to Abraham, few Aleppo Jews share that desire. After the Civil War and Siege of Aleppo in 2012 there's little left to see. And even when there was, Aleppo's Jews tended to make a clean break. MARCUS: People did not go back to visit, the second and third generations did not go back. So you see, for example, here Irish people of Irish origin in the United States, they still have families there. And they go, and they take the kids to see what Ireland is like. Italians, they do the same, because they have a kind of sense, this is our origin.  And with Aleppo, there wasn't. This is a really unusual situation in terms of migrations of people not going back to the place. And I think that probably will continue that way. MANYA: Syrian Jews are just one of the many Jewish communities who, in the last century, left Arab countries to forge new lives for themselves and future generations.  Join us next week as we share another untold story of The Forgotten Exodus. Many thanks to Oren and Moshe for sharing their story. You can read more in Moshe's memoir If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture. Too many times during my reporting, I encountered children and grandchildren who didn't have the answers to my questions because they'd never asked. That's why one of the goals of this project is to encourage you to ask those questions. Find your stories. Atara Lakritz is our producer. T.K. Broderick is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Jon Schweitzer, Nicole Mazur, Sean Savage, and Madeleine Stern, and so many of our colleagues, too many to name really, for making this series possible.  You can subscribe to The Forgotten Exodus on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can learn more at AJC.org/theforgottenexodus.  The views and opinions of our guests don't necessarily reflect the positions of AJC.  You can reach us at theforgottenexodus@ajc.org. If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to spread the word, and hop onto Apple Podcasts or Spotify to rate us and write a review to help more listeners find us.

Rabbi David Fried explores how a responsum of the Rambam (Shu"T HaRambam, Mechon Yerushalayim Edition, No. 104) sheds light on ambiguities and seeming contradictions in his magnum opus, the Mishneh Torah. He demonstrates how reading the "original" responsum can possibly settle a debate between Rav Moshe Feinstein (Igros Moshe, Y.D. 2:7) and Rav Aharon Kotler (Mishnas Rebbi Aharon 35:6) - which has implications for the entire enterprise of Brisker methodology.

Dvarim 5784 - Mishneh Torah for Entering Israel - In memory of Rabbi Robert Landau

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 14 minutes 15 secondsSynopsis: Well, THIS episode took an unexpected turn! I intended to just review one point we covered yesterday and read ten words from the Meiri on how to "make" God have mercy on you, but that little addition turned into a whole episode which touched upon the fundamental mechanisms of how tefilah works. We'll return to the halacha in the Mishneh Torah tomorrow.-----מקורות:רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר אהבה, הלכות תפלה וברכת כהנים א:במאירי - אבות ב:יגfake Thoreau quotationרמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים א:נגרלב"ג - שמות לג:יט-----The first month of the newly relaunched Rambam Bekius Podcast has been sponsored anonymously. May the merit of our learning make us worthy of Hashem's salvation, and may He deliver acheinu kol Beis Yisrael from all our enemies, in Israel and around the world.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 11 minutes 2 secondsSynopsis: Yesterday we read the Rambam's formulation of the mitzvah of tefilah in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos. Today we raise several questions on this formulation, and then acquaint ourselves with the facts of his three formulations in the Mishneh Torah. We will spend the next week (if not more) delving into the Rambam's formulation in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos in an effort to understand his foundational concept of tefilah as avodah.-----מקורות:רמב"ם - ספר המצוות: עשה הרמב"ם - משנה תורה: הקדמה, רשימת המצוות, עשה הרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר אהבה, הלכות תפלה וברכת כהנים כותרת; א:א-ב-----The first month of the newly relaunched Rambam Bekius Podcast has been sponsored anonymously. May the merit of our learning make us worthy of Hashem's salvation, and may He deliver acheinu kol Beis Yisrael from all our enemies, in Israel and around the world.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 13 minutes 13 secondsSynopsis: The Rambam urged his student, R' Yosef, to "make [the Mishneh Torah] your book par excellence." In this episode, I share the methodology I was taught by one of my Rambam rabbeim for how to do that. This methodology will serve as the blueprint for how we approach Hilchos Tefilah tomorrow.-----מקורות:רמב"ם - אגרת לרב יוסףLetter from me to Rabbi Saul ZuckerLetter from Rabbi Saul Zucker to meרמב"ם - ספר המצוות, הקדמה; עשה ורמב"ם - משנה תורה: הקדמה, רשימת המצוות, עשה ורמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות דעות, כותרת מצוה ב; ו:ב-----The first month of the newly relaunched Rambam Bekius Podcast has been sponsored anonymously. May the merit of our learning make us worthy of Hashem's salvation, and may He deliver acheinu kol Beis Yisrael from all our enemies, in Israel and around the world.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 11 minutes 31 secondsSynopsis: Before we start learning Hilchos Tefilah, I'd like to review two pillars of my Mishneh Torah methodology. Today we'll discuss how the Rambam intended for his magnum opus to be read, and tomorrow I'll share how one of my own Rambam mentors advised me to master the Mishneh Torah.-----The first month of the newly relaunched Rambam Bekius Podcast has been sponsored anonymously. May the merit of our learning make us worthy of Hashem's salvation, and may He deliver acheinu kol Beis Yisrael from all our enemies, in Israel and around the world.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 17 minutes 55 secondsSynopsis: Welcome BACK to the Rambam Bekius Podcast! In this inaugural episode, I discuss what we mean by "Rambam Bekius," what our goals are for this podcast, and what the format will be. Whether you're a new or returning listener, be sure to check out this episode before proceeding. In the next two episodes we'll go over some basic Mishneh Torah methodology and then commence our learning of Hilchos Tefilah. I can't wait to get started!-----מקורות:ר' יוחאי מקבילי - פתח דבר למשנה תורה, מהדורת "מפעל משנה תורה"רמב"ם - משנה תורה: הקדמה א,לט-מרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תלמוד תורה א:יא-----The first month of the newly relaunched Rambam Bekius Podcast has been sponsored anonymously. May the merit of our learning make us worthy of Hashem's salvation, and may He deliver acheinu kol Beis Yisrael from all our enemies, in Israel and around the world.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

