KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Birkat HaMazon - Why, What, Where and When Part 2, given as part of the weekly women's shiur in Kehilat Ha'Ela, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb

Toldot | Your Curse, My Son, Be Upon Me, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom What did Rivka mean? When Yaakov expressed concern over his being caught by his father when trying to gain Esav's blessing, he said והבאתי עלי קללה ולא ברכה - "I may bring upon myself a curse instead of a blessing". Rivka's response to assuage his concern: עלי קללתך בני is a mysterious phrase, with a wide range of exegetical approaches taken by the Rishonim. After surveying the most well-known interpretations, we suggest a different take, anchored in a comment in Bereishit Rabbah, based on understanding Rivka's vested interest in the success of the ruse. Source sheet >>

Birkat HaMazon - Why, What, Where and When Part 1, given as part of the weekly women's shiur in Kehilat Ha'Ela, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb

Shabbat Candles, Why, Who, What and When Part 2, given as part of the weekly women's shiur in Kehilat Ha'Ela, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb

Parashat Chayei Sara 5782 with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Avraham's Marriage Advice: Bad Midos Are Worse Than Avodah Zara #2 - Contemporary Commentators - "Ger ve'Toshav": The Dual Identity of the Jew #3 - Sparks of Chassidus - What's Truly Important in Life? A Powerful Insight from the Tolna Rebbe #4 - Sparks of Mussar - Calm Under Fire: Learning From Avraham's Inspiring Example #5 - Midrash - Who Was Eliezer? The Midrash Paints a Complex Portrait

Chayei Sara | Place your Hand under my Thigh - Solving a Bereishit Riddle, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom When Avraham prepares to send his slave to find a wife for Yitzhak, he makes a curious demand of him: "Put your hand under my thigh" either as a prefatory act to an oath or as part of the oath itself. This request/demand appears in only one other place in Tanakh - when Yaakov has Yosef put his hand under his father's thigh before committing to bury his dying father in Canaan. What is the meaning of this odd practice? Is it rooted in near eastern oath customs? Connected to the Halakhic requirement of holding a sanctified item while swearing? Is it a sign of servitude? We survey the approaches of the Rishonim - including some surprising observations - and then offer a new wrinkle to solve this age-old conundrum.

Thoughts about Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks - based on the Netziv's profile of Sara Imenu, by Rav Moshe Taragin For more in tribute to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks zt"l >>

Parashat Vayera 5782 with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - What Event Led to Akeidas Yitzhak? #2 - Sparks of Chassidus - The Secret to Avraham's Success: A Remarkable Insight from the Kozhnitzer Maggid #3 - Contemporary Commentators - The True Beneficiary of Our Chessed: A Powerful Chiddush from Rav Nissan Alpert #4 - Sparks of Mussar - Sara's Laughter And Our (non)Belief in Mashiach - An Incredible Teaching of the Chafetz Chayim #5 - Midrash What Happened to Avraham and Yitzchok On the Way to the Akeida?

Vayera | "If There Are Fifty": Why Fifty, Why Ten...Why Not One?, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom Avraham's famous negotiations with God to spare the city of Sodom are perhaps the most gallant confrontational stand any human has taken against God - yet the power of the scene eclipse some of the oddities of the give-and-take. Why does Avraham start his negotiations with "If there are 50 innocent people..." - and why does he stop when he successfully gets God to agree to spare the city if there are only ten innocents? More to the point - what are these numbers all about? Why not argue that if one innocent person dies, to borrow from Blackstone, that is a lack of justice. In addition, the text goes out of its way to tell us that Avraham gazed down at the destruction which leaves us wondering why this story is in Chumash at all. Sourcesheet >>

Parashat Lekh Lekha with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Did Avraham Sin By Leaving Eretz Yisroel and Putting Sarah in Danger? #2 - Sparks of Chassidus - Why Was Avraham Chosen? An Inspiring Insight from the Sefas Emes #3 - Sparks of Mussar - Overcoming Life's Challenges #4 - Contemporary Commentators - What Does it Mean to be "Tamim"? A Fascinating Explanation from the Beis HaLevi #5 - Halacha from the Parsha - Is Conversion a Mitzvah?

Lekh Lekha | Who is Avraham's Future, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom When we are first introduced to Avra(ha)m, he is married to Sara(i)h - and the first thing we learn about her is that she is barren. Yet, Hashem commands Avraham to go to K'naan where He will make him into a great nation. The apparent incongruity of the command and the reality shape one of the two journeys in Avraham's life - and the entire Parashat Lekh Lekha is the road map of those two journeys. While Avraham continues to seek out "the land that I will show you", he also continues to attempt various solutions to the progeny problem - until Hashem informs him of how it will all play out. But there are numerous surprises along the way... Source sheet >>

Shabbat Candles, Why, Who, What and When Part 1, given as part of the weekly women's shiur in Kehilat Ha'Ela, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb

Noach | Avraham and Terach: A Midrashic Take When Hashem charged Avraham with his mission, He directed him to leave his father's house. This could easily be seen as an obstacle to his mission - for how could he demonstrate "the way of Hashem, doing justice and righteousness" if he abandoned his father for the last 60 years of his life. We explore several Midrashic (and proto-Midrashic) traditions about their relationship and find that these traditions do not speak in one voice. We also explore the textual basis for these traditions and note the nuances which allow for these exegetical approaches to develop. Source Sheet

Tidbits for VeZot HaBerakha and Sukkot Appreciating Eretz Yisrael - Important Mussar from Rav Yerucham Understanding the Deeper Message of Sukkos Through Prism of Koheles Chag sameach!

