Rambam Bekius
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!
Episodes
387 episodes
Some Thoughts on the Seudah ha'Mafsekes (Hilchos Taaniyos 5:7-9)
Length: 21 minutes 24 secondsSynopsis: I was originally going to record an episode for tomorrow, Tishah b'Av itself, but I ended up discussing the halachos of seudah ha'mafsekes (the concluding meal before the fast) with my chavrusa this af...
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Season 12
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Episode 29
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22:35
Tearing Kria Over the Destruction (Hilchos Taaniyos 5:16-18)
Length: 12 minutes 23 secondsSynopsis: We conclude the fifth chapter of Hilchos Taaniyos with the halachos of tearing our garments when we encounter the Cities of Judah, Jerusalem, and the Mikdash in their states of destruction. The final h...
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Season 12
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Episode 28
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13:16
Commemorations of the Destruction (Hilchos Taaniyos 5:12-15)
Length: 9 minutes 50 secondsSynopsis: Today's halachos are about the enactments and decrees that Chazal set up to commemorate the destruction of the Mikdash and Yerushalayim. Some of these are familiar to us; others seem to no longer be pra...
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Season 12
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Episode 27
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10:42
Prohibitions on Tishah b'Av and Manuscript Methodology (Hilchos Taaniyos 5:10-11)
Length: 15 minutes 22 secondsSynopsis: Today we finish the Rambam's halachos of Tishah b'Av itself, stopping to discuss an interesting minority manuscript and its implications. Tomorrow we'll move on to the next topic in the chapter: the co...
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Season 12
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Episode 26
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16:15
Rosh Chodesh Av to Erev Tishah b'Av (Hilchos Taaniyos 5:6-9)
Length: 7 minutes 52 secondsSynopsis: We continue in Hilchos Taaniyos 5 with the halachos pertaining to the month of Av and Erev Tishah b'Av. As I said, we're keeping this in a "strictly bekius" mode for now to ensure that we finish the cha...
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Season 12
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Episode 25
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8:44
Days on Which All Jews Fast (Hilchos Taaniyos 5.1-5)
Length: 11 minutes 20 secondsSynopsis: We'll be taking another detour into the Laws of Fasts in order to prepare for Tishah b'Av, "Rambam Bekius style." Today we read the introductory halachos in which the Rambam tells us about each of the ...
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Season 12
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Episode 24
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12:13
Different Davening for Different Daveners (Hilchos Tefilah u'Birkas Kohanim 1:3)
Length: 12 minutes 2 secondsSynopsis: Today we examine the Rambam's examples of the different ways that different people used to daven. There are some nuances in the Rambam's language that I never noticed before. We end off with a CORRECTED...
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Season 12
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Episode 23
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12:54
Inferences from the Formulation of Tefilah de'Oraisa (Hilchos Tefilah u'Birkas Kohanim 1:2-3)
Length: 13 minutes 32 secondsSynopsis: Today we reread the Rambam's formulation of the obligation of tefilah from the Torah and make several inferences from the nuances of his formulation. These nuances help us to know what the actual chiyu...
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Season 12
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Episode 22
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14:25
How to Receive Divine Mercy (Moreh ha'Nevuchim 1:53)
Length: 14 minutes 15 secondsSynopsis: Well, THIS episode took an unexpected turn! I intended to just review one point we covered yesterday and read ten words from the Meiri on how to "make" God have mercy on you, but that little addition t...
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Season 12
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Episode 21
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15:07
Tefilah and Tachanunim as Hendiadys (Hilchos Tefilah u'Birkas Kohanim 1:2)
Length: 11 minutes 26 secondsSynopsis: And we're BACK to "actual bekius"! In this episode we cover two topics: (a) my mini-rant on how publishers (a.k.a. doofuses) screwed up the Rambam's division of the mini-halachos, and (b) how to unders...
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Season 12
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Episode 20
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12:18
Women's Obligation in Tefilah Part 4 (Psak of Mishnah Berurah)
Length: 6 minutes 26 secondsSynopsis: We conclude this examination of women's obligation in tefilah by reading the Mishnah Berurah, who arrives at a similar conclusion to the Aruch ha'Shulchan but spells out a few more details in t...
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Season 12
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Episode 19
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7:19
Women's Obligation in Tefilah Part 3 (Psak of Aruch ha'Shulchan)
Length: 11 minutes 45 secondsSynopsis: Today we finish the Aruch ha'Shulchan's analysis of how the machlokess on the mitzvah of tefilah de'oraisa plays itself out for women. After taking up the positions of Rashi, Tosafos,...
