Rambam Bekius

Aug 12 2024 387 ep. 42 mins 7

Rambam Bekius Podcast artwork

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!

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Some Thoughts on the Seudah ha'Mafsekes (Hilchos Taaniyos 5:7-9)

Aug 12 2024 22 mins

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!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 afternoon, and decided to record an episode about that instead, hoping that some people

Tearing Kria Over the Destruction (Hilchos Taaniyos 5:16-18)

Aug 11 2024 13 mins

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!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 halacha is about the status of these fast days in the time of Moshiach. I share a beaut

Commemorations of the Destruction (Hilchos Taaniyos 5:12-15)

Aug 08 2024 10 mins

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!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 practiced, or at least, are not as visible. Nevertheless, the halachos are here to guide

Prohibitions on Tishah b'Av and Manuscript Methodology (Hilchos Taaniyos 5:10-11)

Aug 07 2024 16 mins

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!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 commemorative practices that Chazal instituted to recall the destruction of the Mikdash.

Rosh Chodesh Av to Erev Tishah b'Av (Hilchos Taaniyos 5:6-9)

Aug 06 2024 8 mins

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!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 chapter before Tishah b'Av itself. -----מקורות:רמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספ�

Days on Which All Jews Fast (Hilchos Taaniyos 5.1-5)

Aug 06 2024 12 mins

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!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 national fast days, why we fast on them, and what we're commemorating. Tomorrow we'll

Different Davening for Different Daveners (Hilchos Tefilah u'Birkas Kohanim 1:3)

Jul 31 2024 13 mins

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!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 reading of the statement about facing Mikdash (which, turns out, I had been reading a

Inferences from the Formulation of Tefilah de'Oraisa (Hilchos Tefilah u'Birkas Kohanim 1:2-3)

Jul 30 2024 14 mins

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!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 chiyuv de'oraisa is, and also shed further light on the nature of tefilah. And if anyone ha

How to Receive Divine Mercy (Moreh ha'Nevuchim 1:53)

Jul 30 2024 15 mins

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!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 turned into a whole episode which touched upon the fundamental mechanisms of how tefila

Tefilah and Tachanunim as Hendiadys (Hilchos Tefilah u'Birkas Kohanim 1:2)

Jul 29 2024 12 mins

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!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 understand the Rambam's use of the phrase "mispalel u'mischanein" in his definition of the T