Toldot | Why "Beersheva"? by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

What does "Beersheva" mean? Well of an oath? (If so, which oath) Well of the seven? (seven of what?)  Seventh well?

We first encounter the town of Beersheva in the stories of Avraham; he is in that area when Hagar is exiled from his encampment, and then again when Avimelekh approaches him to make a treaty. In spite of the repeated "seven" in that scene, the place is called "Beersheva" due to the oath ("shevua") between them; this scene repeats with Yitzchak. In that case, even though the well dug there was the seventh one in that narrative, the oath is the reason behind the name. We explore the significance of this place ironically through the lens of the Septuagint, which nearly always prefers a translation "well of the oath" to a transliteration. This survey not only explains that unusual rendering, but also a mysterious verse in the rebukes of Amos...

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A Conversation About Covenants | Rabbi Gavriel Rosen featuring Rabbi Lord Sacks zt"l,  special commemorative marking Rav Sacks's second yahrzeit

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 4: Moshav Leitzim in Avot and Shulchan Arukh, by Rav Gidon Rothstein

A further way to understand leitzim in general, from Pirkei Avot and the Shulchan Arukh.

Chayei Sara | What's The Matter With Canaanite Girls? by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

When Avraham's days are nigh, he summons his chief slave and administers an oath that he not take a Canaanite girl as a wife for Yitzhak - "from the Canaanites among whom I reside". This motif reappears - perhaps - when Esav marries two Hittite women and again when Yehudah (possibly) marries a Canaanite girl. By looking at all of these sources along with the mention of a Canaanite woman bearing a son to Shimon, we survey the proposed explanations for Avraham's directive and if (and how) it impacted on his progeny. We propose a surprising take, which is anchored in the Rishonim, that the problem with the Canaanites was not inherent in their status nor in their behavior, rather in their location "in whose midst I reside".

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Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot 3: Other Views of Leitzim, by Rav Gidon Rothstein

Expanding our understanding of what qualifies as a letz, as someone who does not value life and people enough.

Vayera | Kesut Einayim - Unraveling a Biblical Enigma, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

In the aftermath of Sarah's safe return after being taken into the court of Avimelekh, the latter adds to his appeasement offering by making a puzzling statement to Sarah: He points out that he has given 1000 silver pieces to Avraham (surprising as it wasn't mentioned in 20:15 as part of the mollification gift) and that it would be a "כסות עיניים" - an odd phrase which defies easy translation. The rest of the verse is equally opaque and the broad range of interpretations offered bears witness to the difficulty of these verses. By looking at the landscape of the Ancient Near East and how Avimelekh is, via allusion, presented in the text, we suggest an approach which carries with it a subtle rebuke to Avraham - which he evidently accepts.

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Mental Health and Halacha - What Kinds of She'elot Arise, special sicha for the Overseas Students, with Rav Yoni Rosensweig

Rabbi of the Netzach Menashe community of Beit Shemesh, and founder of Maaglei Nefesh, a center for halacha, community and mental health. Recently published a book in hebrew, נפשי בשאלתי - הלכות בריאות הנפש, Koren Publishers.

Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot: How Not to Lose the Divine Presence #2 by Rav Gidon Rothstein

This is Week Two, Defining a Letz. What's a Letz? Defining the category from its five types, seeing what all leitzim share.

Lekh Lekha | Vayikra BeShem Hashem: Avraham's Altars

Upon his arrival in the Land, Avra(ha)m builds a מזבח; he then builds another one where he sets up his camp and there, he "calls out Hashem's Name"; he sets up another מזבח when he settles in חברון and then, again, calls out in Hashem's name at Beer Sheva, without building a מזבח. How are we to understand the purpose of these altars - which are inherently meant for offerings? We also note that each of these acts is followed by a challenge, a calamity or a threat - until he builds his final מזבח, atop Har haMoriah, and he offers up an animal (in lieu of his son) as the denouement of the Akeida. We analyze these passages in their context and then propose an explanation for Avraham's activity, as well as proposing a reason for the Akeida itself.

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BRAND NEW SERIES, Rabbenu Yonah's Four Kitot - How Not to Lose the Divine Presence by Rav Gidon Rothstein

This is Week One, The Four Groups who do not Greet the Divine. This shiur will lay out the broad parameters of four groups the Gemara says will not merit the Divine Presence, and the meaning of that consequence.