Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (1/11/21 at YBT) we went back to the difficult halachos we did last Thursday in an attempt to understand the Rambam's definition of the soul - or should I say definitions (plural) of souls (plural). This time around we got it much clearer, thanks in part to Mortimer J. Adler, Leon R. Kass, and the rest and recharging provided by the Yom ha'Shabbos. There are plenty of questions left unanswered, but I we definitely emerged ...
Jan 11, 2021•55 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (1/7/21 at YBT) we continued in the Rambam's overview of Maaseh Bereishis. After a few halachos about the elements we arrived at what is, to me, one of the most vexing passages in the Mishneh Torah: the Rambam's explanation of the human soul. Every time I learn these halachos, I understand some things and fail to understand others. Each time I revisit this topic, there seem to be more questions and problems. We tried puzzl...
Jan 07, 2021•51 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (1/6/21 at YBT) we plunged headfirst into the Rambam's perek about Aristotelian astronomy - or, as one of my friends put it, neuroastrophysics. Some might be surprised by how much insight we were able to gain from this perek, despite it almost all being outdated. We started Chapter 4 and will HOPEFULLY get to the part where he discusses the human soul tomorrow. ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה, ספר המדע, הלכות יסודי הת...
Jan 06, 2021•59 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (1/5/21 at YBT) finished the Moreh ha'Nevuchim 1:34 on why a person shouldn't begin with metaphysics, raising additional questions along the way which we hope to revisit one day. We then began Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah Chapter 3, which is an overview of Maaseh Bereishis in accordance with Aristotelian astronomy and physics. We prefaced this by talking about why we're even bothering to read something which has long been debu...
Jan 05, 2021•1 hr
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/31/20 at YBT) we began reading the Rambam's explanations/warnings in the Moreh ha'Nevuchim about metaphysics. We read through Book 1 Chapters 31-32 on the limitations of the human intellect, Chapter 33 on the danger of beginning with metaphysics, and we made it part way through Chapter 34 on the five reasons why one should not engage in the premature subject of metaphysics. We'll have to wait until next week to finish ...
Dec 31, 2020•58 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/30/20 at YBT) we finished the Rambam's commentary on Chagigah 2:1, in which he explained why the teaching and learning of Maaseh Merkavah (metaphysics) and Maaseh Bereishis (physics) are restricted. We then skipped ahead in the Mishneh Torah to Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah 4:10-13, where he compares and contrasts Maaseh Merkavah and Maaseh Bereishis and discusses their role in a person's development. We concluded by readin...
Dec 30, 2020•1 hr 2 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/29/20 at YBT) we read the Rambam's remarks about maaseh merkavah (a.k.a. "the work of the chariot" a.k.a. "metaphysics") at the end of the 2nd chapter of the Mishneh Torah, then took a detour to the first source where he addresses this topic, which is his commentary on Chagigah 2:1. Tomorrow we will finish that source and then read his warnings about Maaseh Merkavah and Maaseh Bereishis in the Moreh ha'Nevuchim. ------...
Dec 29, 2020•30 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/29/20 at YBT) we went on a little side-quest in an attempt to answer a question we raised yesterday. The Rambam raised the question: How can angels be differentiated from each other if they aren't physical, since it would seem that non-physical things can only be differentiated based on corporeal qualities? He then answers by saying that angels are on different "levels" based on their knowledge, and proceeds to enumera...
Dec 29, 2020•26 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/28/20 at YBT) we learned through the first part of the Rambam's overview of "maaseh merkavah" (metaphysics) in the Mishneh Torah which focused primarily on angels and secondarily on Hashem's knowledge. Needless to say, there was a lot we didn't understand. By definition, these are the most esoteric topics in the entire Torah. We raised several questions along the way, but we do not plan on getting bogged down in the de...
Dec 28, 2020•57 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/24/20 at YBT) we set out to answer as many questions as we could on the Rambam's views of ahavas Hashem and yiras Hashem, and - with help from the Almighty - we succeeded in large measure! We managed to put together a comprehensive picture of the relationship between the Rambam's varied presentations of these topics, and although we didn't answer all of our questions, we certainly exceeded the bekius threshold we set o...
