Episodes

Thursday Nov 23, 2023
Thursday Nov 23, 2023
Menashe Ben Israel, the origins of the Indians and the Aseres hashvatim
Anshei India from Moshe Rabbeinu
The genomes of modern day birds
Turkey in Europe: The Heter of the Netziv
The descendants of the Shlah, The Kamenetskys etc.

Sunday Nov 19, 2023
Sunday Nov 19, 2023
The anatomy of the shechita knife
The legend of the Mezeritcher Maggid’s shechita knife
The Tzemach Tzeddek and Yankel am Haaretz : The grand bechina between the shochet and the rav
The end of the battle: The Industrial Revolution revolutionizes Shechita
Lubavitcher Shechita: The Baal hatanya’s passionate and detailed teshuva regarding shechita
The Lubavitcher bachurim of Shanghai

Sunday Nov 12, 2023
Sunday Nov 12, 2023
R Chaim’s famous grasshopper
The Piyuttim of R Eliezer Hakalir [Beribi]
How high is the Rekiyah? The machlokes Talmud Bavli and Yerushalmi
לצרף בריותיו - The Rambam on Shechita, Eiver Min Hachai and Tzar Balei Chayim
The letter from the Ramban: An animals ultimate will
The dichotomy of Shaul Hamelech’s rachmanus

Sunday Nov 05, 2023
Sunday Nov 05, 2023
Rav Chaskel Sarna’s dramatic burial intervention
The Munkatcher chassunah of 1933
Predecessor to the Nuremberg laws: The Nazi ban against shechita
R Chaim Ozer’s self-insertion and the comprehensive retrospective review
Dr S.D. Rosen and Dr Temple Gandin - Animal rights activists exonerate shechita
HaRav Hanazir Dovid Cohen: Rav Kook’s disciple's case for Veganism
The Shver and the Eidem: The Din Torah classifying meat between the Bach and Taz

Sunday Oct 29, 2023
Sunday Oct 29, 2023
The Fish Matzeiva: The story of the hielige fish of Vienna
The Palestinian Avoda Zara
The Tosfos Yom Tov’s dilemma and Chazal’s eventual vindication
Shliya/Tench: The unique psak of the Baal Shem

Sunday Oct 22, 2023
Sunday Oct 22, 2023
The Ramban’s definition and experiment
The Nodeh Beyehuda’s grand heter
Ahron Charaner and the “Tik Fish” controversy
Reb Yitzchok Grishiver , the Nodeh Beyhuda’s “chazara” and R Shmuel Landau’s fiery response
The ensuing controversy and motives revealed
When emes is sheker and sheker is emes - Reb Akiva, the Chassam Sofer, and Reb Yaakov Kamanetsky

Sunday Oct 15, 2023
Sunday Oct 15, 2023
Intentional vs inadvertent - The Monsey shechita fraud of 2006
The story of the Baal Hatenya’s geziera and the incredible discovery of R Akiva Eiger
The Chasam Sofer’s psak halacha on the physical difference between a Jew vs non Jew
Blood transfusions from a non Jew: the psak of the Chelkas Yaakov, and the extraordinary story with Ponevezher rav’s transfusion in Mount Sinai NYC
Eating fish on shabbos d’oraisah? The Tzemach Tzedek’s boycott

Sunday Sep 10, 2023
Sunday Sep 10, 2023
DISCLAIMER: CONSULT WITH YOUR RAV BEFORE ACTING UPON MATTERS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE.
The Tannah Reb Elazar collaborating with local authorities
When mesira is a mitzva: the opinion of the Rashba
Reb Elyashiv's teshuva to the Badei Hashulchan on Mesira "Lesheim tikkun olam"
Killling Terrorists as Mosrim
Next episode (coming on Wednesday): The story of the movement to blow shofar on shabbos

Sunday Sep 03, 2023
Sunday Sep 03, 2023
Mutilation vs killing
The Chazon Ish’s progressive psak
Moser - the great exception
The Czar Nikolai investigation that led to the Ruzhiner’s lengthy imprisonment
Coming next week: Part III - The Rabbanim that sit on the Israeli Supreme Court

Sunday Aug 27, 2023
Sunday Aug 27, 2023
- Beis din and their diminished power
- The Mesora from the Geonim
- The woeful story of Yannai Hamelech
- Shimon Ben Shetach's unique rule and grand rectification
Coming Next Week: Beis Din in the Modern Era - Part II