The Talmudic metaphor of מַפְתֵּחוֹת בְּיָדָיו שֶׁל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא and its culinary application in 18th century Hasidic Practice

Some ideas for your seder

The passionate speeches of the נוֹדַע בִּיהוּדָה and his son against the theft of their intellectual property

In Israel right now, people are praying the enemy missiles should "pass over"!

Some thoughts on בַּל יֵרָאֶה עַל בְּלִיעוֹת וְחָמֵץ הַטַּל בְּשִׁשִּׁים. Plus, plagiarism in rabbinic literature, eradicating bad traits, and other matters.

Why were the Jews told to lie to the Egyptians? Isn't that the ultimate חילול השם? "Jews are all about money!"

The poisonous rhetoric of both men. But the Ford Antisemitism called-forth an eloquent protest from America's leading non-Jews. R Katz reads this public letter on this episode.

The קָרְבָּנוֹת offered on the בָּמוֹת were (Maimonidean) concessions to popular superstitionsOTOH the קָרְבָּנוֹת offered in the בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ were sublime in nature and were (Nachmanidean) constituent-elements in the metaphysical universe

Will תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים occur for the benefit of the Dead, or the benefit of the Living?

It is NOT about the affliction, it is about the hope for the messianic redemption in the near future. This is Abarbanel speaking to the battered Sephardim in 1496!

Can "Christian Zionism" flourish in the aftermath of the Cold War? Or is it a phenomenon confined to older Americans?

Trump joked about the Pearl Harbor Attack of 1941. Actually, this resulted in Hitler stupidly declaring war on the USA (thus sealing his own doom) , PLUS providing the Americans with an insight into his thinking, thanks to the blabbermouth Japanese Ambassador in Berlin Baron Oshima

Man-made idols do not offer moral criticism!

Looks? Bucks? Yichus? Higher salary? Higher job position? Class? Equal Partner in the Marriage?

For the first year after the original Passover, there were basically no korbanos (with a few exceptions) in Judaism

Israel agreed not to "out" ex-Nazis in the West German Government. A grateful Germany bankrolled Israel's secret nuclear project. An previously unknown detail of the relationship between Ben Gurion and Konrad Adenauer

What did the Jews imagine was going to happen when they were told God would "pass over" their houses that night?

The German food crisis of 1942 as a cause of the setting-up of industrial genocide centers in Occupied Poland in 1942

High- Office will have the power to tempt the powerful to be corrupt even in the Messianic Era!

Shabbos - God the Creator of literally everything, hence beyond transcendentMishkan- God something that has a "presence" (שְׁכִינָה), hence somehow immanent

Abarbanel burns with indignation at the falsehoods to which the Jews had been subject at the Disputation of Tortosa (1413) and the hostile misrepresentations of Aggadah in Raymond Martini's infamous 'Pugio Fidei" cynically hurled at them

That which becomes impure can be made pure again; a nation that becomes homeless can regain their home

God can only be comprehended (to some extent) through history, not philosophy!

Why did the Jews stop observing Purim a few years after they originally accepted it?

Has Sinwar ימ"ש caused the death of Khamenei and the fall of his regime? The ironies of the Purim season

Was the mountain held over their heads at Sinai to compel them to accept ALL the mitzvot? Did the Jews not want to accept ANY mitzvot? Or just some of them? In other words, what actually happened as a result of Purim?

Why would he deprecate the use of coercion on the non-frum? The answer lies in his own and his family's history...

וְנָתַתִּי לָהֶם בְּבֵיתִי וּבְחוֹמֹתַי יָד וָשֵׁם טוֹב מִבָּנִים וּמִבָּנוֹת שֵׁם עוֹלָם אֶתֶּן לוֹ אֲשֶׁר לֹא יִכָּרֵת

Had Esther's intervention not succeeded, would Mordechai THEN bow down to Haman to save the Jews?

Managing an unsolvable existential problem - the " זֵכֶר עֲמָלֵק" in every generation,

Who was the ממוכן who recommended הֵגֶא ? The world of varied interpretations of מגילת אסתר

Abarbanel wrote three books on Messianic themes: a,)מַעַיְנֵי הַיְּשׁוּעָה b.) יְשׁוּעוֹת מְשִׁיחוֹ c.) מַשְׁמִיעַ יְשׁוּעָה

When Haman fell from power, did Mordecai gain possession of Haman's "Jeffery Epstein Files"?

Why is שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם the thing that prevents the Rebuilding of the בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ ?

Both leaders wanted the Jews-by-birth to accept the Torah, and discerned they would be impressed by sight of the non-Jews who now embraced Judaism

Built with forced labor, it doesn't seem to have captured the emotions of כלל ישראל. Instead, separation, במות, etc. Unlike the בַּיִת שֵׁנִי

Malbim's theory of the terminus post quem for the Redemption

R Menachem Tenenbaum (Cleveland) has translated the wonderful סֵפֶר יְשׁוּעָה גְּדוֹלָה (שֶׁהוּא מְלֻקָּט מִסֵּפֶר "יַעֲרוֹת דְּבַשׁ"), which contains the "Agadic Pilpul" on the Purim Story from the Gaon Y. Eibeschutz into readable English...in time for this Purim!https://www.amazon.com/Megillas-Esther-Rav-Yonason-Eybechutz/dp/B0GL96L8DJ

Was it a wave of גֵּרֵי צֶדֶק or an avalanche of opportunists, a new עֵרוּב רַב?

A box never to be opened, a symbol of Divine Mystery?

"Rise intellectually and struggle to comprehend the meaning of the Tetragrammaton." Like any ideal, you cannot get there but you must strive to constantly progress in that direction"

How the King and the High Priest had to come up with a fundraising plan whereby none of the money went to the solicitors! Rather all the $$ went to the Temple Plant refurbishing campaign.

How the King and the High Priest had to come up with a fundraising plan whereby none of the money went to the solicitors! Rather all the $$ went to the Temple Plant refurbishing campaign.

Malbim calculated Mashiach would come in 1927. To be continued...

This is the book that launched (and legitimized!) the rational (non-Kabbalistic) approach to Torah and Judaism. written to rescue the religious Jew "drowning in doubt" (in the author's words)

Jeremiah: "The Destruction of Jerusalem is unstoppable, but your physical torture by the captors IS preventable, IF you do the right thing and free your Hebrew Slaves whom you are holding beyond the six years"

The child who hit his father not knowing it was his father; he was kidnapped at birth!

A tale from the Victorian Era: In 1860 the Druze massacred the Christians in Lebanon, the Muslims massacred the Christians in Damascus, and now the Christians wanted to set-off massacres of the Jews there as well as in Baghdad, but Lord Palmerston & Lord Russel (thanks to Montefiore) prevented this.

WASP = "White (Secular) Ashkenazi with Protektsia"

a.) Smoke at Sinaib.) Smoke in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippurc.) Smoke in Heaven in Isaiah's Prophetic Vision

If he came after the Ten Commandments, then how long after? Immediately after? After the erecting of the Mishkan?

Signed by the Noda BiYhudah himself when he was a teenager, soon to enter the Kloiz of Brody whose curriculum combined intense נִגְלֶה and נִסְתָּר.

