Rephael Cattan

 We are continuing in siman 11, discussing the concept of b’rov am hadras melech. We learned that the Chayei Adam considers three people b’rov am, and the Eshel Avraham says that 10 is considered b’rov am. We left off with the question of whether there is an advantage to joining a larger group over a […]

 We are continuing in siman 11, discussing the concept of b’rov am hadras melech. We left with a contradiction regarding the minimum amount of people considered b’rov am. The Chayei Adam says there must be a total of three people to be considered b’rov am, and the Mishnah Berurah quotes the Chayei Adam but writes

 We are beginning siman 11. The Chayei Adam writes that if a person has an opportunity to perform a mitzvah alone or with a group, they should perform the mitzvah with the group. The pasuk in Mishlei says b’rov am hadras melech (Mishlei 14:28), the larger the group the more kavod for Hashem. Chazal add

 We are continuing in siman 10, discussing the concept of mitzvah habaah b’aveirah. It is important to note that the rishonim and acharonim deal with a Yerushalmi. The Yerushalmi discusses a person who tore kriyah on Shabbos because he heard that one of his seven closest relatives was niftar. The gemara says that he is

We are continuing in siman 10, discussing the concept of mitzvah habaah b’aveirah. We left off discussing the practical application of tzoah. We learned that if one learns or davens in the presence of tzoah, it is a mitzvah habaah b’aveiah. Today, we will clarify the practical halachic issues of tzoah.  The issue of tzoah

 We are continuing in siman 10, discussing the concept of mitzvah habaah b’aveirah. We have learned that the aveirah affects the fulfillment of mitzvah to the extent and that one is not yotzei the mitzvah, even if the situation occurs unintentionally. The poskim discuss an application of this concept. A person is not allowed to

 We are continuing in siman 9, which discusses the concept of mitzvos tzrichos kavana. Today, we will discuss an interesting application of this concept.  One of the primary discussions about mitzvos tzrichos kavana is in Rosh Hashanah, daf 28-29. The Gemara implies that the concept of shomeah (listener) and mashmiah (speaker), where one person is

 We are continuing in siman 9, which discusses the concept of mitzvos tzrichos kavana. Yesterday, we learned that certain mitzvos have additional kavanos delineated by the Torah, besides for the general requirement of mitzvos tzrichos kavana. We also learned that certain mitzvos have kavanos based on the reason given by the Torah for the mitzvah,

 We are continuing in siman 9, which discusses the concept of mitzvos tzrichos kavana. Yesterday, we learned that both the opinion of mitzvos tzrichos kavana and mitzvos ain tzrichos kavana would agree that if one has kavana hafachis, kavana not to be yotzei the mitzvah, they would not be yotzei. The Chayei Adam will give

 We are continuing in siman 9, which discusses the concept of mitzvos tzrichos kavana.  The Chayei Adam writes that even according to the opinions that mitzvos do not require kavana, if one has explicit intent that they are not fulfilling a mitzvah, they are not yotzei.   Tosfos and the rishonim grapple with the question that

We are continuing in siman 9, which discusses the concept of mitzvos tzrichos kavana. We will clarify the idea that doing mitzvos without kavana may be considered not performing a mitzvah, as we learned yesterday.  There is a sefer which discusses the many mitzvos people do throughout the day for which they do not have

 We are continuing in siman 9, which discusses the concept of mitzvos tzrichos kavana. We left off with the opinion of the Magen Avraham, who differentiates between a mitzvah deoraysa and a mitzvah derabanan. According to the Magen Avrhaam, if one does not have the proper kavana for a mitzvah deoraysa, they must repeat the

We are continuing in siman 9, which discusses the concept of mitzvos tzrichos kavana. Before we see the language of the Chayei Adam, we have one more point to clarify.  Let us consider a mashal of a person who enters the army. Part of the training in the army will be to shoot a gun

 We are beginning siman 9, which discusses the concept of mitzvos tzrichos kavana. Before we see the language of the Chayei Adam, we will clarify a few points. The Gemara in Nedarim states from Rav Elazar B’Rav Tzadok that asei devarim l’sheim pa’olan, a person should do mitzvos for the sake of the One who

 We are continuing in siman 8, which discusses the concept of hamaschil b’mitzvah omrim lo g’mor, that a person should not stop in the middle of a mitzvah but should complete it. We left off pointing out that there is no explicit halachic discussion in the Gemara about this concept, only an aggadic discussion. However,

  We are beginning siman 8, which discusses the concept of hamaschil b’mitzvah omrim lo g’mor, that a person should not stop in the middle of a mitzvah, but should complete it. The Chayei Adam brings a source to this concept from the beginning of Parshas Eikev, where the Torah says kol hamitzvah . .

 We are continuing in siman 7, which discusses the concept of mitzvah bo yoser m’shlucho. We left off discussing the case of the Tevuas Shor, regarding whether one can be mechabed someone else to perform a mitzvah which is incumbent upon themselves. In Yoreh Deah, siman 28, he discusses the question as it regards kisui

 We are continuing in siman 7, which discusses the concept of mitzvah bo yoser m’shlucho. Today, we will discuss an important application of this concept.  The sefer Olas Shabbos discusses whether multiple people eating a shabbos seudah together should each preferably make kiddush on their own, or whether one person should make kiddush for everyone.

 We are continuing in siman 7, which discusses the concept of mitzvah bo yoser m’shlucho. We will discuss some points raised by the sefer Nasiach Bechukecha.  We have a rule in the Torah that shlucho shel adam kemoso, a shliach has the same halachic status as the person performing a mitzvah themselves. If a shliach