Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning (2/11/22), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we continued in our multi-part series on R' Akiva's loaded-with-fundamental-ideas-about-human-existence statement in Pirkei Avos. After reviewing the facts from last time, we delved into one of the deepest sections of the Rambam's Shemoneh Perakim, which dealt with free will and the classic tension between God's Omniscience and human choice. I had intended to finish the "s...
Feb 11, 2022•1 hr 14 min•Season 7Ep. 5
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This evening (2/9/22), in our aptly named "Chumash Exploration," we continued learning the Sefer ha'Chinuch's introduction to Mikdash. Tonight we learned his radical explanation of what it means to say that the shechinah (divine presence) is in the Mikdash. After that we learned the three pshat explanations he gives for how korbanos work. I promised you that he would provide us with an overview of the most fundamental concepts of Mikdash...
Feb 10, 2022•58 min•Season 7Ep. 4
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: On Day #5 of my January 2022 solo cabin retreat, I got a call from my Rosh ha’Yeshiva. The subject? Hashgachah pratis. This longer-than-normal episode is my recollection of that conversation, supplemented by my own extensive footnotes and reflections. I’m posting this as an episode of The Stoic Jew Podcast AND the Machshavah Lab podcast for reasons that are explained therein. מקורות: ברכת הגומל אסתר ד:יד דברים לא:יז-יח עם פירוש...
Feb 09, 2022•38 min•Season 7Ep. 3
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning (2/4/22), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we began a multi-part analysis of what is - according to the Rambam - one of the most profound mishnayos in Pirkei Avos. Today we began going over the facts: reading and translating the mishnah, raising all of our questions, and learning the Rambam's commentary here and PART of his commentary in Shemoneh Perakim, which we intend to finish next time. ---------- This week's T...
Feb 04, 2022•56 min•Season 7Ep. 2
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This evening (2/2/22), in our aptly named "Chumash Exploration," we began learning the Sefer ha'Chinuch's introduction to Mikdash, in which he spells out his theory of the purpose of the Mikdash as a whole and offeres explanations of the reasons for many of the particular elements which comprise it. In our first installment we learned through his preface and the first part of his intro. Next week we'll delve into his explanation of the s...
Feb 03, 2022•1 hr 22 min•Season 7Ep. 1
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Note: I've uploaded this shiur to Machshavah Lab AND The Tefilah Podcast because it's relevant to both and I can spare the minutes this month. This evening (1/11/22), in our tefilah shiur, we tackled a bunch of fundamental questions on tefilah, including but not limited to: (1) How "poetic" are the Torah's songs, David ha'Melech's Tehilim, and our tefilos, and what are the methodological implications? (2) If Hashem knows what we're think...
Jan 12, 2022•47 min•Season 6Ep. 34
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 24 minutes Synopsis: This morning (1/7/22), in our aptly named "Chumash Exploration," we took up two very basic questions: (1) Who carried out the Plague of the Firstborn? (2) What is the purpose of the Korban Pesach? The average Jew who has attended Pesach sedarim would probably have ready answers to both of these questions. That's where Sforno comes in. His commentary on the events of the night of the 15th of Nisan flips...
Jan 07, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Season 6Ep. 33
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 1 hour 12 minutes Synopsis: This morning (12/31/21), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we had a SURPRISE shiur on the parashah! (It was a "surprise" in the sense that I didn't prepare a shiur. This began as a Q&A and turned into a shiur.) The question was: "What's the deal with Hashem hardening Paroh's heart?" After showing off AlHaTorah's excellent "topics" feature and reading Neima Novetsky's setup of the questions,...
Dec 31, 2021•1 hr 14 min•Season 6Ep. 32
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This evening (12/31/21), in our Thursday night hashkafah shiur (which is usually not recorded), we continued our multi-part series on the Rambam's shitah about hashgachah, using David Guttman's essay "Divine Providence - Goals, Hopes, and Fears, כי כל דרכיו משפט" as our guide. Tonight we focused on the difficult and abstract concepts of matter and form. First I gave my own overview, which showcased the presentation given by Leon Kass in ...
Dec 31, 2021•56 min•Season 6Ep. 31
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In this morning's (12/26/21) YBT Sunday Shiur we examine four common expressions that are used in reference to the deceased: (1) "aliyah / l'iluyi nishmas" - may the soul have an elevation, (2) "zechus" - in merit of, (3) "zichrono li'vracha" - may their memory be for a blessing, (4) "karapah" - may this be an atonement for the deceased. As the title indicates, the scope of this shiur was limited to the framework of the Rambam's ikkarim ...