Fathers in laws and sons in law in the Bible

Utopia is a necessary corollary of a God who is not only Omnipotent, but also Supremely Benevolent

Was Deborah a general? Josephus' version of the story...and more

R Shmuel Landau (son of the נוֹדַע בִּיהוּדָה) is engaged in a controversy re: the members of the Prague בֵּית דִּין, whom he accuses of violating the terms of a Prague communal foundation. The Maskilim tried to turn this into a cause célèbreDon't worry: אֶת וָהֵב בְּסוּפָה

They tried to buy him off, but it didn't workhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Ramban's three great works on the subject: a.) סֵפֶר הַוִּכּוּחַ b.) סֵפֶר הַגְּאֻלָּה c.) שַׁעַר הַגְּמוּלhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

R Y Eibeschutz may possibly have been the the Rosh Yeshiva with the greatest number of students in history! This letter gives an insighthttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The strange attraction of Jews to Egypt...https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Why does the Torah say that in the Messianic Era, there will be even more עָרֵי מִקְלָט?

He gave orders to kill all the Gedolim when he died, in order to make sure there would be plenty of wailing and crying on the day of his death

Was there שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם in the era of the בַּיִת רִאשׁוֹן?

His princely/aristocratic upbringing in the Palace was not one calculated to make someone humble. Quite the opposite!

This is the second part of a two-part series

Divine "Chessboard": The Christians of Europe could have recaptured the Middle East centuries ago if the French had not blocked them from doing so. OTOH had that happened, Medinat Yisrael would never have come into being.

Boastful Pharaoh will have a ridiculous death: He will be like an Alligator dropped into the Middle of the Sahara Desert!

The remarkable and variegated Jewish Community of the capital city Czernowitz, which ran the gamut from Hasidim (Sadegur and Vishnitz) to Germanized Meshumadim ... and everything in between!

The American record of encouraging uprisings but not supporting them

There is a centrally-directed evil conspiracy to popularize Hitler and everything he stood for in order to attack Israel (which has benefited from the Holocaust Narrative) and to attack the Jewish People and provoke another Holocaust. Really.Such s the price of the unregulated internet...

Did God speak Hebrew or did He speak Egyptian when he addressed the Jews at the Ten Commandments?

This is the first part of a two-part series

If the אֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם would allow the Jews' undisputed possession of אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל and follow the highest teachings of the Torah, the Human race would enter a Utopian Era

Rambam had a hard life, full of physical and religious challenges, and frustrations at the false ideas of his fellow-Jews, and his ideas re: Mashiach reflect this

A response to Karaism in e Early Medieval Period and later to Christian interpretation in the High Middle Ages

A Jewish Baby-Boom in our own country is celebrated. A Jewish Baby-Boom in someone else's country is considered a threat justifying a Holocaust!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The Jew who defects to another faith out of conviction or opportunism vs. The Jew who defects out of resentment. Sources used by Candace Owens...https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

David, who came to the throne in his 30s, was confident enough to surround himself with strong personalities who didn't always obey . Shlomo, a boy of 12, cannot afford to do so, though the alternative is to be surrounded by "yes-men"

A problem that cannot be solved, only managed. Some preliminary observations.

Why didn't Joseph ask Pharaoh directly for permission to bury his father in Canaan?

More excursions into the world of the "Frum Apocrypha." Sigh

The extraordinarily complex geopolitical situation in the "Horn of Africa," and its relation to Israel and Israel's haters. A classic case of international hypocrisy on the part of the latter.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

See how Joseph doesn't trust his brothers. He stage-manages their encounter with Pharaoh and the Egyptians, micromanaging every aspect of the conversation, like a trial-lawyer with a client. (יוֹסֵף הַפִּקֵּחַ not יוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיק)

Will the tribes retain their individual identities and consciousness in the future Messianic Utopia?

A fascinating siddur published in Greece in 1941 which omits the word Yavan from Al HaNisim-At that moment, Greece under the Metaxas Regime was saving the Jews from Hitler and Mussolini

The role of the Jew in the Egyptian economy foreshadowed the role of the Jew in later economies: find a niche not occupied by the native inhabitants.לע"נ יששכר מאיר בן ברוך סטפנסקי

"Olamecha" also means hidden or invisible. Through the miracle of the oil, an Invisible God became "visible" (so to speak)

The jar of oil was located under the altar. Had they not torn down the existing altar (as an act of piety, to replace it with a new, unblemished altar), they would not have found the famous פַּךְ שֶׁמֶן https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The Menorah that stayed lit for eight days was being fueled by the two (spiritual) olive trees in Zachariah's prophetic vision https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Comparing & Contrasting Yosef with Hasdai ibn Shaprut, Shmuel haNagid, Benjamin Disraeli, and Henry Kissinger

The Jews' final victory was due to the political disintegration of the Syrian state at that time

Two opposite models: A.) Alexander bows to the Kohen Gadol B.) Antiochus forces the High Priest and the Temple to "bow" to himhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Does it prophecy the Maccabean Wars? The Messianic Wars? The current situation in Syria and the Middle East?

Yosef was one his way to talk to his brothers in an altogether different tone, but they never gave him a chance. Yaakov was going to by colored coats for the other brothers too, but the bloody coat killed THAT plan!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Some old widespread chanukah customs had no source in REGULAR rabbinic literature, but were accepted (despite some opposition) by basing them on sources in IRREGULAR Jewish literature

NOT the idolatry! Although there WAS idolatry, it is the abuse of the poor and helpless that will cause the חֻרְבַּן!

From oblivious to the impact of his actions and words on others (in Canaan) to the extreme-opposite in Egypt. A lesson for us all?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

From (apocryphal?) non-mainstream midrashim on the Hellenistic persecutions. This one is mentioned by Rambam in his אִגֶּרֶת הַשְׁמַד

Turkey today is more of a threat than Iran!

Past history PLUS future historical (cyclical?) patternshttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The two faces of France in its dealings with Israel

If you go by the Talmudic literature, there was other oil available, but they started with the oil in the famous jar and it burned for eight days.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Why didn't Jacob send messengers to his father Yitzchak? Instead of to Esau?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The challenges of living in צְפַת in the terrible 1830sHow to live in the old אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל without being victimized by the חֲלֻקָּה system

Sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Mordy Gardyn 'in honor of my parents may they have אֲרִיכַת יָמִים וְשָׁנִיםand sponsored by "a member of the local fan club"🙂 How can you get a unified response to crisis when the theological causes are not clear?  וְאֶל עַל יִקְרָאֻהוּ יַחַד לֹא יְרוֹמֵםhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Why does Israel release live Arab terrorists (who admit they will kill again if they can!) in exchange for the corpses of Jewish dead? Is this a Halachic thing? A Zionist thing?

Let's examine the image of the ladder closely

When Arabs slaughtered (literally) the Jew in Hebron in 1929, the Communist Party said it was the fault of the Jews and the Arabs were in the right. And Jewish Communists sided with the Party! Similar things are happening today ...https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

If the Hebrew language pre-existed the physical world, then it is not subject to the rules of linguistic evolution, and if is constitutive of the physical world and its history, then the non physical interpretations are NOT at the expense of the literal meanings. https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Was Alfred Dreyfus really a self-hating or self-denying assimilated Jew?

"אֶת עֵקֶב אָהַבְתִּי וְאֶת עֵשָׂו שָׂנֵאתִי" - ?Why

Giving the Jewish POV of Genesis to the world of European Intellectuals in the 17th Century

Yaakov acquires claim to Israel through purchase, a sale subsequently resented by the seller. Sounds like Jewish History in Israel 1880-1948https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

One of the great speeches in the English language of the 20th century חֲבָל עַל דְּאָבְדִין וְלָא מִשְׁתַּכְחִיןhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Whole busloads come to Baltimore every week to pray at the kever of a person who, a short time ago, was unknown...

