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YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim

Etshalom, Rabbi Yitzchak

religion & spirituality judaism

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29:31

Miriam's Vital Role in the Redemption

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/03/25

Miriam's Vital Role in the Redemption - Mar 24, 2026 - Miriam is a somewhat difficult character to follow in the text; she is first presented anonymously, watching over her baby brother until he is safely brought back home to be nursed by their mother, then appears as the "prophetess, sister of Aharon" who intensifies the Song at the Sea - and then a seeming downfall at the incident of her slander of her brother and the attendant צרעת. But looking back at the nature of fraternal relations in

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35:14

Vayyikra #28 - The "Sliding Scale" Hatat - קרבן עולה...

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/03/17

Vayyikra #28 - The "Sliding Scale" Hatat - קרבן עולה ויורד (part 1) - Mar 17, 2026 - As we continue our study of Sefer Vayyikra, we begin our analysis of the curious presentation of three violations for which the expiatory offering has a variant form, depending on the financial wherewithal of the penitent. These three crimes, two of which involve some form of an oath and the third - defiling of sancta - seem an odd grouping. We assess the textual presentation and look at several approaches among the

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0:00

Vayyikra #27 - חטאת קבועה (part 3)

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/03/10

Vayyikra #27 - חטאת קבועה (part 3) - Mar 10, 2026 - We continue our analysis of the פרשת החובה, with a look at the structure of the פרשה of the חטאת קבועה for the "regular citizen". In a departure from the usual sequence, the options are presented as goat and then lamb. R. Shimon's observation in the Sifra is noted, along with parallels and extensions of it in Midrashic literature -and then we propose a suggestion for this deviation. Our proposal is loosely based on R. Yosef Bekhor Shor's

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32:16

After the Fall: Recovenanting

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/03/04

After the Fall: Recovenanting - Mar 4, 2026 - In the aftermath of the חטא העגל - the sin of the golden calf - God commits to a (new?) covenant, one which inheres compassion and forgiveness, predicated on contrition and repentance. This recovenanting requires several steps - Moshe has to carve two tablets of stone like the set that God had given him, and God will then engrave the same words that He had written on the first set. There is a repetition of the last section of the original law code (from

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31:37

The Amalek Conundrum

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/02/27

The Amalek Conundrum - Feb 24, 2026 - The description of Amalek's attack against us in the desert ends with a possibly confusing presentation -God promises that He will utterly wipe out Amalek, yet Moshe tells us that God has declared an eternal war against Amalek - how can there be an eternal war against a people who are completely vanquished? And how can Haman be associated with Amalek if that clan was completely erased over 200 years earlier? (see the source sheet). Building on the Rov's zt"l

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31:37

The Amalek Conundrum

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/02/25

The Amalek Conundrum - Feb 24, 2026 -

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40:09

Megilat Esther: Esther's Brilliant Plan

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/02/17

Megilat Esther: Esther's Brilliant Plan - Feb 17, 2026 - The first two chapters of Esther seem superfluous to the critical part of the plot - the decree to kill Mordekhai's nation and the successful stratagem that defeated it. Why does the reader need to hear about the Persian Emperor's "glory" and extended coronation party, and about the excessive preening and primping involved in getting the young maidens ready for their "night with the king"? We explore the psychological profiles that each

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34:04

אשת הנרצע: The Beloved Wife of the "Nirtza"

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/02/11

אשת הנרצע: The Beloved Wife of the "Nirtza" - Feb 10, 2026 - Parashat Mishpatim opens up with legislation regarding the "Hebrew slave", who is really more of an indentured servant. In this passage, the master may "assign" a woman to the servant, but when his six-year term of servitude is complete, he leaves her when he goes free. If he chooses to stay due to his love for his master -and his wife and their children - he may refuse to leave, have his ear publicly pierced and remain a slave "forever"

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35:33

Reliving Sinai

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/02/04

Reliving Sinai - Feb 3, 2026 - In his farewell speech, Moshe continually refers to the day of Matan Torah as יום הקהל, and even recalls Hashem's command הקהל לי את העם - to gather all of the people. This historic experience and the obligation to always remember it and to transmit it to the next generation seems to be the impetus for the Mitzvah of Hakhel - to gather everyone for a public reading of the Torah "that they will learn to fear Hashem..." (Devarim 31). But this practice, although modestly

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34:15

Miriam's Role in the Song at the Sea: שירו לה' כי גאה...

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/01/27

Miriam's Role in the Song at the Sea: שירו לה' כי גאה גאה - Jan 27, 2026 - The introductory line to the Song at the Sea (Shemot 15:1) is enigmatic on several counts. First of all, why is Moshe listed separately - and the verb ישיר is in the singular - if all of the people sang? Furthermore, how would they all know what to say/sing? We review the various Tannaitic opinions addressing these questions and Moshe's role in the paean. Furthermore, we explore the purpose and added praise which Miriam's

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35:40

A Paideia for Pharaoh

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/01/13

A Paideia for Pharaoh - Jan 13, 2026 - We inevitably approach our study of Parashat Va'era with an assumption of 10 Makkot (plagues) with which Hashem smote and 'judged" the Egyptians. However, that number does not appear in the Torah's record of the events and other presentations of the Exodus story in Tanakh highlight only some of these plagues, ending up with a smaller number - and the Midrash famously expands this number by a factor of up to 50, seeing 5 sub-plagues within each one. We look back

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32:50

Parashat Shemot: What Were The ערי המסכנות? And Why...

