Brachos 24a - Jan 27, 2020 -

Brachos 23 - Jan 26, 2020 -

Brachos 22 - Jan 26, 2020 -

Halacha from Gemara Bava Metzia 30a II - Jan 24, 2020 -

Brachos 21b - Jan 24, 2020 -

Brachos 21a - Jan 24, 2020 -

Peshischa on the Parsha: Becoming Intolerant, Speaking with Support - Jan 24, 2020 - Reb Simcha Bunim and the Kotzker Rebbe explain that the words ‘sivlos Mitzrayim’ refers not to their burden of work but their ‘tolerance’ (like savlanut) of their condition- as slaves and Egyptians. To ‘leave’, Hashem first had to show that that they could no longer be comfortable with this as ‘normal’. The Sfas Emes explains that Moshe Rabbeinu says his ‘lips are barred’ not because he couldn’t convince the Jewish people (so how could he convince Paroh), but because he didn’t have the support of the Jewish people he doesn’t have the strength/confidence to even articulate his argument.

Brachos 20b - Jan 23, 2020 -

Brachos 20a - Jan 23, 2020 -

Vaera: Carrying a Big Stick, but which one? - Jan 22, 2020 - The Parsha peculiarly depicts two ways in which the plague of blood happened- first Hashem tells Moshe to do it with his staff, and then Moshe tells Aharon to do it with his. We discussed different approaches to account for the difference, and to understand which stick was truly used. In the end we explained based on the Kli Yakar that Moshe and Aharon’s staffs served different purposes within Egypt based on how they were to be used after Egypt, while leading the Jewish people through the midbar.