Join us for a fascinating journey through the intersection of Jewish history, copyright law, and community politics in our latest episode, "Printing Press Politics: Investigating the Mishneh Torah Copyright Controversy". Dr. Tamara Morsel-Eisenberg, a renowned expert in Jewish studies, joins us to delve into the contentious debate surrounding the reprinting of Maimonides' monumental work, the Mishneh Torah - as addressed by the Rema (responsum no. 10). From the printing presses of 16th-century Italy to modern-day copyright disputes, we explore how this controversy reflects deeper tensions between ownership, accessibility, and the public good. With Dr. Morsel-Eisenberg's insightful guidance, we uncover the complex dynamics shaping the future of Jewish publishing and the dissemination of Torah knowledge. Bio: Dr. Tamara Morsel-Eisenberg is assistant professor of Jewish History at NYU's Skirball Department for Hebrew and Judaic Studies. She specializes in the cultural and intellectual history of early modern Ashkenaz, especially the history of halakha, and is interested in how knowledge, law, and history interact. Dr. Morsel-Eisenberg has held fellowships at the Leo Baeck Institute, the Center for Jewish History, and Harvard. She has written numerous articles on early modern halakha and the transmission of knowledge in academic journals, including the Journal for the History of Ideas, AJS Review, Diné Israel and Critical Inquiry, as well as more popular outlets such as Tablet magazine and the Lehrhaus. Starting in Spring 2025, Dr. Morsel-Eisenberg will be teaching at Tel Aviv University. To view the Mishneh Torah 1550 Justiniani Title Page referenced in the episode, please click here.

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 33 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (5/30/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we continued our analysis of the mishnah through the eyes of the Rambam. We began with a VERY in-depth review of everything we covered last time (if you want to skip the review, start around 30 minutes into the shiur). We then read and discussed several additional sources in other works of the Rambam where he discusses this, focusing on his treatment in the Mishneh Torah. We concluded by attempting to analyze the five ways in which the Rambam views this practice as harmful. Next time (בג"ה), we'll take another crack at figuring that out, and then take up the opposing view, led by Sforno and Rashbatz. At least, that's the plan! -----מקורות:אבות ד:הרמב"ם שםביאור לפירוש רמב"ם למשנהרמב"ם - אגרת לר' יוסף בר' יהודהרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תלמוד תורה ג:י,יב; ד:ב; ו:יארמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות עבודה זרה וחוקות הגויים יא:יברמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר אהבה, הלכות תפילין ומזוזה וספר תורה ה:ד-----The Torah content this week has been dedicated by me in honor of Ann with gratitude for her monthly support of my Torah content and in celebration of her engagement to Ben. Mazal tov!In other news, I am considering relaunching my Rambam Bekius podcast. My goal is to cover the entirety of the Rambam's Hilchos Tefilah, halacha by halacha, in short (5-10 minute) daily episodes. If you are interested in sponsoring my Rambam content specifically, please let me know! I'm eager to make this project a reality, and I'm ready when you are!-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist:

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 33 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (5/23/24), in our Thursday night Pirkei Avos shiur for women, we began learning the next mishnah, but our focus was on the Rambam's diatribe - and that really is the most accurate word - against those who take money for Torah. We set out clear objectives and non-objectives. Our main goal for this evening was to read and discuss the Rambam's commentary on this mishnah, trying to understand as much as we could from THIS treatment of the topic. Our goal was NOT to stray into the other sources where the Rambam addresses this, nor to discuss how this translates into practical halacha, nor to discuss the views of those who disagree with the Rambam. Next time (בג"ה) we'll review what we learned tonight, analyze the Rambam's treatment of the topic in the Mishneh Torah and some other sources, then turn out attention to those who disagree. Hopefully, by the end, we'll emerge with a clearer understanding of our mishnah according to both sides.-----מקורות:אבות ד:הרמב"ם שםרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תלמוד תורה ג:י-----The Torah content from now through Lag ba'Omer has been generously sponsored by Malky M. June is less than a month away which means that I'll soon be transitioning into "summer writing mode," with more substack articles and fewer recorded shiurim. The bulk of these articles will remain free. However, if you would like to support my Torah AND gain access to additional spicy written content, consider becoming a paid subscriber by going to rabbischneeweiss.substack.com.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist:

