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Who was the first Jew - Avrohom, Isaac, or Yaakov? The answer is none of them, since Jewish identity with binding mitzvah (מצוה) obligations only began at Sinai. The shiur uses this paradox to explain why halacha (הלכה) follows maternal lineage and how Judaism differs fundamentally from belief-based religions.
This comprehensive shiur addresses fundamental questions about Jewish identity and the origins of Jewish peoplehood. Rabbi Zweig begins by establishing the historical timeline from Creation through the Exodus, noting that Avrohom was born in year 1948 from Creation and coexisted with Noah for 58 years. The central question explored is 'Who was the first Jew?' with the surprising conclusion that neither Avrohom, Isaac, nor Yaakov were technically 'Jewish' in the halachic sense we understand today. The shiur explains that the term 'Jew' (Yehudi) derives from Yehuda and wasn't used until the Purim (פורים) story, when most exiled Jews came from the territory of Judea. More fundamentally, Jewish identity as we know it - with binding mitzvah (מצוה) obligations - only began at Mount Sinai when the covenant was established. Therefore, the children of those who accepted the Torah (תורה) at Sinai were the first people born automatically into Jewish legal status.
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Deuteronomy 7:3-4, Kiddushin 68b
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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.
Why does the Rambam rule that one may not violate even a shvus (rabbinic prohibition) on Yom Tov to obtain a shofar, yet permit shofar blowing on Shabbos 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 of shofar, but in 2:6 he allows shofar on Shabbos even though it involves overriding both a lav and an asei.
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.