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2026/01/07

Parashat Shemot: What Were The ערי המסכנות? And Why Does It Matter? - Jan 6, 2026 - The first labor forced upon the Hebrews in Egypt was a labor tax, forcing them to build ערי מסכנות. We explore the possible meanings of this unusual phrase, set it in apposition to the later back-breaking work to which they were subjected and the significance of this type of work, considering the storied history of Yaakov's progeny in Egypt.

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34:44

ברכת יעקב - Yaakov's Deathbed Charge

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2025/12/30

ברכת יעקב - Yaakov's Deathbed Charge - Dec 30, 2025 - In the final scene of Yaakov's storied life, he lies in his bed surrounded by all twelve of his sons - for the first time, named שבטי ישראל - the "tribes of Israel". He then imparts (blessings?) (prophecies?) (assignments?) to each of them in an unusual sequence and with an imbalanced emphasis towards two of his sons. We explore possibilities of Yaakov's intent in his final moments and suggest a far-reaching vision that our patriarch has - and

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25:01

"And Yosef Could No Longer Restrain Himself" - ולא...

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2025/12/24

"And Yosef Could No Longer Restrain Himself" - ולא יכל יוסף להתאפק - Dec 23, 2025 - When Yosef is finally ready to reveal his identity to his brothers, the text uses a rare word - להתאפק - and tells us that ולא יכל יוסף להתאפק לכל הנצבים עליו. This latter phrase is enigmatic and the Rishonim take a number of varied approached to explain the role of the bystanders in his decision to empty the room before "the big reveal". We survey these approaches and suggest two more - one based on the well-known

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31:21

מצות חנוכה: A Fresh Look at the "Baraitot" of...

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2025/12/16

מצות חנוכה: A Fresh Look at the "Baraitot" of Hanukkah (BT Shabbat 21b) - Dec 16, 2025 - Most students are familiar with the Baraitot defining the Mitzvah of Ner Hanukkah, found near the beginning of the 2nd chapter of Masekhet Shabbat - including the tri-level performance schedule (basic, 'Mehadrin' and 'Mehadrin min haMehadrin'). We analyze this Baraita and the attendant discussion, identifying difficulties in the text along the way and then share the approach taken by several contemporary

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33:25

Parashat Vayeshev: The Apocrypha and the Midrash

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2025/12/09

Parashat Vayeshev: The Apocrypha and the Midrash - Dec 9, 2025 - We are accustomed to thinking of the Apocrypha (the "hidden" or "buried" writings of the 3rd century BCE through the first century CE) as external to our Rabbinic tradition and to reflecting purely sectarian approaches and interpretations. Yet - we sometimes find a common thread between the interpretive approaches taken in these somewhat esoteric books and those found in our "mainstream" Midrashic literature. We examine an unusual

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30:26

ולזרעך נתתי את הארץ - Hegemonization or Conquest?

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2025/12/03

ולזרעך נתתי את הארץ - Hegemonization or Conquest? - Dec 2, 2025 - Continuously throughout Sefer Beresheet, our Patriarchs are promised by Hashem that their descendants will be "given" the Land - but there is no indication of how that gift will be given, of how that "inheritance" will be achieved. We explore what may have been the perspective of our Avot in that regard - and how and why it changed by the time we arrived in Mitzrayim.

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31:17

Back to Gerar (The Parenthetic Statement)

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2025/11/27

Back to Gerar (The Parenthetic Statement) - Nov 27, 2025 - As a follow-up to our shiur about Gerar and my argument that the events described in Beresheet 26:1-33 took place during the twenty years of Yitzhak and Rivkah's childlessness, several thoughtful and pointed challenges were raised by podcast listeners and participants in the shiur. By surveying and classifying the various types of parenthetic statements in Biblical narrative, we respond to these challenges and, thereby, explain two anomalous

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29:34

The Gerar Conundrum

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2025/11/18

The Gerar Conundrum - Nov 18, 2025 - In reading through the presentation of Yitzhak's life in Parashat Toledot, there seems to be a disconnect between the opening narratives of the birth and early years of Yaakov and Esav, and the subsequent narrative cycle of Yitzhak and Rivkah in Gerar (chapter 26:1-33). We propose what at first seems to be a revolutionary explanation for the puzzles this sequencing raises - but, on further reflection, note that it is built upon an approach that is well-anchored

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32:30

Keturah and the Sons of the East

YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim ·

2025/11/13

Keturah and the Sons of the East - Nov 13, 2025 - As the story of Avraham's life comes to a close, we are informed that at some point (perhaps after Sarah died), he took another wife - Keturah and, as the straightforward reading indicates, he also took several concubines. He had children with all of these and sent the sons of his concubines away - to the east - with gifts. We aren't told where he directed Keturah's six sons and their progeny to go. More intriguing is the story itself - why did he

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YUTORAH: R" Yitzchak Etshalom -- Recent Shiurim

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