Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 24 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (6/8/23), in our last Rambam Bekius mini-shiur (ever?), we read Rambam's answer to the question: "If the purpose of human beings is to perfect ourselves, in knowledge and in action, what is the purpose of all those people who are not involved in perfecting themselves?" After offering our own answers, we read the two-part answer given by the Rambam. Although there are still questions on this ent...
Jun 08, 2023•25 min•Season 11Ep. 27
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 42 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (6/7/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we FINALLY got to the part where the Rambam talks about the purpose of the human species. We read through his main answer, encountering a few questions and problems along the way. Tomorrow (בג"ה), in our last Rambam Bekius shiur of the season, we'll attempt to finish the section, beginning with the Rambam's answer to the question: "What is the purpose ...
Jun 07, 2023•43 min•Season 11Ep. 26
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 25 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (6/5/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we INTENDED to learn the Rambam's interpretation of the midrashic statement, "The only thing Ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu has in this world is the four cubits of halacha alone" (Berachos 8a). But we decided to start earlier to get some context and spent the whole time on the Rambam's explanation of why midrashim are written cryptically. Interesting discussion, ...
Jun 05, 2023•26 min•Season 11Ep. 25
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 19 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (6/1/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we finished the shiur on Chukos ha'Goyim, answering all the questions that were raised, and walking away with a newfound appreciation for the Torah's war against avodah zarah! ----- מקורות: למקדח ולמחרוז במשנה תורה להרמב"ם - חוקות הגוים רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות דעות ה:א ----- This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Isaiah Blanks and J...
Jun 01, 2023•21 min•Season 11Ep. 24
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 30 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/31/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we continued in the Kuntress shiur we started yesterday, and took the first step in answering our questions. This involved a BIG idea, and there's a lot more to flesh out, but it'll have to wait until tomorrow (בג"ה). ----- מקורות: למקדח ולמחרוז במשנה תורה להרמב"ם - חוקות הגוים ויקרא יח:ג; כ:כג דברים יב:ל רמב"ם - ספר המצוות, לא תעשה מ"ז תוספות ד"ה דאי...
May 31, 2023•31 min•Season 11Ep. 23
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 21 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/30/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we continued in the Kuntress shiur we started yesterday, getting through all the questions - some major and some minor. Tomorrow, after a brief review, we'll begin the answers/ideas! ----- מקורות: למקדח ולמחרוז במשנה תורה להרמב"ם - חוקות הגוים רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות עובדה זרה וחוקות הגוים פרק יא; יב:א שולחן ערוך יורה דעה קעח:א-ג; קעט:יז הג...
May 30, 2023•22 min•Season 11Ep. 22
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 28 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/29/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began learning through another shiur in The Kuntress. We chose to do the shiur on Chukos ha'Goyim because Rambam Yomi began Hilchos Avodah Zarah today. We got through the first two questions in the shiur because we ended up doing all the sources inside. We plan on continuing tomorrow and finishing either at the end of this week or the beginning of ...
May 29, 2023•29 min•Season 11Ep. 21
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 45 minutes Synopsis: This morning (5/25/23), in lieu of a Mishlei shiur, we learned through the first shiur in The Kuntress, which is about the order of mitzvos in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos vs. their order in the Mishneh Torah. We figured this would be a good topic to take up on Erev Shavuos - and it was! ----- מקורות: למקדח ולמחרוז במשנה תורה להרמב"ם - פתיחה ----- This week's Torah content has been sponsored by the following individu...
May 25, 2023•46 min•Season 11Ep. 20
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 37 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/24/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, on the day before Erev Shavuos, we decided to learn through the Rambam's tshuvah on the question of whether one should stand when the Aseres ha'Dibros are being read during Krias ha'Torah. After reading his answer (spoiler alert: it's a "NO!"), we read Rav Moshe Feinstein's tshuvah on the matter, in which he takes the opposite position. ----- מקורות: ...
May 24, 2023•38 min•Season 11Ep. 19
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 19 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/23/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we completed this year's learn-through of the halachos of tzedakah. The final halachos discussed the various sides of dependency on tzedakah: when it's bad, when it's necessary, and how to tell the difference. בריך רחמנא דסיען ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים ד:יד,טז; י:יח-יט רד"ק - ירמיהו יז:ה-ח ----- This week's Torah co...