Dec 26, 2021•1 hr 49 min•Season 6Ep. 30
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning (12/24/21), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we continued on the topic we began last week on the four ways that people relate to the Beis Midrash. After reviewing the two approaches we learned last time (Rashi and Rambam) we learned two more: the Meiri's explanation which focused on learning and Rabbeinu Yonah's interpretation which focused on doing mitzvos. We then attempted to analyze the "machlokess" between thes...
Dec 24, 2021•1 hr 16 min•Season 6Ep. 29
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (12/22/21), in our aptly named "Chumash Exploration," we set out to glean as many insights as we could from the three episodes recounted about Moshe Rabbeinu before the burning bush - all of which had to do with his intervention for the sake of justice and righteousness. We anchored our approach in the Abravanel, but ventured into other meforshim as well. The topic proved to be so rich that we didn't even get through half of the ...
Dec 23, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Season 6Ep. 28
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning (12/27/21), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we took up the mishnah in Pirkei Avos chapter 5 about the four categories of relating to the Beis Midrash (and yes, that phrasing was intentionally vague). We brought a few personal agendas to the table, which we acknowledged at the beginning of shiur. Our plan was to learn through several meforshim and see what insights we can come up with, and we ended up covering two a...
Dec 17, 2021•1 hr 11 min•Season 6Ep. 27
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This evening (12/16/21), in our Thursday night hashkafah shiur (which is usually not recorded), we continued our multi-part series on the Rambam's shitah about hashgachah, using David Guttman's essay "Divine Providence - Goals, Hopes, and Fears, כי כל דרכיו משפט" as our guide. After reviewing the view of the Atomists and Aristotle, we read through the summaries of the other two false views: that of the Asharites and the Mutazilites. We t...
Dec 17, 2021•58 min•Season 6Ep. 26
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (12/15/21), in our aptly named "Chumash Exploration," we set out to understand the four pesukim (Bereishis 49:33 - 50:3) which describe the death and mummification of Yaakov Avinu. After learning a few approaches to the basic pshat and a nice little philosophical interpretation from Rav Hirsch, we moved to the famous midrash: "Yaakov Avinu didn't die." We explored a few different approaches but focused on that of the Abravanel, r...
Dec 16, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 6Ep. 26
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This evening (12/9/21), in our Thursday night hashkafah shiur (which is usually not recorded), we began a multi-part series on the Rambam's shitah about hashgachah, as presented in the Moreh ha'Nevuchim Chelek 3. I have recently come to the realization that I'm due to reexamine the Rambam's view of hashgachah - mostly due to the evolution of my own views of hashgachah, which are a result of my learning and teaching of Tehillim and Tefila...
Dec 10, 2021•55 min•Season 6Ep. 25
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (12/8/21), in our aptly named "Chumash Exploration," we set out to explore the extraordinarily weird conversation between Yaakov and Paroh which spans five pesukim (Bereishis 47:7-10). Our main difficulty was aptly expressed by the Radak: "I don't know why this account was written." We learned three types of commentaries: pshat, midrash, and philosophical. We may not have answered all the questions we raised, but we encountered a...
Dec 09, 2021•1 hr 19 min•Season 6Ep. 24
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! FYI, this is being posted in my Machshavah Lab podcast because it's about a holiday and also in my Tefilah podcast because it's about tefilah. It's the same shiur, though. This evening (12/2/21), in our tefilah shiur, we attempted to take a fresh look at Al ha'Nissim, and when we did, we discovered a major theme that had been hidden there the whole time. I'm not going to spoil the shiur except to say that once you see it, you'll (hopeful...
Dec 03, 2021•1 hr 6 min•Season 6Ep. 23
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (12/1/21), in our aptly named "Chumash Exploration," we set out to explore a very, VERY weighty question: how to respond when something bad happens. Our investigation focused on two episodes: the incident of Yosef and Potiphar's wife in Vayeishev, and the response of Yosef's brothers to their predicament in Mikeitz. We began by looking at the seemingly divergent views in the commentaries as to whether Yosef was at fault for being...
Dec 02, 2021•1 hr 25 min•Season 6Ep. 22
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning (11/19/21), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we continued our quest for practical guidelines on how to cultivate humility. After reviewing the sources and questions from last time, and resolving one apparent contradiction which came up, we delved into the Abravanel's ... interesting strategies for combatting arrogance. Today's session focused on two causes of haughtiness: beauty and physical strength. We certainly f...
