Rabbi David Semah – Shabuot and Acquiring the Low Hanging Fruits | Shabuot Class

Rabbi Moshe Tobal – Berachot 21b | Weekday Gemara

Rabbi Moshe Tobal hosts classes every day at 6:50 AM at West Deal Shul. This class on Berachot 21b focuses on the question of whether women are obligated in Birkat Hamazon on a Torah level. Rabbi Tobal analyzes Tosafot's position, which centers on the role of Brit and Torah in the Birkat Hamazon text, explaining that since women are not obligated in these two elements — and omitting them invalidates the blessing for men — their obligation may be fundamentally different. The class explores a parallel discussion about why women are restricted from learning Torah, presenting the Rambam's view that women lack the depth of understanding required, alongside the Maharil's contrasting view that women are too clever and may twist Torah for their own purposes, a debate that carries practical implications for Sephardic and Ashkenazic girl schools today. A key tension is raised regarding the conflict between Safek Doraita l'chumra, which would require repeating Birkat Hamazon if unsure, and the Doraita prohibition of Lo Tisa, which forbids saying a blessing in vain. The class concludes that the majority ruling treats the prohibition of a blessing l'vatala as Doraita, and that practically speaking, a woman with a doubt about whether she recited Birkat Hamazon faces a nuanced halachic question depending on whether her obligation is Doraita or Derabanan. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (0:00) Intro: Women & Birkat Hamazon (0:15) Tosafot on Nashim & Birchat Hamazon (1:00) Rashi's approach explained (2:30) Tosafot's challenge to Rashi (3:23) Brit & Torah in Birchat Hamazon (3:45) Yerushalmi: Women & Torah study (4:45) Rambam on women learning Torah (6:30) Maharil: Women too clever for Torah (7:45) Sephardic vs Ashkenazic practice (8:00) Machloket: Women's Torah study (9:55) Brit v'Torah in Nodeh Lecha (11:55) Tosafot's core question explained (12:20) The Safek: Women's obligation (15:00) Kohanim, Leviim & Nachalah (16:05) Ir Miklat & Shevet Levi (18:05) Halacha: Women cannot be Motzi men (18:40) Safek Doraita for men in Birchat Hamazon (19:15) Lo Tisa vs. Safek Doraita tension (21:45) Rambam on Bracha L'vatala (23:00) Magen Avraham's ruling (25:10) Practical halacha conclusion - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com

Rabbi Ike Hanon – Pesahim 40b | Weekday Gemara

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes Monday through Friday at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class continues the sugya in Pesachim 40b dealing with adding flour to a cooking pot on Pesach and the role vinegar plays in either accelerating or inhibiting the leavening process. The Gemara identifies the Yesh Omrim opinion — that vinegar added first still permits adding flour — as belonging to the Biyuda, based on a parallel ruling in the laws of Shabbat regarding kli rishon and kli sheini. The class also explores the distinction between a kli rishon and a kli sheini, with a practical discussion about raw spices and garnishes placed on hot Shabbos food. Ullah then rules stringently, invoking the principle of 'nazir, go far from the vineyard,' forbidding the addition of flour to a cooking pot even with vinegar present. The sugya closes with a dispute over Rappapay's leniency permitting roasted flour to be added to a dish, and two conflicting versions of Rava's position on the matter. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com

Rabbi Ike Hanon – Pesahim 40b | Weekday Gemara

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. The class begins on Pesachim 40b with a case involving a boatload of wheat that sank in a river near Pesach. Rava initially ruled the grain could be sold to non-Jews, but was challenged with a comparison to a garment containing a lost kilayim thread — in both cases, a gentile buyer might resell to an unsuspecting Jew. Rava then retracted and ruled instead that the grain should be sold to Jews only in small quantities, enough to be consumed before Pesach, so no chametz would remain. A side discussion emerged about whether the grain's leavening was visually identifiable and the implications of Rava's own opinion requiring shemira from the time of harvesting. The class concludes with a Tannaic teaching that one should not add flour to a pot on Pesach, but if one insists, vinegar should be used to accelerate cooking and prevent leavening, with a debate among Tannaim about whether the vinegar should be added first or second. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (0:00) Intro: Matzah Shemura recap (0:37) Sunken grain: Rava's ruling (1:35) Kilayim in a garment (3:00) Selling shatnez to a gentile (4:10) Shrouds as a solution (5:13) Challenge to Rava's ruling (8:52) Rava retracts: sell in small amounts (13:04) Flour in a pot on Pesach (13:30) Using vinegar to prevent chametz - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com