Our Intergenerational Divergence series is sponsored by our friends Sarala and Danny Turkel.In this special episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Rachel Goldberg-Polin—whose son, Hersh, was kidnapped by Hamas and is still held hostage in Gaza—about heading into Passover with our loved ones still captive.Normally, Intergenerational Divergence feels like something of a choice. But now, Jewish families have been split apart by force. In this episode we discuss:How do we foster a continued connection to the members of our family who are missing?What difficult thoughts and questions will we bring to the Seder table this year?What does it mean to express hope via the Pesach Seder amid these bitter times? We hope wholeheartedly that this conversation about missing our children at the time of Passover will be made irrelevant and the hostages will soon return home. Interview begins at 7:17.References:“One Tiny Seed” by Rachel Goldberg-Polin“To the Boys in the Room” by Rachel Goldberg-PolinSefer HaMenucha on Mishneh Torah, Leavened and Unleavened Bread 8:2“A Prayer for Israel To Add to Your Pesach Seder” by Yosef Zvi Rimon

This week we look at the cycle of creativity and consolidation, the development of Halakhah, and the two major codes - Rambam's Mishneh Torah and R' Yosef Karo's Shulḥan Arukh.

In the year 1550, two non-Jewish printers published competing editions of Rambam's Mishneh Torah. One of them partnered with an esteemed rabbi from Padua, who, in his quest for support, turned to Rabbi Moshe Isserlis. Rama's response along with a careful examination of the printed volumes unveil the details of this dispute. Rama's scholarly answer also sheds light on various areas of commercial Halachah as well as the Noahide laws. The Printers' Clash: The Battle Over Rambam's Mishneh Torah, Venice 1550

In the second chapter of Hilchot Teshuva (Halacha 4), the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe Maimonides, Spain-Egypt, 1135-1204) describes the way a person should conduct himself as part of the process of repentance (listen to audio for precise citation). A penitent sinner should accustom himself to cry and pray to God for forgiveness, donate money to charity to the greatest possible extent, and distance himself from the matter regarding which he had committed the sin. Additionally, under certain circumstances it is advisable for a person to go so far as to change his name, in order to convey to himself the psychological message that he is no longer the same person as the one who had transgressed. Finally, the Rambam writes that "Galut," literally "exile" or relocation, is a beneficial means of atonement. Taking residence in a new area often has the effect of humbling and subduing one's character, and it is thus recommended under certain situations for sinners to relocate. It has been explained that this notion underlies the Misva to reside in a Sukka for a week after Yom Kippur. As part of our process of Teshuva, we leave the comfort and security of our homes and experience the instability of a Sukka, which causes us a sense of humility and helps us correct the flaws in our character. In the next Halacha (5), the Rambam addresses the issue of whether it is appropriate to publicize one's sin in order to subject himself to shame as part of the Teshuva process. The Rambam distinguishes in this regard between offenses committed against one's fellow, and sins committed solely against the Almighty. In the case of interpersonal offenses, the Rambam rules that one should, in fact, publicly confess and express his contrition, and one who refuses to do so does not achieve complete Teshuva. When it comes, however, to sins committed solely against God, the Rambam writes that one should not make public mention of his sins, and publicizing one's sins against God is in fact deemed brazen. One may refer in a general sense in public to his having acted wrongly, but specifying one's sins in public is improper. The Rambam's ruling is based upon the Gemara's discussion of this topic in Masechet Yoma. The Gemara cites two verses which appear to lead to conflicting conclusions; one verse indicates that publicizing one's sin is laudable, while the other advocates keeping this information private. The Gemara offers two approaches to reconcile these verses, one of which forms the basis of the Rambam's ruling, distinguishing between sins committed against God and interpersonal offenses. In addition, however, the Gemara suggests distinguishing between situations where the sin has already been made public, and cases where there is no public knowledge of the act. If the public is already aware of the sin, then the sinner should make public the fact that he regrets the act and has performed Teshuva. If, however, the sin has not been publicized, then one should not make it public as part of his repentance. Accordingly, the Ra'avad (Rabbi Avraham Ben David of Posquieres, 1120-1198), in his critique of the Rambam's Mishneh Torah, notes that even if one committed a sin solely against God, he must publicly confess to his wrongdoing if the matter had already become public. Rabbi Yosef Karo (author of the Shulhan Aruch), in his Kesef Mishneh commentary, claimed that the Rambam held this opinion, as well, and that only in instances of sins committed against God and that have not been made public is it improper for one to publicly confess. Summary: A penitent sinner should accustom himself to pray to God for forgiveness, give charity, distance himself from the matter regarding which he sinned, and, in some circumstances, even change his name and his location. It is proper to publicly confess one's sin, except in the case of a sin committed against God (as opposed to one's fellow man) that has not been made public.

