YUTORAH: R' Dr. Aaron Rakeffet-Rothkoff -- Recent Shiurim

Pictures of Women. Novardok Yeshiva. It's Move to Russia Then Out of USSR. Mussar in Novardok Yeshiva – It's Implementation, Goals, and Effect. Yevsektsia. Bundism. Hostility to Hesder Yeshivot. - Jun 15, 2026 - No photographs of women & omitting their names. Ad in Mishpacha Magazine: Come to Norfolk, VA. Peleg demonstrations. Single man, early Shabbat, when to light nerot. The 2 pants pockets of Kotzker. Holocaust survivor stories. Traveler who made no Shabbat arrangements. He trusted in God. 2 different mussar views on Yosef going to Mitzrayim. Novardok Yeshiva (NY) to Russia. Why Yevsektsia hated Torah Jews so much. NY decides to leave USSR. This was very difficult but done quite successfully. Chabad stayed & suffered. Post 1980, less suffering. Satmar Rav visits Israel. Social vs. ideological Satmar. Shoah and State: Which is ma'aseh Hashem & which is ma'aseh Satan? Intensity of study of Mussar vs. Talmud in NY. Donating time to the community. Lakewood – almost no zemirot while NY sang with exuberance. R' Revel & Bundism. Bundism echoes yovel. NY students get used to being laughed at. This helped them survive ridicule for living Torah lives. NY Times 2100 edition. The "stock exchange" of NY – pros and cons. Private mussar schmooze at NY. Torah centered in Tel Aviv, then to Bnei Brak. Why do Hesder yeshivot & rabbis bother chilonim more than charedi ones? Smotrich. Sohn's Delicatessen.

Demonstrations Closing Roads. D-Day Prayers. Kovno Rav and the List. How Torah Schools Grew. Rav Menashe Klein. Mishneh Halakhot. Teaching in Reform or Conservative Temples. Rabbinic Seminaries. Chochmat Yisrael. The 1951 YU Joke. Chabad Shluchim. - Jun 14, 2026 - R' Mendi Gopin. NCSY. Mussar vs. Chasidut. Demonstrators of Peleg movement closing down highways. R' Sa'adiah Gaon: If no Torah, no Israel. Ben Gurion's descendants. 24-hour prayers at Synagogue on D-Day. Kovno Rav tells Judenrat to provide Nazis list of 1,000 names. The Rav said there is no answer on this. Esther Farbstein's comment. How Torah schools for children started to grow in US. Teaching in schools of Reform and Conservative – pros and cons. Necessary conditions. Evaluate the potential wife? Margarine in IDF. Mishneh Halakhot 16:32: Teaching Torah in Reform Temple. Who is in control of curriculum? Examples of how and why it was okay to teach in Reform. Rabbinic Seminaries are created because academia was impressive to Jews who left the ghetto. Creation of Chochmat Yisrael. An example of this: Encyclopedia Talmudit. Seminaries produced a Rabbi, Teacher, Preacher, but not a Rav. Opposition to Seminaries. YU never became a Rabbinic Seminary. Presidency: The Rav vs. R' Leo Jung. The 1951 joke. Chabad Sheluchim: Their strengths and weaknesses. Eruv stories.

R' Menashe Klein. Mishneh Halakhot. Caracas Butcher Marries a Couple in a Way That Insulted the Rav of Caracas. That Rav Was Determining if the Groom is Jewish. Is His Meat Forbidden? Understanding the Implication of the Rav Not Teaching in Yiddish. - Jun 7, 2026 - Helping a driver who is not wearing kippah. Is he our brother? Torah in US before WW II. How to view Reform rabbis. Early attempts to create Agudah in US. Organized rabbinates are very important, for example, in US and UK. Examples in recent past of mamzerut problems. R' Menashe Klein, Mishneh Halakhot 13:105: Butcher in Caracas "performs" a marriage of a groom who may not be Jewish and thus is in conflict with the Caracas rabbi dealing with the problem. Stories of two young people who moved from Reform to Torah observance. Kashrut of a Philadelphia bakery. NJ funeral with the Mafia, the FBI, and Rabbi Rakeffet attending. The Caracas butcher's meat is forbidden because performing the wedding insulted the rabbi. It shows he is untrustworthy. Utensils used to cook his forbidden meat may be kashered. Kashering utensils for Pesach. Examples of Pras Yisrael winners. How to understand the following: The Rav stopped teaching in Yiddish thus Torah ended and was replaced by frumkeit. R' Menashe to rabbi in Caracas: You make final decision. You're closer. Examples of kashrut failures.

