Derech HaShem with Rabbi Aryeh Shulman

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2.34: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 4 Part 8

May 12, 2026

36:52

This dvar Torah develops a “hack” for generating “limitless mitzvot”: everyday, non-mitzvah actions can become spiritually elevating when they are necessary for avodat Hashem, permissible, and done with proper kavanah. It then pivots to a core inner avodah in Derech Hashem: strengthening אהבה and יראה through contemplation of Hashem’s greatness and human lowliness. Finally, it frames אהבה and יראה as the two “wings” that elevate a person—אהבה expanding the נשמה’s drive for closeness, and יראה purifying the body’s pull toward חומריות—while noting that different generations may emphasize different sides of this balance. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/dh-biyun-1-4-8-20260512-041330-outline-20260512-041418.pdf

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2.33: D_H biyun 1-4-5_7

Apr 28, 2026

36:17

This dvar Torah learns Derech Hashem’s framework that mitzvot are not external rules imposed on man, but the very “boundaries and relationships” (גבולים וסדרים) custom-designed for human perfection and דביקות בה׳. It then defines the root of all avodah as a constant orientation toward the Creator, expressed through conquering the yetzer and guiding all actions to that goal. Finally, it introduces a second category beyond commanded mitzvot: everyday necessities (eating, sleep, livelihood) that can become mitzvot when done within halachic limits, with genuine health-need, and with the intention of enabling the soul’s service of Hashem. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/dh-biyun-1-4-57-20260428-031328-outline-20260428-031417.pdf

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2.31: 4

Apr 23, 2026

38:55

This dvar Torah traces the Ramchal’s argument that a human being is immersed in physicality on three fronts: our bodies, our world, and our daily involvements. That physical immersion creates an “asymmetrical” struggle: the body is compulsory and immediate, while spirituality is not forced upon us. Yet the Ramchal’s key chiddush is that **from the depth of Hashem’s wisdom**, this very lowliness becomes the engine of human greatness—because transforming physical darkness into spiritual light is what generates the highest kavod Shamayim and the deepest dveikus. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/4-20260423-192629-outline-20260423-192707.pdf

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2.32: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 4 Part 4

Apr 23, 2026

39:01

This dvar Torah develops a central Ramchal idea: Hashem embedded *גבולים* (definitions) and *סדרים* (relational structures) within the physical world so that human engagement with physical objects can become a vehicle for spiritual growth rather than distraction. When a person uses the world according to the object’s spiritual “design,” within the proper frameworks (time, combinations, procedure) and with proper *כוונה*, the physical act itself becomes an act of *שלמות*. The shiur then addresses a key tension: since death was decreed after Adam’s sin, purification cannot fully actualize in this world—but every mitzvah still strengthens the soul and purifies the body “in potential,” to be revealed later. A passage from Rav Chaim Volozhiner clarifies that at the moment of a mitzvah a person becomes “encircled in holiness,” and Olam HaBa is the permanence of that revelation. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/dh-biyun-1-4-4-20260423-193902-outline-20260423-193955.pdf

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2.30: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 4 Part 2

Apr 18, 2026

35:55

This dvar Torah (learning session) develops the Ramchal’s description of the נשמה entering the גוף as an inherently asymmetrical struggle: even when the powers are “balanced,” the battlefield is the body’s “home court,” so the soul experiences exile in a foreign environment. Because the soul-body partnership is permanent (death is only temporary until תחיית המתים), the soul must invest in a lifelong process: first weakening the הגוף’s darkness and then elevating the גוף to rise together with the נשמה. The session concludes by previewing the next layer of difficulty: not only is the body physical, but the entire world is physical and “dark,” constantly arguing that physicality is all that is real. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/dh-biyun-1-4-2-20260418-001456-outline-20260418-001544.pdf

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2.29: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 4 Part 1

Apr 1, 2026

39:36

This dvar Torah frames Perek 4 as an investigation into the human condition in this world through two lenses: the inner structure of the person and the external environment in which he lives. Using the Gemara’s language of **“שאור שבעיסה ושיעבוד מלכויות”**, it connects these two forces to Pesach: the internal “yeast” (yetzer hara) that puffs up the dough from within, and the external oppression of surrounding cultures and empires. The shiur then maps the path of inner revolution—through **חכמה, בינה, דעת** and through **חסד, גבורה, תפארת**—and ends by probing the deeper mechanism: physicality’s inherent “opacity” and “darkness,” the opposite of deveikut to Hashem. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/dh-biyun-1-4-1-20260401-221913-outline-20260401-221946.pdf