Mishlei 13:14 - How to Benefit from the Fountain of Lifeתּוֹרַת חָכָם מְקוֹר חַיִּים לָסוּר מִמֹּקְשֵׁי מָוֶת:Length: 1 hour 32 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (2/26/24), in our Monday Night Mishlei shiur, we learned a pasuk that seemed a bit trite or bland with relatively few meforshim. Our two leads were a syntactical quirk and the fact that the Rambam inexplicably used this as the "crowning pasuk" of Sefer Nashim in the MIshneh Torah. Thankfully, we were able to work out several ideas - and several more from Rabbeinu Yonah and the Meiri!-----מקורות:משלי יג:ידרמב"ם - משנה תורה: הקדמה; הקדמה לספר נשיםרבינו יונהמאירי - משלי ד:ב; יג:יד-----This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Jonah Mishaan with appreciation for Rabbi Schneeweiss, who gathers wisdom from various disciplines. Shlomo Ha'Melech highlights the importance of mental health in Mishlei 18:14: "The spirit of a person sustains him in his illness, but who can lift a broken spirit?" My rebbi, Rabbi Moskowitz zt"l, emphasized that while a person can accomplish much on their own, there comes a point when one should seek professional help. Jonah is a psychotherapist who offers services in person in Upper Manhattan and virtually. For more information, visit his website at mishaanpsychotherapy.com.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

Rabbi Yosef Chaim is our guest on this episode of the Jewish Pro-Life Show. Rabbi Chaim teaches abortion relevant Halacha and from that perspective proves that Jewish law only allows abortion in the rare cases when a mother's physical life is endangered by a pregnancy.  Open discussion and Q & A follow. Rabbi Chaim can be contacted through messenger at the Facebook group, Torah Judaism International, where he is an expert member and admin. The groups members are Jewish and focus primarily on the teachings of the Torah, Talmud, Mishneh Torah and Shulchan Aruch.    Torah Judaism International https://www.facebook.com/groups/705759481275584 Aisha Torah in Israel Rabb Ken Spiro https://kenspiro.com At the Jewish Pro-Life Foundation, we're making the original pro-life religion pro-life again! News, education, enlightenment and spiritual renewal. Saving Jewish Lives & Healing Jewish Hearts by providing the Jewish community with Pro-Life Education, Pregnancy Care and Adoption Referrals, and Healing After Abortion. To learn more visit https://jewishprolifefoundation.org/ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JewishProLifeFoundation/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JewishProLife Follow us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk8B3l4KxJX4T9l8F5l-wkQ Follow us on MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/cecilyroutman Follow us on Gab: https://gab.com/JewishProLife Clouthub: https://app.clouthub.com/forum#/users/u/ProLifeCecily Follow us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cecily-routman-3085ab140/ Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/cecilyroutman/ Follow us on Gettr: https://gettr.com/user/prolifececily Follow us on Brighteon Social: https://brighteon.social/@ProLifeCecily Follow us on Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/JewishProLifeFoundation Follow us on TruthSocial:https://truthsocial.com/@prolifececily Follow us on The Prepared Homestead: https://www.tphnetwork.com/members/14768026/feed Follow us on Telegram: https://t.me/JewishProLife Follow us on Podcasts: https://jewishprolife.libsyn.com/ Donate: https://jewishprolifefoundation.org/donate  The Jewish Pro-Life Foundation is an IRS approved 501(c)3 non-profit educational  public charity. We are committed to Torah and Jewish Tradition. We are not affiliated with any political organization or any other religious organization or movement.

This week, the Tikvah Podcast at Mosaic returns to the towering intellectual and religious sage of medieval Judaism, Moses Maimonides, the Rambam. In two previous conversations about his work, the professor of Judaism Yehuda Halper and podcast host Jonathan Silver focused on Maimonides's Mishneh Torah, his code of law. This week, the two turn from the Mishneh Torah to Maimonides's philosophical magnum opus, Moreh ha Nevukhim, known in English as The Guide of the Perplexed. Whereas the Mishneh Torah leaves one with the impression that philosophy and law can be reconciled within the covenantal structure of an observant Jewish life, the emphasis in The Guide of the Perplexed is on the tensions, difficulties, and apparent contradictions between philosophy and law. The Guide is one of the great books of Jewish philosophy, and it requires some preliminary introduction before anyone can seriously engage its questions. So this discussion is an orientation to the kind of study, the kind of person, and the kind of life that the Guide is written to instruct. Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.

