Parshah and the Moadim with Rabbi Aryeh Shulman

1

Shabbos : Kedushas Shabbos 1d

Nov 6, 2026

41:13

Rabbi Shulman explores Rav Tzadok HaKohen’s understanding of three forms of spiritual toil: serving God through action, through prayer, and through Torah study. These correspond to the three pillars sustaining the world and to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, respectively. The central distinction is between action and prayer, which cultivate physical and inward life in this world, and Torah, which connects a person to eternal divine wisdom—a framework preparing for a fuller understanding of Shabbat. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kedushas-shabbos-1d-20261106-050544-outline-20261106-050753.pdf

2

Parshas Chayei Sarah: Sarah Purchased the Field?

Nov 6, 2026

9:02

Episode Notes Notes go hereRabbi Shulman explores the Midrash Tanchuma’s connection between “A Woman of Valor” and Sarah, focusing on its surprising attribution of the purchase of Machpelah to her. Drawing on Rav Tzadok and the Maharal, he explains that the cave’s “doubling” reflects Sarah’s achievement in both practical action and inward spiritual life. This becomes a lesson for Shabbat: our involvement in the physical world should express a deeper, inner relationship with Hashem. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/20261106-040335-outline-20261106-040433.pdf

3

Shabbos: Kedushas Shabbos 1c

Oct 30, 2026

37:01

4

Parshas Vayeyra: Three Men

Oct 30, 2026

8:50

Rabbi Shulman explores Rav Tzadok’s explanation of the three visitors who came to Abraham after his circumcision: they represent both three angels and the spiritual qualities of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Their missions reveal the interaction of kindness, judgment, and mercy, including the connection between Isaac’s impending birth and Sodom’s destruction. These qualities become the spiritual inheritance of the Jewish people, expressed through kindness, compassion, and a humble sense of awe before God. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/vayeyra-three-men-20261030-033233-outline-20261030-033333.pdf

5

Shabbos : Kedushas Shabbos 1c

Oct 30, 2026

37:01

Rabbi Shulman explores Rav Tzadok’s interpretation of the Talmud’s question: For what kind of toil was humanity created? “Work” cannot mean merely earning enough to survive; rather, it refers to performing commandments, which sustain and repair creation. The discussion explains why all commandments fall under the pillar of kindness, how charity sustains an entire “miniature world,” and how an enduring capacity for kindness preserves a connection to God even in Jews far removed from religious observance. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kedushas-shabbos-1c-20261030-032750-outline-20261030-032928.pdf

6

Tisha B'Av 5786: Kinah 25 - Yirmiyohu

Oct 30, 2026

1:54

Rabbi Shulman explains that Lament 25 mourns the destruction of the Rhineland Jewish communities during the First Crusade, grieving both the lives extinguished and the Torah those lives embodied. The loss is not merely the unwritten books these scholars might have produced: because Torah lives within its bearers, their deaths diminish the spiritual life of the entire Jewish people and its connection to God. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kinah-25-yirmiyohu-20261030-032323-outline-20261030-032343.pdf

7

Tisha B'Av 5786: Kinnah 20 - Noach Mordecai

Oct 30, 2026

4:32

Rabbi Shulman explores Lament 20’s anguish over the destruction being carried out by people seemingly far more wicked than those they punished. He distinguishes between the sins that originally caused the destruction and the uncorrected wrongdoing that continues to prevent rebuilding. Through a parable about a celebration that loses its purpose, he urges honest examination of whether our own conduct obstructs the redemption we claim to desire. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kinnah-20-noach-mordecai-20261030-032025-outline-20261030-032120.pdf

8

Tisha B'Av 5786: Kinnah 17 - berish

Oct 30, 2026

3:43

Rabbi Shulman explains how Lamentation 17 moves from mourning the horrors of the Temple’s destruction to confronting the spiritual failures that preceded it. Citing Rav Lopiansky, he connects the murder of the prophet Zechariah in the Temple with the atrocities of the later siege: an unacknowledged moral wrong can begin a deterioration whose devastating consequences emerge generations afterward. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kinnah-17-berish-20261030-031645-outline-20261030-031722.pdf