An analysis of my conversation with Mr. Joseph Gruss, which resulted in Yeshiva University gaining a Jerusalem-based campus in Israel - Jun 3, 2026 -

Responsa Literature - May 31 - May 31, 2026 -

Novardok Yeshiva – How it Grew, Why & Where It Moved. Its Unique Aspects. How Mussar was Dealt With. R' Eliezer Kugel. Why Enmity to Mussar? R' Yosef Kahaneman's Ability in Fundraising & Importance of Children. R' Gustman Stories. R' Yozel Horowitz. - May 25, 2026 - Various ways they relate to mussar in Kelm Yeshiva, Slabodka Yeshiva, Mir Yeshiva — Yerushalayim, Chevron Yeshiva — Yerushalayim, and Slabodka of Bnei Brak. R' Eliezer Kugel. Why such enmity to mussar? Examples of enmity to other innovations related to Torah. R' Yosef Kahaneman: Ability in fundraising and, in Miami, the importance of children. R' Gustman stories showing his, to some extent, shiflut ha'adam nature. Under R' Yozel Horowitz (RYH) Novardok Yeshiva (NY) opens a number of branches. Its 3 levels of learning. Methodologies of teaching Gemara. NY: Don't only sit and learn, influence Klal Yisrael. Novardok Yeshiva (NY) moves to Homel. German soldiers with Jewish chaplains. Publishing RYH's Torah. His six tekufot. Persecution of the yeshivot and Torah in Soviet Union. Typhoid epidemic 1919-20. RYH dies. R' Avraham Yoffen takes over. Dealing with the paper shortage. Al Gionfriddo. The dog at Machon Gold compared to at BMT. Arrest of R' Yoffen by Soviet police. Novardok Yeshiva (NY) moves to Poland. How Chabad stayed, functioned, and suffered greatly in USSR. Putin and Chabad.

Rav Menashe Klein. Mishneh Halakhot. What Determines if One is Jewish? Is it Birth or Observing Torah and Mitzvot? That is, Does Lack of Observance Remove One's Jewish Status? The Unplanned Army Lecture. The Planned R' Theodore Friedman Debate. - May 24, 2026 - Jews in the galut in danger. Freud's explanation why children become frum. Cardinal Lustiger. Why R' Rakeffet wouldn't participate in Limmud program. R' Lamm differed. Beth Ephraim Synagogue, Maplewood NJ. Debate with R' T. Friedman. Catholic rabbi. Mishneh Halakhot 17:184 Netiv 10. Rabbis advocate not to say the word 'rasha' in Haggadah. Are non-believing Jews worse than religious Christians? Is Trinity avoda zarah for a non-Jew? Meiri's position. R' Sacks on religious non-Jews. R' Rakeffet's unplanned army lecture. Brit Avraham vs. Brit Sinai: Why they differ & are both necessary. Mishneh Lamelekh's two levels: The individual & the עם. Relate concept to Eretz Yisrael & to impact of sinners. Jewish soldier kills another Jewish soldier. Is being Jewish determined by birth or behavior? Are the non-observant considered Jews? Terumat Hadeshen 223: Yevamah: Dead husband's brother is now a believing Christian. Widow of brother is free. Rashi vs. Geonim. Ilya Essas – the phone call. Widow in Israel – Husband's brother is Communist in USSR. Is he considered a non-Jew, not an אח therefore no חליצה is needed? A chalitzah at YU. May one give charity to non-observant? R' Norman Amsel's book.