In this week's episode of Ḥoni's Circle we study a text from Mishneh Torah, a halachic tract by the Rambam, about the sacrifice of wood and the customs surrounding it. We imagine the practice of having a rotation of families bringing the wood that would be used on the altar in the temple, and how the practice might have emphasized the joy of volunteerism, facilitated an appreciation and respect for fuel, had a built-in system to stem burnout, and may have been based on sustainable forestry. All inspirations for our fight against climate change. Follow along with the source sheet here:https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/528697

Recently, the Israeli professor of Jewish philosophy Yehuda Halper joined Mosaic editor Jonathan Silver to discuss Maimonides, the Rambam, perhaps the most significant medieval rabbinic sage and Jewish philosopher. They discussed Maimonides's life and the main genres of his work—his commentary on Jewish law, his codification of Jewish law, his elaboration of philosophic mysteries that he believed are laden within the biblical and rabbinic corpus, his writings on science and medicine, and his views on the laws pertaining to Torah study. Halper now returns for another conversation about Maimonides. This week, they look at “Hilchot De'ot,” a section of the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides's great work on Jewish law, pertaining to the laws of character traits. In “Hilchot De'ot,” Maimonides introduced a portrait of the human condition, suggesting a moral psychology that can be assessed, trained, and elevated, and a description of the human person as an embodied being with a physical presence. There are profound philosophical and religious questions raised explicitly in this work, and even more profound ones residing just under the surface of the text. Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble.

TRADITION's Summer 2023 issue, recently made fully open access, contained a fascinating offering penned by Michael A. Shmidman, our distinguished editor emeritus, titled “Isadore Twersky's Unique Contribution to the Study of The Guide of the Perplexed.” It is a presentation and analysis of five integral and interlocking components of Rabbi Professor Isadore (Yitzhak) Twersky's understanding of Maimonides' formulation of the relationship between the philosophic tradition and the Oral Law, particularly as expressed in the Moreh Nevukhim. Shmidman suggests that all of Maimonides' works, as viewed by Twersky, “promote the integration, the blending, the fusion of law and philosophy. We should not bifurcate the most central Jewish figure of the medieval era into Rambam the halakhist and Maimonides the philosopher, but rather view his work as one united entity.” Because R. Twersky's major scholarly focus was on the Mishneh Torah, his unique contribution to the study of The Guide of the Perplexed is, Shmidman suggests, sadly underappreciated—and that contribution is the focus of this essay. Michael A. Shmidman is Dean and Professor of Jewish History at Touro University Graduate School of Jewish Studies. This most recent essay originated as a lecture at a conference commemorating the 25th yahrzeit of R. Isadore Twersky convened at Yeshiva University's Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University (on September 11, 2022). We thought our readers would appreciate listening to Shmidman's talk alongside reading his essay at TraditionOnline.org. The recordings of all the lectures at that daylong event, “Understanding Halakhah, History & Spirituality,” can be found on Revel's YouTube channel—and we thank our friends at the Bernard Revel Graduate School for sharing this resource with our listeners.

How much power do our intentions hold when we communicate? What sets joyous praise apart from mere spoken words? Settle in as we unravel the profound impact of intentions and emotions hiding behind our actions and words. We draw parallels between the seemingly similar processions - a joyous parade and a sorrowful death march - to understand that the motivation behind an action holds more significance than the action itself.We then journey through the Jewish tradition of Hallel, an act of praise, showcasing how it's not just about the spoken words but the heartfelt intent behind them. We delve into the integral role Hallel plays in the observance of Hanukkah, highlighting why the laws of Hallel's recitation are classified under the laws of Channukah in Rambam's Mishneh Torah. As we guide you through turning everyday conversations into an act of Hallel, a recitation of praise, we invite you to recognize the transformative power of your intentions - making the mundane divine.Support the showJoin the WhatsApp community for daily motivational Torah content! JOIN HERE ---------------- SUBSCRIBE to The Weekly Parsha for an insightful weekly shiur on the Parsha of the week. Listen on Spotify or the new Jewish music and Podcast streaming platform 24six! Access all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our new website, themotivationcongregation.org ---------------- Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com

Highlights: Maimonides' definition of scientific knowledge Science and permanent, unchanging rules Science, reason and the eternity of the universe The definition of scientific knowledge according to Aristotle, and the eternity of the universe a parte ante and a parte post Maimonides believes that the universe will always exist in the future The duality of God's wisdom and His will; how creation is His will that there be wisdom The world, created ex nihilo, was created as something that must have existed eternally The age of the universe The proof to the existence of the deity and the eternity of the universe R' Y. Emden's criticism of the 1st chapter of Mishneh Torah and its reference to the eternity of the universe a parte ante This series is a project of the Jacob Lights Foundation. To sponsor this lecture or other projects, contact us at jacoblightsfoundation@gmail.com.

