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YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim

Etshalom, Rabbi Yitzchak

religion & spirituality judaism

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36:00

Vayyikra #5: וזרקו את הדם

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/12/18

Vayyikra #5: וזרקו את הדם - Dec 18, 2024 - The presentation of the procedure for offering קרבנות has an odd sequence - before even preparing the altar, the blood of the offering is to be collected, brought and sprinkled around that selfsame altar. We explore the unusual - and, given our historic record of קרבנות (e.g. the עקידה), surprising - primacy of - and priority accorded to - the דם of a קרבן. This shiur is part of our series given in memory of the great teacher and friend, ר' זאב חנוך

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32:52

Vayyikra 04: אדם כי יקריב מכם

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/12/11

Vayyikra 04: אדם כי יקריב מכם - Dec 11, 2024 - The opening invitation, as we have read it, to bring offerings, is syntactically problematic. Whereas it might have read אדם כי יקריב קרבן or, if the text wanted to include the word מכם, it might have read אדם מכם כי יקריב. Why does the word מכם appear after the verb? In addition, this opening line introduces the opportunity to bring "from the herd or from the flock" - but the passages go on to include עולת העוף - avian offerings. We take a step back

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29:46

"The Human Impulsion to Bring Korbanot"

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/12/04

"The Human Impulsion to Bring Korbanot" - Dec 4, 2024 - Vayyikra opens not with a command nor a prohibition - but an invitation. Everyone and anyone is welcomed to come close to God through the offering of a Korban. The text then goes on to delineate how to do so - kind of animal, gender, age etc. The underlying presumption is that people would want to bring offerings. We explore the history of Korbanot in Beresheet and Shemot and discover a telling relationship - perhaps a causal one - between

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39:06

Sefer Vayyikra: Introduction #2

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/11/27

Sefer Vayyikra: Introduction #2 - Nov 27, 2024 - In this, our second introduction to our study of Sefer Vayyikra, we survey the entire book, noting the sequence of the sanctity of the Mishkan, then of the camp, then of the calendar - and then of the Land. We broach the seemingly odd placement of the last chapter and propose an explanation as to why it is presented as an "addendum" to the Law code. This series is dedicated with heartfelt love and gratitude to the memory of Ze'ev Hanoch Erlich -

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31:11

"Do You Have Only One Blessing, Father?"

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/11/25

"Do You Have Only One Blessing, Father?" - Nov 25, 2024 - The central story of Parashat Toledot is Yaakov's successful deception of his father, Yitzhak, to "steal" the blessing intended for Esav. When Esav learns of the ruse, his plaint to his father is "do you have but one blessing, my father"? Indeed, why does Yitzhak have only one blessing for his sons? And why is a blessing, given under false pretenses, valid and irrevocable? A careful read of the text reveals what may be a surprising answer

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31:42

Sefer Vayyikra - Introduction #1

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/11/20

Sefer Vayyikra - Introduction #1 - Nov 20, 2024 - As we begin our in-depth study of Sefer Vayyikra, we examine the place and role of this third Humash -and question whether it was ideally intended to be "at the middle" of the Torah. We propose a different paradigm for viewing Vayyikra - and the books that both precede it as well as those that follow it - and suggest looking at the entire book as driven by its opening call - אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לה׳ - the invitation to come close to Hashem.

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33:05

What Really (Almost) Happened in Sedom

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/11/14

What Really (Almost) Happened in Sedom - Nov 13, 2024 - Description: We are accustomed to reading the story of Sedom and imagining an angry gang of the men of the town surrounding Lot's house and demanding that he send out the two visitors for purposes of a gang-rape. We reexamine that assumption and note that our reading is influenced by the text in Shofetim 19 - and even that, as Rada"k points out, may not be as prurient a story as we imagine. In addition, Lot's readiness to offer his unmarried

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39:26

The Ethics of Rejoicing Over the Death of our Enemies

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/11/06

The Ethics of Rejoicing Over the Death of our Enemies - Nov 6, 2024 - The current war that we are fighting has brought many moments of despair and sadness, but there have also been moments of triumph, including the notifications of the "neutralization" of some of our worst, bloodthirsty, barbaric enemies. Looking past the understandably human reaction to celebrate the vengeance, we look to our sources to explore whether it is seen as inappropriate, acceptable or even praiseworthy to exult at the

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31:33

Days of Wine and Curses: A Fresh Look at The Curse of...

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/10/30

Days of Wine and Curses: A Fresh Look at The Curse of Canaan - Oct 30, 2024 - The immediate postdiluvian scene (Beresheet 9:18-29) is troubling on several accounts. Why is Ham introduced (twice!) as "father of Canaan"? What did he do that was so egregious that he earned his father's eternal curse? Why was that curse placed on Canaan, Ham's youngest son? How did Noah even know what happened, if he was asleep? Who are Canaan's brothers, to whom he is to be enslaved? Building off of Midrash Haza"l and

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29:15

"To Everything a Season..." Revisiting Kohelet 3

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/10/15

"To Everything a Season..." Revisiting Kohelet 3 - Oct 15, 2024 - The third chapters of Kohelet begins with a famous poem, where the author presents 28 "seasons", some positive and some drastic, noting that there is a time for each of them. The choice of these 28 "times" has long challenged commentators; even more difficult is the sequence and hierarchy of these choices or experiences. Using Kohelet's own weltanschauung and utilizing literary structural analysis, we propose an explanation that not

