Rambam Bekius

Religion & Spirituality Podcasts

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 Podcasts

Description:

Language:

English

Website:

https://rambambekius.buzzsprout.com/

Episodes

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

Bizui Talmidei Chachamim (Hilchos Talmud Torah 6:11)

5/10/2022

This afternoon (5/10/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we attempted to understand what the Rambam might mean by "bizui" in his discussion of being mevazeh talmidei chachamim. We developed our answer based on how the term is used in Tanach and by Chazal before looking at how the Rambam, himself, uses the term elsewhere. We came away with an approach which will likely be tested as we go through these next halachos. -------- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תלמוד תורה ו:יא במדבר...

Duration:00:56:56

Privileges of Talmidei Chachamim (Hilchos Talmud Torah 6:10-11)

5/9/2022

This afternoon (5/9/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we returned to Hilchos Talmud Torah after a two-month "inyanei d'yoma" detour. Today we focused on the halachos about the privileges (rights and exemptions) of talmidei chachamim. We then began the next halacha, about degrading talmidei chachamim, which we'll continue tomorrow (בג"ה). ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תלמוד תורה ו:י-יא רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר קנין, הלכות שכנים ו:ו איכה רבה - הקדמה, אות ב רמב"ם -...

Duration:01:02:29

Birkas ha'Mitzvah on Sefiras ha'Omer - Part 2 (Hilchos Temidin u'Mussafin 7:25)

5/5/2022

This afternoon (5/5/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we began by reviewing what we covered yesterday in the Hararei Kedem pience, and then finished it. In addition to appreciating the Rav's sevaros, we also had some important methodology discussions about the Brisker Derech and its relationship to the Mishneh Torah. Next week (בג"ה) we'll return to Hilchos Talmud Torah Chapter 6. ---------- מקורות: רב שורקין - הררי קדם חלק ב' סימן קו שולחן ערוך אורח חיים תפט:א,ד רמ"א שם תפט:א רמב"ם:...

Duration:00:56:04

Birkas ha'Mitzvah on Sefiras ha'Omer - Part 1 (Hilchos Berachos 11:5)

5/4/2022

This afternoon (5/4/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah (Ra'avyah bekius chavurah?), we began by reviewing what we covered yesterday (Why, according to the Rambam, don't we say shehecheyanu on sefiras ha'omer?), and read Encyclopedia Talmudit's summaries of several other answers. We then began working on our other question: Why, according to the Rambam, is there a hava amina that failing to say the birkas ha'mitzvah on sefiras ha'omer is me'akev? We started learning through a piece in Hararei...

Duration:00:58:39

Why Don't We Say Shehecheyanu on Sefiras ha'Omer According to the Rambam, Specifically? (Hilchos Berachos 11:9)

5/3/2022

This afternoon (5/3/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we tackled the question we raised a few days ago by learning through a piece in Hararei Kedem and weighing in with our own thoughts. The piece begins by examining the "famous Baal ha'Maor" on this question, then shows how his answers are inadequate according to the Rambam, and then proceeds to offer a sevara which explains the Rambam. I'm curious to know what _you_ think of that sevara. ---------- מקורות: רב שורקין - הררי קדם חלק ב'...

Duration:00:52:57

Counting the Omer (Hilchos Temidin u'Mussafin 7:17-25)

5/2/2022

This afternoon (5/2/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we finished the few remaining halachos about harvesting before the omer is brought, and then read the two paragraphs in the Rambam on the mitzvah of counting the omer. Our plan will be to wrap that topic up tomorrow (בג"ה) by attempting to answer some of the questions we've raised along the way, and to do so in a decidedly non-bekiusy manner. ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר עבודה, הלכות תמידין ומוספין, ז:יז-כה מנחות דף סח...

Duration:00:57:43

Harvesting and Bringing the Omer (Hilchos Temidin u'Mussafin 7:1-16)

4/28/2022

This afternoon (4/28/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we learned through all the halachos of the mussaf Rosh Chodesh, the mussaf of Pesach, the harvesting of the omer, the bringing of the omer, and some of the halachos about the prohibition to harvest other grains before harvesting the omer. Next week (בג"ה) we'll finish those halachos, learn about sefiras ha'omer, and hopefully answer our questions about the berachos which we raised yesterday. ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר...