Rabbi Ike Hanon – Lessons from Miriam | Weekly Parasha

Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul. Rabbi Ike Hanon explores the story of Miriam and Aharon speaking about Moshe Rabbeinu, beginning with the well-known lesson that Lashon Hara is punished by tzarat, but quickly deepening the discussion to reveal why there is a mitzvah in Sefer Devarim to remember this story every day. He connects the story to the Rambam's seventh principle of faith — the unique and perfect prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu — explaining that Moshe's direct, unmediated communication with Hashem guarantees the absolute accuracy of the Torah, a point further illustrated by the Haftarah showing how the prophet Zechariah struggled with angelic intermediaries and unclear visions. Rabbi Hanon then examines Moshe's famously short five-word prayer for Miriam, explaining through a Midrash that its effectiveness came from Moshe's deep personal empathy as a tzarat survivor himself, and that the power of prayer for others is rooted in genuine empathy rather than length. Finally, he addresses why the entire nation waited for Miriam, arguing that the episode unexpectedly revealed her full lifelong resume of selfless devotion to Moshe — from encouraging her parents to have children to watching over him in the river — showing that small acts of kindness often cannot be fully appreciated until the greatness they helped create is finally revealed. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (0:00) Introduction & Story of Miriam (1:02) Lashon Hara & Tzarat (2:15) Mitzvah to Remember Miriam (3:01) The 13 Principles of Faith (3:33) 7th Ikkar: Moshe's Prophecy (5:08) 4 Differences in Moshe's Nevuah (7:09) Why Perfect Prophecy Matters (9:00) Miriam & Aharon's Mistake (11:18) Haftarah: Vision of Zechariah (12:29) Real Connection of the Haftarah (16:18) Moshe's Short Prayer (17:00) Rashi: Avoiding Nepotism (20:00) Quality Over Quantity in Prayer (21:00) Midrash: Moshe the Tzarat Survivor (23:36) How Prayer for Others Works (26:30) Why the Nation Waited for Miriam (27:44) Was Waiting a Reward or Shame? (28:07) Miriam's Full Resume Revealed (31:52) Measure for Measure Explained (32:16) Summary of Lessons - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com

Rabbi Moshe Tobal – Parasha Be’halotecha "Making like Kodesh" | Weekly Parasha

Rabbi Moshe Tobal hosts classes every day at 6:30 AM at West Deal Shul. In Parashat Beha'alotecha, Rabbi Tobal draws a connection between the upward-reaching flame of the Menorah and the Jewish soul, which is always striving to connect to Hashem. He focuses on the pasuk 'Vayisu Mehar Hashem,' which the rabbis interpret as Bnai Yisrael running away from Sinai like a child fleeing school, fearing they would receive more mitzvot — a subtle but significant disconnect in their love for Hashem. Rabbi Tobal explains that this emotional withdrawal, contrasted with their original declaration of Naaseh V'Nishma rooted in pure love and trust, may have been the root cause of the subsequent sin of the spies and the forty years in the desert. The practical lesson he derives is that when a person finishes a mitzvah or Torah class with a feeling of relief rather than longing, they sever themselves from its kedushah. But when one genuinely wishes the learning or mitzvah could continue, that yearning infuses even mundane daily activities with holiness, as if one is fulfilling Hashem's will at every moment. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (0:00) Dedication & Intro (0:28) Beha'alotecha: The Flame Rising (1:37) Vayisu Mehar Hashem — Running Away (3:10) Bnai Yisrael Traveled by Hashem's Word (4:21) The Disconnect in Their Hearts (4:37) Naaseh V'Nishma — We Will Do & Listen (6:05) Fear of More Mitzvot — A Broken Love (6:21) The 40 Years in the Desert (6:47) Practical Lesson: Yearning for Kedushah (8:05) Making Mundane Acts Holy - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Visit: westdealshul.org Sponsorships: west.deal.classes@gmail.com