History of Eastern European Yeshivot - Novardok - May 18 - May 18, 2026 -

Rav Menashe Klein. Mishneh Halakhot. Relating to Those Who Are Apikorsim. Conservative & Reform Rabbis vs. Their Congregants. Rambam - Being Patient With Non-Observant. Two Appearances of Eliyahu Hanavi. Stories From the Remarkable 18 Rav Berlin St. - May 17, 2026 - 18 Rav Chaim Berlin St. Jerusalem: My failure. R' B. Wein's new book. Mishneh Halachot 17:184. Rambam Mamrim 3:3 go slowly & peacefully with תינוק שנשבה. Stories that demonstrate going slowly & being patient. Eliyahu Hanavi (EH) tells the man the shawarma is not kosher. EH gives R' Aryeh Levin money. The Chabad nigun that changed a life. R' Menashe agrees for the people: Be patient. Do not push away, but for the rabbi apikorsim, it's different. R' Rakeffet disagrees. Reform and Conservative rabbis 150 years ago versus today. They are now very ignorant. Examples: JTS students and President Herzog. Committee on Jewish Law and Standards versus Prof. Louis Finkelstein on שעון שבת - Time Switch. R' Menashe: They create mamzerim. Satmar great grandsons in IDF. Dispute with R' Sholom Gold on Satmar. R' Velvel, the Brisker Rav: בעש"ט saved Polish Jewry. Hungary saved by Chatam Sofer. Yerushalayim by R' Diskin (RD). No one saved Vilna. Story of RD's great granddaughter. The Rav on modernity and Torah. End of story of RD's great granddaughter. MH 17:184 pg. שסא: Impact of WW II refugees. They succeeded. Implicit criticism of YU. Several examples where patience worked. Ben Gurion's daughter.

Soviet Jewry in the 1960s. Slabodka Yeshiva Graduates. R' Avigdor Miller. R' Yaakov Moshe Hacohen Lessin. R' Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman. Novardok Yeshiva – Introduction. It's Founder R' Yosef Yozel Horwitz. His Early Life. His Seclusion. - May 11, 2026 - Lack of optimism about Russian Jews in the 1960s. Unpleasant stories about R' Avigdor Miller (RAM). The nasty term, schwartze. R' Rakeffet's brother in the US armed forces in Hawaii. The arresting KGB agent who was actually very nice. How to hire a receptionist as per RAM. Predictions in the 1973 Hamevaser article that failed. R' Lessin: No movies. Examples of successful teachers. Importance of studying Aggadah – the Rav. R' Lessin and RAM. R' Ruderman's travels at the beginning of WW I. His kidnapping. A unique aspect of Ner Israel Yeshiva, Baltimore. Shiflut ha'adam. The drug store. Wearing ties backward. Founding of Novardok Yeshiva. R' Yosef Yozel Horwitz (RYYH). His early life. He becomes a businessman to support his wife's family. He meets R' Salanter and changes directions. Hammurabi Code. He becomes a student in the Kovno Kollel. His seclusion. His teachers. The concept of nazir. R' Henkin's 2nd wife in his old age. Debate on RYYH's lengthy period of isolation.

Rav Menashe Klein. Mishneh Halakhot 17-184. How to Deal With and Relate to Those Who Are Apikorsim. Are They No Longer Our Brothers? Are They Apikorsim or Just Ignorant? Rav Rakeffet's Refutation of R' Menashe Based on Rambam & Rav Y. Soloveitchik. - May 10, 2026 - Jan Koum. Women front-line soldiers. Wine. Child holds siddur for minyan. Commuting Jerusalem-Germany Rabbi. Phraseology: Jewish State or Halakhic State? German newspaper article. Chabad gentiles. Mishneh Halakhot 17:184: In a democracy you can't do anything you want. In Torah, more so. Maharam Lublin: Execute moser. Pushing away apikorsim. R' Klein: Conservative & Reform (C&R) are not our brothers. Brother Daniel – Supreme Court Decision. Children of Polish Catholic mother & Israeli father. Wording of resulting law. Non-Jews are NOT safek Jewish. Yoreh Deah 251:1: Jew who abandons Torah gets no charity or loans. He is no longer your brother. Rema: Give charity to gentiles. Public not private desecration of Shabbat is determinant. Jews in USSR & matzah. Rambam: One who does not believe in Oral Torah: Cause him to die. Applicable to C&R? The Rav: No. Potato chips. R' Menashe: C&R rabbis are apikorsim, not ignorant. R' Rakeffet: Even their rabbis are very ignorant, not apikorsim. R' Rakeffet meeting female "rabbi" student from HUC is proof. How it worked out with Soviet Jewry - further proof. Neolog rabbi from Communist Hungary - further proof in his ultimate dedication to Torah.

