Mr. Sammy Saka – Pirke Abot 2:16 “Overcoming Character Flaws” Tish'a B'Av Edition

Rabbi Joseph Dana – Tisha B'Av 5786

Rabbi Joseph Dana hosts classes every day at 6:50 AM and 7:30 AM at West Deal Shul. Rabbi Dana opens by framing Tisha B'Av as a day of mourning and silence, acknowledging how difficult it is for modern Jews — particularly comfortable American Jews — to genuinely feel the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. He traces the root cause of both the exile and the Churban not merely to the physical destruction, but to Sinat Chinam, baseless hatred, and its primary expression through Lashon Hara, drawing a direct line from the sin of the Meraglim to our present-day Galut. Using the Sfat Emet, he explains that every generation which fails to rebuild the Beit HaMikdash bears responsibility for continuing — not merely inheriting — the sins of earlier generations, particularly the sin of speaking negatively about one another. Rabbi Dana challenges his listeners to emerge from Tisha B'Av with one concrete change: to view every Jew as family, guard their speech, and recognize that Achdut — Jewish unity — is the very plug through which the Shekhinah connects to this world. He closes with the story of the Berditchever Rebbe waiting at the window for Mashiach, expressing hope that this be the last Tisha B'Av in exile. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (0:00) Tisha B'Av: A Time for Silence (1:24) Why We Struggle to Feel the Day (2:26) Antisemitism & Esav Sonei Yaakov (4:24) We Are Not Home in Galut (6:27) Don't Let Tisha B'Av Pass You By (7:11) The American Jew & Comfort (8:29) The Shekhinah Is in Exile (9:42) Yom Kippur vs. Tisha B'Av (11:11) We Are a Family, Not a Nation (11:32) The Rambam on Fast Days (12:41) Why We Fast: The Real Cause (13:42) Churban Bayit Rishon vs. Sheini (16:06) Sinat Chinam Equals the 3 Sins (17:00) Netzivot Shalom: 2,000 Years Later (19:49) Treating Each Other = Inviting Hashem (20:22) Beit HaMikdash Waiting to Fall (21:31) The Rambam: Decree on the Desert (22:52) The Sin of the Spies & Lashon Hara (26:27) Lashon Hara Is Trampled Today (29:21) Gemara Arakhin: Power of Lashon Hara (31:25) Sticks & Stones Still Caused Exile (31:56) The Avodah: Muzzle Your Mouth (32:14) Sfat Emet: Fixing Previous Generations (35:42) Each Generation That Delays the Mikdash (36:36) Tisha B'Av Falls With Seder Night (37:45) We Are Close to Geula (39:09) One Practical Question for Today (40:00) Every Brick on the Beit HaMikdash (40:54) The Berditchever Waits for Mashiach - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com

Mr. Sammy Saka – Pirke Abot 2:16 “Overcoming Character Flaws” Tish'a B'Av Edition

Mr. Sammy Saka hosts classes on Zoom Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30PM. Contact Jacob Betesh to be added to the chat. In this Tisha B'Av edition of Pirkei Avot, Mr. Sammy Saka teaches Mishnah 2:16, in which Rabbi Yehoshua warns that an evil eye, the evil inclination, and hatred of people remove a person from the world. He explores the root of ayin hara as jealousy, connecting it to the Tenth Commandment and teaching that Hashem gave us two eyes so that one can always be directed toward the positive and toward being genuinely happy for others. On the yetzer hara, Mr. Saka explains that while it is the force behind our desires, it is also the mechanism of free will, and the antidote is strength and consistency — like the first halacha in Shulchan Aruch, which calls us to rise like a lion. For sinat habriyot, he draws on the story of Yosef and his brothers and cites Rambam's teaching that unresolved grievances must be addressed immediately before they fester into hatred, connecting this destructive force to the loss of the second Beit HaMikdash. He closes with the Gemara's story of the two selfless brothers whose unconditional love for one another designated that very spot as the site of the Beit HaMikdash, reminding us that its rebuilding will come through ahavat hinam — baseless love. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com

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