Today I talked to Roslyn Weiss, editor of Hasdai Crescas: Collected Writings (Library of the Jewish People, 2023). Hasdai Crescas spent his life in public service - as a rabbi and community leader in desperate times in 14th-century Spain. Despite having limited time for writing, he produced several important works, which Collected Writings presents in their entirety. The first of these, Epistle to the Jews of Avignon, he wrote in the immediate aftermath of the anti-Jewish riots in Aragon in 1391, chronicling the unimaginable horrors the Jewish communities endured - mass conversions, suicides, deaths, and the loss of great Torah scholars - as well as his own personal tragedy, the murder of his only son, "a lamb without blemish."  To counter Christian efforts to convert Jews, Crescas composed two polemical works, only one of which has survived, The Refutation of the Christian Principles. Written in 1397-8, it offers reasoned arguments to challenge ten principles of Christianity. A great halakhist, Crescas penned many responsa, some of which are known because they were quoted by later halakhists. But only one extant work contains halakhic material - the Passover Sermon, dealing (in part) with the laws of Passover. Because of the urgent communal demands on his time, Crescas was unable to complete Lamp of the Lord, the two-volume work which was to be his response to Maimonides' Mishneh Torah and Guide of the Perplexed. His magisterial work, Light of the Lord, a work of intellectual rigor and deep religious sensibility, was his answer only to the Guide. In this brilliant work, completed in 1410, just before his death, Crescas rejects the purely intellectual Aristotelian God in favor of Judaism's God of love. It is a work suffused with love for God, the Torah, the rabbinic tradition, and the Jewish people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Today I talked to Roslyn Weiss, editor of Hasdai Crescas: Collected Writings (Library of the Jewish People, 2023). Hasdai Crescas spent his life in public service - as a rabbi and community leader in desperate times in 14th-century Spain. Despite having limited time for writing, he produced several important works, which Collected Writings presents in their entirety. The first of these, Epistle to the Jews of Avignon, he wrote in the immediate aftermath of the anti-Jewish riots in Aragon in 1391, chronicling the unimaginable horrors the Jewish communities endured - mass conversions, suicides, deaths, and the loss of great Torah scholars - as well as his own personal tragedy, the murder of his only son, "a lamb without blemish."  To counter Christian efforts to convert Jews, Crescas composed two polemical works, only one of which has survived, The Refutation of the Christian Principles. Written in 1397-8, it offers reasoned arguments to challenge ten principles of Christianity. A great halakhist, Crescas penned many responsa, some of which are known because they were quoted by later halakhists. But only one extant work contains halakhic material - the Passover Sermon, dealing (in part) with the laws of Passover. Because of the urgent communal demands on his time, Crescas was unable to complete Lamp of the Lord, the two-volume work which was to be his response to Maimonides' Mishneh Torah and Guide of the Perplexed. His magisterial work, Light of the Lord, a work of intellectual rigor and deep religious sensibility, was his answer only to the Guide. In this brilliant work, completed in 1410, just before his death, Crescas rejects the purely intellectual Aristotelian God in favor of Judaism's God of love. It is a work suffused with love for God, the Torah, the rabbinic tradition, and the Jewish people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

Today I talked to Roslyn Weiss, editor of Hasdai Crescas: Collected Writings (Library of the Jewish People, 2023). Hasdai Crescas spent his life in public service - as a rabbi and community leader in desperate times in 14th-century Spain. Despite having limited time for writing, he produced several important works, which Collected Writings presents in their entirety. The first of these, Epistle to the Jews of Avignon, he wrote in the immediate aftermath of the anti-Jewish riots in Aragon in 1391, chronicling the unimaginable horrors the Jewish communities endured - mass conversions, suicides, deaths, and the loss of great Torah scholars - as well as his own personal tragedy, the murder of his only son, "a lamb without blemish."  To counter Christian efforts to convert Jews, Crescas composed two polemical works, only one of which has survived, The Refutation of the Christian Principles. Written in 1397-8, it offers reasoned arguments to challenge ten principles of Christianity. A great halakhist, Crescas penned many responsa, some of which are known because they were quoted by later halakhists. But only one extant work contains halakhic material - the Passover Sermon, dealing (in part) with the laws of Passover. Because of the urgent communal demands on his time, Crescas was unable to complete Lamp of the Lord, the two-volume work which was to be his response to Maimonides' Mishneh Torah and Guide of the Perplexed. His magisterial work, Light of the Lord, a work of intellectual rigor and deep religious sensibility, was his answer only to the Guide. In this brilliant work, completed in 1410, just before his death, Crescas rejects the purely intellectual Aristotelian God in favor of Judaism's God of love. It is a work suffused with love for God, the Torah, the rabbinic tradition, and the Jewish people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

Today I talked to Roslyn Weiss, editor of Hasdai Crescas: Collected Writings (Library of the Jewish People, 2023). Hasdai Crescas spent his life in public service - as a rabbi and community leader in desperate times in 14th-century Spain. Despite having limited time for writing, he produced several important works, which Collected Writings presents in their entirety. The first of these, Epistle to the Jews of Avignon, he wrote in the immediate aftermath of the anti-Jewish riots in Aragon in 1391, chronicling the unimaginable horrors the Jewish communities endured - mass conversions, suicides, deaths, and the loss of great Torah scholars - as well as his own personal tragedy, the murder of his only son, "a lamb without blemish."  To counter Christian efforts to convert Jews, Crescas composed two polemical works, only one of which has survived, The Refutation of the Christian Principles. Written in 1397-8, it offers reasoned arguments to challenge ten principles of Christianity. A great halakhist, Crescas penned many responsa, some of which are known because they were quoted by later halakhists. But only one extant work contains halakhic material - the Passover Sermon, dealing (in part) with the laws of Passover. Because of the urgent communal demands on his time, Crescas was unable to complete Lamp of the Lord, the two-volume work which was to be his response to Maimonides' Mishneh Torah and Guide of the Perplexed. His magisterial work, Light of the Lord, a work of intellectual rigor and deep religious sensibility, was his answer only to the Guide. In this brilliant work, completed in 1410, just before his death, Crescas rejects the purely intellectual Aristotelian God in favor of Judaism's God of love. It is a work suffused with love for God, the Torah, the rabbinic tradition, and the Jewish people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

