Rabbi Joseph Dana – Berachot 23a | Weekday Gemara #365

Rabbi Joseph Dana – SBH 9 Days of Hesed Dvar Torah

Rabbi Joseph Dana hosts classes every morning at 6:50 AM at West Deal Shul. Rabbi Dana delivered this class during the Nine Days, connecting the SBH chesed initiative to the deeper concept of Ahavat Chinam as the tikun for sinat chinam, the baseless hatred that caused the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. He explored the first blessing of the Amida, explaining why it opens with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov but closes only with Magen Avraham, teaching that the three Avot represent Torah, Yirat Shamayim, and Chesed respectively. While acknowledging that through Yeridas HaDoros we cannot match earlier generations in Torah learning or fear of heaven, Rabbi Dana powerfully argued that our generation can and must surpass all previous generations in chesed. He concluded that the generation who merits bringing Mashiach will be defined by extraordinary acts of kindness, and that every flower wrapped and every challah kneaded is a spiritual brick rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash and hastening the Geula. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com

Rabbi Joseph Dana – Berachot 23a | Weekday Gemara #365

Rabbi Joseph Dana hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:50 AM at West Deal Shul. This class covers a Talmudic passage in Berachot 23a dealing with a person who loses control of his bladder in the middle of the Amida. The Gemara raises a dispute between two Amoraim about whether he resumes prayer from the beginning or from the point he paused, and the class explores whether that dispute hinges on how long the pause lasted or on whether his prayer was valid from the outset. The discussion then turns to the broader halachic question of whether one is permitted to begin the Amida when he feels the need to use the bathroom, introducing the 72-minute standard as the threshold between a prayer that counts and one considered an abomination. Rashi and the Rif hold that if a person can hold himself for 72 minutes, he is permitted to begin praying without first using the bathroom, while Rabbeinu Yonah and the Rambam argue he is still obligated to try and relieve himself beforehand. The class concludes with the Rambam's list of five preparatory requirements before prayer, including hand-washing, clearing mucus, and ensuring no physical discomforts will distract from proper kavanah. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (0:00) Intro: Urinating During Amida (1:43) Where Does He Resume Prayer? (3:00) Tosfot: Urine Absorbed in Ground (4:34) Is the Mahloket About the Pause? (8:30) Gemara Rejects That Reading (9:33) Everyone Agrees: Long Pause = Start Over (10:26) Rabbi 1: Prayer Was Invalid From Start (11:45) Rabbi 2: Prayer Was Valid (13:22) Can He Leave Mid-Amida to Clean Up? (14:13) Can He Pray If He Needs to Go? (15:02) The 72-Minute Rule Introduced (17:20) Rashi: 72 Min = Permitted to Start (18:44) Riff Agrees With Rashi (20:44) Rabbeinu Yonah Disputes the Riff (23:22) The Rambam's Five Pre-Prayer Requirements (25:54) Rambam: Must Try Bathroom Before Prayer (28:05) Summary of the Five Categories - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com

Rabbi Ike Hanon – Pesahim 48a | Weekday Gemara

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class continues the sugya on 47b-48a, examining the debate between Rava and Rav Chisda over the principle of Hoyil and its role in permitting cooking on Yom Tov. The Gemara explores a case where a sheep brought from a distant pasture is slaughtered as the Korban Tamid, using a pasuk in Yechezkel to distinguish between Tevel, which carries an inherent body-level prohibition, and Muksa, which is prohibited only due to external circumstances of time and place. Abaye launches a multi-pronged attack on Rava, arguing that if Muksa were truly a Deorayta prohibition, the Gemara would not bother distinguishing it from Tevel, and that Rava's position that the firewood counted as a separate Melacha generating its own Malkot contradicts his own ruling that Hiluk Melachot does not apply on Yom Tov. Rava attempts to salvage his count of five liabilities in the Gid Hanashe case by substituting Asheira wood for Muksa, invoking the prohibition against benefiting from idolatrous objects, but Abaye counters that this would actually generate two separate sets of lashes rather than one, pushing the total to six. The class ends with Rava's revised answer still under pressure, leaving the resolution for the next session. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (0:00) Recap: Rav Chisda vs. Rava on Hoyil (1:22) Rava vs. Rav Chisda: Two Extremes (2:14) Abaye's Counter-Proof on Hoyil (2:40) The Sheep from a Faraway Pasture (3:17) Yechezkel Pasuk: Korban Requirements (4:31) Palgas: The 13-Month Exclusion (4:53) Min Hameosayim: Nisachim and Orla (5:58) Min Mashke Yisrael: Permitted Produce (6:35) Tevel vs. Muksa: Isur Gufo Explained (10:17) Abaye's Challenge: Muksa and Malkot (11:04) Is Muksa Deorayta or Derabanan? (13:16) Second Challenge: Hiluk Melachot on Yom Tov (14:12) Rashi: Chatat on Shabbat, Malkot on Yom Tov (19:26) Rava's Revision: Swap in Asheira Wood (21:44) Lo Yidbak: Benefiting from Asheira (22:18) Abaye Adds a Sixth Lashing - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com