9

Tisha B'Av 5786: Kinnah 12 - Yaakov Chaim

Oct 30, 2026

3:02

Rabbi Shulman explains that the destruction of the Temple represents the loss of a place where God chose to dwell close to the Jewish people. Lamentation 14 asks how that desire for closeness can coexist with the sanctuary’s destruction and its prolonged absence. Its images portray not only Israel’s loneliness, but also, figuratively, God’s own isolation from His people. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kinnah-12-yaakov-chaim-20261030-031318-outline-20261030-031344.pdf

10

Tisha B'Av 5786: Kinnah 11 - Yechezkel

Oct 30, 2026

4:40

Rabbi Shulman explains why the lamentation for King Josiah belongs in the Tisha B’Av service even though Josiah died while the Temple still stood. His death exposes losses deeper than the destruction of a building: spiritual clarity, genuine inner devotion, and the nation’s ability to fulfill its righteous leaders’ hopes. Mourning Josiah invites us to consider the painful gap between what others believe we can be and how we actually live. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kinnah-11-yechezkel-20261030-030923-outline-20261030-031017.pdf

11

Tisha B'Av 5786: Kinah 10 - Noach Mordecai

Oct 30, 2026

1:48

Rabbi Shulman reflects on the difficulty of connecting to a lament that lists communities whose names are now unfamiliar. Comparing these ancient names with those of destroyed Lithuanian Jewish communities, he warns that unfamiliarity must not become apathy. He concludes with a prayer for redemption, when mourning will give way to joy. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kinah-10-noach-mordecai-20261030-030656-outline-20261030-030719.pdf

12

Tisha B'Av 5786: Kinah 7 - Yaakov Chaim

Oct 30, 2026

2:35

Rabbi Shulman explains that appreciating the tragedy of Israel’s downfall requires remembering the greatness that preceded it. Drawing on the Alshich and *Palgei Mayim*, he shows how the repeated expression of astonishment in the lament contrasts Israel’s former blessings with its present humiliation, deepening the plea for God to recognize its disgrace. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kinah-7-yaakov-chaim-20261030-030234-outline-20261030-030253.pdf

13

Shabbos : Kedushas Shabbos 1b

Oct 30, 2026

29:36

Rabbi Shulman explains that while this world is defined by *amal* (toil) and the next world by menuchah (rest), the deeper purpose of human labor is not mere survival but *tikkun ha’olam*—creating a stable, functional world in which avodat Hashem can flourish. He reframes the idea of *chasidei umot ha’olam* as earning Olam Haba specifically by facilitating the spiritual mission of *Klal Yisrael*, not simply by being “good people.” The dvar Torah culminates in Rav Tzadok’s teaching that Torah-learning is the highest form of “toil,” paralleling Hashem’s own act of creation through speech, and forming the greatest of the three pillars on which the world stands. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kedushas-shabbos-1b-20261023-145906-outline-20261023-145959.pdf

14

Parshas Lech Lecha: Two Altars

Oct 23, 2026

10:15

Rabbi Shulman explores the opening command to Avraham—“לך לך מארצך”—and explains, via Rabbi Tzadok, that the Torah is teaching not only self-transformation (“go to your true self”) but also where the כוח to change comes from: specifically, from one’s background and past rather than in spite of it. He then reframes “אל הארץ אשר אראך” as a hint that the destination is a place of deeper revelation of Hashem. Finally, Rabbi Shulman highlights Avraham’s two מזבחות as a blueprint for personal growth: Torah provides the clear revealed path, and תפילה protects and guides us through the unpredictable challenges that derail even good intentions. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/lech-lecha-two-altars-20261023-145328-outline-20261023-145359.pdf

15

Shabbos : Kedushas Shabbos 1a

Oct 16, 2026

38:24

Rabbi Shulman introduces Rav Tzadok HaKohen’s *Sefer Kedushat Shabbat* and develops its core claim: the קדושה and ברכה of shabbat are drawn from a person’s avodah during the preceding six days, not from the formal onset of shabbat itself. He addresses an apparent textual anomaly where the Torah describes weekday work passively (“work will be done”), resolving it through the unique, divinely-assisted labor of the משכן. From there, Rabbi Shulman broadens the theme into a theology of human purpose: the world is intentionally unfinished so that human beings can be partners in creation—through mitzvot, through יראת שמים, and even (in earlier eras) through the civilizational “toil” of making the world inhabitable. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kedushas-shabbos-1a-20261016-040833-outline-20261016-040919.pdf