Today I talked to Roslyn Weiss, editor of Hasdai Crescas: Collected Writings (Library of the Jewish People, 2023). Hasdai Crescas spent his life in public service - as a rabbi and community leader in desperate times in 14th-century Spain. Despite having limited time for writing, he produced several important works, which Collected Writings presents in their entirety. The first of these, Epistle to the Jews of Avignon, he wrote in the immediate aftermath of the anti-Jewish riots in Aragon in 1391, chronicling the unimaginable horrors the Jewish communities endured - mass conversions, suicides, deaths, and the loss of great Torah scholars - as well as his own personal tragedy, the murder of his only son, "a lamb without blemish."  To counter Christian efforts to convert Jews, Crescas composed two polemical works, only one of which has survived, The Refutation of the Christian Principles. Written in 1397-8, it offers reasoned arguments to challenge ten principles of Christianity. A great halakhist, Crescas penned many responsa, some of which are known because they were quoted by later halakhists. But only one extant work contains halakhic material - the Passover Sermon, dealing (in part) with the laws of Passover. Because of the urgent communal demands on his time, Crescas was unable to complete Lamp of the Lord, the two-volume work which was to be his response to Maimonides' Mishneh Torah and Guide of the Perplexed. His magisterial work, Light of the Lord, a work of intellectual rigor and deep religious sensibility, was his answer only to the Guide. In this brilliant work, completed in 1410, just before his death, Crescas rejects the purely intellectual Aristotelian God in favor of Judaism's God of love. It is a work suffused with love for God, the Torah, the rabbinic tradition, and the Jewish people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I talked to Roslyn Weiss, editor of Hasdai Crescas: Collected Writings (Library of the Jewish People, 2023). Hasdai Crescas spent his life in public service - as a rabbi and community leader in desperate times in 14th-century Spain. Despite having limited time for writing, he produced several important works, which Collected Writings presents in their entirety. The first of these, Epistle to the Jews of Avignon, he wrote in the immediate aftermath of the anti-Jewish riots in Aragon in 1391, chronicling the unimaginable horrors the Jewish communities endured - mass conversions, suicides, deaths, and the loss of great Torah scholars - as well as his own personal tragedy, the murder of his only son, "a lamb without blemish."  To counter Christian efforts to convert Jews, Crescas composed two polemical works, only one of which has survived, The Refutation of the Christian Principles. Written in 1397-8, it offers reasoned arguments to challenge ten principles of Christianity. A great halakhist, Crescas penned many responsa, some of which are known because they were quoted by later halakhists. But only one extant work contains halakhic material - the Passover Sermon, dealing (in part) with the laws of Passover. Because of the urgent communal demands on his time, Crescas was unable to complete Lamp of the Lord, the two-volume work which was to be his response to Maimonides' Mishneh Torah and Guide of the Perplexed. His magisterial work, Light of the Lord, a work of intellectual rigor and deep religious sensibility, was his answer only to the Guide. In this brilliant work, completed in 1410, just before his death, Crescas rejects the purely intellectual Aristotelian God in favor of Judaism's God of love. It is a work suffused with love for God, the Torah, the rabbinic tradition, and the Jewish people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

What happens when a profound decision alters the course of history? Enter the realm of insightful Jewish narratives and join us as we dissect the profound effect of Jacob's decision to return to Har Hamoriah for prayer. The story of Rachel Emeinu naming her son Naftali, epitomizing struggle and growth, is woven into this tapestry of wisdom. Our knowledgeable guests will share fresh perspectives and interpretations to broaden your horizons.The essence of resilience is echoed in the dedication of Jewish leaders like the Rambam and the Chafetz Chaim. Despite hurdles and tribulations, their resolve to achieve their goals remained unbroken. We explore the strength that orchestrated their decision to write the Mishneh Torah and the Mishnah Berurah, respectively, shedding light on the power of unwavering commitment. As we navigate the lives of Moshe ben Maimon, the Chofetz Chaim, and Esther, you'll see how an unwavering commitment to a decision can lead to success. We conclude by illuminating the potency of decision-making and the relentless pursuit of goals. Be prepared to be inspired and motivated to take the next step towards your greatness.Support the show------------------Check out our other Torah Podcasts and content! SUBSCRIBE to The Motivation Congregation Podcast for daily motivational mussar! Listen on Spotify or the new Jewish music and Podcast streaming platform 24six! Find all Torah talks and listen to featured episodes on our new website, themotivationcongregation.org Questions or Comments? Please email me @ michaelbrooke97@gmail.com#parsha #shortdvartorah #thetorahpodcast #motivationalmussar

Rabbi Dunner uses an Ohr Hachaim commentary on the opening words of Parshat Eikev, and a remarkable piece in Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, to offer some insights into the concept of joy, and its centrality in the Jewish faith.

