Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 18 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (12/28/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began the final chapter of Hilchos Matnos Aniyim (after explaining why we skipped Chapters 8-9). We read and raised questions on each of the three clauses, and began to answer our questions on the first clause. Tomorrow (בג"ה) we'll try to answer as many questions as we can. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים י:א רמב"ם -...
Dec 28, 2022•19 min•Season 9Ep. 41
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 17 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (12/27/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, I gave a BRIEF overview of how to use R' Sheilat's edition of the Mishneh Torah, which is found on AlHaTorah.org. I am well aware that there is MUCH more to say on this, my goal was to give a practical guide which will help unlock the basic features of Sheilat's edition. On a related note, be sure to read my 1-page article on the importance of using ...
Dec 27, 2022•18 min•Season 9Ep. 40
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 16 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (12/21/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we spent one more day on the sugya of Ner Chanukah as a "mitzvah chavivah." We read a piece from the Rav in Mi'Pninei ha'Rav which explained why the Rambam calls Ner Chanukah a "mitzvah chavivah," even though it's not the only mitzvah with the theme of pirsumei nisa. I found this answer more compelling than the other answers we've discussed this week...
Dec 21, 2022•17 min•Season 9Ep. 39
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 18 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (12/20/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we reviewed the questions we raised yesterday ... and then attempted to answer them! We came up with some nice possibilities, if I do say so myself. Tomorrow we might make an additional point or two, and then move on to the final halachos in the perek. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זמנים, הלכות מגילה וחנוכה ד:יב רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זמנים, ה...
Dec 20, 2022•19 min•Season 9Ep. 38
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Synopsis: This afternoon (12/19/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began this year's analysis of the final halachos in Hilchos Chanukah. It never ceases to amaze me how we can revisit the same halachos every year and still discover new questions, problems, and - hopefully! - ideas. Today we raised questions. Tomorrow (בג"ה) we'll explore answers. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זמנים, הלכות מגילה וחנוכה ד:יב רמב"ם - משנה תורה:...
Dec 19, 2022•14 min•Season 9Ep. 37
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 22 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (12/15/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, I recapped my understanding of what the essential takanah of Chanukah is, and why Chazal chose to enact it. I believe I've gone over this theory for the past two years in Rambam Bekius, but this is the shortest recap I've done. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זמנים, הלכות מגילה וחנוכה ג:א-ג, ושאר פרק ג תלמוד בבלי שבת דף כא עמוד ב רמב"ם - משנה תו...
Dec 15, 2022•23 min•Season 9Ep. 36
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 20 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (12/14/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we put yesterday's questions on hold and addressed two other topics: (1) What's the deal with Megilas Antiochus? While the Yad Peshutah freely quotes from it, historian Mitchell First doesn't view it as a credible source. Make of that what you will. (2) We decided to read the Rambam's version of Al ha'Nissim and explain some of the nuances. ----- מקו...
Dec 14, 2022•22 min•Season 9Ep. 35
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 23 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (12/13/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we continued learning the introductory paragraphs of Hilchos Chanukah along with the Yad Peshutah commentary. We got up through the Rambam's formulation of the takanah of Chanukah, and we left off with some questions that we'd like to answer tomorrow or Thursday. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זמנים, הלכות מגילה וחנוכה ג:א-ג יד פשוטה שם מגילת ת...
Dec 13, 2022•24 min•Season 9Ep. 34
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/12/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began this year's learning of Hilchos Chanukah! The last time we did this thoroughly was in December 2020, and in December 2021 we focused on the halachos of the Menorah in the Mikdash, along with assorted other Chanukah topics. This year we have a new resource at our disposal: the Yad Peshutah commentary of R' Nachum Rabinovitch, thanks to AlHaTorah. I'm excited to see what ...
Dec 12, 2022•19 min•Season 9Ep. 33
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/8/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we shored up our understanding of yesterday's halacha and then learned the final halacha in the perek, which was about someone who gives an ambiguously worded donation. And with that, we've concluded the 7th perek! Next week: Hilchos Chanukah! (בג"ה) ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים ז:יד-טו Artscroll Megilah 27a, footnotes 38-40 מאירי - בגילה דף כז עמ...