Nov 19, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Season 6Ep. 21
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (11/17/21), in our aptly named "Chumash Exploration," we had two objectives: the primary objective was to analyze the Torah's account of the “fifth matriarch” according to both drash and pshat (in that order) and discuss the methodological implications, and the secondary objective was to answer the question: “Would the Rambam advocate davening at her grave?” We spent the first two thirds of the shiur on the first topic, and the f...
Nov 18, 2021•1 hr 40 min•Season 6Ep. 20
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning (11/12/21), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we began what I hope will be the first shiur in a (non-consecutive) series. Out of all the good middos, anavah (humility) is considered to be the greatest - but is anavah merely a natural result of our learning and our adherence to the Torah, or are there active steps we can take to cultivate it? In this shiur we will proceed on the latter assumption. We will attempt to u...
Nov 12, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Season 6Ep. 19
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (11/10/21), in our aptly named "Chumash Exploration," we attempted to understand the puzzling neder (vow) that Yaakov Avinu took the morning after his dream. After raising a number of questions, we ended up focusing on three aspects of his neder: (1) its conditionality, which made it seem like he was in doubt about whether Hashem would keep HIS promises; (2) his decision to make a neder in the first place, in light of Judaism's g...
Nov 11, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Season 6Ep. 18
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (11/3/21) we concluded our multi-part series of shiurim on "The Saga of Kayin." Don't be misled by the title: this may have been the conclusion of an epic, but the conclusion itself wasn't exactly epic, since I didn't have enough time to work EVERYTHING out. Still, the theory we proposed in Part 3 was successfully applied and supported, and we were satisfied with the ideas and insights we gained along the way. Now it's time to fi...
Nov 04, 2021•1 hr 4 min•Season 6Ep. 17
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This morning (10/29/21), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we had two objectives: (1) to examine the permissibility of Eliezer's actions in this week's parashah in light of the Torah prohibition of nichush (divination/omen-reading), and (2) to clarify on a theoretical level the distinction between permissible and prohibited ways of utilizing signs. We examined this topic in light of the Gemara which is the source of these halacho...
Oct 29, 2021•1 hr 27 min•Season 6Ep. 16
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (10/27/21) we continued our multi-part series of shiurim on "The Saga of Kayin." After reviewing our Unifying Theory from last shiur and its application to the birth of Kayin and Hevel, we applied it to the first eight pesukim of The Saga of Kayin: the korbanos, Hashem's rebuke of Kayin, and Kayin's murder of Hevel. Next week (God willing) we'll continue with the pesukim. Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3 . ---------- This week's Tora...
Oct 28, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Season 6Ep. 16
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page dvar Torah I wrote entitled, Avraham and Islam . Were YOU aware that Hashem alludes to the rise of Islam in one of his statements to Avraham? That's what R' Avraham ben ha'Rambam thinks. And lest one view his statement as inappropriately "pro-Islamic," then perhaps you should consider the OTHER comment he makes in this parashah, in which he's critical of Islam. What IS Judaism's view on I...
Oct 22, 2021•4 min•Season 6Ep. 15
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Every year when we read about Sedom and Amorah, I can't help but feel like I'm watching a "reverse auction," in which Avraham Avinu quantitatively "bargains" for the lowest number of tzadikim that Hashem would be willing to save. This morning (10/22/21), in our "Machshavah Lab" series for women, we learn through Sforno's commentary which sheds an entirely new light on the dialogue. Sforno shows how each of Avraham's questions is conceptu...
Oct 22, 2021•1 hr 22 min•Season 6Ep. 14
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Tonight (10/20/21) we continued our multi-part series of shiurim on "The Saga of Kayin." The bulk of this shiur was spent analyzing a mishnah in Pirkei Avos. Why? Because the Meiri's explanation of this mishnah is the basis of my unifying theory for the Saga of Kayin. After we arrived at the theory, we only had time to apply it to two out of the thirteen episodes in the Saga of Kayin. Next time we will attempt to apply it to the rest of ...
Oct 21, 2021•1 hr•Season 6Ep. 13
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Last year (9/16/20, 9/23/20, and 10/1/20) I gave a series of three shiurim on the Ralbag's approach to Torah, as outlined in the introduction to his commentary on Chumash. This Sunday Shiur (10/17/21) is intended to be a more concise presentation of that series with the aim of showcasing the Ralbag's unique approach to Torah. For the more complete presentation from last year, click here: Part 1 , Part 2 , Part 3 . ---------- מקורות: רלב"...
Oct 17, 2021•1 hr 33 min•Season 6Ep. 12
