KMTT - the Torah Podcast

The Arba Parashiot: More than Meets the Eye, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The annual cycle of Keriat haTorah is punctuated in the weeks before Pesach with the addition of the "Arba Parashiot" - four special readings read as the Maftir on those weeks. We analyze the historic-halakhic reality of this practice, along with the hashkafic implications of these readings, coming as they do in the weeks leading up to Pesach. Source sheet >>

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 17: True Negative Emotion, When To Spread It and When Not, by Rav Gidon Rothstein We may not share irrelevant negative information about others, we must share it when it is relevant. Which is which?

Special sicha with Rav Yonasan Sacks, Rosh Yeshiva, Beis Medrash L'Talmud, Lander College Feb 8, 2023 We thank Rav Sacks for coming to speak with our talmidim.

Yitro | On The Third Day: Echoes of Moriah at Sinai, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Why the three-day waiting period before the theophany at Sinai?  The exciting, frightening preparatory period before the great theophany at Sinai is defined by the Divine Command: "Be ready for the third day..." We explore the motif of the three-day anticipatory period in Tanakh, from Akeidat Yitzchak to the eschatological vision of Hoshea - and solve a mysterious Midrash along the way. Source sheet >>

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 16: The Overall Evil in Slandering Others, by Rav Gidon Rothstein Rabbenu Yonah's general introduction to lashon hara, why it is treated as so significantly bad a set of sins.

Tu Bishvat | The Well-Rooted Righteous Man, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom In honor of טו בשבט, we examine the opening chapter of Tehillim which uses the tree as a metaphor for the righteous person. Familiar passages from Yirmiyah and later on in Tehillim (92) are invoked to build a broader picture of this metaphor and to explain the placing of this Mizmor at the beginning of the book of praises (Tehillim). Source sheet >>

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 15: Final Thoughts on Chanifa, by Rav Gidon Rothstein Various commentators showing how far we should go to avoid giving the impression that wrong is right.

Beshalach | Moshe: Catalyst for Redemption, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The text interrupts the narrative of the Exodus to highlight Moshe's taking Yosef's bones up from Egypt, per the oath that was administered by Yosef to his brothers at his deathbed. We explore both the explicit mention as well as the unusual placement of this note in the text by looking at other actions that Moshe took that seem to foreshadow the redemptive process. A closer look suggests that he may have been doing more than merely prefacing the redemption - he may have become an active agent to spur God's involvement in the redemptive process. The roots of this role may be found in the narrative surrounding Moshe's own salvation at the sea, as we discuss at the end of the shiur. The shiur was given in memory of טוביה בן יואל צבי הלוי ז"ל Source sheet >>

Ashkenazim and Sefardim: The Goals of Talmud Study, special lecture by Rabbi Dr. Jeffrey Woolf On methodological and cultural differences and their practical applications Rabbi Prof. Jeffrey Woolf is an internationally known scholar, lecturer and public figure. He serves as an Associate Professor in the Talmud Department at Bar-Ilan University where he specializes in the History of Halakhah, Medieval and Renaissance Jewish History, and the inter-action between Judaism, Islam and Christianity. He is the director of Bar Ilan's Institute for the Study of Post-Talmudic Halakhah.

Beshalach | A Thought on the Parasha, by Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky, followed by Q+A with the overseas talmidim Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky is the Rosh HaYeshiva of the Yeshiva of Greater Washington – Tiferes Gedaliah, accepting the position in July of 2014. He studied and received rabbinic ordination from the Mir Yeshiva of Jerusalem. In Israel, Rabbi Lopiansky taught at Aish HaTorah from 1983-1990, and then taught at the Mir for five years before assuming the post of Rosh Yeshiva of the Yeshiva Gedolah of YGW in 1995.