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2.28: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 13b

Mar 24, 2026

37:42

Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/dh-biyun-1-3-13b-20260324-141501-outline-20260324-141618.pdf

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2.27: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 13

Mar 19, 2026

37:08

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1.1: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 12

Mar 9, 2026

40:19

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2.25: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 11b

Feb 25, 2026

35:51

11

2.24: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 10 -11

Feb 17, 2026

34:09

12

2.23: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 9

Feb 10, 2026

39:15

13

2.22: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 8

Feb 3, 2026

35:57

14

2.21: Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 4 - 7

Jan 27, 2026

37:53

15

S2E20 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 3

Jan 20, 2026

36:03

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S2E19 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 2b

Jan 13, 2026

38:37

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S2E18 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 2

Jan 7, 2026

42:15

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S2E17 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 3 Part 1

Dec 30, 2025

40:38

19

S2E16 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 2 Part 4b - 5

Dec 23, 2025

42:33

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S2E15 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 2 Part 4a

Dec 17, 2025

41:47

21

S2E13 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun Book 1 Chapter 2 Part 3b

Dec 11, 2025

38:31

22

S2E12 -Book 1 Chapter 2 Part 3

Dec 8, 2025

40:23

23

S2E12 -Book 1 Chapter 2 Part 2b

Nov 21, 2025

40:15

24

S2E11 -Book 1 Chapter 2 Part 2a

Nov 19, 2025

38:55

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S2E10 -Book 1 Chapter 2 Part 1d

Nov 11, 2025

39:07

26

S2E9 -Book 1 Chapter 2 Part 1c

Nov 4, 2025

42:53

27

S2E8 -Book 1 Chapter 2 Part 1b

Oct 28, 2025

38:20

28

S2E6 -Book 1 Chapter 1 Part 5b - 6

Oct 21, 2025

26:27

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S2E7 -Book 1 Chapter 2 Part 1

Oct 21, 2025

14:46

30

S2E4 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun: Book 1 Chapter 1 Part 2b - 4

Sep 30, 2025

40:57

31

S2E5 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun: Book 1 Chapter 1 Part 5a

Sep 30, 2025

40:57

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S2E3 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun: Book 1 Chapter 1 Part 2

Sep 9, 2025

39:45

33

S2E2 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun: Book 1 Chapter 1 Part 1b

Sep 3, 2025

41:37

34

S2E1 -Derech Hashem B'Iyun: Book 1 Chapter 1 Part 1a

Aug 27, 2025

39:02

35

S1E1 -Book 1 Chapter 1

Oct 11, 2021

37:48

36

S1E2 -Book 1 Chapter 2 Episode 1

Oct 11, 2021

42:52

37

S1E3 -Book 1 Chapter 2 Episode 2

Oct 11, 2021

38:54

38

S1E4 -Book 1 Chapter 2 Episode 3

Oct 11, 2021

48:29

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S1E5 -Book 1 Chapter 3 Episode 1

Oct 11, 2021

46:04

Episode Notes The beginning of Chapter 3 may be back at the end of the previous episode.

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S1E6 -Book 1 Chapter 3 Episode 2

Oct 12, 2021

39:15

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S1E7 -Book 1 Chapter 3 Episode 3

Oct 12, 2021

43:17

42

S1E8 -Book 1 Chapter 3 Episode 4

Oct 12, 2021

38:48

43

S1E9 -Book 1 Chapter 3 Episode 5

Oct 12, 2021

38:12

44

S1E10 -Book 1 Chapter 3 Episode 6

Oct 12, 2021

31:26

45

S1E11 -Book 1 Chapter 4 Episode 1

Oct 12, 2021

39:09

Episode Notes The beginning of this chapter is to be found at the end of Chapter 3.

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S1E12 -Book 1 Chapter 4 Episode 2

Oct 12, 2021

46:27

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S1E13 -Book 1 Chapter 4 Episode 3

Oct 12, 2021

44:47

48

S1E14 -Book 1 Chapter 4 Episode 4

Oct 12, 2021

39:46

49

S1E15 -Book 1 Chapter 4 Episode 5

Oct 12, 2021

44:54

50

S1E16 -Book 1 Chapter 5 Episode 1

Oct 12, 2021

42:42

Derech HaShem with Rabbi Aryeh Shulman

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