YBT Hashkafah

Sforno's Counterintuitive Take on Makkas Bechoros and Korban Pesach (Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss)

Length: 1 hour 35 minutes Synopsis: The YBT Sunday Shiur I gave this morning (1/7/24) is an updated version of a shiur I gave exactly two years ago (1/7/22). The focus of the shiur is the Sforno's answer to two basic questions: (1) Who carried out Makkas Bechoros (the Plague of the Firstborn)? (2) What is the purpose of the Korban Pesach (Passover sacrifice)? What makes Sforno's approach counterintuitive? Because he holds that the Korban Pesach has absolutely nothing to do with Makkas Bechoros. Don't believe me? Listen to the case I build in the shiur and let me know what you think! For the other Sforno shiur I gave this year, which I reference in this one, click here: Sforno on Sedom: Understanding the Dialogue Between Avraham and Hashem (and Implications for Israel) [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1576750/13827929]. ----- מקורות: הגדה של פסח שמות ד:כב-כג; יא:ה,ט; יב:יב-יג,כב-כג,כז; יג:יא-טז תהלים עח:מט-נא ישעיהו לז:לו ספורנו - שמות ד:כג; יא:ט; יב:יב-יג,כב-כג,כז; יג:טו מכילתא דרבי ישמעאל שמות יב ר' אליה די נולה - תהלים עח:מט; קה:לו ספורנו - במדבר ג:יג; ח:יז,יט כל בו - הגדה של פסח, ביד חזרה - זו הדבר שמות רבה י:ב רש"י - שמות יב:ל מכילתא דרשב"י - שמות יב:ל תרגום אונקלוס - שמות יב:יג; יג:כג

Sforno on Sedom: Understanding the Dialogue Between Avraham and Hashem and Implications for Israel Today (Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss)

Length: 1 hour 35 minutes Synopsis: This YBT Sunday Shiur (10/23/23) is an updated version of a shiur I gave two years ago (10/23/21), the goal of which is to understand each and every step in Avraham's dialogue with Hashem about the fate of Sedom as explained by Sforno, and to extrapolate ideas about God's righteousness and justice. We concluded by reflecting on the implications and applications of these insights to the present war with Hamas. ----- מקורות: בראשית יא:ה; יג:יג; יד:ב; יח:טז-לג יחזקאל טז:מט ספורנו - בראשית יא:ה; יח:טז-לג עם הערות הרב יהודה קופרמן זצ"ל שיעורי ר' עובדיה ספורנו

Sunday Shiur: The Perils of Distracted Learning - Avos 3:9 (Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss)

Have you ever checked your phone while learning in a shiur, chavrusa, or even by yourself? This might seem innocuous, but Chazal teach us in Pirkei Avos that if you interrupt your learning to remark on the beauty of a tree or a field, then the Torah considers it as though you are "liable for your soul." This morning (2/26/23), I gave a YBT Sunday Shiur on that mishnah. After a brief methodological intro, we learned and discussed four different approaches to the mishnah with their practical implications; we concluded with some modern findings which have implications for how to level up not only in our learning, but in our professional lives as well. Note: This is an updated version of a shiur I gave to my women's Thursday Night Pirkei Avos shiur on 12/29/22 entitled Avos 3:9 - Interrupting Torah for a Tree [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1576750/11951873]. ---------- This shiur is dedicated to the memory of my Popo (grandmother), Helen Chang (1924 - 2/1/2023) and my student, Adira Koffsky (2004 - 2/1/2023) ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם – הקדמה לשמונה פרקים משלי א:ד-ה; יח:ט רמב"ן - במדבר י:לה רש"י - אבות א:טו Moshe Halbertal, Maimonides: Life and Thought (2015) [https://a.co/d/7xCK0KD]אבות ג:ה,ט,י מאירי אברבנאל רבינו יונה רש"י רשב"ץ ר' יעקב ב"ר שמשון מדרש שמואל רש"י - שבת דף ל עמוד ב Rabbi Israel Chait, Transcription of shiur on Pirkei Avos 3:9 Selective Attention Test (Simons and Chabris) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo] Cal Newport, Deep Work (2016) [https://a.co/d/2jkE2Pp] ----- If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.

Sunday Shiur: The Kiddush Levana You Never Saw (Rabbi Pinny Rosenthal)

A shiur in honor of the Fourth Yahrzeit of Rabbi Dr. Ronald Elliot Simon Z’l

The Metaphysical Implications of Stubbing Your Toe (Redux)

Note: Today's YBT Sunday Shiur (12/4/22) is a  "Take #2" of a shiur I gave on 5/20/22 as part of my "Machshavah Lab" series for women. Synopsis: It would be great to give a comprehensive shiur about how hashgachah pratis, reward and punishment, and Divine justice work. The problem is that these topics are WAY too broad and WAY too deep and WAY too beyond my knowledge level. However, there are many statements of Chazal which seem to presuppose that the average Jew WILL be able to frame the day to day events in their lives in the framework of the Torah's metaphysics. What, exactly, do Chazal expect us to do? Surely they don't expect everyone to ONLY apply these perspectives based on a full working knowledge of such lofty matters. That is the dilemma which led to this shiur. Instead of a comprehensive treatment, we will focus on a single statement of Chazal about what to think when you stub (or scrape) your toe. The challenge will be to explain how we're supposed to think about that statement, given our very limited knowledge of how God operates. ---------- מקורות: חולין דף ז עמוד ב אוהלות א:ח רמב"ם – מורה הנבוכים ג:כח נרבוני - שם אפודי - שם ר' מקבילי - שם מאירי – בית הבחירה חולין דף ז עמוב ב אבות ב:ז מאירי – אבות א:יד ספר החינוך – מעקה (מצוה תקמו) ספר החינוך – הנהגת המצרע וכל מטמאי אדם בפריעה ופרימה (מצוה קעא) רמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ב:מח תהלים פרק לז רש"י שם אבן עזרא שם רד"ק שם משלי כ:כד רבינו יונה שם מאירי שם כתובות דף ל עמוד א-ב תוספות שם ד"ה דין ד' מיתות לא בטלו ריטב"א שם ד"ה דין ד' מיתות לא בטלו מאירי – בית הבחירה בבא בתרא דף י עמוד ב משלי ו:טז-יט Hashgachah Clarification from the Rosh ha’Yeshiva: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1478911/10038754