Rambam Bekius

Religion & Spirituality Podcas

My name is Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss, and this is the podcast for my Rambam Bekius Chavurah at Yeshiva Bnei Torah (YBT). We typically meet four days a week for an hour and learn the writings of the Rambam on a bekius level (i.e. with the aim of covering ground rather than doing an in-depth analysis). Our focus is on the Mishneh Torah, but we will frequently delve into the Sefer ha'Mitzvos, the Peirush ha'Mishnayos, the Moreh ha'Nevuchim, and other writings from the Rambam when our learning takes us there. If you're interested in attaining fluency in the Rambam's Torah, then this is the podcast for you!

My name is Rabbi Matt Schneeweiss, and this is the podcast for my Rambam Bekius Chavurah at Yeshiva Bnei Torah (YBT). We typically meet four days a week for an hour and learn the writings of the Rambam on a bekius level (i.e. with the aim of covering ground rather than doing an in-depth analysis). Our focus is on the Mishneh Torah, but we will frequently delve into the Sefer ha'Mitzvos, the Peirush ha'Mishnayos, the Moreh ha'Nevuchim, and other writings from the Rambam when our learning takes us there. If you're interested in attaining fluency in the Rambam's Torah, then this is the podcast for you!

Location:

United States

Genres:

Religion & Spirituality Podcas

Description:

Language:

English

Website:

https://rambambekius.buzzsprout.com/

Episodes

On Reading the Rambam's Mishneh Torah Like a Love Letter

6/21/2022

Synopsis: This is the audio version of the 1-page article I wrote entitled, On Reading the Rambam's Mishneh Torah Like a Love Letter, which is part PSA and part rant regarding the widespread practice to favor the standard printed editions of the Mishneh Torah over the critical editions. ---------- This week's Torah content has been sponsored by Naomi Mann in honor of Rabbi Moskowitz zt"l, whose shloshim is this week. ---------- If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love...

Duration:00:05:35

The Rambam's Ambitious Plan for the Centralization of Halacha (Part 2)

6/16/2022

This afternoon (6/16/22), in our last Rambam Bekius chavurah of the season, we continued reading Halbertal's analysis of the intended purpose and role of the Mishneh Torah, weighing in with our own views and supplementing his sources with sources of our own. The conclusion he reached was quite fitting for a final Rambam Bekius chavurah of the year. בג"ה, we will continue next year with more exciting adventures in our learning of the Rambam! בריך רחמנא דסייען ---------- מקורות: Moshe...

Duration:01:01:41

The Rambam's Ambitious Plan for the Centralization of Halacha (Part 1)

6/15/2022

NOTE: I forgot to read a CRITICAL source!! The Rambam's Hakdamah אות ל-לג. I intend to begin tomorrow's shiur with this. This afternoon (6/15/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we returned to the topic we took up on Monday: what was the Rambam thinking when he declared that a person can paskin straight from the Mishneh Torah? After reading the views of the Tosfos Yom Tov and Chazon Ish, who (mistakenly) claim that the Rambam never intended this in the first place, we read an excerpt from...

Duration:01:00:50

Rambam vs. Aruch ha'Shulchan on Shnayim Mikra (Part 1)

6/14/2022

This afternoon (6/14/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we decided to do a follow-up to yesterday's shiur: a sort of "demo" of the difference between the Rambam's and the Aruch ha'Shulchan's halachic treatment of the same topic. I chose the topic of Shnayim Mikra because of its size, given the fact that we only have three days of shiur before we break for the summer. My intention is to highlight the extreme differences between the Rambam and the Aruch ha'Shulchan, both didactically and...

Duration:00:57:05

Why We Don't Paskin Out of the Mishneh Torah

6/13/2022

This afternoon (6/13/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we took up a topic that I've wanted to address for a very long time: what the Rambam intended to accomplish with his Mishneh Torah, and what other Rishonim thought. Specifically, the Rambam clearly held that people could and should paskin straight out of the Mishneh Torah, whereas the Rosh held that such "psak" would be prone to error without familiarity with the sugyos in Shas. We read through both sources, and then read the last part...

