KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Megillat Eikha 3 - Chapter 2, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom As the desolate city burrows deeper into her isolation, she reflects on the loss of Divine protection and the frightening turnabout where God has aimed His arrows at her heart, conspiring against her and following through on that anger. She cannot find solace, but the mekonen adjures her to arise, weep at night and beseech God - but to no avail.

From Redemption to Consolation: Between Pesach and 9BeAv. Our Best Strategies for Bi'at Ha-Go'el. #10 Overconfidence and the Destruction of Two Temples, by Rav Gidon Rothstein In Yirmiyahu and in the Gemara, we see people too sure of their way of averting destruction; we can hope to learn from them to look more carefully and tread where Hashem wants.

Special sicha. Rav Yosef Blau,  mashgiach ruchani at RIETS, honored us with a short dvar Torah on the parasha, followed by an open conversation with the bnei chul at yeshiva, discussing the complexity of the founding Roshei Yeshiva and the Rav zt'l. Introduced by Rav Eli Weber.

Balak | Making Sense of Bilam's Blessings, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom In engaging in the study of the curses-turned-blessings of the wizard Bilam, we typically approach our task with two assumptions. First - that Balak's aim in hiring Bilam was to eradicate Am Yisrael. Second - that each of Bil'ams curses-turned-blessings stands alone, as he had no way to know that Balak would ask him to try again from another vantage point. We demonstrate the likelihood that both of these are misconceptions and using a fresher understanding of both Balak's stated aim as well as Bilam's literary strategy, we propose a new understanding of these marvelous and elegant blessings.

Megillat Eikha 2 - Chapter 1, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The bereaved widow, abandoned by all of her friends and separated from her children, cries out in the pain of her desolation. This first chapter of Eikhah is a dialogue between the mekonen (Yirmiyahu) and the city, giving the eternal readership both first person as well as eyewitness perspectives on the fundamental devastation felt in Yehudah in that summer of 586 BCE.    

From Redemption to Consolation: Between Pesach and 9BeAv. Our Best Strategies for Bi'at Ha-Go'el. #9 Fasts with Lessons, 10 Tevet and 17 Tammuz, by Rav Gidon Rothstein The fasts of 10 Tevet and 17 Tammuz are more than historical: they point to fundamental errors of the past that we can avoid for the future.

Megillat Eikha 1 - Introduction, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Introducing some of the unique features of the structure of Eikha, which speak directly to its message. Why is Eikha in Tanakh?

From Redemption to Consolation: Between Pesach and 9BeAv. Our Best Strategies for Bi'at Ha-Go'el. #8 Tokhacha and the Ideal Jewish Society, by Rav Gidon Rothstein The mitzva of remonstration, where we do it, where we don't, and its value for a Jewish society.

Parashat Korach with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - "Va'Yikach Korach" - What Did He Take? #2 - Contemporary Commentators - "The Common Sense Rebellion" - R. Soloveitchik's Timeless Message #3 - Sparks of Mussar - Korach's Lust for Power: A Penetrating Insight from the Steipler #4 - Machshava / Jewish Thought - Rejecting "Cancel Culture": The Torah's Approach to Machlokes #5 - Halacha from the Parsha - "Oy L'Rasha Oy L'Shecheino" - What's the Problem With Having a Wicked Neighbor? #6 - Sparks of Chassidus - Ideas Must be "Clothed" in Action - The Kedushas Levi's Explanation of Korach's Mistake

Korach | Three Books: Three Perspectives, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom The setting of Parashat Korach raises broader issues about the chronological sequencing of the Torah's narrative; ibn Ezra maintains that Korach's rebellion took place significantly before the "sin of the scouts" story, which precedes it in Bamidbar. We use this observation to explore a larger and broader issue of the Torah's purpose in retelling stories and in the presentation of specific Mitzvot in multiple Sefarim - and conclude that from the middle of Sefer Shemot through the first two thirds of Bamidbar are essentially one narrative, presented from three distinct points of view - which allows us to see the relationship between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael through the different prisms of each side of those interactions. Source sheet >>