The Experiences of Slabodka Yeshiva Graduates. R' Avigdor Miller. R' Yaakov Moshe Hacohen Lessin. - May 4, 2026 - R' Dovid Lifshitz & the golf cart. Kollel learning = MA degree at YU. Reb Areleh Rokeach laining. Yitz Greenberg. Importance of women. Visiting Russia in 1980. R' Mordechai Pogramansky & grape juice for Kiddush. Why R' Avigdor Miller (RAM), Mashgiach Ruchani, left Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin. Effect on young men of European Rabbis' fundraising trips to NY. Post-WWI. Arrival of R' Yitzchak Isaac Sher in NY. His shmues. RAM goes to Slabodka Yeshiva (SY). Mussar instead of Kabbalat Shabbat. YU today compared to the 1950s. R' Lessin on Tzelem Elokim. RAM on mussar. Closeness of NY yeshivot to each other in 1950s. RAM & Golda Meir (GM). GM in Moscow. RAM describes Rosh Hashana & Yom Kippur in SY. Ta'anit dibbur. Will Durant on Jews. Krakow. Characteristics of Jewish girls in NY in 1920s-30s. R' Yitzchok Schmidman & R' Rakeffet's mother-in-law. 19 Letters by R' Hirsch. Special Yom Kippur minyan with R' Yaakov Moshe HaKohen Lessin (RL). R' Shmuel Elozor Volk's public criticism. RL's grandson. Derech Chaim, a book by RL. The loss of RL's family. Drush vs. Mussar. Mussar kloiz. RL on interpersonal relations. Malkah on going to USSR. The history of the R' Soloveitchik tapes.

Rav Menashe Klein. Mishneh Halakhot. How to Deal With and Relate to Those Who Are Working to Actually Change the Torah and are Doing More Than Just Sinning. Yitz Greenberg. David Hartman. Mordecai Kaplan. - May 3, 2026 - Chassidim davening late. The Rav: Was Chatam Sofer right in chadash assur min haTorah? Austritt. Synagogue Council. Israeli movers on Shabbat. Mechalelei Shabbat in winery. How YU is unique. Those close to the Rav who abandoned him. The giyoret who explained the issur of marrying a Kohen. Moshe Genauer in Seattle. Yitz Greenberg – Holocaust - Our covenant is cancelled. His children. Kovno Rav & handing over Jews to Nazis, justification is to save Klal Yisrael. There was sinning post WW I but not changing the Torah. BBC interview of 100 year old man. Permitting driving on Shabbat was a dramatic change. Mishneh Halakhot 17:184. Every word in Torah is from Moshe as a shaliach. Yitz Greenberg's ideology. His debates. Why R' Menashe Klein (RMK) decided to go public attacking changing the Torah. Mordecai Kaplan. Mesorati'im in Israel today. RMK's counterattack: Torah is divine & unchanging. Sinners as opposed to those who form a sinful movement, i.e. "new paths". Importance of belief in the entire Torah, including oral. Human Rights. Tinokot Shenishbu. No one today is perfect, nevertheless rebuke sinners but don't expel. Does God listen to prayers of reformers as opposed to sinners?

