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DISCLAIMER: I almost didn't post this shiur because it wasn't as clear as I hoped AND because we revised it in Part 2. I'm happy with Part 2, but I'm posting Part 1 for the sake of thoroughness and transparency. Just know that if you listen to it, you should NOT expect the level of clarity that I typically aim for.
Length: 1 hour 47 minutes
Synopsis: This week (3/12/26), in our Thursday night Machshavah Lab series for women, we took up a question I've wanted to address for a while: How should we relate to arbitrary halachic details? Of course, this would entail first taking up the question: ARE there arbitrary halachic details? According to the Rambam, the answer is: yes. The plan was to learn through the Rambam's treatment of this topic in Moreh ha'Nevuchim 3:26, through my own idiosyncratic lens, which I refer to as "Pillow Theory." We would then segue to a different guide for the perplexed: Rav Kook's Linevukhei ha-Dor. However, we ended up spending all of Part 1 on the Rambam. I presented my current understanding of Pillow Theory, but we left questions unanswered. In Part 2, we came back, revised Pillow Theory, and answered all our questions before turning to Rav Kook.
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מקורות:
רמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:כו, מג, מח
תלמוד ירושלמי פאה א:א:טז
בראשית רבה מד:א
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This week's Torah content is sponsored by Seth Speiser, in honor of the yahrzeit of his father, Rabbi George Speiser (Rav Yosef ben Dovid). Rabbi Speiser was a kind and gentle soul as well as an Intellectual and a scholar. He received smicha from Rav Hutner at Chaim Berlin. His love for teaching and making puns was only outweighed by his love of family.
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