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26:23

The Role of the ציבור in עבודת הכהן הגדול

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/10/09

The Role of the ציבור in עבודת הכהן הגדול - Oct 9, 2024 - Vayyikra 16, which is read in its entirety as the Kriat haTorah of Yom haKippurim, details the Avodah of the Kohen Gadol. At first read, it appears to be a ritual that the Kohen Gadol must perform any time that he chooses to enter the "Dvir" (Kodesh Kodoshim) - or if there is an occasional need to cleanse the Mishkan from Tum'ah. Yet, at the end of the chapter, we are told that this is an annual rite, one in which only one person performs

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32:45

Hakhel in Yavneh...And Beyond

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/09/25

Hakhel in Yavneh...And Beyond - Sep 25, 2024 - The penultimate Mitzvah found in the Torah is the command to assemble all of the people at the end of the Shemittah year, to hear a public reading of the Torah (התורה הזאת) - including the men, the women and the children. In a famous story recorded in Tosefta Sotah, a homily of R. Elazar b. Azariah's about Hakhel is recorded, and is followed by two more homilies which all seem unrelated. Tying R. E;lazar b. Azariah's revolutionary approach (see BT

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29:15

Why Did Bnei Yisrael Need a Second Imprecation? תוכחה...

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/09/18

Why Did Bnei Yisrael Need a Second Imprecation? תוכחה זו למה לי - Sep 18, 2024 - Parashat Ki Tavo is perhaps most well-known for the lengthy and painful imprecation which Moshe integrates into the covenant which he initiates with Bnei Yisrael in the Plains of Moav - a decidedly second and "other" covenant to the original one entered into at Sinai. We explore the need for a second covenant and the significantly more frightening imagery in the second תוכחה and propose why it may have been needed for

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37:00

The Slanderer - A Challenging Sugya in פשוטו של מקרא

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/09/11

The Slanderer - A Challenging Sugya in פשוטו של מקרא - Sep 11, 2024 - Much of the middle of Parashat Ki Tetze is devoted to laws relating to sexual impropriety, expanding (per our approach) on the Dibber - לא תנאף. The most puzzling passage (22:13-21) addresses a case of possible slander on the part of a new husband, besmirching his new wife's reputation and making claims about her lack of virtue in advance of their marriage. What begins as an apparently transparent attempt to get out of a marriage

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31:42

The Prohibition of "Raising" a Stele - באיסור הקמת מצבה

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/09/04

The Prohibition of "Raising" a Stele - באיסור הקמת מצבה - Sep 4, 2024 - In the middle of the presentation of the laws of the Beit Din HaGadol (the central national court), the Torah interjects three seemingly disconnected prohibitions - planting a tree near the altar, raising a stele (מצבה) and offering a blemished animal. We address the middle of these passages and note the curious phrasing of the prohibition - אשר שנא ה' אלקיך and observe that both אשר as well as שנא has multiple possible

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49:08

For our Soldiers: Psalms 121 and 130

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/08/29

For our Soldiers: Psalms 121 and 130 - Aug 27, 2024 - This shiur, given at Young Israel of Hollywood, analyzes both of these popular chapters, delving into the nature of Biblical poetry and the special status of Tehillim to propose an approach to each of these chapters which will, hopefully, deepen our appreciation of these - and all 150 - Pirkei Tehillim.

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45:39

איש הישר בעיניו: Revisiting a Biblical Conundrum

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/08/29

איש הישר בעיניו: Revisiting a Biblical Conundrum - Aug 26, 2024 - Moshe Rabbenu, in describing the difference between the sacral worship in the desert and that which the people are imminently going to practice once they enter the Land, uses an odd phrase - "You shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatever is right in his own eyes". We explore the various ways in which this phrase was understood by the Rishonim and, inspired by a comment in the Pesikta Zutrata

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31:16

How Do You Spell "Mezuzot"? The Orthography of the Torah

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/08/20

How Do You Spell "Mezuzot"? The Orthography of the Torah - Aug 20, 2024 - Rashi, in his comment on Devarim 6:9, infers from the written form of "Mezuzot" - מזוזת - that we need only write the words of שמע...ואהבת (and the rest) on one doorpost, since the written version alludes to "Mezuzat". However, our Sifrei Torah all have that word written מזזות. We explore the phenomenon of כתיב מלא וחסר - (plene and "defective" orthography), where Hebrew letters are used to "guide" reading and are read as

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29:44

על נהרות בבל: פנים חדשות במזמור ותיק

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/08/14

על נהרות בבל: פנים חדשות במזמור ותיק - Aug 13, 2024 - בשיעור חקרנו את מקורו של המזמור, מגמת המשורר וזמנו. אחרי ניתוח הפסוקים והערות על האופי הספרותי-שירי של המזמור, הצעה חדשה לטיב הספוקים המרכזיים שמהווים שבועה איתנה על זכירת ירושלים. השיעור ניתן בבית הכנסת "אהל ארי" ברעננה בתום צום תשעה באב.

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42:58

הסיום המלבב ודרכו הפורצת דרך של הנביא עמוס

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2024/08/08

הסיום המלבב ודרכו הפורצת דרך של הנביא עמוס - Aug 5, 2024 - הנביא עמוס היה מבין הנביאים הספרותיים הראשונים, שניבא במאה השמינית לפנה"ס בשומרון. הוא טבע כמה וכמה סגנונות ריטוריים שהנביאים, גם בני זמנו וגם הבאים אחריו, אימצו לעצמן. בשיעור מוצג תפקידו המתפתח של הנביא בישראל ומקומו של עמוס בהתפתחות זו. השיעור ניתן כחלק מ"ערב עיון" בתנ"ך המתקיים מדי שנה במזכרת בתיה.

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YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim

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