Dec 24, 2020•57 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/22/20 at YBT) we continued trying to reconcile the differences and contradictions between the Rambam's presentations of ahavas Hashem and yiras Hashem in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos, in Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah, and in Hilchos Teshuvah. We began with an unlikely source: the Rambam's commentary on Pirkei Avos 1:6, which - thanks to the Ralbag's explanation of ahavas Hashem - we were able to use to answer one of the questions w...
Dec 22, 2020•52 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/21/20 at YBT) our Rambam bekius chavurah took up the mitzvah of ahavas Hashem (love of God). We consulted three sources: the Rambam's initial presentation in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos: Aseh #3, his formal presentation of the laws in Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah 2:1-2, and his description of the oved me'ahavah (one who serves Hashem out of love) in Hilchos Teshuvah Chapter 10. We encountered MANY questions, problems and contradi...
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 7 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/17/20 at YBT), on the eve of the Eighth Night, we concluded our bekius learning of the Rambam's Hilchos Chanukah. Since this was the first time in our Rambam Bekius Chavurah that we reached the end of one of the 14 books of the Mishneh Torah, we spent some time discussing what the Rambam typically does at the end of these books. We then examined the Rambam's surprising take on what we mean by "darchei shalom," and we c...
Dec 17, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/16/20 at YBT), after a Chanukah break, we resumed our bekius learning of the Rambam's Hilchos Chanukah. We read through the halachos of Hallel, which raised quite a few eyebrows - especially when we saw what the Rambam's Hallel looks like in the Rambam Siddur. We got about halfway through the halachos of Neiros Chanukah and should have no trouble finishing tomorrow (barring any power outages from the snow storm that ju...
Dec 16, 2020•54 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Seeing as how it's Erev Chanukah, in today's Rambam Bekius chavurah (12/10/20 at YBT) we decided to learn the Chanukah portion of Hilchos Megilah v'Chanukah. We read the opening halachos about the establishment of Chanukah, raising questions and making observations as is our wont, and I briefly gave over my working theory as to what the theme of Chanukah is, based on the Rambam's presentation. We started learning the halachos of Hallel, ...
Dec 10, 2020•54 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's Rambam Bekius chavurah (12/9/20 at YBT) we reviewed the halachos we learned yesterday with the goal of understanding each new point the Rambam was making, with all of its nuances. As we have found throughout our Rambam Bekius journey, a close-reading of the Rambam reveals far more questions and problems than a first, second, or tenth superficial reading! After puzzling over these issues, we decided to read through the first fo...
Dec 09, 2020•58 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's Rambam Bekius chavurah (12/8/20 at YBT) we read through the Rambam's detailed treatment of Hashem's incorporeality in the second half of Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah Chapter 1. We had been through these halachos before, but we - well, at least I - had never really thought into each point. When we did, we realized how many nuances we had missed, and how much the Rambam was evidently getting at which we didn't understand. It was an ...
Dec 08, 2020•55 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Today's Rambam Bekius chavurah (12/7/20 at YBT) entailed more questions than answers, among them: What does the Rambam mean in Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah 1:6 by "the great fundamental principle which everything else is dependent upon"? What is the relationship between this phrase here and the same phrase in Hilchos Krias Shema 1:2? How should the Rambam's strict definition of God's Oneness be taught to young children? Why does the Rambam i...
Dec 07, 2020•59 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's Rambam Bekius chavurah (12/3/20 at YBT) we addressed the classic "contradiction" between the Rambam's formulation of the first mitzvah in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos, which uses the Arabic term translated by ibn Tibbon as "emunah" (belief), and his formulation of that same mitzvah in the Mishneh Torah, which uses the term "yediah" (knowledge). I put quotation marks around the word "contradiction" because it's actually not a contradic...
Dec 03, 2020•59 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's Rambam Bekius chavurah (12/2/20 at YBT) we attempted to answer the questions we raised yesterday on the Rambam's Mishneh Torah: Sefer ha'Mada, Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah 1:1-6. We got some answers and didn't get others, but we definitely achieved our goal of thinking into the halachos! We conluded by going over a 15-minute summary of Ed Feser's "refurbished" version of the "prime mover argument" for God's existence, which the Ra...