Was it just a case of political intrigue? Or did people sincerely distrust Nathan re: the David Bathsheba story?

Abraham's visit to his relatives in אֲרַם נַהֲרַיִםhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

It all goes back to 1657 and that strange episode of English Christian would-be missionaries who sent money to Jerusalem to save the starving Jews there.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Elisha does not blame the death of the child on the woman's sins. "The Buck stops here!"

כִּי הִנֵּה אוֹיְבֶיךָ יֶהֱמָיוּן וּמְשַׂנְאֶיךָ נָשְׂאוּ רֹאשׁ:ד עַל עַמְּךָ יַעֲרִימוּ סוֹד וְיִתְיָעֲצוּ עַל צְפוּנֶיךָ:ה אָמְרוּ לְכוּ וְנַכְחִידֵם מִגּוֹי וְלֹא יִזָּכֵר שֵׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל עוֹד:ו כִּי נוֹעֲצוּ לֵב יַחְדָּו עָלֶיךָ בְּרִית יִכְרֹתוּ:ז אָהֳלֵי אֱדוֹם וְיִשְׁמְעֵאלִים

According to Rashbam, there is no tikkun sofrim in this parsha!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The fight over the language of קְרִיאַת הַתּוֹרָה בְּבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת

Are we seeing a long-internalized resentment by Italian Catholics to the liberalized theology towards the Jews adopted by The Church in 1965?

The other Hellenistic Judaism, not identical with Talmudic Judaism (but not un-frum) but more widespread, once upon a time .Part 1 of a 2 part serieshttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Though outnumbered, Klal Yisroel will rip through the enemy like a thresher. So do not succumb to enemy efforts to undermine your moralehttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Resh Lakish "Yishmael will be into kidnapping people and taking hostages"!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

When did full-blown idolatry begin? AFTER the Flood. Isn't that strange?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Just as G-d promised no more floods that can destroy the entire human race, so too He promises not to destroy the entire Jewish People.

Noah walked "with G-d," but could not get ahead of G-d, that is, he did not establish rules for the survivors of the Flood to ensure they would not revert to sin. IOW Noah was good but not great.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The first Cyrus was a complex figure in Jewish history. The battle of the lobbyists at the ancient Persian Court. A playbook for Qatar? https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Was Rabbeinu Tam a kind of French nobleman? Why did he practice falconry ? Why did the Count of Champagne turn to him to explain the David-Saul story?

Who is it that 'has eyes but does not see, ears but does not hear"?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

In a Jewish world with unbridgeable divisions, we must be alert to divinely-sent "opportunities that pass"

What is the meaning of striking the ground?

Intra-Jewish ideological politics underneath the dry discourse of the responsa literature

Warding-off the dangers from literally all directions. In both the personal life, and in the life of the Jewish People

It is not enoughto embrace monotheism. The monotheism has to include a כְּלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל as the עַם הַנִּבְחָר (even thoughthey don't seem to fit the role)https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The challenge of constantly evaluating the enemy, not by his intentions, but by his capabilities!

Lulav - the spearsEsrog - the food Hadassim - the "roofs" of the foxholesAravos - dittoלְפִי שִׁיטַת הָ"רוֹקֵחַ" ב "סֻכּוֹת מַמָּשׁ"

It commemorates events that happened in Tishrei, not Nissan (acc. to R Akiva)

Sukkah = Jewish Survival in Galus (Branches detached from the soil)Tree = Rootedness in the soilhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Was he an Iranian spy? A Zoroastrian clergyman? A Jewish BT who repented?

The Ancient Debate and the Concerns for the Social Consequences on the Community. What if everyone did the sin?!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The Tragedy of Jonah after he saves Nineveh. What did he do with the rest of his life?

Jewish religious creativity in Israel under the oppressive Christian regime of the Byzantine Empire: Piyutim!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

What does complete victory look like to King David? Contrast it with Israel's current war situation.

A historian (and the Jewish People!) must know the facts of their past, but then they must properly analyze them in order to use the knowledge correctly

If you don't fix your בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ, does it prevent forgiveness for the sins of בֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם?

One expectation from the elites, a different expectation from the masses

The mindset of the person who soclcits the Penance from the Beis Din

What is the actual meaning of "Hester Panim"? What is the meaning of הַשְׁגָּחָה כְּלָלִית as opposed to הַשְׁגָּחָה פְּרָטִית?

Who was the first Shliach Tzibur in Jewish History?

Not relief. Not gratitude. Not romantic love. Delight! Not the love of bride and groom, but the delight at the wedding. https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Egypt and Ethiopia - A Tale of Two Dams

Thoughts re: the existential tension between the public and the religious elites in the Second Temple period and afterward.

The disconnect between ritual practice and sound hashkafic fundamentals, particularly ahavah and achrayus for The Jewish People

The ingathering of the alienated Jews: The נִדָּחִים מִקְּצֵה הַשָּׁמַיִם עַד קְצֵה הַשָּׁמָיִם https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Bibi's father wrote THE book on the Spanish Inquisition and Spain's successful persecution of the Jews, especially the sccessful (and brutal) erasure of the Jewish Identity of the Jews forced to convert. IOW the Spanish "Holocaust"

Isaiah's vision of a Messianic Era characterized, not by World War III, but by a world in moral darkness turning to Klal Yisroel for Enlightenment. A pain-free Geulahhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

What came first in Jewish History? The תְּקִיעוֹת דִמְיוּשָׁב or the תְּקִיעוֹת דִּמְעֻמָּד ?

"הַגֵּר אֲשֶׁר בְּקִרְבְּךָ יַעֲלֶה עָלֶיךָ מַעְלָה מָּעְלָה וְאַתָּה תֵרֵד מַטָּה מָּטָּה"Abarbanel - The gentile minority in Eretz Yisroel.Netziv - The gentiles who move into Jewish neighborhoods in the Diaspora and economically displace the Jews.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

"The nation which indulges towards another a habitual hatred or a habitual fondness is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest."George Washington's Farewell Address https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The symbolism of וּמַלְתֶּם אֵת עָרְלַת לְבַבְכֶם , removing the layer of "foreskin" on the "heart." A difficult task indeed.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

What if you hold the world was created in Nissan? And anyway, the story of Moshe Rabbenu pleading before Hashem a third time (Elul-Tishrei) is very unclear in the text of the Chumash.