Rabbi Ike Hanon – Pesahim 47b-48a | Weekday Gemara

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. This class covers Pesachim 47b-48a, focusing on the ongoing debate between Rabbah and Rav Nachman (Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak) regarding the principle of ho'il — the idea that since an action could have been permitted under different circumstances, it is not subject to lashes on Yom Tov. Abaye challenges Rabbah through a case involving the cooking of a gid ha'nasheh in milk on Yom Tov, generating five distinct sets of lashes, and questions whether ho'il should eliminate the lash for hav'ara (kindling fire) since the fire could theoretically have been used for permitted cooking. A fascinating tangent explores the Rambam and Ra'avad's dispute over whether a blessing can be recited on non-kosher food, with the Gemara's logic potentially supporting the Rambam's view that non-kosher has no halachic significance. Rabbah attempts multiple reformulations of the five-lash case — substituting nevelah and then mukseh firewood for hav'ara — and Abaye presses back each time, including raising the question of whether mukseh is a Torah-level prohibition derived from the laws of manna. The class ends mid-sugya as Abaye introduces a new challenge involving a sheep brought from a distant pasture for the korban tamid on Yom Tov, setting up a deeper analysis of mukseh's legal status. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (0:00) Intro: Rabbah vs. Rav Nachman (0:38) Eight lashes for plowing on Yom Tov (1:13) Abaye's challenge: Gid HaNasheh case (2:04) Five lashes breakdown explained (3:26) Rambam vs. Ra'avad: beracha on non-kosher (4:49) Rav Schechter and the non-religious home (6:08) Lashes for basar b'chalav cooking (6:31) Torah's three prohibitions of basar b'chalav (7:55) Ho'il applied to hav'ara (burning) (9:18) Hav'ara on Shabbat and Yom Tov (11:04) Tosafot: mitoch vs. ho'il (12:41) Rabbah responds: swap hav'ara for nevelah (13:22) Rechiyah's mnemonic: two eating, three cooking (15:46) New swap: mukseh firewood replaces hav'ara (17:12) What is mukseh? Definition and origin (18:36) Is mukseh d'Oraita? The manna proof (20:50) Abaye's long challenge: sheep from afar (21:31) Korban tamid brought on Yom Tov (22:33) Yechezkel pasuk and its derashot (24:50) Mimashke Yisrael: mukseh and tevel - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com

Rabbi Moses Hidary – Surrounding Nations, Values, & 9 Av | Tisha B'Av

Rabbi Moses Hidary hosts classes every Monday at 8:15 PM at West Deal Shul. In this class tied to Tisha B'Av, Rabbi Hidary examines a passage from Parashat Masei in which Hashem commands Bnei Yisrael to drive out the nations of Canaan before settling the land, warning that failure to do so will result in those nations becoming "pins in their eyes and thorns in their sides." He presents two major approaches to understanding this warning: the straightforward reading of Rashi and Onkelos, who see it as a physical threat of harassment and warfare, and the Ramban's deeper interpretation, which frames it as a progressive spiritual danger — the surrounding nations will distort Israel's judgment, corrupt their values, make them vulnerable, and ultimately lead to exile. Drawing on the concept of shohad (bribery) as a metaphor for imperceptible bias, Rabbi Hidary extends the discussion to the modern challenge of outside cultural influence through the internet, social media, and AI, asking where today's generation is truly getting its values from. He concludes with a call to protect and transmit authentic Jewish values through Mesorah — the chain of tradition from Sinai through parents, rabbis, and community — and offers these reflections as meaningful focal points for Tisha B'Av contemplation alongside the mourning for the Beit HaMikdash. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (0:00) Introduction & Tisha B'Av context (1:09) Parashat Masei: entering Israel (3:34) The directive to drive out the nations (5:39) Consequence of leaving the nations (8:20) Approach 1: Rashi & Onkelos explained (11:37) Modern examples: Oct. 7 & safety in Israel (16:20) Ramban: a deeper reading of the pasuk (17:04) Shohad & distorted judgment (20:14) Ramban's progression: influence to exile (22:03) Spiritual danger of Goyim influence (25:50) Where do we get our values from? (27:17) The internet, AI & the next generation (37:29) Pirkei Avot & the chain of Mesorah (39:31) Mishlei: learning values from parents (41:00) Tisha B'Av takeaways & closing - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com