16

Parshas Noah: Danger of Freedom

Oct 16, 2026

12:29

Rabbi Shulman explains that Parashat Noach really begins at the end of Bereishit: Noach is named for “comfort” because he revolutionized human life through agricultural innovation, relieving humanity from the curse of grueling labor. Yet that very liberation helped create the conditions for the דור המבול’s moral collapse—free time became indulgence rather than spiritual growth, and even Noach’s credibility could not move people to תשובה. Rabbi Shulman concludes by applying this pattern to today: as technology (especially AI) increasingly frees people from intellectual labor, the decisive question is whether society will fill that time with emptiness or with תורה—turning “waters of destruction” into “rain of blessing.” Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/noah-danger-of-freedom-20261016-040336-outline-20261016-040405.pdf

17

Parshas Bereishis: Eating the Fruit

Oct 9, 2026

17:07

Rabbi Shulman addresses a foundational question raised by Rav Tzadok: if Adam HaRishon and Chavah did teshuvah after the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, why was the decree of death not removed? Rabbi Shulman explains that the sin did not merely add a punishable misdeed; it permanently altered humanity’s relationship to physical pleasure by introducing “attiyo shel nachash,” a gravitational pull toward the external, sensory side of life. The dvar Torah frames this struggle with desire as a defining axis of human development, suggests that only תחיית המתים can fully repair it, and closes with a practical charge to sanctify “permitted” daily actions—especially through the training ground of shabbat. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/bereishis-eating-the-fruit-20261009-154202-outline-20261009-154236.pdf

18

Sukkos: Two Seals

Oct 2, 2026

38:13

Rabbi Shulman explains that rain during sukkot heightens our awareness of dependence on Hashem and can intensify the lived experience of גלות—sometimes even “גלות שבגלות,” being exiled from the sukkah itself. He develops a framework (rooted in Rav Tzadok and other sources) in which sukkot functions as **מגן**—not merely “salvation” like Yom Kippur, but protection against slipping back into old patterns. Finally, Rabbi Shulman proposes that Yom Kippur and Hoshana Rabbah represent two distinct “sealings”: one establishing inner identity (who we truly are), and one serving as an external tamper-proof verification that the transformation is real and enduring. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/sukkos-two-seals-20261002-040435-outline-20261002-040516.pdf

19

Sukkos: Keeping the Weeds Away

Sep 25, 2026

9:00

Rabbi Shulman addresses a spiritual question at the heart of Sukkot: after the כתיבה וחתימה טובה of Rosh Hashanah, Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, and Yom Kippur, why do we immediately begin saying “הושענא” (“save us”)? He answers with a vivid משל from his backyard: uprooting a deeply entrenched vine is like the intense עבודה of the Yamim Nora’im—but lasting change requires ongoing, small “walkthroughs” to remove new shoots before they reestablish themselves. Sukkot, Rabbi Shulman explains, becomes a training ground for sustaining growth throughout the year through consistent spiritual maintenance. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/sukkos-keeping-weed-free-20260925-030334-outline-20260925-030354.pdf

20

Sukkos: NO Lulav on Shabbos

Sep 24, 2026

37:09

Rabbi Shulman examines the Mishnah in Sukkah that describes the mitzvah of lulav as “six and seven” days, and uses it to explore why Chazal sometimes suspend even a Torah-level mitzvah when it coincides with shabbat. He explains the role of ספקא דיומא in חוץ לארץ and how that uncertainty ends up shaping practice even in ארץ ישראל. Moving beyond the technical concern of carrying, Rabbi Shulman argues that certain mitzvot (שופר, לולב, מגילה) can pull a person out of a shabbat state of מנוחה, and he frames shabbat as possessing inner spiritual capacities that can “do the job” those mitzvot would otherwise do. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/no-lulav-on-shabbos-20260924-050436-outline-20260924-050516.pdf