"הַרְחִבִי מְקוֹם אֲהָלֵךְ"https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The bitter politics surrounding the 1992 Knesset Elections (which led to the Oslo Agreement) and the bitter politics in the frum world surrounding the Shas Party's disobeying the political directives of the leadership of the "Litvish" Yeshiva World's leadership. https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

How can "Righteous Soldiers" (like King David) lust on the battlefield? A mystical take.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

In this essay, Ramban analyzes the grandeur of the Written Law , the תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב, refuting Christlogical readings and the skepticism of Spanish Jewish אֶפִּיקוֹרְסִים. This is the edition published in the Prague of the Maharal Era.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

What kind of cultural "baggage" will Jews bring with them from their exiles when they return to Eretz Yisroel? https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

There's צֶדֶק - justice in the sense of social-contract. Then there is צֶדֶק צֶדֶק, which is Justice with a capital J, the attainment of judicial righteousness, which is an ideal to be pursued (תִּרְדֹּף"), though never quite attained.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Read this Kapitel and you will see the relevance to Israel's floundering in the current war of ideas and information. Israel is not successfully countering the demonization efforts of its enemies.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Rabbi Meir Posner of Danzig (1725-1807), one of the leading poskim of the entire 18th century. R Akiva Eger used to send him his questions! A classic אב"ד of the "Old School" https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

For some obscure reason, Egyptian Pharaoh Ptolemy III's invasion of Syria (246 BCE) to rescue his sister Berenice from a crazed mob is mentioned by the Angel Gabriel in Daniel Chapter 11 as being relevant to the events of יְמוֹת הַמָּשִׁיחַ. The other day, a coin of Ptlemy's Queen Berenice II was discovered under a Jerusalem parking lot.The weird world of archaeology...https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

This methodological intro to the Talmud was held in high esteem, and R Yosef Karo wrote a commentary (סֵפֶר כְּלָלֵי הַגְּמָרָא) on it. One of the first Hebrew books ever printed https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

To prevent human sacrifce by the uneducated, the Temple is located on the Mountain of the עֲקֵדַת יִצְחָק

A close student of R Yehonasan Eibeschutz, Bumsla nevertheless got along with the Noda BiYhudah, and the latter had a "prophecy" about Bumsla which he shared at the latter's funeral.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Isaiah 54:15 - difficult to translate convincingly

?אַבֵּד תְּאַבְּדוּן אֶת הַמְּקוֹמוֹת - How does one destroy a place

After the Great Fire in Frankfurt: Battling the Sabbateans (Nechemiah Chayon). The very famous (and romantic!) Ethical Will https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Did he cause the Great Fire of 1711 which burned down the entire Jewish Ghetto of Frankfurt? Was it a case of קַבָּלָה מַעֲשִׂית gone awry?

Joseph was the personification of Traditionalism. Moshe was the personification of chinuchhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Did the Rabbis of Eretz Yisroel learn the lesson of שִׂנְאַת חִנָּם in the wake of the Destruction of the Bais HaMikdash?

Millions of gentiles will discover they are actually Jews, which will necessitate territorial expansion of Eretz Yisroel

Why was the Conquest of the Land supposed to proceed slowly? Who are the "Wild Beasts?"

Why is a nochri punished so severely for shemiras Shabbos?

Egypt HATES Israel, but the Middle-Eastern political chessboard, both externally and internaly, compels the Egyptian regime to act in a manner fundamentally friendly to Israel, though this could never be acknowleged.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

נַחֲמוּ נַחֲמוּ עַמִּי doesn't work. So it has to be אָנֹכִי אָנֹכִי הוּא מְנַחֶמְכֶם

What exactly transpired in Galus Bavel?

Can machlokes and unilateralism ever be fully-repaired?

Rabbi Dovid Katz at Beth Abraham Hertzeberg's shul in Baltimore (unedited)

On his Yahrtzheit, some thoughts on - How come the Ari's bona fides was never challenged? And why did the רבונו של עולם choose to reveal more about himself in the 16th century than any other? And why did the Arizal get "prophecies" in Egypt, of all places?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

481 synagogues and yeshivos ... and the mafia

Watch the ground breaking, first of its kind initiative called Uniting Torah which unites the 4 Torah worlds. Let’s show hashem that the divisions of the past no longer define us. Now every Jew can support all Torah worlds equally. This time, we give to each other.https://Unitingtorah.com/rk

1.) Azariah Figo 2.) Ramchal 3.) R' Yaakov Ettlinger 4.) R' SR HirschThis podcast is the first of two partshttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Why was Half-Manasseh invited in by Moses? And given so much land?

R' Yaakov Ettlinger and R' Samson Raphael Hirsch: Why they dropped out of College and how they used their secular education

The old Ottoman policy of religious toleration has been abandoned for over a century and replaced by a policy of killing non Sunni Muslims whenever opportunity presents itself (as in Syria), and as they hope to do one day in EY.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The kids lived in a rough neighborhood (מִפְּנֵי יוֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ), heavily armed and without paternal supervision for years. result? בְּגִלְעָד נְפִישֵׁי רוֹצְחִין!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

"Why are the Jews the only people who voluntarily switched their god?" The Prophet tears into them.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Every kind of curse and imprecation in the Hebrew language . How Rashi felt when he learned about the Crusader massacres of 1096.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Moshe (a former "Midianite") is told to lead the war. He tries to wiggle out, but as events unfold, he is dragged into the thick of it.

Moses says הָרְגֵנִי נָא הָרוֹג. Pinchas says קַח נַפְשִׁי. What is the difference?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The Existential Dilemma facing Bibi: Making Peace with Syria, but also bombing Syria to save the Syrian Druze (thereby giving מְנוּחַת הַנֶּפֶשׁ to the Israeli Druze). A very complicated story!

Many of the ideas in the מוֹרֵה נְבוֹכִים, הַכּוּזָרִי, הַחוֹבוֹת הַלְּבָבוֹת, יַד רמ"ה, הָעִקָּרִים, וְכוּלְהוּ actually were already written in the אֱמוּנוֹת וְדֵעוֹת

A South African "Jewish Jew" who went to wartorn Ukraine in 1920, then in the midst of massacres of Jews, and brought 200 Jewish orphans to safety in South Africa

Why did the Civil Wars between the Tribes in the Desert degenerate into exterminatory massacres?

So many Jews have deluded themselves that they were building "alliances" only to discover on October 7th that they had been building on sand

Daniel fasts out of consternation at Cyrus' stop-order re: the building of the Second Templehttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Is the Messianic Utopia only for the Jews? Or for all mankind?

The Famous Trial in 1849: Is conversion to Judaism an indication of mental insanity?

Contrast the two stories: a.) The King of Arad b.) Bil'am, the lethal rhetoric, and the Bnos Moavhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Acc. to current reports, the Syrians may be willing to recognize Israel's annexation of the Golan Heights(!), just as Israel is cracking-down on the Haredi Draft. Sighhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

What was the historical context for Saadia's prediction that משיח would come in 965 CE?

Was he a shofet over Klal Yisroel? Or was he just a big shot (רֹאשׁ וּקְצִין) over the area of Ever HaYarden?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Is becoming Tamei a sin?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

An intelligent person (or nation) needs a plan, but he (it) must be its Moshel, not its Eved!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Messianism arose when the situation for the Jews was terrible, and there was nothing they could do about it בְּדֶרֶךְ הַטֶּבַעhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Kavod Habrios (Human Dignity) in situations where your silence will result in other people comitting sins

One group held Saul in contempt as a king. The other group opposed monarchy in principle, they wanted HaShem to rule them through Samuel (יַעֲבֵ"ץ וּכְלֵי יָקָר)https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

With the democtatic model of politics discredited by the Golden Calf episode, Moses resorts to the aristocratic model of political decision-making, and suffers blowback https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Israel is trying to "break the teeth" of Iran - ק֘וּמָ֤ה יְהֹוָ֨ה ׀ הוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי אֱלֹהַ֗י כִּֽי־הִכִּ֣יתָ אֶת־כׇּל־אֹיְבַ֣י לֶ֑חִי שִׁנֵּ֖י רְשָׁעִ֣ים שִׁבַּֽרְתָּ׃https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

How successful has "regime change" been in history? What kind of regime change in Iran would be beneficial to Israel? https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The Caliph gave the Reish Gelusah a "present" in the form of the daughter of the Persian Emperor. The Halachic debate re: what happened next.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The logic and long history of American Isolationism and its latest iteration as opposition to a manipulative Israel (a subtle anti-semitism). A real problem for Klal Yisroelhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

In the end, sending the spies was unnecessary; Jericho fell through a miracle!https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Did each spy seperately present his own report to Moshe, or did the ten spies hammer out a single unified consensus report prior to returning to the camp?

How does the Mossad do these amazing things in Iran? Are they "James Bonds?" Or is it that they use a vast existing Iranian network of dedicated revolutionaries?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The extraordinary combination of גְּאוֹנוּת in lomdus in the Golden Age of Pilpul in the Golden Age of the Jews in he Kingdom of Poland , fascination with mathematics, and the Kabbalistic application of math to the deeper reading of the תּוֹרָה בִּכְתָב וְתוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל פֹּה

How does Israel achieve victory? How does it DEFINE victory? How does it win without American intervention? The " כ"ג סִיוָן factor."

The many attempts to translate and interpret the enigmatic phrase  וְנָתַתִּי לְךָ מַהְלְכִים בֵּין הָעֹמְדִים הָאֵלֶּה.https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The commentaries struggle to interpret this rhetorical passage which poetically and enigmatically reveals aspects of Moshe's uniqueness https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

The historical background to the Noda BiYhudah's famous responsum to the Austrian Government ( יוֹרֶה דֵּעָה ע"א ) re: Jews swearing in non-Jewish Courts

The capitalist approach to Judaism? Rambam vs. Meiri on הֱוֵי מְחַשֵּׁב הֶפְסֵד מִצְוָה כְּנֶגֶד שְׂכָרָהּ https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Was he "hit" by prophecy? Or by a sudden rush of strength? Did the rush extend to his mind and discombobulate him mentally and emotionally?https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

What would lead a wife to "live dangerously" after being warned by the husband in front of witnesses? https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Rabbinic Judaism vs. Non-Rabbinic, Traditional (Hellenistic?) Judaism in the late Roman Empire (3rd century)https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Also, annual Shavuos shiur for women at R Katz's home Tuesday 6:15 PM

Can a marriage work with a checkered past? Yes, if both are committed to looking ahead and not backhttps://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

"Moshe added a day" - Is this the first instance of לֹא בַּשָּׁמַיִם הִיא?"to sponsor, https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Not everyone reads The Book of Ruth in the synagogue? Why not?To sponsor - https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

Chaim and Yehoshua Reitzes endured horrible tortures rather than save themselves by conversion To sponsor a podcast https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

To sponsor a podcast https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

To sponsor a podcast, https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

To sponsor a podcast, go to https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

To help support this podcast, sponsor an episode https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

To sponsor a podcast and help Rabbi Katz continue his work, go to https://thechesedfund.com/rabbikatz/support-rabbi-katzz-podcast

If Syria does make peace with Israel, it will be the biggest defeat for Hamas

Ezekiel is adjured to tellthe people about the future Temple, which is part of the historical tension re: how much priority should be given to קָדָשִׁים וְטַהֲרוֹת in לִמּוּד הַתּוֹרָה?

The word זוֹנָה ends up not meaning what you think it means. Dealing with checkered pasts you have left behind

His famous disputation with the Frankist Heretics, who claimed that the Jews who follow the Talmud murder Christians and use their blood for Passover purposes. He tore into them , calling a spade a spade!

Raising a number of problematc aspects re: the text of the famous agadeta

Five lecture covering the history of Baltimore Jewry and their various "Judaisms." History of a rather unique Jewish community, whose history is both like and unlike that o other American Jewish communities.

Arab Piracy: Pay them off? Fight them? The machlokes between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson

Would you like to be a prophet of doom?

Was their sin בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ? If so, what does that have to do with Yom Kippur, which does not atone for that?

The World stands on תּוֹרָה, עֲבוֹדָה, וּגְמִילוּת חֲסָדִים. Each one individually? Or the combination of all three?

The Underside of Jewish Kehilah politics in the "Old World"

Though he was no saint, Gechazi redeems his character by eschewing revenge

Why is it so easy to get Biblical Leprosy and So Hard (Complicated Ritual) to become purified from it?

One of the Greatest Gedolim of the 18th century. The Noda B’Yehudah and the Hafla'ah sent him THEIR שְׁאֵלוֹת! Classic lomdus of the "Old School"

TThe Rambam in the Mishneh Torah on the correct hashkafah re: Korbanos and other Mitzvos that make no sense. The remarkable anguish of King David re: such matters

The two parades of Dovid.The mistakes in the first. The corrections in the second. The quarrel with Michal based on a misunderstanding

Did they offer a ketores minus the חֶלְבְּנָא?

The strange situation of the English and American Missionaries interacting with the תַּלְמִידֵי הַגְּרָ"א

An important difference between קָרְבָּנוֹת on the one hand, and תְּפִלָּה וּדְבֵקוּת on the other.

"If the Jews can end their disunity, they wil together conquer the Gaza Strip and Syria." Really

Moshe and the Jews: Belief, followed by loss of Belief, followed by new Belief

R Akiva Eger thought the Muslims would allow the Jews to offer sacrifices on the Temple Mount. The Chasam Sofer disabused him. Why did R Akiva Eger think this?

R Akiva's seder and the question of the Premature Exodus. Also, Lavan and his role inthe Egypt story

Famous Responsa re: Adultery and Divorce

If you wanted the manna in the desert to become matzah, to transsubstatiate into matzah, did it really become matzah, not just in taste?

In Chapter 7, the Rambam rearranges the order of the narrative, for philosophical/theological reasons

Is parnasaah bad because you give too much charity? Or the other way around?

The differences between the First and Second Temple Eras

The Temple was built large, to accommodate 12 tribes, but it sended up servicing and being patronized by only two tribes

Was Hamas's goal realistic? Maybe!

What kind of guests were at the seder of רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל? Why did his narrative differ from that in Bnai Berak?

Two types of Communal offerings: a.) Performed by Priest as Agent for the Community b.) Performed by the masses of the community themselves

Why is chametz prohibited (כָּרֵת!)? What does chametz have to do with the slavery in Egypt? Really

A great Talmid Chacham and Mekubal who suffered from secular Zionist persecution in the 1940s. The complicated story of Yemenite Jewry in the first half of the 20th century.

The Prophet admonishes the Princes to stop evicting Jews from their ancestral land and expropriating the land in order to gift their own children and employees

The cynics were those who did not contribute (either out of stinginess or laziness), who now projected thir own guilt feelings onto Moshe and the Mishkan Project.

Sometimes, military victory leads to civil war! Success requires philosophy to be managed sagaciously

The supreme virtue of being ashamed of your misconduct. Is this happening currently?

Most fights break out in shul on Shabbos - לֹא תְבַעֲרוּ אֵשׁ בְּכֹל מֹשְׁבֹתֵיכֶם בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת

Live from Baltimore

Some thoughts on the limited, philosophical approach to prayer vs. the mystical approach to prayer

Intensely partisan, a slaveholder, a great liar, Polk is one of the great presidents, who doubled the territory of the USA. In the words of Trump, "He got a lot of land!" Will this affect Gaza?

The opposite of today -  at that time there was civil war in Israel and peace in Syria ... or so they thought!

Why did Esther try to be nice to Haman?  Also, did Haman actually prohibit circumcision?

R Katz analyzes the religious effects of Israel's six foreign wars

How come Haman did not make a move against the Jews for FIVE years?

Why was אֵלִיָּהוּ a brilliant failure?

The Jews in the time of Esther ducked a planned "Oct. 7" pogrom multiplied all across the 127 provinces. Instead, it was the Jews who ended up perpetrating the pogrom against their mortal enemies

Could מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַצֶּלֶם (Megilah 12a) be an oblique reference to פָּרָשַׁת עֵגֶל הַזָּהָב?

Where did they get the ideas that the big sin of כְּלַל יִשְׂרָאֵל was either a.) נֶהֱנוּ מִסְּעֻדָּתוֹ שֶׁל אֲחַשְׁוֵרוֹשׁ or b.) הִשְׁתַּחֲווּ לַצֶּלֶם? It is not in the text of the Megilah, is it?

"How come there is no NCSY for the Marranos?" Frum complaints from Venetian Gedolim of the 17th century

Towards Amalek, Saul lacked moral clarity, but when it came to Nov and David, he acted with total (misguided) moral clarity!

Is וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ referring to a מִשְׁכָּן? A בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ? Both? What's with the textual obscurity?

R Katz and the new ArtScroll edition of the עֵין יַעֲקֹב

A real life example of Psalm 130: מִמַּעֲמַקִּים קְרָאתִיךָ הַשֵּׁם

The Unusual Spanish-Portuguese Communities in 18th century Souther France. A different world

Whereas Hamas pursues an unabashed policy of Amalak, Russia pursues a policy of לָבָן (לְפִי פֵּרוּשׁ הַנְּצִי"ב)

A "rap song" about the angels surrounding the Heavenly Throne. Part of theSephardic liturgy. The cadence as well as the rhymes moves the worshiper to ectasy

What was the ultimate fate of צִדְקִיָּהוּ, the last King of Judah? The differing traditions

The difference between קְדוֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ vs. וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ לִי מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ

Although an "old-fashioned" sefer, it had surprisingly modern features, which reflect the 18th century Englightenment Movement

Differentiate between the prayers composed by חז"ל, and those composed by the great פַּיְטָנִים

First you talk about angels surrounding the Heavenly Throne, but then you ringingly assert !שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד

Both Moshe and Yisro probably thought Moshe's oath was binding. But after the miracles of Egypt, both men saw the oath had been without validity, indeed even sense

What does the prophet mean when he describes himself as an אִישׁ טְמֵא שְׂפָתַיִם?

Did Yisro return to Midian and resume his job as High Priest of Paganism (for parnassah, of course!)?

The 1516 and 1522 editions complied and explained by the famous father and son team רַבִּי יַעֲקֹב בֶּן חָבִיב and רַבִּי לֵוִי בֶּן חָבִיב ))(מהרלב"ח. Which had a profound impact on subsequent Jewish history.

R Chaim was opposing the election of "Conservative Rabbi" חַיִּים נָחוּם, fearing he would spread הַשְׂכָּלָה וְקַלּוּת בְּמִצְווֹת among the Sephardic masses

The אֱמוּנָה פְּשׁוּטָה of some of the עֵדוֹת הַמִּזְרָח re: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, even when they misinterpreted rabbinic dicta

Sponsored by Meshulem Epstein " Whose grandmother came in the early  1900s from Ukraine. Her mother ran a dry goods and her father was the mashgiach for milk production. The farm was right in Brownsville NY! She was of the generation to whom the Ribbono shel Olam was real and present.A "tehillim-zugger big time.A smile and a kind word for everyone.She volunteered at the fledgling mesivta Chaim Berlin where Meshulem's father learned.

Ramchal ascribes the most incredible and supernatural, indeed cosmic, significance to the Padua Eruv set up by R Yeshaya

Targum Yonasan describes her as a talmid chacham

Published in the Turkish Empire in the 1500s by the famous Soncino Family, including a controversial colophon re: a fght between the Soncinos and the anisemitic Catholic "Billy Graham" - Friar John of Capistrano

Israel will be mauled (but will recover), Egypt & Co. will be destroyed and will not recover

Given 1/28

Genazym auction in Sunday Feb. 16, 2025 The eternal struggle against excessive spending on simchas

תְּפִלָּה לְמֹשֶׁה אִישׁ הָאֱלֹהִים Moshe, the one who mastered (איש) the מִדַּת הַדִּין

Why does G-d warn Moses about the בן נכר before they even left Egypt? Was this part of his disagreement re: the עֵרוּב רַב?

Why did the Jews always allow themselves to get "played" by the cynical Egyptians?

The extraordinary transformation of Joseph in Egypt, foreshadowing the later Exodus. And Divine frustration at the obtuseness of the liberated

The Jewish slaves cried out to God in pain. But they did not repent!

R Katz analyzes the sobering reality of no victory, balanced by the need to not give in to יֵאוּשׁ, and creating new countermeasures

Who are the Jews Cast Off in the Land of Egypt? Did 4/5 die in Egypt? Or did they assimilate?

The Historical Context of Psalm 94, and its relevance to the current מַצָּב

Ramchal in Amsterdam (1730s-1740s), where he wrote the works that made him famous

Who was Moshe deceiving? Pharaoh? Or the Jews!

The theme of siege in Torah Judaism and Jewish Memory

Is Erdogan trying to recreate the old Turkish Empire in 21st century form?

Was David's reign an ideal era in Jewish History?

Jacob's insistence that his grandchildren not touch his coffin?

Jacob & Sons in Egypt. what was the challenge שמע addressed?

Was the modern State of Israel created "out of order?"

Altruism or Cynicism?

The assassins used hostages to get away with their crimes: a cautionary tale re: Gaza?

Yavan, Copper, and the Copper Snake

Jews lit inside even when there is no danger

"I will overthrow regimes and destroy armies through civil wars!"

Was Chanukah ordained as a day of הַלֵּל וְהוֹדָאָה? Or was it ordained as a day of שִׂמְחָה וְהַלֵּל?

Did the Maccabees know about this prophecy? How could they not?

Both involve the dream of a gentile king concerning his kingdom; both dreams contain a subtext for the future of Klal Yisroel

Negotiating both Jewish as well as Egyptian identities: not an easy task

Which parts of  חֲנֻכָּה are דְּאוֹרָיְתָא, and which parts are דְּרַבָּנָן?

Bacchides massacres the trusting frummies under a flag of truce

What kind of peace should we pray for in Gaza?

History teaches that morality collapses among the very rich and the very poor

The trick is not to be jealous of any sibling's special talents, but rather to discover the talents of each, and follow that brother in his area of special excellence

The tight relationship between the two allowed for the frankest exchange of opposing ideas, totally free of rancor or disrespect

What exactly is the translation of the  חִתַּת אֱלֹ-ים after the massacre in Shechem?

There are moments when certain prayers are תְּפִלּוֹת שָׁוְא. This is not one of them!

Who exactly was Ovadiah? Has his prophecy come true?

The violation of Dina, the lethal response, and the current war in Gaza

Bibi's unilateral military moves there

A curiously tragic rabbinical figure, whose dictionary ruled the roost for one century

A curiously tragic rabbinical figure, whose dictionary ruled the roost for one century

The Devil and R' Shimshon of Ostropol

זֹבְחֵי אָדָם עֲגָלִים יִשָּׁקוּן

The tension in monotheistic religion between universalism and paticularism

We may be seeing revolutionary developments in the non-Jewish states that may benefit Israel

The unique historical nature of "American" Religion

Donating sub-par animals to the Temple for a "kodashim write-off"

"An army with the resolution of volunteers, fighting for values of holiness"

"We hate you, but we fear you, so let's  make peace"

R' Katz on current court cases and the Hamas demonstrations at the universities

In Politics, Timing is everything...

What's more important, good middos or halachic observance?

Three options: a.) Absolute Monotheism b.) Modified Monotheism c.) Absolute Polytheism

How he Hasmonean rulers fought their wars and handled the "Bnei Torah Problem" 2,000 years ago

How come Elisha's servant Gechazi did not believe his master could revive the child?

Which is stronger in Iranian Universities? Hatred of Israel,  or hatred of the Arabs and support of Israel? Some surprising developments

Abraham is not opposed by the Canaanites because he is a childless nomad...at first...

For the upcoming Genazym auction on November 17, 2024

For the upcoming Genazym auction on November 17, 2024

Abraham, the Semite, is told by G-d to go to Israel, from which the Semites are being driven out and dispossessed by Canaanite invaders

And The Worm of Jacob - Jewish survival in difficult times

Didn't Shem and Abraham live in the same place long before Abraham's move to Eretz K'naan?

Teacher of the famous RMS Luzzatto, as well as leading Italian Posek of the early 18th century. The close bond, despite different personalities, between Rebbe and Talmid

The Ark was a haven during the Flood, but afterwards G-d orders Noah to exit the Ark

Was Nimrod the first king in human history?

One of those great gedolim you never heard of

How such massacres were commemorated in the liturgy of Eastern European Jewry

What does this mean? Was it an actual historical event? A fascinating interpretation of the שְׁלָ"ה הַקָּדוֹשׁ

The medieval debate whether it resembles the sign of the cross, and the contemporary significance in light  of the current war

Is it far from Israel? Or the very opposite!

The current climate and scarcity of water was not the reality in Ancient Israel

Why are women not required to sit in sukkahs?

Are the Four Minim connected to the Four Exiles? Or to Exile as a phenomenon?

All Jewish life, including Jews in Israel, is a sukkah-existence, fragile in structure, protected by Providence (עַנְנֵי הַכָּבוֹד)

We don't want him to be Jewish!

Israel's recent progress in this area was one of the triggers of the Oct. 7th Hamas attack

R' Katz analyzes the significance of the Jonah and Nineveh tale in its historic and mussar context

Two extremes: a.) Yom Kippur atones without repentance  b.) To atone properly, the most extreme penances are required

The remarkable letters that were found by archaeologists. What were Jews doing in the Persian army, anyway?

How Halachic literature contends with the twists and turns of fallible Human Nature

"How do we face another Yom Kippur full of forebodings ever since last year?'

Humans are unique in a.) Brains b.) Speech

Guide the masses to the correct interpretation of events. Don't leave it up to them!

The area  is full of tunnels, but the IDF has learned tunnel warfare over the course of the past year

Is it so that the Satan won't prosecute? Or is it to help you have proper concentration during Musaf Shemoneh Esrei?

The very different biographies of  Hai Gaon and Maimonides

Israel is worried about an attack on the Yomim Tovim (actually, all of us should be awake to this danger)

Until then, a "vengeance-list" is being prepared in Heaven

Can one control one's thoughts?

A city of great Torah Learning, but also haskalah, strife, and the challenges of modernity

R' Katz speculates on the עָרוּךְ הַשֻּׁלְחָן and his take on the תְּקִיעוֹת

In the Messianic era, antisemitism will cease, the Jews will be on top, and all of mankind will enjoy peace, prosperity, and enlightenment

A city of great Torah Learning, but also haskalah, strife, and the challenges of modernity

Moses is addressing the victorious soldiers of three recent wars

The Jewish People are עֲקוּרָה, uprooted from their native soil, but they will recover it!

R Katz analyzes the evolution of Rosh Hashanah over the millennia into its current universal form

פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תֵּצֵא: זְכִירַת עֲמָלֵק בַּזְּמַן הַזֶּה

The richie-rich network in action

Bittersweet - A Glorious Geulah, but a depressed Jewish People scarred by their sufferings in galus

The Institutions (Monarchy, Judiciary, Priesthood) vs. Prophecy, which is individualized

When all Jews with influence (unlike today) joined together for the sake of Klal Yisroel

אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי לִי - Is that בֵּין אָדָם לַמָּקוֹם? Or בֵּין אָדָם לַחֲבֵרוֹ?

Isaiah foresees a world without terrorism!

What is the historical context of prayer at the time of R' Shimon bar Yochai?

The Two Mountains and Moral Clarity

The attempt to revive a Jewish "church" and why it was destined to fail when the Jews were in גלות

The strange world of the Marranos who were seriously into Kabbalah

Underconfidence, Overconfidence, and Smug Self-Righteousness

By The times of the Messiah, most Jews will have given up on Geulah

Did the "shidduch system" break down? When? Why?

R' Samson Raphael Hirsch vs. R' Chaim Brisker?

Moshe changes some of the wording to fit his audience, who were not present at the Revelation on Sinai

The happy aspect of the Messianic Process (unlike other parts of the Bible)

What's with the references to Peor, Bais Peor and Baal Peor? The chink in the armor of Klal Yisroel

Kinnos on Tisha B'Av 2022, given by Rabbi Katz

Kinnos on Tisha B'Av 2022, given by R' Katz

They cannot penetrate our defenses unless we ourselves open a breach for them

The  pertinent observations of a Rosh Yeshiva in the City of Rome, far from "the scene of action"

When misfortune strikes, don't check your mezuzah, check your חֹשֶׁן מִשְׁפָּט!

Did Moshe harangue them in nine places? Or about their misdeeds in nine? Or in a place with nine geographical markers?

R Tarphon - Learning Torah like a businessman

Baron von Manstein and his times (Kaiser, Weimar Republic, Third Reich)

The strange tale of Tiberius Julius Alexander, nephew of Philo, chief of staff to Titus

G-d says avenge the wrong done to Israel by Midian; Moses says avenge the wrong done to G-d by Midian

Why is it the Jews were unfaithful in times of prosperity but faithful in times of persecution?

Pirkei Avos and the language of philosophy, not Midrash

The main complainers were the "house slaves," not the plantation slaves

Rabbi Moshe Shuvalsky and his times (chinuch)

Why is Rabbi Meir preoccupied with לשמה?

Jeremiah, Josiah, and the misguided masses

Bilam, Pinchas, and Hamas

The Presidential Elections of 2024 vs. the Presidential Elections of 1892

God's Fingers versus God's Hand

Why didn't Moshe respond to Bilam?

Bilam's עַיִן רָעָה: An incapacity for honest self appraisal?

The series will explore the controversies regarding Zionism and the political and religious spheres in the early years of the movement. Seven lectures in Baltimore

Why does Dovid say Saul is a רוֹדֵף? Isn't Saul the מלך? A מלך is not a רוֹדֵף !

Why didn't he say, "When I needed you, you didn't help me. Now that you need me,. I'm not going to help you!"

How was רבי צדוק מקיים the dictum אַל תִּפְרֹשׁ מִן הַצִּבּוּר?

