YUTORAH: R' Dr. Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff -- Recent Shiurim

History of Easter European Yeshivot - September 16 - Sep 16, 2024 -

Ransom for Hostages. Charedim in IDF. Mishneh Halakhot by R’ Menashe Klein – Volume 13 Sections 150–168. Translations of Torah Texts Are To Be Avoided. Sources of This View Are Rambam, R’ Shach, Chatam Sofer, Ohr Somayach. Update on R’ Belkin Book. - Sep 15, 2024 - Danger of excessive ransom payments for hostages. Are women required to make havdalah? R' Mendi Gopin: Extend trumpets concept to R' Akiva & Moshe Rabbeinu. R' James Gordon, Young Israel of Oak Park, MI. The darshan's humorous portrayal of the Zionist army & the very critical reactions of R' Shkop & then R' Chaim. Uzi Baram on the IDF. Chaim Goldberg: How to make Charedim spiritually comfortable in the IDF. R' Menashe Klein opposes translations. Rambam's opposition to translating Mishneh Torah into Arabic & his regret in writing Perush al Hamishnah and Sefer HaMitzvot in Arabic. Why Moreh Nevuchim in Arabic is fine. Evaluating both pros and cons of English translations. R' Shakh opposed translations. Chatam Sofer opposed translations and regretted authorizing translation of the siddur. The concept that translations are harmful. R' Israel Salanter. Why Aramaic is special & thus an exception. R' Meir Simcha of Dvinsk in his Ohr Somayach: Bechukotai, Vayikra 26:44: Hebrew Language is one of many things that preserves us in exile. Visit of rabbis to USSR under Khrushchev. Refuting claim that Conservative & Reform provide some short-term protection. Update on R' Belkin book.

Volozhin Yeshiva: Its Final Years. The Great Machloket. What Led to Closing of the Yeshiva on February 2, 1892 - Sep 9, 2024 - History & overview of this class from 1980 to the present. Volozhin in early 1850s. R' Yitzchak, son of founder R' Chaim Volozhiner died. His joint successors: Netziv & R' Yosef Dov Halevi Soloveitchik (Beit Halevi). 1851-3: Machloket as a result of a joint, not a single leadership. Description of the outrageous behavior of those who participated in the conflict. Beit Halevi left. R' Chaim Berlin. Lithuanian Yeshivas of the Nineteenth Century by Shaul Stampfer. Predicting the past. Using Stampfer & memoir literature in order to answer why Volozhin closed. Rabbis who gave away their money too freely. R' Chaim Soloveichik was like this. Running a yeshiva with a then unprecedented 400 students needed someone with administrative ability, not R' Chaim Brisker. R' Chaim Berlin instituting constraint of "office hours" on the students was not appreciated. Why Russian government insisted on some secular studies. The extreme violence within Volozhin was known by the Russian secret police and they saw this as potential for violent revolutionaries against the Czar. Student who went home and died. Some suspected this was due to a curse from Netziv. Police closed the yeshiva to deter revolution.

Responsa - September 8th - Sep 8, 2024 -

Volozhin Yeshiva. Haskalah Publications. Not all Volozhin Students Were on the Same Level. Bialik in the Yeshiva. How He Lived in Two Worlds. Bialik's Oneg Shabbat & Poetry. Shutting Down Roads is Not Acceptable. The Rav on Matan Torah. - Jun 10, 2024 - Chasidus Meets America by Ora Wiskind. Students in Volozhin: Maskilim vs 'tzadikim.' Tolerance of Haskalah publications in Volozhin compared to elsewhere. Netziv's less negative attitude to such publications. Volozhin students with weaker backgrounds. Tutors. Town of Volozhin had a great feature: Nothing doing there, no coffee shops, clubs, external libraries. Why R' Aharon Kotler chose Lakewood. Why Bialik liked Volozhin so much. He was loved by all. His departure. R. Hirsch & Bais Yaakov Schools. Bialik would have loved Hesder Yeshivot. Bialik's poems showed his love for the yeshiva. He was in two worlds. The Rav on studying the New Testament. Bialik's well-attended Oneg Shabbat. R' Hutner thanks Moshe Dayan. Dayan's son in Hollywood. General Uzi Dayan. Aryeh Kroll on Charedim. R' Kook compared to Bialik. Shaul Stampfer. Traveling in NYC on train on Simchat Torah. The Rosh Yeshiva's role has more aspects than just teaching. Example: Dr. Belkin. Also R' Kotler. How he was treated by donors. Volozhin succession battle. Rav Auerbach: father & son. Shutting down roads is not acceptable. No pesak is lekhol hade'ot. The Rav on Matan Torah: We are all capable.

R' Menashe Klein: Mishneh Halakhot 13:150: How to Bring Tinokot Shenishbu Closer to Torah and Mitzvot. Rambam's Methodology and R' Menashe's. Importance of Hebrew. - Jun 9, 2024 - Percentages of Jewish communities that are Ba'alei Teshuva around the world. One must destroy & then create a new world. This is risky. Role of psychology in Mussar. Mishneh Halachot 13:150 pg. 196: Those who work in outreach should have training as rigorous as that of an MD. An MD trains for years. R' Rakeffet sensed there was a problem with potential convert in Maplewood. Meeting Naomi Shemer. R' Klein: It is worth doing outreach in spite of risk of mistakes. Theodore Friedman debate: Catholic rabbi. R' Menashe: Know what you're doing. Outreach is a profession. The stages of teaching non-observant. Rambam's methodology: Hilchot Talmud Torah 4:1: Make him הגון then test him & only then he enters Bet Midrash & is taught. Not applicable today. Lack of observance results in intermarriage. Jewish soldier in Russian army during WW I. Why the covenant with the Avot wasn't enough. Why are you living in a country at war? Teachers from Shanghai showed books are not enough. R' Menashe's methodology: First teach Hebrew. No ArtScroll. R' Rakeffet met two men who became observant via ArtScroll. Davening in English. Visit of US orthodox rabbis to Soviet Union in 1965 showed Hebrew unites us.