21

Parshas Ha'azinu: Pronouncing The Name

Sep 18, 2026

14:14

Rabbi Shulman, drawing on the Maharal and Sifrei, develops how Moshe Rabbeinu models profound awe before uttering Shem Hashem, learning from the angels’ “קדוש קדוש קדוש” and expanding it with a 21-word preface before “כי שם ה' אקרא.” He then traces a progression of halachic and ethical demands: not placing Hashem’s Name “in midair,” responding with added praise when hearing His Name (e.g., in Barchu), and appreciating the spiritual advantage of the one who answers “אמן.” Finally, Rabbi Shulman applies a Gemara in Shevuot to Yom Kippur, explaining why certain sins undermine the very relationship that Yom Kippur is meant to restore—and warns that casual mention of Hashem’s Name can fall into that category. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/yk-pronouncing-the-name-20260918-030333-outline-20260918-030412.pdf

22

Rosh HaShanah: Books of Deeds

Sep 17, 2026

48:14

Rabbi Shulman analyzes a well-known but difficult Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 16b) about three “books” opened on Rosh Hashanah—of צדיקים, רשעים, and בינוניים—and challenges the common assumption that it refers simply to who will physically live or die that year. Following Rashi, he reframes the books as “books of remembrance” of one’s deeds, and—using the Maharal—redefines “life” as connection to Hashem and “death” as disconnection. The dvar Torah culminates in a practical roadmap: how mundane, “in-between” actions can be elevated through כוונה and rededication during עשרת ימי תשובה so that they too are “written for life.” Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/books-of-deeds-20260917-030649-outline-20260917-030732.pdf

23

Rosh HaShanah: Simanim L'Avos

Sep 11, 2026

12:52

Rabbi Shulman explains the Gemara’s practice of eating symbolic foods on Rosh Hashanah and addresses the obvious concern: isn’t this superstition and therefore a form of **דרכי האמורי**? He develops two approaches—first, that the effectiveness of **simanim** depends on **תשובה** and inner intention expressed through **יהי רצון**; second, that physical symbols can serve as an “anchor” for spiritual ideas, following the Ramban’s principle seen throughout prophetic actions. Rabbi Shulman then presents the Maharal’s deeper framing: the simanim are meant to awaken **זכות אבות**, and each food corresponds to a distinct quality associated with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/rosh-hashanah-simanim-leavos-20260911-030331-outline-20260911-030358.pdf

24

Rosh HaShanah: Shabbos in Place of Shofar

Sep 10, 2026

45:22

Rabbi Shulman explains why Chazal suspended shofar-blowing on Rosh Hashanah that falls on shabbat, even though shofar is not a מלאכה דאורייתא. He develops the idea that shofar normally serves to “pull” lofty spiritual truths into the embodied, emotional self—an inner process the קדמונים call **נסירה**, modeled on the separation and reorientation of אדם וחוה. When Rosh Hashanah is on shabbat, however, shabbat itself elevates the body into a “מעין עולם הבא,” making **“שבתון זכרון תרועה”** not a compromise but a higher pathway to the same goal. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/shabbos-in-place-of-shofar-20260910-030540-outline-20260910-030635.pdf

25

Rosh HaShanah: Derech Hashem on Rosh HaShanah

Sep 8, 2026

29:19

Rabbi Shulman analyzes the Ramchal’s organization in *Derech Hashem* (Chelek 4, Perek 8) to highlight a fundamental distinction between the שלוש רגלים (Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot) and Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur. The רגלים primarily reconnect us to past revelations, while Rosh Hashanah is a present, annual reality: a renewed judgment in which Hashem “restarts” the year and reassigns the world’s status. Rabbi Shulman then explains how the heavenly court system is structured as a merciful, relatable framework for human teshuvah—and how תקיעת שופר both draws down רחמים and “confounds the prosecutor,” operating within דין rather than negating it. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/derech-hashem-on-rosh-hashanah-20260908-030431-outline-20260908-030514.pdf