Dec 08, 2022•20 min•Season 9Ep. 32
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/7/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we returned to the topic of tzedakah with the goal of completeting Hilchos Matnos Aniyim Chapter 7 by the end of the week so that we can begin learning Hilchos Chanukah next week. We encountered some difficulties with the pshat of these halachos which we'll attempt to unravel tomorrow. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים ז:יד רדב"ז שם רש"י - מגילה דף כז ...
Dec 07, 2022•18 min•Season 9Ep. 31
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/6/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began by going through a few more facts - in the Rambam, the Gemara, and the Aruch ha'Shulchan - before attempting to answer the general question we raised yesterday. We concluded with one of my favorite statements from the Meiri on how talmidei chachamim should relate to Shabbos, as well as a statement from the Radak on the purpose of Shabbos. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה:...
Dec 06, 2022•20 min•Season 9Ep. 30
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/5/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we paused Hilchos Matnos Aniyim to take up a question I was asked in a Q&A this past Friday: Is there any sort of obligation to eat meat and drink wine on Shabbos? The Rambam codifies a halacha about meat and wine on Shabbos, but it's not entirely clear what the nature of the halacha is. Stranger yet is how/where the Rambam codifies it. We spent today going over the facts and...
Dec 05, 2022•22 min•Season 9Ep. 29
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (12/1/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we learned the halacha l'maaseh of tzedakah prioritization from the Aruch ha'Shulchan. He argues that you can't read this halacha on a superficial level, and he presents an alternative understanding which we found to be compelling. Next week we'll return to the Rambam (בג"ה). ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים ז:יג ערוך השולחן יורה דעה רנא:ד-ה ----- The...
Dec 01, 2022•21 min•Season 9Ep. 28
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/30/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we delved into the halacha l'maaseh of what we've been learning in the Rambam, beginning with the particulars of what it means to prioritize tzedakah for your family. We only managed to get through our initial reading of the Shulchan Aruch and Rema, which we'll follow up with tomorrow (בג"ה) with the Aruch ha'Shulchan. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניי...
Nov 30, 2022•19 min•Season 9Ep. 27
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/29/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we continued yesterday's sub-detour and delved further into the topic of what is now a word I can't get out of my head: "avunculate marriage." We began by reviewing the Gemara and three shitos we learned yesterday, and then we focused on the Rambam's view as interpreted by the Maggid Mishnah, which we connected to the Rambam's explanation of arayos in the Moreh ha'Nevuchim. We c...
Nov 30, 2022•24 min•Season 9Ep. 26
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/28/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we took a brief detour - based on R' Makbili's recommendation - into the Moreh ha'Nevuchim, where the Rambam discusses the importance of caring for our relatives. This, in turn, led to a sub-detour about a halacha pertaining to what is now a very socially unacceptable type of relationship. Tomorrow we'll look into the practical halachos on both these topics. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם ...
Nov 28, 2022•20 min•Season 9Ep. 25
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/23/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we learned a very short halacha about the hierarchy of tzedakah recipients - a topic that might be viewed as controversial in the "woke" climate of 2022, which is all the more reason why we should learn it. Most of what we discussed was our own speculations. Next time (בג"ה) we'll learn the Rambam's explanation for this hierarchy. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכו...
Nov 23, 2022•16 min•Season 9Ep. 24
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/22/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we reexamined the halacha that shocked us yesterday, in which the Rambam SEEMED to imply that women are to be suspected of thievery. After examining the issue as codified in the poskim, we saw that this is not the case. We also clarified whether/how the Rambam's halacha applies to the women of today. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים ז:יב ערוך השולחן ...
Nov 22, 2022•19 min•Season 9Ep. 33
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/21/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we reviewed what we did last time in an attempt to understand the Rambam's support from the Navi (which failed). We then read the next two halachos: one about collecting tzedakah from orphans and the other about collecting tzedakah from women and girls. The latter astounded us enough to warrant further examination tomorrow. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות...