Parsha Tidbits with Rav Dovid Gottlieb, Vayelech-Ha'azinu-Special Yom Kippur Vort Vayelech #1 - Sparks of Chassidus - An Inspiring Teaching from R. Tzadok Hakohen - Connecting the Parsha to the Yamim Noraim Haazinu #1 - Contemporary Commentators - R. Soloveitchik's Approach to Reward and Punishment #2 - Sparks of Chassidus - Historical Sensitivity as a Catalyst for Teshuva - The Remarkable Insight of the Shem MiShmuel #3 - Sparks of Mussar - Is Success in Torah Study a Gift or a Result of Hard Work? Special Yom Kippur: The Culmination of 40 Days of Transformation

R. Yosef Babad_Minchat Chinuch__23 Elul 5634, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Nitzavim 5767 With this installment we conclude this series. Ketiva vechatima tova.

Rosh Hashana as "Yom HaDin": Understanding Our Responsibilities, weekly women's shiur in Kehilat Ha'Ela, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb

Parashat Nitzavim with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - The Gift and Responsibility of Teshuva: An Awesome Insight of the Meshech Chochma #2 - Midrash - "Lo Bashamayim Hi" - The Amazing Interpretation of Chazal #3 - Sparks of Musar - Breaking Free from the Shackles of Habit and Routine #4 - Sparks of Chassidus - Appreciating the Unity of the Jewish People: A Remarkable Teaching from the Lubavitcher Rebbe #5 - Machshava / Jewish Thought - Is Teshuva Based on Fairness or Compassion, Din or Rachamim?

Parashat Ki Tavo with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Accepting the Validity of Torah - Even More Important than Observance #2 - Contemporary Commentators - Appreciating the Kedusha of Eretz Yisrael: A Beautiful Though from Rav Schwab #3 - Sparks of Chassidus - Bikkurim and Eretz Yisroel: The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Beautiful Explanation #4 - Sparks of Mussar - Appreciating the Bigness of Small Things: The Key to Avodat Hashem #5 - Machshava / Jewish Thought - Happiness as a Religious Value

What You Need to Know for Your Kitchen and Garden (part 2), by Rav Dovid Gottlieb. A discussion of [1] Otzar Beis Din, [2] eating at someone's home who has a different standard than you, and [3] some practical halachos of home gardening.

What You Need to Know for Your Kitchen and Garden (part 1), by Rav Dovid Gottlieb

Parashat Ki Tetze with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Eishset Yefat Toar: What Is the Torah Thinking? #2 - Contemporary Commentators - Parenting Lessons from the Ben Sorrer U-Moreh: Rav Hirsch's Brilliant Insight #3 - Sparks of Chassidus - Going Out to Spiritual War - Strategic Advice from the Sefas Emes #4 - Machshava / Jewish Thought - Gratitude as a Religious Obligation #5 - Sparks of Mussar - The Moral Message of the Issur to Charge Interest

R. Reuven Margolios_7 Elul 5731, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Shoftim 5768

Parashat Shoftim with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Rabbinic Authority - Even if They're Wrong?? #2 - Contemporary Commentators - Political Leaders as Religious Role Models - The Inspiring Vision of the Oznayim Le'Torah #3 - Sparks of Musar - Striving for Growth and Honest Self-Evaluation: R. Moshe Feinstein's Recipe for Spiritual Success #4 - Sparks of Chassidus - Healthy and Balanced Religiosity - The Kotzker's Remarkable Insight #5 - Machshava Jewish Thought - The Torah's Ideal Form of Governance and Political Leadership: 3 Approaches

Parashat Re'eh with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - The False Prophet - If He's "False" Then How is He a "Prophet"? #2 - Contemporary Commentators - The Highest of the High & the Lowest of the Low: Appreciating the Uniqueness of the Jewish People #3 - Machshava / Jewish Thought -What's the Jewish Ideal: Unity or Uniformity? #4 - Sparks of Chassidus & Mussar - Kosher Fish, "Kosher Jews": The Shared Vision of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and Rav Elyashiv #5 - Halacha from the Parsha - The Mitzvah of Tzedakah

Parashat Ekev with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Is Yiras Shamayim a "Small Thing"?! #2 - Contemporary Commentators - How Can We "Bless Hashem"? Rav Hirsch's Revolutionary Approach #3 - Sparks of Musar - Why Do We Bentch? The Amazing Insight of the Meshech Chochma #4 - Machshava / Jewish Thought - "Fear of Heaven" - What are we Scared Of? #5 - Sparks of Chassidus - The Interrelationship Between Doing and Understanding: An Incredible Teaching of the Sefas Emes