26

Rosh HaShanah: No Blowing Shofar on Shabbos

Sep 7, 2026

35:02

Rabbi Shulman analyzes the Gemara’s warning that a year in which “we do not blow at its beginning” may end “with teru’ah,” focusing on the purpose of shofar as “מְעַרְבֵּב את השטן” and how that interacts with shofar’s absence on shabbat. He contrasts the Ritva and the בה״ג on whether the Gemara refers to intentional neglect of extra blasts or an אונס that prevented shofar entirely. From there, Rabbi Shulman opens the larger sugya: why shofar is not blown on shabbat, how Rava reframes earlier Amoraic readings, and how later Acharonim (notably the מרום שדה) understand the “פסוקים” as אסמכתא rather than a true דאורייתא exclusion. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/no-blowing-shofar-on-shabbos-20260907-180434-outline-20260907-180519.pdf

27

Rosh Hashana: Malchios, Zichronos, Shofaros

Sep 4, 2026

42:31

28

Parshas Netzavim: Last Parsha Standing

Sep 4, 2026

10:01

Rabbi Shulman explains that Parashat Nitzavim’s national “standing” is not a ceremonial moment but a spiritual mechanism for transition—whether from one leader to the next or from one year to the next. Each new stage in עבודת ה׳ demands a fresh approach, yet it can only succeed when it is built upon the gains (and lessons) of the previous stage. The proximity of Nitzavim to Rosh Hashanah highlights that the “new world order” of the coming year requires us to arrive upright, repaired, and strengthened by what the past year taught us. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/netzavim-last-parsha-standing-20260904-030334-outline-20260904-030405.pdf

29

Parshas Ki Savo: Bikurim

Aug 28, 2026

9:45

Rabbi Shulman frames the mitzvah of ביכורים as the “pinnacle” of coming home to Eretz Yisrael: a spiritual return to the inner root of things. He addresses why the Torah emphasizes going specifically to “the kohen in those days” and why the declaration is phrased “לה׳ אלוקיך” (as if Hashem is the kohen’s God). Drawing on רבי צדוק, Rabbi Shulman explains that the kohen represents the “kohen-dimension” within every Jew—accessing פנימיות and the shoresh—and he connects this to תפילה and ברכות as post-Temple pathways of the same root-reconnection, especially relevant as Rosh Hashanah approaches. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/ki-savo-bikurim-20260828-110331-outline-20260828-110406.pdf

30

Rosh HaShanah: שמחה במשפט

Aug 27, 2026

42:46

Rabbi Shulman reframes Rosh Hashanah and the entire concept of יום הדין through a striking Midrash: Hashem “gifts” משפט to His beloved people the way a king gives a treasured orchard to his favorite son. He explains that justice is not merely frightening accountability, but the mechanism that allows our relationship with Hashem—and our reward—to be truly “ours” rather than a handout. From there, Rabbi Shulman shows how embracing דין elevates Hashem as מלך המשפט, enables Hashem’s shift from strict judgment to צדקה, and ultimately brings קדושה and גאולה. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/20260827-030536-outline-20260827-030613.pdf

31

Ki Saitsei - Stages of Trshuva

Aug 21, 2026

10:06

Rabbi Shulman presents Parashat Ki Teitzei as an Elul-facing roadmap for teshuvah, reading “war against your enemy” as the inner battle against the יצר הרע and the reclaiming of the יצר טוב. He explains that victory comes through עמילות בתורה—especially תורה שבעל פה—because Torah is bound up with the “name” of Hashem itself. Rabbi Shulman then maps the parashah’s sequence (shaving, removing garments, crying for a “month of days,” and ultimate closeness) onto the stages of teshuvah: עזיבת חטא, חרטה על העבר during Elul, and culminating קרבת אלוקים associated with יום כיפור. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/ki-saitsei-stages-of-trshuva-20260821-040731-outline-20260821-040804.pdf

32

Elul: Eis Ratzon

Aug 14, 2026

4:04

33

Reeh - Shmiras Shabbos

Aug 7, 2026

13:31

Episode Notes Notes go hereR

34

Parshas Re'eh: Shemiras Shabbos

Aug 7, 2026

13:31

35

Akev - Stubborn People

Aug 5, 2026

8:26

Episode Notes Notes go hereRabbi Shulman explores the Torah’s description of the Jewish people as **“עם קשי עורף”** (a stiff-necked people), showing—following the Maharal—that this is not merely a criticism but also a window into a core Jewish strength. He connects this trait to the tension in Pirkei Avot between **holy brazenness** (needed for avodat Hashem) and **corrupt brazenness** (which leads a person astray). Rabbi Shulman frames Jewish “stubbornness” as an expression of spiritual steadfastness that has sustained Jewish commitment across millennia of exile, even while acknowledging how the same trait can fuel national failures like the Golden Calf. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/akev-stubborn-people-20260731-150343-outline-20260731-150413.pdf