Duration:00:59:10

Birkas Kohanim in Mikdash (Hilchos Tefilah u'Birkas Kohanim 14:7-11)

6/9/2022

This afternoon (6/9/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we began by reviewing some of what we did yesterday, after which we learned what the procedure for Birkas Kohanim was in Mikdash. We encountered more questions than answers, but still found everything to be quite interesting. We'll continue next week (בג"ה). ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר אהבה, הלכות תפלה וברכת כהנים יד:ז-יא רש"י - חגיגה דף טז עמוד א ירושלמי מגילה ד:ח שולחן ערוך אורח חיים קכח:יב רמב"ם - פירוש המשניות...

Duration:01:00:07

The Mitzvah and Procedure of Birkas Kohanim (Hilchos Tefilah u'Birkas Kohanim 14:1-7)

6/8/2022

This afternoon (6/8/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we began learning a new and exciting topic: Birkas Kohanim, chosen in part because it's featured in this week's parashah. Today, after a brief intro about Qafih's Taryag poem, we learned through the introductory sources in the Rambam about Birkas Kohanim, followed by the halachos outlining the procedure of the berachah outside of Mikdash. Tomorrow we'll contrast this with the procedure IN Mikdash (בג"ה). ---------- מקורות: קאפח -...

Duration:00:59:00

Shavuos in Mikdash (Hilchos Temidin u'Mussafin 8:1-15)

6/2/2022

This afternoon (6/2/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we began learning through the halachos pertaining to Chag ha'Shavuos (a.k.a. Atzeres) in the Beis ha'Mikdash. We got through most of the halachos in a mostly bekius fashion, delving into more in-depth points here and there. We didn't finish the perek, but we at least got an overview of the relevant mitzvos. ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר עבודה, הלכות תמידין ומוספין ח:א-טו ----- This week's Torah content is dedicated to the...

Duration:00:50:36

Tearing Kria for a Rav Muvhak and Other Torah Scholars (Hilchos Talmud Torah Chapters 8-9)

6/1/2022

This afternoon (6/1/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we took up a one-day topic which (unfortunately) was very practical for me this week. The good news is that my recent experience with these halachos gave me new insight into several things that I wouldn't have otherwise seen. Miraculously, we actually did "bekius" today - so much so, that we'll move on to another topic tomorrow (בג"ה). ----- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר שופטים, הלכות אבל ח:א-ג; ט:א-ה,יא-יג ויקרא י:ו ב' שמואל...

Duration:00:56:57

My Eulogy for Rabbi Moskowitz zt"l

5/30/2022

This is the audio of the eulogy I gave for my beloved rebbi, Rabbi Morton Moskowitz zt"l on Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan 5782 (May 30th, 2022). For the video, click here. I plan on typing up the transcript of the abridged version of the eulogy (which is the one I gave), as well as the full version of the eulogy (which I haven't yet completed). I'll post links here once they're complete. Here's the link to the full levaya, which includes the other six incredible and moving eulogies that were...

Duration:00:09:32

Nidui, Cherem, and Vengeance for Kavod ha'Torah (Hilchos Talmud Torah 7:13)

5/26/2022

This afternoon (5/26/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we learned through the final halachos in the perek. The first couple of halachos were miscellaneous details in nidui and cherem. The last halachos were about how a chacham should conduct himself with regards to nidui. Ordinarily we would have spent more time on these last halachos, were it not for the fact that I gave a shiur on this last summer (8/4/21). And so, with that, we finished this round of Hilchos Talmud Torah! בריך רחמנא...

Duration:00:55:11

Rambam on Dreams: A Desperate Gambit to Understand "Dream Nidui" (Moreh ha'Nevuchim 3:26)

5/25/2022

This afternoon (5/25/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we tried once more to understand the strange case of "dream nidui" - this time, according to the Rambam. We began by reviewing his basic definition of nevuah and what he holds about the imaginative faculty. We then read part of a chapter in the Moreh ha'Nevuchim where he talks about dreams to see if that might help us to understand his halacha. I then gave what I introduced as an intentionally bad sevara. I did this because I wanted to...

