The Maimonides Minute

The Rambam explains the custom of the early sages regarding the proper way for the congregation to recite Hallel.

The Rambam says that some places have a custom to say a beracha after the complete Hallel is said. What is this beracha?

On Rosh Chodesh and the last six days of Pesach, when saying Hallel is a minhag (custom) rather than a Rabbinic mitzvah, what sections of Hallel are omitted?

What days do we say full Hallel, and when do we say an abridged version? Why?

What berachot does a person say upon lighting the Chanukah candles? What about if he sees the candles but did not light them? And what is the rule regarding saying berachot on Rabbinic mitzvot?

What is the story of Chanukah? The Rambam opens his discussion of the laws of the holiday with the historical background that gives the laws their proper context.

Making two "batei nirin" is probably the most obscure of the 39 melachot of Shabbat. So what does it mean?

Halacha declares that there's a difference between coloring thread and coloring metal. Why?

Squeezing a towel to remove water is forbidden on Shabbat - but why? On today's Maimonides Minute we discuss the argument about what melacha is involved in wringing out the towel, and whether it applies equally to all liquids or only to water.

Is there a way to remove a hangnail on Shabbat if it's bothering you? Why is the Rambam's answer to this question no longer accepted? And when you bleach a material, how much is required to violate a Torah prohibition?