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What creates the obligation of ma'alin b'kodesh—to elevate from a Beis Knesses to a Beis Midrash? The shiur maps three Rishonic approaches: the Rambam (mitzvah (מצוה)-driven kedusha), the Ran (rabbinic kedushas domem), and the Tur (hashraas Hashechina without intrinsic kedusha in the object). Each reading reshapes how we understand the machlokes in Megillah 25b and the logic of prioritizing different kodesh spaces.
This shiur presents a comprehensive analysis of a fundamental question in the halachos of beis knesses and beis midrash: what is the nature of the kedusha in these spaces, and what drives the din of ma'alin b'kodesh (elevating from a lesser to a greater sanctity)? Rabbi Zweig examines a key difficulty: the Rambam (רמב"ם) introduces the halacha (הלכה) by stating that a beis midrash is greater than a beis knesses, which appears later in the Gemara (גמרא), rather than beginning with the Mishna's presentation. Why did the Rambam—and the Rif and Tur—restructure the presentation of this din? The shiur develops three major approaches found among the Rishonim. First, Rashi (רש"י) and the Rambam (according to one reading) understand ma'alin b'kodesh as a din driven by the mitzvah (מצוה) performed in the place. The source is the Tosefta teaching that Betzalel made the keilim and Moshe assembled the Mishkan—showing that ma'alin b'kodesh applies even to keilim, not just to kedushas makom. According to this approach, when a mitzvah is performed in a location, that creates a requirement to be ma'aleh—to elevate the kedusha. The Rambam, following this logic, starts with beis knesses and beis midrash because Talmud (תלמוד) Torah (תורה) is a greater mitzvah than tefillah, so one must elevate from the place of the lesser mitzvah to the place of the greater one.
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Megillah 25b
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