A shiur for Parshas Beshalach connecting the parsha's "vayaseiv" — Hashem's roundabout route out of Egypt — to the halachos of hesibah, reclining at the Seder. In this episode: - The Rambam's three levels of the hesibah obligation: the kezayis matzah and daled kosos, the extra matzah and wine, and the rest of the meal - Whether an onen (a mourner before burial) is obligated in hesibah, and what counts as reclining for him - Why the Rambam requires a table in front of you, not just a place to lean - Rav Moshe Feinstein's heter for someone uncomfortable reclining nowadays - A haftarah piece on Shiras Devorah: why Devorah told Barak that victory over Sisera would be credited to a woman, and what the Arizal says that teaches about this redemption versus the final one

A shiur for Parshas Yisro on the mitzvah of Kiddush Hayom, connecting "zachor es yom haShabbos" to the halachos of how the mitzvah is actually fulfilled. In this episode: - The machlokes whether Kiddush requires wine (ala kois) — Rashi's view versus the Ramban's, that it can be fulfilled through speech, or even through davening itself - Why the Ramban holds Zachor is one continuous mitzvah running from the start of the week through Shabbos, not a once-a-week obligation - The Rebbi Akiva Eiger question: how can a man who already davened (and is patur from the Torah-level Kiddush) be motzi a woman who hasn't, given areivus - A haftarah piece on Yeshayahu's vision of Hashem "yoshev al kisei ram v'nisa" and what it teaches about Uziyahu's tzaraas

A shiur for Parshas Tetzaveh, the Shabbos of Parshas Zachor. In this episode: - Whether the mitzvah of zechiras Michiyas Amalek requires hearing it read from a Sefer Torah with a minyan, and the Terumas HaDeshen's proof that it's d'Oraisa - The Chasam Sofer's practice of having people focus specifically on Michiyas Amalek during the brachos and the krias haTorah - The machlokes between the Rambam and the Ramban on what the mitzvah actually requires — remembering, or bringing yourself to feel eivah - Whether it's better to hear Parshas Zachor or Vayavo Amalek read on Purim, and a personal psak on bringing a Sefer Torah to someone housebound

A shiur for Parshas Vayakhel-Pekudei and Parshas HaChodesh. In this episode: - The Ramban's difficult mechilta on "lo sevaru eish," and why the possibility that melachos oneg Shabbos might be permitted only makes sense in light of the building of the Mishkan - Why women are chayav in the melachos of Shabbos despite it being a mitzvas asei shehazman grama, and the Ramban's proof from their involvement in building the Mishkan - The two components of Shabbos, kodesh (the issurim) and shabason (the oneg), and the Chasam Sofer's chiddush about someone absorbed in his store all Shabbos being a "mumar l'chlal Shabbos" - The Ramban's explanation for why the Torah calls the months "Rishon, Sheni" rather than using names, and where Nissan, Iyar, and the rest actually come from

A Purim-eve shiur recorded live in Yerushalayim during rocket sirens, working through the halachos of an interrupted megillah reading. In this episode: - Whether stopping to go to a miklat counts as a hefsek, and how long you can wait before having to restart or repeat the brachah - Whether talking to organize people during the siren invalidates the reading, and what kind of speech is permitted - What to do if the tzibbur scatters and can't reconvene — reading alone, reading part b'al peh, and how much needs to come from a kosher text - The zman for krias hamegillah at night, and heters for those on call (soldiers, doctors) who may only be able to read it early