Nov 21, 2022•16 min•Season 9Ep. 32
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/17/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began by answering the question we left off with yesterday on the person who refuses to give tzedakah. We then read the halach about how we deal with the person who gives too much tzedakah. Very interesting to see how this pair of extremes from Hilchos Deios plays itself out in Hilchos Matnos Aniyim. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים ז:י-יא ערוך הש...
Nov 17, 2022•16 min•Season 9Ep. 31
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/16/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we reviewed yesterday's case of a person who refuses to accept tzedakah and compared it to the next case of a person who refuses to give tzedakah. We left off with a question about how Beis Din is allowed to force a person to give tzedakah "according to their assessment of him" as opposed to forcing him to give the minimal amount. We'll try to find an answer by tomorrow. ----- מ...
Nov 16, 2022•19 min•Season 9Ep. 30
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/15/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we moved on to the next halacha about how much to give aniyim who are passing through town - either on a weekday or on Shabbos. We couldn't figure out what the deal is with "beans and oil," nor did we know whether halacha acknowledges the dangers of allowing a total stranger to spend the night in your home, so if anyone has any insights into that, please let me know! ----- מקורו...
Nov 15, 2022•19 min•Season 9Ep. 29
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/14/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we revisited a halacha from last week on what to do if a poor person asks you for money and you don't have enough to give them. We compared this with a similar halacha in chapter 10, and although we couldn't explain why the Rambam didn't codify the two halachos together, we were able to gain insight into the underlying nature of the halacha there. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה...
Nov 14, 2022•17 min•Season 9Ep. 28
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/10/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we continued the Rambam's halachos about the recipients of tzedakah. We noted at the beginning of our topic that according to the Rambam, the mitzvah de'Oraisa is ONLY to give tzedakah to Jews. Today we learned where and how he codifies the obligation to give tzedakah to non-Jews - and why. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים ז:א,ז רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספ...
Nov 10, 2022•21 min•Season 9Ep. 27
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/9/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we took a brief detour to actually learn the premises we were all quoting from vague memory about kavod ha'briyos and public nakedness, in light of the tshuvah from R' Avraham ben ha'Rambam that we learned yesterday. We also raised a question about the berachah of malbish arumim. Tomorrow (בג"ה) we'll return to the halachos of tzedakah. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים,...
Nov 09, 2022•19 min•Season 9Ep. 26
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/8/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we continued on in the Rambam with the halachos about whether it is necessary to investigate the financial circumstances of the poor person before giving him what he asks for. We raised a few questions, but our only solid take-away was that "naked" doesn't always mean naked. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים ז:ו ר' אברהם בן הרמב"ם - שו"ת סימן כד ----- ...
Nov 08, 2022•20 min•Season 9Ep. 25
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/7/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we turned to the Aruch ha'Shulchan for answers to yesterday's questions. Not only did he clarify our understanding of the principles in the Rambam, but he also brought things down to the level of halacha l'maaseh, which is why we turned to the Aruch ha'Shulchan in the first place. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים ז:ה ערוך השולחן יורה דעה רמט:ה-ז https...
Nov 07, 2022•24 min•Season 9Ep. 24
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/3/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we turned to the Aruch ha'Shulchan for answers to yesterday's questions. Not only did he clarify our understanding of the principles in the Rambam, but he also brought things down to the level of halacha l'maaseh, which is why we turned to the Aruch ha'Shulchan in the first place. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים ז:ה ערוך השולחן יורה דעה רמט:א-ד -----...
Nov 03, 2022•19 min•Season 9Ep. 23
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! This afternoon (11/2/22), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we covered two separate topics: (1) how to help an orphan get married, including a review of the halachic definition of "orphan," and (2) how much money we're supposed to give - a topic which raises a NUMBER of questions which we will likely discuss tomorrow and into next week. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים ז:ד-ה רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות ...
Nov 02, 2022•17 min•Season 9Ep. 22