Volozhin Yeshiva. A Moving Description of the More Emotional Aspects of the Members of the Yeshiva Discussed Along With a Description of Bialik in the Yeshiva. Camaraderie and Kinship But Also Machloket and Romance. Abba Blusher's Memoir as a Source. - Jun 3, 2024 - Hovevei Zion Kattowitz Conference of 1884. Intense Torah learning in Sochatchov. אבא בלושר memoir. Percent of Volozhin students who were maskilim. Blusher Library in Kovno. Infighting in Volozhin over succession. Russian government's plans for Volozhin. Who succeeds Netziv? Students wanted R' Chaim. Infighting was intense & frightened the Russian government. Bialik's letter supporting Netziv. Description of the students during Bialik's emotional departure from Volozhin. Volozhin student falls in love with the daughter of the family renting him a room & marries her despite opposition. Bialik approved. The way yeshiva and non-yeshiva studies combined in the city of Volozhin attracted Bialik. Graetz vs. R' Yitzhak Isaac Halevy Rabinowitz on writing Jewish history. His major work, Dorot Rishonim. His influence on the nature of Agudah. What if Rav Kook had helped form Agudah? Why mussar was banned in Volozhin. Can we answer the question of what Bialik really believed about the yeshiva world? He was shomer Shabbat. His oneg Shabbat. Description of 24/7 Torah studies in Volozhin. Comparison of the demeanor of R' Chaim vs. Netziv. The camaraderie and kinship within Volozhin. Arnie Rund.

R' Menashe Klein: Mishneh Halakhot 13:150-153: How to Bring Russian Jews in Moscow Closer to Torah and Mitzvot. The Danger of Relying on Emotion in Making Decisions. An Evaluation of Conversion-גרות. The Greater Importance of Chukim over Mishpatim. - Jun 2, 2024 - Lighting Shabbat נרות before plag. Rabbis should've encouraged aliyah in 1884. Religious status in Israel much improved since 1969. Chilul Hashem in Charedi world. Mishneh Halachot 13:150: Efforts to bring Jews in the former Soviet Union closer to Torah & Mitzvot. Noticeable success between 1981 & 1985. In 1990s Chabad dominated Leningrad. In Moscow there was a noticeable Litvish presence. Putin. זרע בית ישראל concept. 13:151: Emotion must not be a factor or play a role in policy decisions & efforts. Reform rabbi on Amalek & sacrifices. King Saul & Agag shows the danger of emotion when making decisions. Langer case. Helen Seidman case. Russian aliyah: Encourage conversions. Yevamot 47b: קשה גרים לישראל כספחת. Converts can be better Jews than those born Jewish. Writing down on Shabbat shiurim given on Shabbat in Kamenitz. Professor Carmi Horowitz & writings of Prof. Isadore Twersky. 13:153: Using Mishneh Torah to find Talmudic sources. Mishneh Torah, Me'ilah 8:8: An intense presentation of how to relate to chukim & their greater importance over mishpatim. Reach out with Mishneh Torah first. Moreh Nevuchim will come later. P.M. Begin. The way to bring Charedim into the IDF.

The 30th Day Memorial for Menachem Nussbaum, a Dear Friend of Rav Aaron Rakeffet for Over 80 Years. (Hebrew) — אזכרה לרגל שלושים של מנחם נוסבאום, חברו היקר של הרב אהרון רקפת למעלה מ-80 שנה. (בעִברִית) - May 29, 2024 - This memorial took place at the Ohel Rivka Synagogue in Jerusalem, on May 29th, 2024. The two speakers were Rabbi Moshe Shai and Rabbi Aaron Rakeffet.

אזכרה זו התקיימה בבית הכנסת אהל רבקה בירושלים, ב-29 במאי, .2024

שני הדוברים היו הרב משה שי והרב אהרון רקפת

Volozhin Yeshiva. R' Chaim Soloveitchik. Descriptions of the Various Ways R' Chaim Was so Unique. Other Gedolim in His Time. R' Chaim's Attraction to Chassidut. - May 27, 2024 - R' Norman Lamm: The yeshiva as a cave. R' Lessin: as Noah's ark. Dr. Belkin never visited Israel. R' Yaakov Kamenetsky's 4 gedolei hador: אור שמח, R' David Friedman of Karlin, R' Yosef Rosen: Rogatchover, R' Chaim Soloveitchik. Prof. Louis Jacobs visits Rogatchover. The din torah including R' Chaim Ozer. R' Asher Waxman's visit to Rogatchover. His writings. R' Chaim Soloveitchik was not a Zionist. R' Boruch Ber Leibowitz and cherem on R' Moshe Soloveichik. Comparing R' Yosef Engel to R' Chaim. R' Abraham Isaac Kook was close to Netziv. R' Kook's relationship with R' Chaim. מחשבת נחום by R' Menachem Nachum Rabinowitz. R' Chaim had Chassidut within him. His son-in-law was a chassid. R' Zvi Hirsch Glickson. Avnei Nezer. R' Yehuda Leib Feuer. More proof R' Chaim was a Chassid.