May 23, 2023•20 min•Season 11Ep. 18
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 19 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/22/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we returned to Hilchos Matnos Aniyim Chapter 10 after a three month (!) hiatus. Today learned the halachos about supporting your children, your parents, and your other relatives - and, most importantly, the poor, whom you should treat as members of your household. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זרעים, הלכות מתנות עניים י:ז,טז-יז ישעיהו פרק נח מל...
May 22, 2023•20 min•Season 11Ep. 17
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 17 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/18/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we finished learning about the king's prohibitions and privileges in chapter 3. Although there's another chapter which is part of this topic, we're going to go back to Hilchos Matnos Aniyim and complete it - hopefully before Shavuos! (בג"ה) ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - פירוש המשניות: סנהדרין ב:ד רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר שופטים, הלכות מלכים ומלחמות ג:ו-י יהושע ...
May 18, 2023•18 min•Season 11Ep. 16
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 15 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/16/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we continued with the halachos of kings, learning about the three lo taasehs stated in the Torah, and the positive injunction about what a king SHOULD occupy himself with. Tomorrow we'll aim to finish the chapter (בג"ה). ----- מקורות: תשובות רדב"ז על משנה תורה מלכים ומלחמות ג רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר שופטים, הלכות מלכים ומלחמות ג:א-ד כסף משנה שם רמב"ם -...
May 16, 2023•16 min•Season 11Ep. 15
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 22 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/15/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we wrapped up (I think?) the sugya of the king's mitzvah to write a second sefer Torah for himself, in addition to the one he had as a civilian. There were a few questions we weren't able to answer, but such is the nature of Rambam Bekius! We concluded with an unrelated (somewhat recent) discovery of Cairo Genizah fragments featuring the writing of th...
May 15, 2023•23 min•Season 11Ep. 14
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 30 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/11/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we reviewed and wrapped up the Aruch ha'Shulchan from yesterday, then read the first couple halachos in the Rambam about the mitzvos of writing a Sefer Torah, then we finished reading the Torah Temimah we started, who raised OUR question but then gave an answer which we appreciated but didn't feel fully satisfied by, then we read the Ralbag's approach...
May 11, 2023•31 min•Season 11Ep. 13
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 26 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/10/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we went on a fun detour (from our already fun detour). We planned to learn about the mitzvos unique to a king, the first of which is to write a second Sefer Torah for himself. First, we had to learn about the mitzvah for EVERY Jewish male to write a Sefer Torah. We started with the Rambam's Sefer ha'Mitzvos, which led us to the Torah Temimah's explana...
May 10, 2023•26 min•Season 11Ep. 12
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 22 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/9/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we learned the chapter in the Mishneh Torah about the halachos of celebrating Lag ba'Omer. The Rambam's shitah about the size of the bonfire ... HA! GOTCHU! We continued on in the halachos about honoring a king - but first, we read the psak of the Aruch ha'Shulchan ha'Asid on the halacha we learned last week about hereditary leadership. After that, we ...
May 09, 2023•23 min•Season 11Ep. 11
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 18 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/4/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began with a discourse from the honorable Dutchman Monarchist, Yoel Schaper, who helped us to understand the rationale behind hereditary positions of leadership. We then read the first few halachos about honoring a king, which (בג"ה) we will continue next week. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר שופטים, הלכות מלכים ומלחמות ב:א-ה ----- This week's ...
May 04, 2023•19 min•Season 11Ep. 10
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 21 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/3/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we continued learning the halachos in the first perek of Hilchos Melachim u'Milchamos. First we learned through the remaining halachos about who may be apointed, and then we learned the halachos about anointing a king, and how the malchus is passed down. Tomorrow the plan is to find something else on this topic which is interesting to learn (בג"ה). ---...
May 03, 2023•22 min•Season 11Ep. 9
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 18 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (5/2/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we took up a rather timely topic: the halachos of appointing a king. (Timely because the coronation of King Charles III will take place this weekend.) We learned through the first few halachos about the mechayev (ugh that word looks horrible when transliterated) of the mitzvah and began learning the somewhat controversial halachos of who may NOT be app...
May 02, 2023•19 min•Season 11Ep. 8
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 15 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (4/27/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we learned through the halachos of avak lashon ha'ra (the "dust" of evil speech). We were able to understand the first three categories, but not the fourth. We began reading the Yad Peshutah but only got through his commentary on the first case. The rest will have to wait until next week (בג"ה). ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר קדושה, הלכות איסורי...