Duration:00:59:23

The Mitzvos Associated with the Omer and Shavuos (Sefer ha'Mitzvos: Aseh #44,45,46,161)

4/27/2022

This afternoon (4/27/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we began yet another side-/inyanei d'yoma topic: the mitzvos associated with the Omer and Shavuos. We began by familiarizing ourselves in a cursory manner with the relevant pesukim in Emor, Re'eh, and Pinchas. We then read through the Rambam's formulation of the four most relevant mitzvos in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos, the minyan ha'mitzvos in the Mishneh Torah, and the koseres in Hilchos Temidin u'Mussafin. Along the way we raised a few...

Duration:01:02:37

R' Avraham ben ha'Rambam on the Mysterious Incident of Tziporah and Bris Milah (Shemos 4:24-26)

4/7/2022

This afternoon (4/7/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we had PLANNED to finish Hilchos korban Pesach. Instead, we took up a tangential question we raised yesterday: What's going on in the short episode involving Tziporah and Bris Milah? We were led here by the Rambam's halachos about the prohibition of an uncircumcised person to partake of the Korban Pesach, and we were hoping to be treated to a citation of the Rambam's view. Instead, we got the views of the generations on either side:...

Duration:00:55:22

Who Can and Can't Eat the Korban Pesach? (Hilchos Korban Pesach 9:7-9)

4/6/2022

This afternoon (4/6/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we endeavored to do a deep dive into the topic of "meshumad l'avodah zarah" (apostate to idolatry), in which we'd read through every single source in the Mishneh Torah on that topic. Unfortunately, we had to cut shiur short by 15 minutes, and we didn't make it all the way through. At least we finished the perek! ---- מקורות: רמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:נא רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות דעות ג:ב-ג עבודה זרה ב:ה; ט:יז-יח תשובה...

Duration:00:47:56

Rambam on: What is Avodas Hashem? (Moreh ha'Nevuchim 3:51; Hilchos Deios 3:2-3)

4/5/2022

This afternoon (4/5/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we were GOING to finish Hilchos Korban Pesach Chapter 9, but Yosef asked a question which was far more important: What is avodas Hashem? Since this is Rambam Bekius, we focused on the Rambam's answer, as expressed in the two places where - to my knowledge - he articulates it the most clearly. I thought this was a fitting topic to review before Pesach. ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:נא רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות...

Duration:01:00:34

Eating the Korban Pesach in a Group (Hilchos Korban Pesach 9:1-9)

4/4/2022

This afternoon (4/4/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we learned the majority of Hilchos Korban Pesach Chapter 9, about the paramaters of eating the korban Pesach in a chavurah. Tomorrow we'll aim to finish the chapter, and perhaps take up a question about what it means to serve Hashem according to the Rambam (בג"ה). ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם - ספר המצוות, לא תעשה קכג,קכח רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר קרבנות, הלכות קרבן פסח ט:א-ט ר' אברהם בן הרמב"ם - שו"ת ברכת אברהם סימן ח תורה תמימה - שמות...

Duration:00:59:37

Why Learn About Korban Pesach? (Makbili, Soloveitchik, Hilchos Korban Pesach 8:10-15)

3/31/2022

This afternoon (3/31/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we spent the first half of shiur talking about why we're learning the halachos of Korban Pesach when we don't observe them nowadays. My own answer is near and dear to my reasons for learning the Mishneh Torah in general - reasons which are beautifully expressed by R' Makbili in his Foreword to the Mishneh Torah, and by the Rav in Halakhic Man. After we talked about this, we finished Chapter 8 of Hilchos Korban Pesach. Next week we'll...

Duration:00:58:02

Preparing the Korban Pesach for Eating (Hilchos Korban Pesach 1:14-15; 8:1-10)

3/30/2022

This afternoon (3/30/22), in our Rambam Bekius chavurah, we finished the halachos about the procedure of offering the Korban Pesach, and then we began the halachos about eating the Korban Pesach. We encountered several questions along the way which we were unable to answer - largely due to our ignorance of Kodshim - but I'll try to answer them tomorrow. ---------- מקורות: רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר קרבנות, הלכות קרבן פסח א:יד-טו; ח:א-י רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר עבודה, הלכות מעשה קרבנות ה:ו-ז;...

Duration:00:56:47