Behab (BH"B)

Shiur this morning was on the mostly forgotten minhag of Behab. Sources are available here.
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Hit The Rock

Moshe's Mateh is symbolic of Hashem. In Mitzrayim, the Mateh was used to prove to Paroh that He was the true God, and it was used to initiate many of the Makkot which came from Yad Hashem. At the first request for water, Hashem asked Moshe to take the staff and hit the rock because the Midbar was a place were Hashem was taking full care of Bnei Yisrael (Ananei Hakaoved, Manna, etc.). However, when Moshe was asked a second time to bring forth water, he was asked to do it himself, with the staff in tow. This symbolized the upcoming transition from Hashem fulfilling all of Klal Yisrael's needs to Moshe leading them with Hashem's support. Perhaps Moshe felt he was not yet ready for that transition, and therefore he used the Mateh again to bring the water. It is therefore clear why the conseqence was that Moshe not be allowed to lead the people into Eretz Yisrael.
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YU Torah

The Town Crier brought my attention to the newly launched YU Torah website which looks like a fantastic resource. It appears to have an overlap with Shiur.net, but much of the content is brand new, including the archive of all the Torah U'Madda Journals.
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Dvarim Shebichtav

There was no shiur Sunday so again I'm digging up a vintage shiur. The topic was Dvarim Shebichtav Ey Atah Reshai LeOmram Ba'al Peh. Sources are here. If anyone has a theory as to why this halacha is unknown to most, comment away.
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Kiddush Levanah II

Shiur Sunday was on two Halachic discussions in Kiddush Levanah. The first was how soon after the Molad can it be said and the second was can it be done indoors. Sources are here. I think it's a common misconception that the count to 3 starts from Rosh Chodesh...
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Masa'ot

In the 9th chapter of Bamidbar we learn that the Ananei HaKavod would indicate to Bnei Yisrael when to travel. The Torah makes a point of telling us that sometimes this would be only after a matter of hours, but sometimes, it would be months or years before they moved. Why would HKB"H create such a sporadic schedule?
Bnei Yisrael got no warning before the Ananim were to start moving, and therefore, had to be ready to pack up and move at any instant. If the Ananim would sometimes only remain for a few hours, then even at times where the stay ended up being years, Bnei Yisrael could never get comfortable and had to be ready to move at any moment. HKB"H wanted to drill this lesson into Bnei Yisrael so we should realize that in Galus, at any moment, we must be prepared to move if HKB"H tells us it's time.
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Communal Responsibility

There was no shiur this morning but posted is a vintage selection for discussion. A while back I gave a shiur on the halachic obligations one has to participate in their community. The sources are here. At the time I was dissapointed I couldn't find anything that truly obligated someone to be an active community member aside from the specific items mentioned in the sources. For example, if someone has a great idea about how to improve a school, do they have no obligation to do so? If I had the poetic license, I would stretch Shemot 23:5 to include it but I'd love to see that inside somewhere. If anyone knows of such sources, please post them.
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Kavod Chevruta

During the course of a proper functioning chevruta, each individual will at some point both teach and learn from his partner. Based on "Halomeid MeChaveiro...Afilu Ot Echat, Tzarich Linhog Bo Kavod" (Avot 6:3) it would seem that they each then take on a halachic obligation as a Rebbi/Talmid to each other. Perhaps this is the basis for the punishment delivered due to the lack of kavod diplayed between the chevrutas in Rebbi Akiva's Yeshiva "Shelo Nahago Kavod Ze LaZeh".
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Kiddush Levanah I

Sunday's shiur was on tracing the lineage of the text for Kiddush Levanah. Sources are available here.
We were able to track down how and why everything got added to the nusach, except for Tehillim 67 (Lamenatzeach Beneginot). The footnote in Siddur Avodat Yisrael says the source is revealed in the Hagot Kitzur HaShlah at the end of Dinei Kiddush Levana. I don't have access to that here so if anyone can look it up and post (or can suggest a reason independantly) I'd appreciate it.
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