36

Parshas Eikev: Stubborn People

Jul 31, 2026

8:26

37

Parshas Va'eschanan: Greatness to You

Jul 24, 2026

7:21

38

Tisha B'Av: Listening to Megillas Eichah

Jul 23, 2026

18:51

39

Devarim - Struck the Two Kings

Jul 17, 2026

12:13

Episode Notes Notes go hereRabbi Shulman explains why the Torah—after already giving the time and place—adds that Moshe spoke to Israel only *after* defeating Sichon and Og. Drawing on Chazal and Rabbi Tzadok, he presents Sichon and Og as spiritual forces of the יצר הרע that block a person’s mind (preventing חשבון הנפש) and heart (hardening it like stone), making תוכחה unable to penetrate. The repeated emphasis on “בעבר הירדן” then becomes a conceptual map: the “east bank” represents מוחין (חכמה, בינה, דעת) that must be “brought down” into action as the nation enters Eretz Canaan. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/devarim-struck-the-two-kings-20260717-030330-outline-20260717-030407.pdf

40

Fast Days: Av - The Light of Darkness

Jul 16, 2026

47:35

Rabbi Shulman contrasts the “lived” experience of the Nine Days—darkness, mourning, and absence—with a deeper Torah view in which this time is paradoxically called a **מועד**. Drawing from Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen (Pri Tzadik), Rabbi Shulman explains how Rosh Chodesh (especially Rosh Chodesh Av) contains hidden קדושה and “light,” even amid טומאה and חורבן, and how the very experience of rock-bottom can become the fuel for transformative תשובה מאהבה that retroactively reveals good בתוך החושך. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/av-the-light-of-darkness-20260716-130634-outline-20260716-130733.pdf

41

Matos - Speaking a Vow

Jul 10, 2026

10:11

Episode Notes Notes go hereRabbi Shulman addresses the apparent tension in the Torah’s treatment of נדרים and שבועות: Chazal often criticize making vows, yet the Torah opens Parashat Matot with the laws of nedarim and even allows for their annulment. He explains (based on Rav Tzadok and the Zohar) that vows are spiritually valid only when a person’s רצון is profoundly aligned with רצון ה׳—to the point of “זה הדבר,” where speech becomes a vehicle for דבר ה׳. Hatarat nedarim then functions as a corrective mechanism when vows emerge from confused or misguided רצון rather than authentic דבקות. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/matos-speaking-a-vow-20260710-030333-outline-20260710-030404.pdf

42

Fast Days: Bein Hametzorim - the 5 Gevuros

Jul 6, 2026

43:01

Rabbi Shulman uses the Mishnah in Ta’anit—“חמישה דברים אירעו… וחמישה”—to argue that the tragedies of י״ז בתמוז and תשעה באב are not merely ten historical events but ten *categories* of national breakdown. He develops a Maharal-based framework in which the “first five” are openings—reversible cracks that make destruction possible—while the “second five” are the irreversible completion. Through imagery of two hands (right/left), weapons, and the halachic notion of רשות היחיד vs. רשות הרבים, Rabbi Shulman explains how spiritual presence, national unity, and Torah itself are progressively compromised—and why the Three Weeks are meant to stop the process before the “ending” lands.