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Season 12
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Episode 18
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12:38
Zaakah on the 17th of Tammuz
Length: 20 minutesSynopsis: Because today is the 17th of Tammuz, I wanted to take a brief pause in our topic to address inyanei d'yoma, and what better way to do so than to review one thing that the Rambam and the Ramban both agree...
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Season 12
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Episode 17
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20:53
Women's Obligation in Tefilah Part 2 (Gemara Reading: Rambam vs. Rashi)
Length: 10 minutes 49 secondsSynopsis: The next step in our analysis of the machlokess between the Rambam and Ramban and its impact on women's obligation in tefilah is to learn Gemara according to both sides. Turns out, this issue ...
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Season 12
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Episode 16
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11:42
Bookkeeping, Fridays, and a Listener Question
Length: 7 minutes 26 secondsSynopsis: Instead of continuing what we started yesterday, we're gonna slow down. After three weeks of Rambam Bekius, there's one change I'd like to make. -----The Torah Content for the remainde...
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Season 12
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Episode 15
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8:19
Women's Obligation in Tefilah Part 1 (the Rav on the Rambam)
Length: 17 minutes 32 secondsSynopsis: Guess what? We're taking another detour! Since the machlokess between the Rambam and Ramban on tefilah de'oraisa has a direct bearing on the nature and parameters of women's obligatio...
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Season 12
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Episode 14
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18:25
Machlokess Rambam and Ramban on Tefilah De'Oraisa (Our Theory)
Length: 20 minutes 8 secondsSynopsis: Well, I can't put it off any longer: here's the approach my chavrusa and I have been developing to explain the machlokess betweenthe Ramban and the Rambam on tefilah de'oraisa.
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Season 12
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Episode 13
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21:00
Machlokess Rambam and Ramban on Tefilah De'Oraisa (Aruch ha'Shulchan)
Length: 9 minutes 13 secondsSynopsis: Before I share the theory that my chavrusa and I have been working on, I'd like to share what the Aruch ha'Shulchan wrote. Like the Rav, he attempts to minimize the machlokess between these two...
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Season 12
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Episode 12
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10:06
Machlokess Rambam and Ramban on Tefilah De'Oraisa (The Rav's Theory)
Length: 12 minutes 11 secondsSynopsis: Last time we read the Ramban's critique of the Rambam's view that daily tefilah is a mitzvah from the Torah. Before I share the theory that my chavrusa and I have been working on, I'd like to share a f...
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Season 12
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Episode 11
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13:04
Ramban on Tefilah De'Oraisa: Facts (Hasagos ha'Ramban - Aseh #5)
Length: 21 minutes 29 secondsSynopsis: Today we'll go over the facts of the Ramban's machlokess with the Rambam regarding the mitzvah of tefilah from the Torah. If you've heard of this machlokess, do yourself a fa...
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Season 12
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Episode 10
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22:22
Halbertal on Rambam's Theory of Hermeneutics
Length: 11 minutes 22 secondsSynopsis: I could have moved on after answering yesterday's question, I figured that once we were already discussing the Rambam's take on Rabbinical hermeneutics, I might as well recap my current understanding o...
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Season 12
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Episode 9
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12:15
Listener Question on the 13 Middos she'ha'Torah Nidreshes Ba'hen
Length: 15 minutes 24 secondsSynopsis: Today we take up another question from a different listener. Unbeknownst to the listener, this question cuts deep to the core of a HUGE machlokess between the Rambam and the Ramban about the nature of ...
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Season 12
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Episode 8
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16:16
Listener Questions on the Previous Episode on Avodah, Tefilah, and Talmud Torah
Length: 17 minutes 23 secondsSynopsis: Before we take up the question about the inclusion in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos of the halacha about facing Mikdash during tefilah, I'd like to attempt to answer three questions that were sent to me by a li...
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Season 12
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Episode 7
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18:16
What is Avodah? (Sefer ha'Mitzvos Aseh #5; Ralbag - Devarim 6:13)
Length: 15 minutes 8 secondsSynopsis: We last left our hero (i.e. Rambam) on an open question: "What is the Rambam's idea of the mitzvah of 'avodah' such that it encompasses all mitzvos AND is a specific commandment for tefilah AND...
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Season 12
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Episode 6
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16:01
Formulation of Mitzvas Tefilah in ShM (Questions) and MT (Facts)
Length: 11 minutes 2 secondsSynopsis: Yesterday we read the Rambam's formulation of the mitzvah of tefilah in the Sefer ha'Mitzvos. Today we raise several questions on this formulation, and then acquaint ourselves with the facts of his thre...
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Season 12
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Episode 5
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11:55