History of Eastern European Yeshovot - Slabodka - April 27 - Apr 27, 2026 -

Responsa Literature - April 26 - Apr 26, 2026 -

The Experiences of Two Slabodka Yeshiva Graduates. Rav Aharon Kotler. Rav Pinchas Mordechai Teitz. Two Books by Rav Rakeffet's Grandson. Inspiring Stories About the IDF. - Apr 20, 2026 - R' Dovid Kamenetsky's book on R' Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. R' Binyamin Kamenetsky and Rav Rakeffet's talk on R' Meir Kahane. U.S. Jews are not בוגדים. Sue Lieberman's mother saved the family. R' Amital on the new tekufat ha-geonim. R' Aharon Kotler (RAK). Why he was selected to be sent to the U.S. His dedication to Hatzalah. Lakewood Yeshiva (LY) begins in 1943. "Attending college is a disgrace to Torah." His influence on students in changing their hashkafot. Financing LY. Purchasing the first two buildings. Goal of LY: Create Gedolim. For survivors, RAK was their "father." His funeral. The Rav was there and did not speak. Synagogue Council. The consequence of R' Moshe Feinstein not having learned with the Alter. R' Moshe Feinstein's path to MTJ. The result of not accepting Education Minister Ben-Zion Dinur to the kollel. R' Pinchas Mordechai Teitz comes to Slabodka in 1924. The amazing Rabbanim and students he encountered. The Alter's definition of Da'as Torah. One way R' Hutner duplicated the Alter. Story of how Slabodka Yeshiva dealt with a problem student. Two books by R' Rakeffet's grandson. Inspiring comments on and stories about the IDF and Israel.

Consequences of Falsifying History. A Lesson from Chabad. Mishneh Halakhot 8-225 & 12-481, R' Menashe Klein—Excessive Use of Rabbinic Titles. Chasam Sofer. R' Akiva Eiger. Influence of Chassidut on This Phenomenon. Israel Today as Compared to 1949. - Apr 19, 2026 - Accusing others of forging Rabbinic writings can be misused. ArtScroll. R' Zevin was a Zionist. Falsifying history causes damage to falsifier. R' Klein's uniqueness. The Eruv. R' Belkin. The Rav and רוח הקודש. Explaining Alan Dershowitz. Mishneh Halakhot (MH) 8:225: Question from R' Yaakov Kanievsky, Steipler, on excessive use of Rabbinic titles. R' Akiva Eiger's instruction: Use only the title Ha-Rav for me. Use of title Rabbi vs. Rav. Chasam Sofer on what determines who deserves titles of great respect. Bernard Revel Award. Chasam Sofer on eruv. יפתח בדורו. My insight from spending Shabbat with Chabad. Marrying daughter of a rabbi – be careful. Why R' Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor gave many semichot. Respect for rabbis in Europe vs. in USA. R' Hutner makes R' Volk walk backward. Why R' Hutner insisted on this. Why titles might be needed today. Use of titles in writing scholarship. Displaying photographs of the Rav. Importance of ego. MH 12:481. Concept of the Admor has caused the excessive use of extreme titles that did not exist in Talmud or Rishonim and has now spread. R' Ovadia Yosef. Charedi criticism of Israel. The two IDF cooks in 1949 compared to the barbecue on Shabbat now.

History of Eastern European Yeshovot - Slabodka - April 13 - Apr 13, 2026 -

Making of a Godol by R' Nathan (Noson) Kamenetsky - A Source of Stories About Slabodka Yeshiva. R' Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg. Marriage & Divorce & Shiduchim. R' Yaakov Kamenetsky. More About How the Alter Related to His Students. - Mar 16, 2026 - Drunkenness on Shabbat. Thanksgiving at BMT. Drunken student in Tzfat. R' Yaakov Kamenetsky (RYK)'s second wife. Lakewood and Satmar. Creation of Mekor Rishon newspaper. Going to visit R' Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (RYY) in Switzerland. Shaving during Chol HaMo'ed. How RYY made money from writing letters. RYY learns Russian. Chafetz Chaim goes to meet RYY. ArtScroll biography of RYK is very good. How 1905-6 Russian Revolution affected Slabodka. R' Lessin welcomes RYK and R' Aharon Kotler to Slabodka. RYK's entrance exam. The Alter of Slabodka's son-in-law. The Talmud Torah of R' Tzvi Hirsch Heller. Gadlut HaAdam dominates Shiflut HaAdam: Why was this and what were the results. Bekiut vs. Charifut. Watching the Alter daven. Similarly: The Rav and Lubavitcher Rebbe. Elul in Slabodka: A dramatic change took place. Similarly at Lakewood.

Responsa Literature - March 15 - Mar 15, 2026 -

History of Eastern European Yeshovot - Slabodka - March 9 - Mar 9, 2026 -

Responsa Literature - March 8 - Mar 8, 2026 -

History of Eastern European Yeshovot - Slabodka - February 23 - Feb 23, 2026 -