שבועות
Dedicate a Shiur in Shavuos
L'ilui nishmas a loved one. In honor of a simcha or yahrzeit. As a zechus for a refuah sheleimah. Your dedication helps carry Rabbi Zweig's Torah to learners around the world.
7 shiurim for Shavuos
Why do women light Shabbos candles, and what does it have to do with the Mishkan? The Baal HaTurim's gematria hints that lighting candles transforms our homes into miniature sanctuaries where God's presence dwells through shalom bayis. The shiur shows how this theme connects Shabbos, Purim, and Shavuos—the three holidays where enjoying meals together creates the deepest sense of communal togetherness.
Why did Hashem address the women ("Beis Yaakov") before the men at Sinai when they receive fewer mitzvos? The shiur develops the principle that Kabbalas HaTorah was fundamentally a marriage—an emotional relationship—not a legal contract. Women, who understand relationships better, were addressed first to establish that foundation before the contractual details.
Why did Hashem speak all ten commandments simultaneously before repeating them individually? The shiur develops a yesod that the miracle teaches Torah's essential unity—all mitzvos are one indivisible whole. When Hashem gave the dibros together, He wasn't commanding but revealing Himself; only the second delivery, one by one, constituted tzivui.
How can leaders make decisions without creating victims when people have conflicting needs? The Baal HaTurim notes that all appointed leaders are considered "wicked" because authority inevitably hurts someone. True leadership transforms this dynamic by creating inclusive processes where people understand each other's needs and choose to give rather than lose.
Why does Shavuos require eating and no sin offering according to the Jerusalem Talmud? The shiur develops that Pesach freed us from human slavery, but Shavuos represents the ultimate liberation - God making us spiritual entrepreneurs responsible for our own moral decisions. When we truly accept this responsibility, we become different people whose previous sins belong to our former, immature selves.
Why did Esau and Ishmael's descendants reject the Torah over basic prohibitions like murder and theft when all societies need such laws? The nations understood that Torah law demands qualitatively higher standards than secular or even Noahide law - not just societal regulation but personal perfection. Where secular law prohibits physical murder, Torah includes public embarrassment; where it bans theft, Torah includes robbing dignity.
Why is 'Na'aseh V'Nishma' so praiseworthy when simply saying 'we will do' seems like greater commitment? The shiur develops that doing mitzvos provides experiential understanding that complements intellectual Torah study. Through action, we discover that Torah isn't a burden but our complete identity and fulfillment—making 'doing' and 'understanding' really one unified concept.