Chassidus applied to the Nine Days What do we learn from these days? How are they reflected in our psyches? What is the significance of Aaron's yahrzeit on Rosh Chodesh Av? Why specifically nine days? Lessons from Shabbos Chazon How do we reconcile R' Levi Yitzchak Berditchever's explanation of Chazon with its literal meaning? How to transform a vision of destruction into a vision of redemption? Lessons from Parshas Devarim What is the general lesson from this chapter? Why is Devarim called Mishneh Torah? Does it have the same divinity as the first four books since it was spoken by Moshe? Since every word in Torah is precise, why was it necessary for Moshe to repeat some events and laws in Mishneh Torah? Why were the two and a half tribes that wanted to settle outside the borders of Israel not judged as harshly as the scouts? How to deal with a spouse's zealotry? Should we leave our shlichus due to a health threat of tics? Why did G-d create mosquitos? Dealing with narcissism – follow-up

What did Maimonides say about Yeshua of Nazareth? In the uncensored version of Mishneh Torah, the Rambam states that Yeshua of Nazareth cannot be "the one promised in the Torah," but he remains conspicuously silent about the messianic prophecies in the books of the Prophets, particularly the prophecies about a suffering Messiah. In this episode, Ami Buckles argues from the deafening silence that Rambam considered that Yeshua might qualify as Mashiach ben Yosef, the suffering Messiah. Listen in on Ami's conversation with D. T. Lancaster.   

Just as the Torah requires respecting one's parents, so must one show respect to his parent's spouse, even if the spouse is not his biological parent, as long as the parent is alive. The Gemara in Masechet Ketubot (103) infers this Halacha from the verse, "Kabed Et Abicha Ve'et Imecha" ("Respect your father and your mother"), as the word "Et" in the phrase "Et Abicha" alludes to one's father's spouse, and the word "Et" in the phrase "Et Imecha" alludes to one's mother's spouse.After the parent passes on, one is not strictly required to continue respecting the parent's spouse, but it is certainly proper to do so.Furthermore, one is obligated to show respect to all his older siblings – both brothers and sisters. This applies even to older siblings with whom one shares only the same father or only the same mother. Even if a younger brother is a Torah scholar, he must show respect to his older siblings. According to some opinions, this obligation continues even after the parents are deceased. Of course, the respect that is required for one's older siblings is less than the respect that is required for one's parent. Thus, for example, Hacham Ovadia Yosef writes in Halichot Olam (p. 163; listen to audio recording for precise citation) that one may call his older siblings by their first name, as opposed to parents, whom one may not call by their name. If an older brother is a Rabbi, the younger siblings should call him "Rabbi," but may use his first name. An example of the type of respect required for an older brother is standing when an older brother is called for an Aliya to the Torah in the synagogue. The Kessef Mishneh (commentary to the Rambam's Mishneh Torah by Maran Rav Yosef Karo, author of the Shulhan Aruch), commenting to the Rambam's discussion in Hilchot Mamrim (end of chapter 6), writes that the requirement to respect older siblings was enacted by the Sages, and does not constitute a Torah obligation. This is as opposed to the requirement to respect stepparents, which is included in the Torah obligation of respecting parents. On this basis, Hacham Ovadia Yosef writes that if a conflict arises between these obligations, the respect owed to a stepparent supersedes the respect owed to an older sibling, as Torah obligations override those enacted by Hazal. And thus if one must choose between respecting one's stepparent and respecting an older sibling – such if they have conflicting wishes, and one must choose one over the other – he should respect the stepparent.Summary: The Torah obligation of respecting parents includes respecting a stepparent – one's parent's spouse who is not one's biological parent. There is also a requirement enacted by the Sages to respect one's older siblings, including both brothers and sisters, and including half-brothers and half-sisters. Nevertheless, one may call an older sibling by their name. Even a younger brother who is a Torah scholar must show respect to his older siblings.

Vox's Marin Cogan talks with Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg about her new book On Repentance And Repair, which is about how to make amends in the modern world. They talk about the difference between repentance and forgiveness, why making amends is so important, and how a "five step plan" for repairing harm drawn from the Jewish tradition can serve as a guide even for navigating repair in modern, complex issues. And, merely apologizing . . . is not enough. Host: Marin Cogan (@marincogan), Senior Features Correspondent, Vox Guest: Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg (@TheRaDR), rabbi; author; scholar-in-residence, National Council of Jewish Women References:  On Repentance And Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World by Danya Ruttenberg (Beacon Press; 2022) The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1937) New Testament; Matthew 18:15–35 "Most harassment apologies are just damage control. Dan Harmon's was a self-reckoning" by Caroline Framke (Vox; Jan. 12, 2018) The Mishneh Torah of Maimonides (c. 1170–1180 CE); the laws of teshuvah Sacred Spaces Enjoyed this episode? Rate Vox Conversations ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of Vox Conversations by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Support Vox Conversations by making a financial contribution to Vox! bit.ly/givepodcasts This episode was made by:  Producer: Erikk Geannikis Editor: Amy Drozdowska Engineer: Patrick Boyd Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices