Rabbi Albert Setton hosts classes every morning at 9:00 AM at West Deal Shul.

Rabbi Albert Setton continues the Selichot series by placing Selichot in the Rambam's discussion of judgment between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. He explains how each mitzvah can affect not only an individual but the whole world, giving Selichot a wider communal purpose. The class then shows why Ashrei and Kaddish Titkabal frame Selichot as a true tefillah rather than only confession. It closes by explaining how the alef-bet structure of many prayers expresses a request that aims to include everything.

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(0:00) Judgment and Responsibility

(1:52) Ashrei Introduces Tefillah

(3:10) Kaddish Titkabal

(4:10) The Alef-Bet Structure

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Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul.

Rabbi Ike Hanon continues Pesahim 51a-51b with Rabbah bar bar Chana eating a permitted fat in Bavel despite the local custom to avoid it. The Gemara reviews why travelers respect local practice and distinguishes between someone moving permanently and someone who plans to return home, a principle with practical implications for keeping one or two festival days. Rabbi Hanon then examines when a student may rely on a great rabbi's lenient practice and the humility shown by Rabbah bar bar Chana toward his own authority. The class closes with a Ki Tavo teaching that connects Amalek's attack, ingratitude, Bikkurim, and the duty to remain grateful even when life becomes difficult.

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(0:00) Customs of Israel and Bavel
(2:22) Why Local Customs Bind
(4:38) Three Reasons Not to Deviate
(6:00) Israel's Rabbinic Authority
(8:26) The Wisdom of Eretz Yisrael
(10:28) Planning to Return Home
(12:42) One or Two Festival Days
(15:07) Relying on a Great Rabbi
(17:57) Ki Tavo and Gratitude
(19:14) Hard Times and Good Times

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Mr. Sammy Saka hosts classes on Zoom Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30PM. Contact Jacob Betesh to be added to the chat.

Mr. Sammy Saka studies Pirke Abot 3:2, where Rabbi Chanina Segan HaKohanim teaches that one should pray for the welfare of the government because without its authority people would swallow one another alive. He explains Rabbi Chanina's role as deputy Kohen Gadol and connects the mishnah to the value of peace, communal prayers for civil leaders, and the seventy sacrifices offered for the nations on Sukkot. The class stresses the need for law and order while distinguishing prayer for government from placing ultimate trust in political leaders. Through examples from American public life, local Jewish civic involvement, and Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau's meetings with world leaders, Mr. Saka argues that gratitude, public service, prayer, and trust in Hashem can help build peace.

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(0:00) Pirke Abot 3:2

(1:14) The Deputy Kohen Gadol

(3:17) Peace and All Creation

(4:11) Praying for the Government

(5:35) Sukkot and the Nations

(7:26) Why Law and Order Matter

(10:31) The Heavenly Kingdom

(11:13) Pray, But Trust in Hashem

(12:03) A Lesson From Chris Christie

(13:19) Jewish Civic Leadership

(14:52) Peace and Public Safety

(15:34) Rabbi Lau's Example

(17:31) Gratitude and Responsibility

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Rabbi Moshe Tobal hosts classes every day at 6:30 AM at West Deal Shul.

Rabbi Moshe Tobal explores the closing commandment of Perasha Ki Tezeh to remember Amalek, asking why Amalek attacked after Israel weakened its commitment to Torah and why the attackers targeted brit milah. Drawing on the Vilna Gaon's reading of Mishlei, he contrasts making this world a permanent home with treating it as a temporary passage toward Olam Haba. The class presents the Jewish task as turning physical life into holiness, with brit milah serving as a covenant that sanctifies the body. Rabbi Tobal explains Amalek as the force that rejects spirituality in this world and closes with Rav Elchonon Wasserman's teaching that today Amalek is opposed through sustained Torah study, spiritual effort, and longing for the complete redemption.

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(0:00) Ki Tezeh and Amalek

(1:17) Why Amalek Targeted the Brit

(2:03) A Tent or a Permanent Home

(3:48) Turning Mud Into Gold

(5:14) A Jew's Spiritual Aspiration

(6:15) Weakening Torah Invites Amalek

(7:28) Brit Milah Sanctifies the Body

(9:42) Amalek's War on Spirituality

(10:25) Amalek in Our Time

(11:32) Erasing Amalek Through Torah

(12:37) Longing for the Geulah

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Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul.

The class continues on Pesahim 51a with the rule against acting leniently in a place where the local community has adopted a stricter custom. Through cases involving a bathhouse in Kabul, loose shoes on Shabbat in Bered, and gentile-owned benches in Akko, the Gemara asks when visitors must defer to local practice and why communities without ready access to rabbis require added care. Rabbi Hanon then traces the reasoning behind the bathhouse restrictions and the duties of respect owed to parents and teachers. The class closes with Rabba bar bar Chana's move from Israel to Bavel, differing kashrut practices, and a discussion of whether travelers carry their home customs with them, including the second festival day in the diaspora.

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(0:00) Customs and Leniency

(1:42) The Bathhouse in Kabul

(4:00) Respecting a Local Practice

(5:38) Loose Shoes on Shabbat

(7:27) Benches and Business in Akko

(9:55) Communities Without Rabbis

(12:00) Reasons Behind the Customs

(14:00) Bathing, Family and Respect

(16:00) From Israel to Bavel

(18:13) Customs of the Diaspora

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Rabbi Albert Setton hosts classes every morning at 9:00 AM at West Deal Shul.

Rabbi Albert Setton continues the Selichot series by explaining why Ashkenazim begin at least four days before Rosh Hashanah, allowing ten days of Selichot around the days when they are not recited. He compares this custom with the Sephardic practice throughout Elul and traces the core of Selichot to the Geonim before later communities developed their own piyutim and prayers. The class highlights the central themes of accepting Hashem's kingship, confession, mercy, exile, and redemption, emphasizing that Selichot asks for the welfare of all Am Yisrael rather than only personal needs. It closes with the power of simple, memorable tunes that let the entire congregation join together in prayer.

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(0:00) Why Ashkenazim Begin Earlier

(1:04) Ten Days of Selichot

(1:34) The Rambam and Elul

(2:08) How Selichot Developed

(3:03) Piyutim Across Communities

(3:45) Exile and Redemption

(4:58) Praying for All Am Yisrael

(5:25) The Power of Simple Tunes

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Rabbi Moses Hidary hosts classes every Monday at 8:00 PM at West Deal Shul.

This class continues the Chovot HaLevavot's Shaar HaBitachon, focusing on how bitachon applies to interpersonal mitzvot (ben adam l'chavero). Rabbi Hidary emphasizes that when performing acts of chesed, one must be fully present and genuinely focused on the other person, not treating them as a mere object of a mitzvah, while the deeper intention should be to draw close to Hashem rather than to gain reputation, favors, or financial benefit. He stresses the importance of concealing one's good deeds wherever possible, noting that the more private an act of kindness, the greater the spiritual reward, and cautions against the modern culture of posting every good deed on social media as a sign of inner insecurity and need for external validation. When public recognition is unavoidable, one should invoke the principle that no benefit or harm comes from people unless Hashem decrees it, which keeps the mind stable and prevents arrogance from eroding the purity of the mitzvah. The class closes by introducing category six of Shaar HaBitachon - the reward for mitzvot in this world and the next - noting that unlike sins, whose punishments are specified in detail in the Torah, the rewards for mitzvot are left general, and the concept of Olam Haba is notably not explicit in the Torah text itself.

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(0:00) Recap: Bitachon & Interpersonal Mitzvot

(1:51) Proper Intent in Ben Adam L'Chavero

(3:43) Don't Treat People Like Objects

(9:04) The Hafta of a Mitzvah

(16:43) Concealing Your Good Deeds

(18:53) What Gets Forgotten Here Is Remembered Above

(20:09) When Your Mitzvah Becomes Public

(23:59) Bitachon Keeps Fame From Going to Your Head

(25:17) Social Media, Sharing & Self-Awareness

(32:19) Reward Must Not Lead to Arrogance

(37:19) Category 6: Reward for Mitzvot

(38:42) Two Types of Reward: This World & Next

(40:50) Why Olam Haba Isn't Spelled Out in Torah

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Rabbi Ike Hanon hosts classes every day at 6:10 AM at West Deal Shul.

The class continues on Pesachim 50b, exploring the theme of customs and blessings tied to various occupations. The Gemara teaches that certain professions — such as selling planks or jars, merchants in the marketplace, those who raise small livestock, and those who cut down beloved trees — will never see a blessing in their earnings, largely because they attract excessive attention and Ayin Hara. Rabbi Hanon explains the concept of Ayin Hara through Rashi's interpretation, connecting it to how appearances of wealth can invite negative spiritual scrutiny even when actual profit is modest. The Gemara then lists four specific types of money that carry no blessing: the earnings of scribes (sofrim), translators (meturgemanim), custodians of orphans' funds, and profits from overseas trade — each for distinct halachic or spiritual reasons, including resemblance to payment for Shabbat work, lack of consent from minors, and reliance on daily miracles. The class concludes with the teaching of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, that the Men of the Great Assembly fasted 24 fasts — corresponding to the 24 books of Tanakh — so that Torah scribes would never become wealthy and abandon their sacred craft.