Apr 27, 2023•16 min•Season 11Ep. 7
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 21 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (4/26/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we focused on Chazal's statement cited by the Rambam that "lashon ha'ra kills three people: the one who says it, the one who accepts it, and the one about whom it is said - and the one who accepts it more than the one who says it." We looked up the source in the Gemara, got confused by Rashi, came up with our own approach, solicited some help from the...
Apr 26, 2023•22 min•Season 11Ep. 6
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 15 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (4/25/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we began by reviewing our definitions yet again - albeit very briefly! We then attempted to take up the question of what it means that the Meraglim spoke lashon ha'ra about the land of Israel, only to discover that the topic was too big for us. We ended by attempting to analyze Chazal's equation of lashon ha'ra with AZ, GA, and SD, but didn't quite ma...
Apr 25, 2023•16 min•Season 11Ep. 5
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 19 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (4/24/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we refined our definitions of rechilus and lashon ha'ra from last week and segued into the Rambam's discussion of the severity of lashon ha'ra, which we'll continue tomorrow (בג"ה). ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - ספר המצוות, הקדמה; לא תעשה ש"א רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות דעות ז:א-ב תורה תמימה - ויקרא יט:טו-טז, הערה 105 רמב"ם - פירוש המשניות אבות א:טז --...
Apr 24, 2023•20 min•Season 11Ep. 4
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 20 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (4/20/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we did a comprehensive review of yesterday - since nobody who was in shiur yesterday was here today, and the only person in shiur today wasn't there yesterday - and then we followed the Rambam's directive to "go and learn what happened to Doeg, the Edomite." After doing that, we produced a ROUGH draft of our definition of rechilus according to the Ram...
Apr 20, 2023•21 min•Season 11Ep. 3
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 19 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (4/19/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we decided to revisit the halachos about lashon ha'ra. I didn't initially plan on doing this, but the guys in the shiur wanted to, and I'm definitely game! Today we read through the basic sources on the Rambam's understanding of Lo Taaseh #301. Tomorrow we'll attempt to define rechilus . I gave shiur on these topics on 7/27/21 - 8/2/21, but I've decid...
Apr 19, 2023•20 min•Season 11Ep. 2
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 16 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (4/18/23), in our first Rambam Bekius mini-shiur after Pesach, I decided that before we return to complete Hilchos Matnos Aniyim, I'd like to start with something relevant to this week's parashah. I learned with someone this week who had never been through the "hidden" Rambam on lashon ha'ra at the end of Hilchos Tumas Tzaraas (only "hidden" because we tend not to learn ANYTHING in Sefer Tahara...
Apr 18, 2023•17 min•Season 11Ep. 1
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 23 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (3/29/23), in our last Rambam Bekius mini-shiur before Pesach, we learned through a piece (ha!) in Hararei Kedem on the Rambam's view that yachatz is done AFTER Magid, rather than before. Note: if you're listening to this shiur and you share in our confusion towards the end, then I'll give you a spoiler alert: we realized after finishing the piece that we (read: I) accidentally skipped an entir...
Mar 29, 2023•24 min•Season 10Ep. 27
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 20 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (3/28/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we finished the Hararei Kedem piece we started yesterday and learned more about the kiyum of pouring each of the four cups. We also learned the source (well, a source) for the basis of minhag to pour for each other. ----- מקורות: ר' מיכל שורקין - הררי קדם חלק ב סימן עה רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זמנים, הלכות חמץ ומצה ח:א שולחן ערוך אורח חיים תעג:ב,ז -----...
Mar 28, 2023•21 min•Season 10Ep. 26
Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text! Length: 21 minutes Synopsis: This afternoon (3/27/23), in our Rambam Bekius mini-shiur, we started learning a piece in Hararei Kedem about the first halacha in the Rambam's seder procedure: mixing the cup. We plan on finishing the piece tomorrow (בג"ה). ----- מקורות: ר' מיכל שורקין - הררי קדם חלק ב סימן עה רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זמנים, הלכות חמץ ומצה ז:ט; ח:א רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר אהבה, הלכות ברכות ז:טו ברכות דף נא עמוד א - רש"י ד"ה חי ...
Mar 27, 2023•22 min•Season 10Ep. 25