43

Bein Hametzorim: The 5 Gevuros

Jul 3, 2026

43:01

44

Chukas - The Bright side of Death

Jun 26, 2026

8:42

Rabbi Shulman explores the famous דרשה of Reish Lakish that Torah only endures in someone who “kills himself” over it, derived from the pasuk “זאת התורה אדם כי ימות באהל.” He addresses the tension between the pasuk’s פשט—death and טומאה in a literal tent—and the דרוש—life-giving devotion in the tent of Torah. Rabbi Shulman then reconciles an apparent contradiction in חז״ל about whether the human body can be purified in this world, arguing that intense immersion in Torah creates a temporary “Har Sinai” state where physical drives fall silent and the זוהמה is functionally suspended. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/chukas-the-bright-side-of-death-20260626-031631-outline-20260626-031657.pdf

45

Korach - the Truth of Equality

Jun 19, 2026

13:00

Rabbi Shulman raises Rabbi Tzadok’s fundamental question: how can the Torah—*divrei emet*—record the falsehoods Korach spreads, especially when they fuel machloket rather than peace? He explains that Korach’s claims are not “random lies” preserved as history; rather, they express a profound truth that applies in a different spiritual mode: moments of “circular” revelation (like Kriyat Yam Suf and Matan Torah) and the future world, where every Jew relates directly to Hashem without hierarchy. Korach’s error was weaponizing that truth prematurely—using a real ideal of equality in a world that still operates by process, gradation, and necessary distinction. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/korach-the-truth-of-equality-20260619-141019-outline-20260619-141057.pdf

46

Bamidbar: Behaalosecha - Eliminating The Shulchan

Jun 5, 2026

8:43

Rabbi Shulman focuses on the Torah’s instruction that all seven lamps of the menorah must shine “אל מול פני המנורה,” and he raises two questions: how this applies to the middle lamp, and why this detail appears here rather than earlier in the construction of the Mishkan’s vessels. Drawing on Rav Tzadok, Rabbi Shulman explains that “מול” hints to the north side of the Mishkan—the spiritually vulnerable “opening” associated with the hidden yetzer hara (“הצפוני”). The menorah’s light (Torah) must therefore shine “into the north,” elevating the שולחן (physical eating and enjoyment) into holiness and providing the only real antidote to modern excess and indulgence.

47

Parshas Naso: See Something Do Something

May 29, 2026

8:41

Rabbi Shulman explains the well-known Chazal on the juxtaposition of *Sotah* and *Nazir*: seeing a *sotah* “in her disgrace” should motivate a person to abstain from wine. Beyond the simple concern of avoiding moral desensitization, he highlights a deeper link—both *sotah* and *nazir* are defined by hair: her hair is undone as shame, while his hair becomes *נזר אלוקיו* (a holy “crown”). The broader מוסר: when a person “sees” spiritual failure that truly registers, it is not enough to avoid the wrongdoing; one must actively elevate and sanctify that very area as a תיקון. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/naso-see-something-do-something-20260529-031901-outline-20260529-031933.pdf

48

Shavuos: Shavuos - Torah and Children

May 21, 2026

42:13

Rabbi Shulman presents a teaching from Rav Tzadok (in *Machshavot Charutz*) that the three regalim align with the three life-areas described as dependent on “mazal”: children, life, and sustenance. He develops how Pesach corresponds to מזונות/פרנסה and why the Omer process refines human physicality from “animal food” (barley) toward “human food” (wheat), culminating in Shavuot as the “עצרת”—the internalization of revelation into lasting vessels. The centerpiece is the linkage of Torah and בנים: children represent a person’s eternity, and new souls require new expansions of Torah (especially תורה שבעל פה) as their spiritual “place” in the world. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/shavuos-torah-and-children-20260521-032651-outline-20260521-032743.pdf

49

Shavuos: Torah and Children

May 21, 2026

42:13

50

Omer: Malchus - Short Version

May 15, 2026

7:04

Rabbi Shulman frames the final week of ספירת העומר as the culminating עבודה that leads directly into שבועות: the מידה of מלכות. Unlike the earlier weeks’ focus on “doing” (active character refinement), מלכות is about “receiving”—aligning oneself with the singular רצון of הקדוש ברוך הוא and recognizing His unified dominion in all events. He connects this to קבלת עול מלכות שמים through שמע ישראל, explaining that Hashem’s oneness and kingship are mutually defining, and that this awareness is the core of אמונה. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/malchus-short-version-20260515-031226-outline-20260515-031255.pdf

Parshah and the Moadim with Rabbi Aryeh Shulman

Parshah and the Moadim with Rabbi Aryeh Shulman

More by Rabbi Aryeh Shulman