Sforno on the Nachash: Apikorsus or Pshat? Part 1: Methodology and Premises

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 37 minutesSynopsis: This morning's YBT Sunday shiur (11/3/24) was a bit different than usual, focusing more on reading and discussing sources than in-depth analysis. This was intentional, since this shiur was intended to be a setup for the REAL shiur. My original goal was to present Sforno’s view that the nachash in Gan Eden represents the yetzer ha’ra. However, I realized two preliminary issues needed to be addressed: (a) clarifying Sforno’s understanding of the tzelem elohim, and (b) addressing a shiur by my Rosh ha'Yeshiva, Rabbi Chait, who argues that allegorizing the nachash is an illegitimate, heretical, and dangerous approach. In this shiur, I aim to tackle both points, setting the stage (God willing) for Part 2, where we’ll explore Sforno’s view of the nachash in Gan Eden and the aftermath of the cheit.-----מקורות:Rabbi Israel Chait, "The Snake" (C107-108)אברבנאל - הקדמה לבראשית פרק באבן עזרא - פירוש א' בראשית ג:א; פירוש ב' בראשית ג:כארמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ב:כט-לספורנו - בראשית א:כו-כז; ב:ז-ט,טוספורנו - אור עמים טד:נ-נא-----This week's Torah content is sponsored by Ayala, who says, "Thank you, Rabbi Schneeweiss, for the countless Torah and life insights you share and, specifically, for making the world of chochmah more accessible through your Mishlei shiurim."-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel