Audio RoundupLatest Essays
Audio Roundup 2025:35
by Joel Rich
Hakira volune 37, summer 2025 has a fascinating series of interviews with R H schachter, R A willig, R B Yudin,R Rosensweiz and R M Lichtenstein titled “personal perspectives on emuna”. I’d love to discuss them if you’ve read them. Are they representative of some subgroup (other than roshei yeshiva)? Are they helpful to others? How do they differ? Lots to discuss.
All other things being equal, should an ashkenazi ben chu”l in chu”l daven at an eidot hamizrach minyan in order to receive birchat cohanim or daven at an ashkenazi minyan? If the latter, should he make an effort to sit in at an eidot hamizrach minyan for the bracha? What if he would have to miss answering a kaddish at the ashkenazi minyan to do so? Would it make a difference if he were a ben aretz traveling in chu”i?
- Rabbi Efrem Goldberg-Ki Savo: Confronting Mortality Bikkurim reflects future potential (as the first bud) while trumah reflects what’s already been received (as the harvest is in). We need to show hakarat hatov even for the small things in our lives.
- Rabbi Michoel Zylberman-Burial of Non-Jews, Non Halachic Converts, and Conversion Candidates in Jewish Cemeteries We don’t bury a rasha next to a tzadik. How does that apply to non-jews, non-shabbat observant jews or non-believing jews? How do we define “next to”?
- Rabbi Michoel Zylberman-Terumah: Mi Shenadars and Auctioning Aliyos on Shabbos and Yom Tov Shouldn’t tzedaka commitments on shabbat be prohibited for the same reason as is commerce? Perhaps so, but there are enough differences (and a good end) to differentiate.
- Rabbi Eric Grossman-Biblical Faith and the Ways of Wisdom (Part 1): Am I a Substitute for God? Revelation is a direct divine command what to do, whereas wisdom is using our (HKBH given) faculties to figure it out. (Joseph as an example). Otherwise, HKBH is always involved behind the scenes.
- R’ Zev Smith-Squeezing Fruit on Shabbos and Yom Tov Squeezing (schita) of grapes and olives on shabbat is halachically prohibited. Pomegranates and berries are rabbinically prohibited. Why? Should those categories change today due to changing circumstances (eg juice oranges, making juice from everything?) Specific applications discussed (eg squeezing lemons for fish or tea).
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-Answering YUr Shailos 2.4 Q&A including: naming children. balancing bitachon and hishtadlut, lighting shabbat candles when away from home, who gets points when using someone else’s credit card, using tzedakah funds for a chinese auction, playing happy music at the kotel, kaddish after aleinu by a non-yatom, how we can bring moshiach, taking tfillin into a airport bathroom and building a relationship with a rebbi.
- Rabbi David Bagnoפרשת תולדות – שני גויים בבטנך – רבי ואנטונינו Rebbi and antoninus represent esav and yaakov, neshama and guf, inside and outside, dibbur and maaseh. It’s all part of a process towards moshiach’s arrival.
- Rav Asher Weiss- אמירת לשם ייחוד The opposition to saying lshem yichud was due to concerns that some might be led astray from halacha by kabala.
- Rabbi Eric Grossman-Biblical Faith and the Ways of Wisdom (Part 2): To Rain Down on Uninhabited Land The answer to iyov’s theodicy question was that we have access to earthly wisdom but not divine wisdom.
- R’ Zev Smith-You won before you started!. Ein hadavar talui ela bi (Yes ,you can do it) – the rest is commentary.
- Rabbi Avishai David-Parshas Eikev – Mitzvos Kalos (Easy Mitzvos) as a prerequisite and a sine qua non for successful living and prospering in ארץ ישראל Do mitzvot with the proper attitude and simcha and you’ll retain eretz yisrael.
- Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman-Daf Yomi Sugyos: Gezeros Drabanan Ramban and Rambam on whether lo tasur is the source of rabbinic enactment authority. Are such enactments only on people or on objects as well? Why is there no gzeira to a gzeira?
- Rabbi Yosef Dovid Josilowsky,with Rabbi Chaim Jachter-8/16/25 – Shiur 524 – Steal with a Click? The Halachic Ethics of Downloading Music, Seforim, and Media without authorization Discussion of IP issues raised by downloading songs from the internet. Is there a personal use exemption?
- Rabbi Eric Grossman-Biblical Faith and the Ways of Wisdom (Part 3): A Wise Mind as will Never Arise Again Shlomo hamelech asked for wisdom not revelation. His story parallels yosef’s in the area of wisdom.
Mishlei is about wisdom bring ethics and bringing success, wisdom flows from the old to the young.
- Rabbi Isaac Rice-Cherem Of Rabbeinu Gershom Against Reading Other Peoples Mail What concerns led to the cherem of rabbeinu gershom concerning reading other’s mail? Is it related to the sender or the receiver? When is it triggered?
- Rabbi Moshe Sokoloff-Eating In Shul For A Seudas Mitzvah Begins with a discussion of opinions concerning the appropriateness of eating in a beit knesset on specific occasions (tikkun yahrtzeit, bar/bat mitzvah). How, if at all, do the bet knesset’s eating rules extend to the bet medrash? Do the rules differ for talmidei chachamim? Shaat hadchak?
- Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman-Birkhas HaMazon Insights into birchat hamazon including: reflecting our relationship with HKBH, nature of evolution of birchat hazimun, birchat oreach and bracha on stolen bread.
- Rabbi Jay Kelman- Tisha B’Av 5785: It’s Hard to Believe: Fearing Man and G-d The gemara gives numerous reasons for the churban – it’s about messaging us concerning needed improvements even today.
- Rabbi Dr. Martin Lockshin- Tisha B’Av 5785: Did Job Recant at the End of the Book of Job? Does iyov’s final speech reflect an understanding of HKBH’s “explanation” or is it a somewhat sarcastic response? In either case he doesn’t give up his belief in HKBH.
- R’ Zev Smith-Freezing and Defrosting Food on Shabbos.mp4 What is the gemara’s concern about crushing snow on shabbat? (nolad molid, schita?) How does the answer inform on making ice cubes, whipped cream or eating Italian ices?
- R’ Yisroel Reisman-Do We Ever Give Up? Lessons of Chanukah As Applied To Our Daily Life Misheli’s message on wealth is that what’s important is what you do with it. Itcan warp your view of yourself and the world and rase the materialistic expectation of society. When giving tzedaka remember that aniim and talmud torah should be your highest priority.
- R’ Shraga Kallus-Parnassah and Bitachon The Tightrope Challenge Bitachon concerning parnasa is our generation’s big challenge and we need to remember it’s all min hashmaim. Discussion of hasagat gvul, ani hamapeach and maharrufia all of which are rarely enforced today.
- Rabbi Moshe Walter-The Tefillah of Yom Kippur Katan for Chodesh Elul: Why Is This Yom Kippur Katan Different From All Others? The Halachic and Hashkafic Implications Why is tishrei’s yom kippur katan more focused on than that of any other month? How much of an ”inyan” is it?
- R’ Yisroel Reisman- Kiddush Hashem: “You Should Sanctify Me Amongst the Children of Israel” Lessons from mishlei: sometimes you need to fail in order to succeed, we all have capabilities that we need to live up to, if you don’t have faith in something it won’t be there for you when you need it, and atzlut (laziness) means being distracted by low priority tasks and not taking advantage of that time to do higher priority ones (eg attend shiur).
- Rabbi Jonathan Ziring-How Poskim Incorporate Metziut into Pesak (1) Thesis – there are cases where one can not rely on a navi/bet din if they go against their cognitive understanding of an issue.
Is it best that a dayan know the total sum of worldly knowledge concerning the case at hand (eg including the sciences …).
- Rabbi Moshe Sokoloff-Was Moshe considered a king Why can’t a melech be mochel his kavod but a talmid chacham can? What was moshe rabbeinu’s status for this purpose?
- R’ Yisroel Reisman – Parashat Vayechi: Danger of Perfection VS. Beauty of Imperfection Is the olam haemet there is true emet but in this world there is no perfection. Deal with it!Description
- Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz-From The Rabbi’s Desk – Half the Estate for the Neighbor When might we relocate an inheritance based on umdna dmuchrach (the niftar acted with an unarticulated premise)? (not often)
- R’ Yisroel Reisman – Parashat Some People Are More Alive Than Others The Jewish people persevere through msirat nefesh. Hitachdut halev allows us to ignore the pettiness of others.
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