Shlomo, Soloveitchik, and Slytherin (In Loving Memory of Adira Rose Koffsky, a"h)

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 1 hour 7 minutesSynopsis: Last night (2/1/26), I was honored to give a shiur at Congregation Eitz Chayim of Dogwood Park (West Hempstead, NY) in memory of my dear student Adira a"h, on the occasion of her third yahrzeit. As I mention in the disclaimers toward the beginning, a friend of mine was worried that it might come across as "a wackadoodle shiur," on account of its eclectically ambitious scope and agenda. I didn't care. My goal was to give over the type of Torah that represented Adira, and that she would have enjoyed.The shiur might alternatively be titled “The Slytherin Path to Torah,” and is my attempt to demonstrate that such a path exists. If that doesn’t mean anything to you - or if, as Adira’s mom joked, you’re prone to mistaking “Salazar Slytherin” for the name of a Chasidish rebbe you’re not familiar with - don't worry. I provide the necessary background information at the beginning of the shiur.One more disclaimer I feel obligated to repeat. In the shiur, I draw upon my personal takeaways from Lawrence Kaplan’s introduction to Maimonides: Between Philosophy and Halakhah, based on notes taken by Rabbi Gerald Homnick on the lectures given by the Rav (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik zt”l) on the Guide for the Perplexed at Bernard Revel Graduate School (1950–1951). My takeaways should not be regarded as authoritative. In fact, my one regret is that I made a last-minute decision to omit an entire portion of the Rav’s argument, which I subsequently realized was critical for the level of clarity I was aiming for. Oh well. If you’re interested in a fuller understanding of the abstract ideas toward the end of the shiur, you should read at least Kaplan’s introduction to this work.You can find my eulogy for Adira here.And my reflection on her shivah here.And my attempt to process my own grieving here.-----מקורות:פאה א:ארמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר זמנים, הלכות מגילה וחנוכה ד:ידאבות ב:טרס"ג - הקדמה לפירוש משליתמיד דף לב עמוד אמשלי א:יז-יט; גיג-טז; ח:יב-כא; י:ד; יא:יז; יד:לדמצודת דוד - משלי כה:כא-כברמב"ם - מורה הנבוכים ג:נג-נדירמיהו ט:כב-כגLawrence Kaplan, "Maimonides: Between Philosophy and Halacha" (pp.36,49-50,53)ירושלמי מכות ג:יגרמב"ם - משנה תורה: ספר המדע, הלכות תלמוד תורה ה:יגBruce Lee's writings-----The Torah content for the month of February is sponsored by the Koffsky family in memory of Adira Rose Koffsky a”h, whose third yahrzeit is on the 11th of Shvat. Adira was a gifted writer, a deep thinker, and an exceptionally kind soul. I am grateful to have been able to call her my student.תְּהֵא נִשְׁמָתָהּ צְרוּרָה בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים (May her soul be bound up in the bundle of life.)-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/YU Torah: yutorah.org/teachers/Rabbi-Matt-SchneeweissYouTube 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"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comWhatsApp Content Hub: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0H