Dec 02, 2020•1 hr 1 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! My apologies for the interruption in the middle of shiur! My computer froze, the Zoom kept recording, and I don't yet know how to edit audio files. In today's Rambam Bekius chavurah we began Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah in the Mishneh Torah. We began by defining the parameters of what we mean by "bekius" based on assorted statements from the Rambam in the Mishneh Torah. We then stated our game plan which will involve going through the Sefer ...
Dec 01, 2020•54 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Today in our Rambam Bekius chavurah (given on 11/30/20 at YBT) we began Sefer ha'Mada. No, we did not start Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah quite yet. Instead, we began with the "crowning pasuk" of Sefer ha'Mada, Tehilim 36:11, which is where the Rambam clearly wanted us to begin. We learned the pasuk based on the commentary of the Radak and Ibn Ezra, which led us into the Rambam's Hilchos Teshuvah 9:1, and we also learned the pasuk in light of...
Nov 30, 2020•53 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Welcome! Most intros belong at the beginning, but since today is the official launch of this podcast, and since we'll be starting the Mishneh Torah proper, I thought this would be a good occasion to formally introduce this podcast. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bekius Disclaimer: Note that this is a bekius chavurah - as opposed to an iyun shiur . Each session consists of us reading through th...
Nov 30, 2020•4 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Today was the day (YBT on 11/25/20) ... the day we FINALLY finished the Rambam's introduction to the Mishneh Torah in its entirety! :D We read through the list of mitzvos in Sefer Shoftim, making observations and asking questions as we have in the past, and then we were done! It's been a wonderful, enlightening, and bushah-filled experience. Next project: Sefer ha'Mada, beginning with Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah! ---------------------------...
Nov 25, 2020•46 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's "Rambam Bekius" shiur (given at YBT on 11/24/20) we made it not two, not three, but FOUR books! Taharah, Nezikin, Kinyan, and Mishpatim! We were surprised by how easy Taharah was to read through, how few mitzvos there were, and how many chapters it made up compared to the other books. The other three books brought pleasant surprises with them as well. Now all we have left is Shoftim, and then we're done with the Rambam's Intro...
Nov 24, 2020•50 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's "Rambam Bekius" shiur (given at YBT on 11/23/20) we made it through the Rambam's list of mitzvos in Sefer Avodah and Sefer Korbanos, attempting - as has been our wont - to understand his ordering of the sections and musing on the differences in his formulation between the koseres version and the minyan ha'mtizvos version. We were astounded by how many mitzvos are practically no longer relevant nowadays. We were semi-conscious ...
Nov 23, 2020•56 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's "Rambam Bekius" shiur (given at YBT on 11/18/20) we slogged through the Rambam's list of mitzvos in Sefer Haflaah and Sefer Zeraim attempting to understand his ordering of the sections and musing on the differences in his formulation between the koseres version and the minyan ha'mtizvos version. I say "slogged" because the bushah was heavy with this installment. Let's just say that we all have our favorite sections of the Mish...
Nov 18, 2020•51 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's "Rambam Bekius" shiur (given at YBT on 11/17/20) we learned through the Rambam's list of mitzvos in Sefer Nashim and Sefer Kedushah attempting to understand his ordering of the sections and musing on the differences in his formulation between the koseres version and the minyan ha'mtizvos version. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bekius Disclaimer: Note that this is a bekius chavurah -...
Nov 17, 2020•48 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's "Rambam Bekius" shiur (given at YBT on 11/12/20) we learned through the Rambam's list of mitzvos in Sefer Ahavah and Sefer Zmanim, attempting to understand his ordering of the sections and musing on the differences in his formulation between the koseres version and the minyan ha'mtizvos version. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bekius Disclaimer: Note that this is a bekius chavurah - ...
Nov 12, 2020•59 min
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! In today's "Rambam Bekius" shiur (given at YBT on 11/11/20) we learned through the Rambam's enumeration of all the mitzvos in Sefer ha'Mada, after first reading an excerpt from the Mif'al Mishneh Torah which proposed a theory about the order of the 14 books. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bekius Disclaimer: Note that this is a bekius chavurah - as opposed to an iyun shiur . Each session consis...
Nov 11, 2020•50 min
