The Maimonides Minute

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam’s laws of Passover.

In this shiur we continue with additional details of forbidden and permitted products, such as animal food and edible soaps, and we also discuss the propriety of adding spices and flavorings to matzah.

This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam’s laws of Passover.

What are the restrictions on baking on Pesach? At what point must one begin to watch the grain to ensure that it does not come into contact with water? What is the concept of "mayim shelanu"?

This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya.

In the paragraph that begins Avadim Hayinu - We were slaves to Pharaoh - we assert that had G-d not taken us out of Egypt, we would be enslaved to Pharaoh to this day. But is that really likely, when most countries have freed their slaves, and Pharaoh himself is long gone? How can we better understand what this paragraph actually means?

This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam’s laws of Passover.

This shiur deals with the process of making chametz: what types of grain can become chametz? Under what circumstances do they become chametz? Does fruit juice added to grain create chametz just as water does? And how do kitniyot fit into this discussion?

This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam’s laws of Passover.

This shiur offers additional conditions regarding the sale of chametz to a non-Jew, as well as details about which types of chametz a person is allowed to own over Pesach.

This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya.

The four questions of Ma Nishtana could have mentioned that the night of the Seder is special: "Tonight we eat matzah! Tonight we eat maror! Tonight we dip twice! Tonight we all recline!" Instead, each exclamation is preceded by the seemingly superfluous line, "On all other nights..." Why are the questions structured this way? What halachic principle is involved in this unusual phraseology?

This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam’s laws of Passover.

In this shiur, we discuss the twin prohibitions of "bal yera'eh" and "bal yimatzeh" - that is, possessing chametz during Pesach - and their numerous ramifications.

This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam’s laws of Passover.

In this shiur, we discuss the concept of bitul chametz (nullifying chametz), the times that bitul does not work, and the paradoxical idea that even if one does not destroy his chametz, the Torah nevertheless takes it out of his possession, while simultaneously considering it "his" chametz such that he violates the prohibition of owning chametz.

This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam’s laws of Passover.

In today's shiur we discuss what one should do with the chametz he leaves over after bedikat chametz, how a person checks for chametz when erev Pesach falls on Shabbat, and at what point the requirement to check for chametz expires if a person failed to do bedikat chametz on erev Pesach.

This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya.

Join the Maimonides Minute for the re-release of our series on the Rambam's laws of Passover.

In this episode, we discuss the laws of bedikat chametz - looking for chametz on the night before the Seder - including questions about animals dragging chametz into the house after bedikat chametz, chametz that is decorative rather than edible, people traveling away from home long before Pesach, and the issue of whether the owner or the renter is responsible for checking a given house.

This shiur is sponsored in memory of Chava bas Pesya.