Davar Gadol and Davar Katon: Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah 4:10-13

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!This afternoon (1/13/21 at YBT) we (re)learned the final halachos in Yesodei ha'Torah Chapter 4, thereby concluding the chapters about the topics referred to as "Pardes" (the "Orchard"). We then compared and contrasted the Rambam's descriptions of ahavas Hashem and Yiras Hashem here and in Chapter 2. We then read the Talmudic anecdote about "the four who entered Pardes" as explained by the Rashbatz in his commentary on the Haggadah. Then we attempted to understand the Rambam's explanation for why "davar katon" (i.e. understanding the mitzvos) must precede "davar gadol" (i.e. metaphysics). We took another stab at the question of why the Rambam doesn't explicitly say in the Mishneh Torah that ahavas Hashem can be achieved through the study of mitzvos. Finally, we ended off with an unanswered question about his metaphor of "you shouldn't take a stroll in the orchard until you've eaten your fill of bread and meat." Hadran alach Hilchos Yesodei ha'Torah Chapters 1-4!----------מקורות:רמב"ם - משנה תורה, ספר המדע, הלכות יסודי התורה ב: א-ב; ד:י-יגתלמוד בבלי חגיגה דף יד עמוד ברשב"ץ - פירוש ההגדה, ארבעה בנים ----------Bekius Disclaimer: Note that this is a bekius chavurah - as opposed to an iyun shiur. Each session consists of us reading through the Rambam's writings together without much preparation on my part, and without going into depth by consulting commentaries or primary sources. For all these reasons, there are bound to be inaccuracies, errors, and other types of shortcomings which would not be acceptable in a prepared shiur, but are quite typical of a bekius chavurah. Please bear this in mind, and know what you're signing up for when you listen!----------If you have questions, comments, or feedback, I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to contact me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail.----------Rambam Resources:- Mechon Mamre: the most accurate complete edition of the Mishneh Torah available online for free- AlHaTorah: excellent site overall, and reliable for the first three books of the Mishneh Torah, as well as the Shelat edition of the Rambam's commentary on the Mishnah and other works of the Rambam- Daat: features many of the Rambam's writings, including Qafih's translation of the Moreh ha'Nevuchim, complete with footnotes- Explanatory Essays on The Guide for the Perplexed----------Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/rabbischneeweissBlog: https://kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmschneeweiss"The Mishlei Podcast": https://mishlei.buzzsprout.com"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: https://thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: https://rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: https://machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com  "The Tefilah Podcast": https://tefilah.buzzsprout.comOur Yeshiva: https://www.yeshivabneitorah.org/Our Women's Program: https://www.lomdeha.org/