Parashat Vaetchanan with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Loving Hashem - The Rambam's Perspective #2 - Sparks of Mussar - Learning from Moshe: Belief in the Power of Prayer #3 - Machshava / Jewish Thought - "Anochi Hashem" - Knowledge or Belief in God? #4 - Moshe's Desire to Enter Eretz Yisroel - And Ours #5 - Sparks of Chasidus - Praying to be Able to Pray: The Powerful Insight of R. Levi Yitzchok

Parashat Devarim / Shabbat Chazon with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - What's Devarim All About? The Ramban's Theory #2 - Classical Commentators - Who Was Responsible for the Cheit Ha-Egel - Hashem or the Jewish People? #3 - Halacha from the Parsha - Kavod Ha-Beriyos: Human Dignity as a Halachic Value #4 - Midrash - Learning How to Give - and Grow From - Criticism #5 - Sparks of Chasidus - "Chazon": The Eish Kodesh's Inspiring Vision of Hope Amidst the Destruction

R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski_5 Av 5700, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Matot-Masei 5768

Aharon HaCohen_Rosh Chodesh Av, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Matot-Masei 5767

Questions of Gittin, Gerut and Mamzerut that Came Up During Corona, special shiur by Rabbi Yona Reiss, Av Beit Din of the Chicago Rabbinical Council, and father of Shana Alef talmid Yosef Thank you Rabbi Reiss for joining us!

Parashat Matot-Masei with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Why Do We Need to Know About Alllll of the Stops in the Midbar? #2 - Contemporary Commentators - The Basis of Jewish Morality: An Amazing Insight from R. Moshe Feinstein #3 - Sparks of Musar - The Importance of Being Inspired: Rav Schwab's Beautiful Insight into Am Yisroel's Journeys #4 - Sparks of Chasidus - "Life is a Journey" - The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Inspiring Interpretation #5 - Machshava / Jewish Thought Is There Room for Personal Autonomy in Judaism: Nedarim as a Case Study

R. Moshe Cordovero_Ramak_23 Tamuz 5330, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Matot 5768

Parashat Pinchas with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Hashem Rewards Pinchas (part 1) - What Is the "Bris Shalom"? #2 Hashem Rewards Pinchas (part 2) - What is the "Bris Kehunah"? #3 - Sparks of Chassidus - Multiple Paths Up the Mountain: Religious Individuality in the Thought of the Sefas Emes #4 - Sparks of Mussar - Surprising Companions: The Extremism and Violence of Pinchas and Aharon's Pursuit of Peace #5 - Halacha from the Parsha - Tadir V'She'eino Tadir - Which Mitzvah Comes First??

R. Shlomo Polachek_21 Tamuz 5688, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Pinchas 5767

R. Yitzchak Isaac HaLevi Herzog_19 Tamuz 5719, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Pinchas 5768

Parashat Balak with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - Did Hashem Give Balaam Permission to Go? Yes, No, or Maybe #2 - Sparks of Musar - The Dignity of Man - A Profound Insight from R. Chaim Shmuelevitz #3 - Contemporary Commentators - Bilaam vs Moshe: The Surprising Source of Moshe's Superiority #4 - Machshava / Jewish Thought - Did Bilaam's Donkey Really Speak? Understanding the Torah's Descriptions of Miraculous Events #5 - Sparks of Chasidus - "Am K'Lavi Yakum": The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Amazing Insight Int

Shaagas Aryeh_15-end of Tammuz 5545, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Balak 5767

R. Elchanan Wasserman HYD_11 Tamuz5701, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Chukat 5767

Parashat Chukat with Rav Dovid Gottlieb #1 - Classical Commentators - What Was Moshe's Sin? 3 Approaches in the Rishonim #2 - Contemporary Commentators - "Misas Tzadikim Mechaperes" - Rav Kook's Inspiring Interpretation #3 - Sparks of Musar - Dealing With Life's Challenging Twists and Turns: The Deeper Purpose of Para Adumah #4 - Sparks of Chasidus -Why Use a Copper Snake? A Beautiful Thought from the Sefas Emes #5 - Machshava / Jewish Thought - Do All Mitzvos - Even Chukim - Have Reasons?

R. Yehuda Leib HaCohen Maimon_9 Tammuz 5722, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Balak 5768

R. Shneur Kotler_3 Tammuz 5742, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Korach 5767

R. Yaakov Yosef_8 Tamuz 5662, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Chukat 5768

This shiur, by Rav Ezra Bick was given as part of the Revava Leadership Seminar - Conversations on Life after Yeshiva, with Bnei Chul nearing their end of Shana Alef, June 3, 2021.

R. Yisrael Zeev Gustman_28 Sivan 5751, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Shelach 5767

Yossele Rosenblatt_25 Sivan 5693, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Korach 5768

R. Shmuel Mohilever_20-24 Sivan 5658, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Shelach 5768

R. Shmuel Chaim Landau-Shachal_15 Sivan 5688, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Behaalotekha 5768

R. Yerucham Leibovitz_18 Sivan1936, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Behaalotekha 5767

R. Chaim of Volozin_14 Sivan 5581, by Rav Binyamin Tabory, originally given for Parshat Naso 5767