A shiur from our beloved founding Rabbi of West Deal Shul, Rabbi Ezra Labaton A"H.

In this class, Rabbi Ezra Labaton A"H continues his exploration of ta'amei hamitzvot — the reasons behind God's commandments — building on the tension between the Rambam's rationalist approach and the Ramban's more mystical objections. He surveys how modern Jewish thinkers such as Rabbi Soloveitchik, Heschel, and Robert Gordis have addressed the philosophy of Judaism broadly but largely avoided a mitzvah-by-mitzvah analysis. The class then focuses on the Rambam and Ramban's pointed disagreement over korbanot, where the Ramban sharply challenges the Rambam's rationalist justification. Rabbi Labaton then introduces the intriguing case of Eglah Arufah — the ceremony of the broken-necked heifer described in Devarim 21 — as a test case for whether both the overall mitzvah and its specific details can be given rational explanations. The class raises initial questions about the meaning of key terms such as nahal etan, setting up a deeper analysis of how the Rambam and other commentators approach the particulars of this enigmatic ritual.

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