KMTT - the Torah Podcast

Appreciating the Beauty of Yerushalayim, special shiur, english adaptation of hebrew drasha given on Yom Yerushalayim 5782, by Rav Dovid Gottlieb

From Redemption to Consolation: Between Pesach and 9BeAv. Our Best Strategies for Bi'at Ha-Go'el.

#4 Why a King? by Rabbi Gidon Rothstein

In this fourth installment, we will discuss what is challenging in the commandment to make a king, the reasons the Torah would want us to have a king, and how we can make ourselves more ready for one.

Al haNissim for Yom Yerushalayim, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom. Text composed together with Dr. Avi Shmidman

Since the miraculous days of June 1967, we have celebrated the reunification of Yerushalayim, the city of our chief joy. Along with reciting Hallel, there have been various liturgical poems (פיוטים) written for the occasion. In order to be able to incorporate thanks to Hashem for the great miracle of the restoration of Jewish sovereignty over the Eternal City of Yerushalayim, we have composed a text of על הנסים, which retells the long years of distance, the threat and subsequent miraculous victory, the explosion of jubilation that followed and the commitment that we all have to keep Yerushalayim and her welfare as our chief joy. Besides the source sheet, a link to the text, along with English translation and additional sources is included.

Sourcesheet >>

https://alhanisimforyomyerushalayim.blogspot.com/

Parashat Bamidbar with Rav Dovid Gottlieb

#1 - Classical Commentators - Why Does It Matter How the Shevatim Were Organized in the Midbar? #2 - Contemporary Commentators - The Purpose - and Danger - of the Flags: A Profound Insight from R. Yaakov Kaminetzky #3 - Midrash - What Does Moshe Have to Do With Ahron's Children? #4 - Sparks of Musar - "The Torah Was Given With Fire, Water and In the Desert" - What Does That Mean? #5 - Halacha from the Parsha - Pidyon HaBen - Understanding he Scope of the Father's Obligation #6 - Sparks of Chassidus - Counting Everyone because Everyone Counts

What is So Important about Yerushalayim? by Rav Dovid Gottlieb, shiur given to the weekly women's group in Kehilat Ha'Ela

Appreciating the dual religious purpose of the holy city will also help us appreciate the modern miracle of Yom Yerushalayim.

Sourcesheet >>

From Redemption to Consolation: Between Pesach and 9BeAv. Our Best Strategies for Bi'at Ha-Go'el.

#3 Shavuot as the Culmination of Pesach, by Rabbi Gidon Rothstein

In this third installment, we will discuss how the offering of two loaves of leavened bread on Shavuot unlocks key lessons of the holiday of Shavuot and the progression from Pesach to Shavuot.

An alumnus of Har Etzion (1982), Rabbi Dr. Gidon Rothstein has served in the community rabbinate and in educational roles at the high school and adult level. He is an author of Jewish fiction and non-fiction, most recently "We're Missing the Point: What's Wrong with the Orthodox Jewish Community and How to Fix It."

Parashat Behar-Bechukotai with Rav Dovid Gottlieb

#1 Classical Commentators - The Torah's Approach to Real Estate #2 Modern Commentators - How Do We Survive Galus? The Meshech Chochma's Incredible Insight #3 Midrash - Making the Right Choices - A Midrashic Perspective #4 Sparks of Chassidut - What is True Freedom? A Profound Thought from the Sefas Emes #5 Halacha from the Parsha - Balancing Bitachon and Hishtadlut: The Torah's Approach to Doctors and Medicine #6 Contemporary Commentators - Rav Moshe Feinstein: Why Do We Do Mitzvos? #7 Sparks of Musar - The True Test of Religious Success: Does Your Torah "Have Legs"? #8 Sparks of Musar - The Shared Lesson of Shemitta and Shabbat: I'm Not the Boss

Bechukotai | Avraham's Path, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom

The first 11 verses of Parashat Behukotai comprise the "berakha", the promised reward for the people's obeisance of the covenant at Sinai. The opening phrase אם בחקתי תלכו is puzzling and has led to a range of interpretation; building from this notion of "walking" as a description of a way of life and charting the history and development of this semantic meaning in Humash demonstrates that it is an Avrahamic term, appropriately fitting Avraham's constantly journeying, from the first command לך לך to the crescendo לך לך on the way to הר המוריה. We follow the terms of the blessing and identify each of them with a significant factor in the Avraham story. Our conclusions from this clear case of intertextuality make up the core of the shiur.

Source sheet >>

From Rabbi Akiva's Students to Contemporary Israel, Why Can't We All Just Get Along, shiur given to the weekly women's group in Kehilat Ha'Ela

Understanding Anti-Semitism - The Jews are the Sand Barrier of Humanity, by Rav Moshe Taragin

Special shiur given in London at Mizrachi Day of Inspiration May 15, 2022