Duration:00:54:04

Nidui in a Dream (Hilchos Talmud Torah 7:12)

5/24/2022

This afternoon (5/24/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we aimed to explain the perplexing halachos of "nidui in a dream." Halachically, why should we care about the contents of a dream here when we disregard them in all other areas of halacha? Why are the requirements for being released from a dream-nidui different and more stringent here than by a normal nidui? What is the nature of this nidui anyway? We succeeded in developing an approach based on other Rishonim, but we have yet to...

Duration:00:52:01

Clarification of Nidui (Hilchos Talmud Torah 7:1-12)

5/23/2022

This afternoon (5/23/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, the plan WAS to move forward in the halachos, but because we had two people in shiur who weren't there last week, we ended up reviewing. I, for one, am glad we did, because we ended up clarifying a number of points and gaining some new insights along the way. In the last 15 minutes we set up the problems in the sugya of "nidui in a dream," which we'll take up tomorrow (בג"ה). ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות...

Duration:00:57:38

Yesterday's Halachos Take #2 (Hilchos Talmud Torah 7:1-12)

5/19/2022

This afternoon (5/19/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we began by taking up a question posed in the introduction to the Chabad edition of the one-volume Mishneh Torah. That question is: What is the value of learning halachos in the Rambam if we don't understand what we're learning? After answering that question, we reviewed ALL the halachos we did yesterday, attempting to answer questions we raised and tying up loose ends. We concluded by reading the halachos which we hope to learn...

Duration:01:01:10

Nidui for Shem Shamayim Levatalah + Nidui/Cherem Procedures (Hilchos Shevuos Ch12; Hilchos Talmud Torah Ch7)

5/18/2022

This afternoon (5/18/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we started off with a halacha about the odd application of nidui to someone who intentionally takes Hashem's name in vain. This led to an exploration of Hilchos Shevuos and Nedarim which was equal parts fascinating and perplexing. With around 15 minutes remaining, we FINALLY pushed our way through the first part of Hilchos Talmud Torah Chapter 7 and read about the procedures for nidui and cherem. This raised even more questions, and we...

Duration:00:58:42

Noisy Children and "Mishneh Torah Eyes" (Hilchos Talmud Torah 2:7)

5/17/2022

This afternoon (5/17/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we began by discussing a "Rambam experience" I had shortly before shiur started. From here we segued into a review of why it's so important to learn the Rambam's Mishneh Torah. We covered a number of points which had covered in the past about the Rambam's organization, but these are points which it always pays to review, or to relay to someone hearing them for the first time (as happened today). We only revisited the topic at hand at...

Duration:00:48:26

The Ban List: Second Half (Hilchos Talmud Torah 6:14)

5/16/2022

This afternoon (5/16/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we continued learning through the Rambam's list of 24 "ban-worthy" offenses (i.e. those for which we impose nidui, which the Rambam still hasn't defined yet). We began with a review of last week with the intent of trying to discern categories within the list. Some of the categories were very clear; others less so. We finished the list today and, with it, Chapter 6. Tomorrow (בג"ה) we will begin Chapter 7 and, hopefully, finally learn a...

Duration:00:57:32

The Ban List: First Half (Hilchos Talmud Torah 6:14)

5/12/2022

This afternoon (5/12/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we began learning through the Rambam's list of 24 "ban-worthy" offenses (i.e. those for which we impose nidui, which the Rambam still hasn't defined yet). Some of these were self-explanatory. For the others, we used the sources cited by R' Makbili as a springboard. We didn't fully understand why all of these are ban-worthy, but that's because we haven't familiarized ourselves with all the cases ... nor have we learned what nidui...

Duration:00:58:20

Bizui, Sinah, and Nidui (Hilchos Talmud Torah 6:10-13)

5/11/2022

This afternoon (5/11/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we covered three topics: (1) revising and refining our definition of bizui talmidei chachamim, (2) defining the halachic shiur of "hatred" according to the Rambam, and (3) beginning the halachos of nidui, which will take us into the next chapter. Today we just got our feet wet in the nidui pool; tomorrow we'll dive into the deep end (בג"ה). ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תלמוד תורה ו:יב רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר...

Duration:01:00:46