A free account is required to play audio and download files.
No community start suggestion yet.
Why does the Rambam (רמב"ם) rule that one may not violate even a shvus (rabbinic prohibition) on Yom Tov to obtain a shofar, yet permit shofar blowing on Shabbos (שבת) Rosh Hashanah despite the gezeirah of carrying it to an expert? The Lechem Mishneh wrestles with an apparent contradiction: in Hilchos Shofar 1:4 the Rambam treats shvus like a full lav vis-à-vis the mitzvah (מצוה) of shofar, but in 2:6 he allows shofar on Shabbos even though it involves overriding both a lav and an asei.
This shiur examines a fundamental question in the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s treatment of the principle of asei docheh lo taaseh (a positive commandment overrides a negative one) as applied to the mitzvah (מצוה) of shofar on Rosh Hashanah when it falls on Shabbos (שבת) or Yom Tov. The Rambam rules in Hilchos Shofar, Perek Alef halacha (הלכה) Dalet, that one may not prepare a shofar for Rosh Hashanah by violating even a shvus of Yom Tov—for example, climbing a tree to retrieve a shofar, or floating it across water, both rabbinic prohibitions. The Rambam explains that blowing shofar is merely an asei (positive commandment), while Yom Tov involves both a lav (negative commandment) and an asei. Therefore the mitzvah of shofar cannot override the prohibition. The Kesef Mishneh notes that the Rambam gave this reasoning only for actual melachah (Torah (תורה)-level prohibition), not for the shvus. He explains that the Rambam must be extending the principle: just as an asei cannot override a lav, the Chachamim strengthened their rabbinic decrees (shvus) by treating them as though they were Torah-level prohibitions (lav), at least in this context.
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!
Hilchos Shofar 1:4, 2:6
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 Halacha
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 is Asara b'Teves—merely a siege on Yerushalayim—a fast day at all, and why does it carry the unique stringency of never being postponed? The shiur develops the yesod that geulah unfolds in four stages (the arba lashonos), and galus reverses them in mirror order. The siege was the first step back—undoing kabbalas haTorah, the fourth and highest stage of freedom. A person locked in place, unable to travel, loses his ben chorin status, and with it his capacity for Torah.
Can korbanos be brought when the Beis Hamikdash is destroyed? The Rambam and Raavad debate whether "Hashem es Mikdasham" creates a din of Avoda during Churban. Rabbi Zweig develops a distinction: the Rambam holds kedusha Rishona enabled both korbanos and tefillah; the Raavad holds only tefillah remains when the edifice is gone, since Hashem's presence endures even without a physical structure.
Why don't the last eight verses of the Torah require a minyan to read? The shiur develops a fundamental chiddush in the Rambam: Simchas Torah has two distinct takanos of Kriat HaTorah — Zot HaBracha is read from the din of Yom Tov (inyan hayom), while VaYom Moshe is read from the din of Shabbos (siyum haTorah). This explains why a new minyan is required for the last eight verses, and why the Raavad's minhag of having the oleh read (not the baal koreh) signals that the final aliyah is purely Talmud Torah, not shemiat dvar Hashem.
When is a melacha on Yom Tov permitted? The shiur develops the Rambam's three-tiered framework distinguishing melachos that are food preparation itself (always permitted), food processing (permitted only l'tzorech achilah), and non-food melachos (always forbidden). The Magid Mishneh's explanation of "ho'il" emerges: intention cannot create a melacha where the act itself is inherently permitted.