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(0:00) Intro: Minhagim & Local Customs

(0:47) Ayin Hara: Planks & Jars

(2:00) What Is Ayin Hara?

(3:26) More Professions & Ayin Hara

(5:01) Why These Professions Are Cursed

(6:01) Shuk Story: Negotiating in Israel

(14:41) Four Coins With No Blessing

(16:10) Gemara Explains Each Coin

(16:30) Sakhar Shabbat & the Translator

(17:34) Orphans' Money & Consent

(18:38) Overseas Money & Miracles

(19:15) Why Scribes Don't Get Rich

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Mr. Sammy Saka hosts classes on Zoom Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30PM. Contact Jacob Betesh to be added to the chat.

In this class on Pirkei Avot 3:1, Mr. Sammy Saka introduces the Mishnah of Akavyah Ben Mahalalel, a man of extraordinary Torah knowledge, humility, and fear of sin, who teaches that contemplating three things will keep a person from transgression: where we come from, where we are going, and before Whom we will give judgment and reckoning. On the question of where we come from, Mr. Saka draws on Rabbi Ezra Labbaton's teaching that every human being is created in the image of God — Tzelem Elokim — and therefore carries a divine spark that demands we treat all people with dignity and live up to our spiritual responsibilities. On the question of where we are going, he emphasizes that life is short and our legacy is measured not by wealth but by character, family, and communal impact, using the example of the Friday night Shabbat table as an irreplaceable opportunity to connect with our children. The concept of Cheshbon — reckoning — is explored through vivid personal stories, illustrating how one person's positive influence on another multiplies endlessly, like interest compounding, and how that infinite chain of impact is what truly allows a person to live on after death. Mr. Saka concludes by urging the community to remember their Syrian roots, honor the founders who built their shuls and schools, and use their time wisely in work, Torah, chesed, and family — knowing that every action is recorded before the King of Kings.

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(0:00) Introduction to Pirkei Avot 3:1

(1:31) Who Was Akavyah Ben Mahalalel?

(2:25) The Three Things to Consider

(3:00) Where We Come From: Tzelem Elokim

(4:04) Where We Are Going: Life's Priorities

(5:56) The Friday Night Dinner Table

(7:07) Din and Cheshbon: Judgment & Reckoning

(9:04) Mickey Abraham and the Power of Cheshbon

(10:07) Living On Through Your Impact

(11:40) Applying the Three Lessons

(13:21) Remembering Our Roots at Hillel

(14:33) Our Syrian Community's Legacy

(17:15) Closing: Time Is Our Greatest Asset

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Mr. Sammy Saka hosts classes on Zoom Tuesday and Thursday at 12:30PM. Contact Jacob Betesh to be added to the chat.

In this class, Mr. Sammy Saka teaches the final Mishnah of Perek Bet, Pirkei Avot 2:21, spoken by Rabbi Tarfon, focusing on the central theme of effort in serving Hashem. The Mishnah teaches that we are not required to complete the entire task of Torah learning, yet we are also not free to withdraw from it — meaning Hashem values our sincere, consistent effort over the completion of any fixed quota. Mr. Saka illustrates this with the analogy of Torah being like water that accumulates drop by drop, encouraging listeners to show up daily, whether to shul, a class, or even a brief phone call to a grandparent, as each small act of connection carries great reward. He emphasizes that Hashem, our most trustworthy Employer, rewards us not only financially but with health, good children, and worthy matches, and that the highest level of righteousness is serving Hashem without expectation of reward at all. The class concludes with a practical call to action: seek out easy mitzvot, carve out time in the day to learn Torah, and trust that consistent effort will be met with Hashem's blessing in this world and the next.

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(0:00) Introduction & Mishnah 2:21

(1:25) Breaking Down the Mishnah

(1:39) You Are Not Required to Finish

(3:39) Torah Is Like Water Drop by Drop

(4:33) You Are Not Free to Withdraw

(6:40) The Great Reward Explained

(8:25) Showing Up Is the Effort

(10:06) Hashem Is a Trustworthy Employer

(11:10) We Each Have a Clock

(12:50) Many Ways to Stay Connected

(13:27) Kavanah in Prayer

(14:17) Effort Is What Counts Most

(15:04) Closing — Run After Mitzvot

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Visit: westdealshul.org

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