A free account is required to play audio and download files.
No community start suggestion yet.
May a man who has already fulfilled his shofar obligation blow shofar for a woman on Rosh Hashanah? The Baal Itur forbids it while Rav Yehuda permits it. The shiur develops that the core dispute is not about violating shvus for another's benefit, but whether a man's blowing creates a "tekiah shel mitzvah (מצוה)" that enables the woman to be yotzei.
The shiur opens with the Shagas Aryeh's question (siman 104-105) on the Rambam (רמב"ם): if women may perform mitzvos asei she'hazman grama and receive credit for them (as Rabbeinu Tam says, based on the principle that women's smicha is reshus and therefore a valid mitzvah (מצוה)), why does the Rambam rule that women may blow shofar despite the rabbinic prohibition (shvus) of blowing shofar unnecessarily, yet forbids women from wearing tefillin (mochin b'yadom) due to guf naki concerns? The inconsistency suggests that either mitzvah should override the concern, or both should be prohibited. The shiur then introduces the fundamental dispute. The Baal Itur (quoted by the Rosh in Rosh Hashanah, perek 4 siman 7) rules that a man who has already been yotzei may not blow shofar for a woman, since doing so would constitute an issur shvus with no mitzvah justification. The Baal Itur reports that the minhag in Ashkenaz was for men to blow for women before davening—before the men themselves were yotzei—so that the blowing would still be a tekiah shel mitzvah. Rav Yehuda, however, disagrees, bringing proof from Chagigah 16b: women performed smicha on korbanos even though this involved a rabbinic prohibition (avodah b'kodshim), and Chazal permitted it "l'nachas ruach nashim." If violating a shvus is permitted to give women nachas ruach, then a man should be allowed to blow shofar for a woman even after he is yotzei.
Looking for the full summary?
Full access is available to members of the TUF Alumni Association or the Yam Hagadol Foundation.
Already a member? Let the admin know!
Rosh Hashanah; Chagigah 16b; Shagas Aryeh 104-105
Looking for the full transcript?
Full access is available to members of the TUF Alumni Association or the Yam Hagadol Foundation.
Already a member? Let the admin know!
Dedicate a Shiur in Holidays
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.
Why does the Gemara connect Purim to Tisha B'Av using "just like"—here you *decrease* joy, here you *increase* it? The shiur develops that Purim fixes the sin of Achashverosh's feast, where Klal Yisrael's desire to socialize with goyim revealed a physical disconnection from each other. Mishloach Manot and matanos la'evyonim create the physical unity—eating and drinking together—that is the tikkun for sinas chinam and the foundation for Kabbalas HaTorah.
Why is the Haggadah in Aramaic, and what does "haggadah" (which means both storytelling and harsh speech) really mean? The shiur develops that Aramaic represents the ability to see from another's perspective, the foundation of true communication. Pesach night's she'eilah u'teshuvah (question-and-answer) format demands we understand what the listener truly needs to hear—creating unity through genuine dialogue rather than prepared speeches.
Why did Mordecai provoke Haman by refusing to bow, endangering all the Jews? Rabbi Zweig argues Mordecai read history and saw the Jewish people on the brink of spiritual destruction—enjoying Achashverosh's party celebrating Judaism's demise meant they had become self-hating. By provoking a crisis, Mordecai forced Jews to face that assimilation was no refuge and reconnect to their roots.
Why is the holiday named after Haman's lottery, the most insignificant detail? The shiur develops a fundamental yesod: self-centeredness destroys happiness because whatever we feel entitled to can never satisfy us. Haman's declaration that "all this means nothing to me" when he sees Mordechai reveals the ultimate consequence of egocentrism—total emptiness despite having everything.