R’ Katz offers an entirely different explanation

R’ Katz analyzes two stories from a recent book on Polish Jewry as reflecting personal as well as cultural reasons for leaving Yiddishkeit

From Rabbi Katz’ 2017 Summer Lecture Series entitled: Kulturkampf-Haskalah: The Haskalah Wars  - Lecture 1

The prophet Samuel's Class Act

Did the Korach episode really happen in פָּרָשַׁת כִּי תִּשָּׂא?

הַכֹּל צָפוּי וְהָרְשׁוּת נְתוּנָה- An outstanding example of the difference between Ashkenaz and Sephard

Herzl’s unsuccessful attempts to find a country who would get the Turks to give up Palestine

What about לֹא תְחַיֶּה כָּל נְשָׁמָה?

Intelligence has two parts: a.) Information gathering b.) Information assessment (connecting the dots)

Living through the horrors of Jewish anarchy, he preferred Roman tyranny with all its faults

Why was political Zionism perceived as מְטַמֵּא אֶת הַטְּהוֹרִים אֲבָל מְטַהֵר אֶת הַטְּמֵאִים?

Realistic evaluations of politics and politicians based on long experience in שְׁתַדְּלָנוּת

To get the full picture, read the last chapters of the book of Ezra

If Jethro's son, had he befriended Moshe when he lived with Jethro? Was חוֹבׇב turned-off by the Jews blaming the גֵּרִים for the Golden Calf?

Russia, China, Iran, Turkey- all obsessed with recovering glorious pasts, even at the risk of nuclear war

Genazym auctioning the first edition, plus a historic תשובה בכתב יד from the ב"ח himself

Do we put grass nowadays on the floors of our homes and synagogues? And who were the צֹאן וּבָקָר at Sinai?

Without כְּאִישׁ אֶחָד בְּלֵב אֶחָד, it would not be possible to get a collective binding נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע

The problem of trying to give a rational interpretation for what is clearly a mystical event, as Rambam himself admits

PLUS the ONLY surviving copy of the famous חֵרֶם issued by R’ Yosef Caro's בֵּית דִּין. A classic tale in Jewish history

Those "allies" will leave כלל ישראל to die, like like someone stripped naked and left to die from thirst in the middle of the Sahara Desert

Why weren't the two tablets given on the occasion of the original shavuos?

Herzl tries to avoid the fights between the frum and the anti-frum in the fin de siecle

A short history of the Jerusalem issue in international law

The 48 attributes of a scholar: Does one require all 48, or some of 48?

The Kingdom of Judah truly believed in the faithfulness of their Egyptian "ally"

If Moshe had led them then and there (& not died in Chutz L’Aretz), they would have also conquered & settled Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria!

Jonathan thought of the public welfare and wanted to avoid a civil war. The narcissistic Amnon threw her out and did not consider what would happen as a result of his actions.

Herzl, Political Zionism, and Campus Riots, Pt. 4

He left Spain just in time, and translated the Sephardic literature from Arabic to Hebrew. Wrote much, but only his פירוש על התורה ּis of permanent interest

Before, during, or after the cave?

At the time of שבועות, the conquest of Canaan was but weeks away

Buying "worthless" real estate demonstrates faith in ultimate victory and the permanent survival of כלל ישראל. It prevents יֵאוּשׁ

1945-1990: The years the Jews owned the Shoah-narrative, and got their account of it accepted by the West. The East was "muzzled"

Trying to make sense of the chronology of the life of Rabbi Akiva and the story of his students

The Zionists were the first to assemble (or appear to assemble) representatives of all כלל ישראל to discuss the fate of כלל ישראל and seek a realistic solution

Shabbos comes about once a week, so if a person is not well-versed in its intricacies, then it is inevitable that transgressions will take place.  Here is a solution!  KinyanHilchosShabbos.com⁠ World famous Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav HaGaon Yitzchak Berkovits shlit’a used his vast knowledge to arrange all the Gemaras with the commentators on each area of Hilchos Shabbos and presented it in the form of source sheets that cover material from the Gemara until practical halacha.  This enables one to cover main opinions in each topic and gain a deep understanding of the halacha.   Rabbi Yehonasan Gefen, a close talmid of Rav Berkovits who spent eight years as a Rosh Chaburah in Rav Berkovits’s famous Jerusalem Kollel, with the Rav’s haskama, took on the monumental task of adapting the Hebrew sheets into English. The material is written with care and with great clarity, as well as including the various opinions in the contemporary practical halacha. For the past several years, Rabbi Gefen has been teaching this material to Torah learners throughout the world, on all levels of learning, and of all ages now as the founder of KinyanHilchosShabbos.com. Participants in each online chabura receive source sheets with explanations both in Hebrew and English, participate in a weekly Zoom shiur and ask questions by phone and email. Many have also successfully gained Smicha through thoroughly learning the material. The program includes a weekly Zoom shiur which is recorded and can be reviewed later, tests on the material covered to enable the individual to evaluate their understanding of the material, and availability by email or phone for questions, clarifications, or further discussions. The program includes the option of Smicha which is a wonderful source of pride for the individual’s family.  But its greatest benefit is that it will ensure that a person can lead his family to observing the laws of Shabbos with all their details.  For more information, tuition, and to receive an application visit KinyanHilchosShabbos.com.

What does the אריז"ל mean when he says that in the future, כהנים will be לויים and vice versa?

If G-d created טֻמְאָה, why not include it in religious rituals?

The Israeli foreign Ministry has been pulled apart by Netanyahu on political grounds, and diplomats are mostly leftists and cannot make the case for a prime minister with whom they disagree.

Herzl: Sometimes arrogance, self-assuredness, and chutzpa can be positive qualities

Rationalism as a check on false mysticism, but not on true mysticism

Learning from history, but being aware of ever-changing circumstances. Appomatox vs. the Middle East

Is every word in the Talmud true? Like the medicines? (רַב שְׁרִירָא גָּאוֹן)

Telling the raw truth about our history vs. not embarrassing כלל ישראל in synagogue readings - An existential tension

Kedoshim Tehiyu: It's meanderings through Jewish History

The Jews in the 19th Century - Civil rights followed by Antisemitism

"Rhetoric" as a key tool for understanding אַגָּדוֹת חַזַ"ל

If Zionism is delegitimated, then violence against it becomes legitimate, if not "legal"

Are American Jews currently undergoing a "sifting" process?

How was Aharon affected by the death of his sons?

Dedicated groups of pogromists are going around from campus to campus, and nobody is noticing

The existential tension in Judaism between the mystical and the rational

The story of Rebbi Yehudah ben Beseirah

What is the difference between מִצְרַיִם and בֵּית עֲבָדִים?

The Jews did not say נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע until after they were told about the בְּרִית בֵּין הַבְּתָרִים

How the different opinions re: בל יראה among Rishonim reflect different Jewish השקפות on the original Passover

Rambam vs. שִׁדּוּד הַמַּעֲרָכוֹת

Redemption has to be preceded by a great prophet, who will guide the Jews in that turbulent and complex era

Who won the battle between the Torah and lashon hara?

Jordan & Israel: Publicly the bitterest of enemies, privately close cooperation

Did Egypt get the "full business" on the night of Passover, or at the Red Sea?

A Dvar Torah from Lincoln's Second Inaugural

What is the meaning of the phrase "Love is blind" in Judaism?

Was he already a leper, or did he get leprosy because he kidnapped the little Jewish girl (Like Hamas!)?

This parsha is a fascinating study in human psychology

What if the Cananites (Amorites) had repented at the time of Moses, as Ninveh did later?