Nechemiah, Week 19: 8:13-18 - A Succot Surprise? - Apr 17, 2018 - Different approaches to the contention that the Jews did not observe Succot from the days of Yehoshua until the time of Nechemiah. And a little bit on the list of plant species they collected.

Nechemiah, Week 19: 8:18 - A Succot Surprise? - Apr 17, 2018 - Different approaches to the contention that the Jews did not observe Succot from the days of Yehoshua until the time of Nechemiah. And a little bit on the list of plant species they collected.

Muktzeh: An Overview - Apr 13, 2018 - Introduction to Muktzeh. Survey of topics and terminology - types of muktzeh, how muktzeh status is conferred/removed, types of interaction with muktzeh. Is muktzeh biblical or rabbinic? When were the rabbinic decrees created? And is the prohibition against handling certain utensils part of muktzeh, or separate?

Shoftim 20:41-21:4 Destroying Binyamin, and Regretting It - Apr 12, 2018 - The end of the war, the self-righteous massacre of Binyamin, and the escape of 600 soldiers. And then the nation's regret.

Nechemiah, Week 18: 8:9-13 - Happy Rosh HaShanah! - Apr 10, 2018 - Nechemiah urges the Jews to celebrate Rosh HaShanah a happy occasion - how does that fit with our contemporary approach to Rosh HaShanah? And why does the succah seem to be new to them?

Koteiv, Mocheik Part 3: Erasure, Food, and Contemporary Technology - Mar 28, 2018 - I was preoccupied when I recorded this, but it may still be useful. Defining erasure "for the sake of writing" on Shabbat, looking at eating food with letters/pictures on/in it and making such designs on Shabbat, and some applications for modern technology.

Koteiv, Mocheik Part 2: Defining the act of writing, and text - Mar 26, 2018 - Is joining parts of letters an act of writing? Is putting letters side-by-side an act of writing? What is a "letter"? How about pictures? The requirement of two letters for liability. Defining "durable text".

Koteiv, Mocheik Part 1: Defining the act of writing - Mar 23, 2018 - What constitutes an act of writing, for the laws of Shabbat? Includes discussion of causing invisible text to appear and joining broken letters.

Haggadah Medley: 3 ideas - Mar 22, 2018 - Presentation of 3 ideas addressing 3 questions: (1) What is the benefit of beginning the story of leaving Egypt with our disgrace? (2) Why does the Torah emphasize the month of Nisan in discussing Pesach, and why does a midrash cited in the Haggadah think there would be value in telling the story of the Exodus on Rosh Chodesh Nisan? (3) What is the connection between Gidon and our Seder? (Ideas 1 and 3 also appear in standalone audio recordings on YUTorah.)

Nechemiah, Week 17: 8:1-8 - The Public Torah Reading - Mar 20, 2018 - Ezra holds a Hakhel-like Torah reading for the nation. And is there hagbah, too?