Ramban

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1. Teruma: Carrying the Aron

   Rabbi David Silverberg | 39 minutes

   Parashat Teruma includes details of various items for the Mishkan.  Some ambiguity in verses about the Ark of the Covenant (the Aron) prompts us to examine the topic of the Ark and its accoutrements in greater detail. This shiur makes use of classic commentary to analyze linguistic features of the text, and relates to passages in the Talmud which help us appreciate physical and symbolic elements of the Ark.

2. Why are There Stories in the Torah?

   Dr. Baruch Alster

   תאריך פרסום: תשע"ה | |

   Rashi's first comment on the Torah famously asks why the Torah begins with creation and not with the mitzvot. In essence, he is dealing with the question of the Torah's genre - is it a history book or a legal text? This question is dealt with by other parshanim as well. In this lesson, we will compare three approaches - those of Rashi, Rashbam, and Ramban. We will see that each of the later parshanim saw the question as a dichotomy - the Torah is either law or narrative, while Rashi's view is more complex.

3. Ramban's Criticism of Avraham: Did Avraham Sin in Descending to Egypt?

   Rabbi David Silverberg

4. Ramban vs. Ralbag: Escaping the Famine - Sin or Responsibility?

   Rabbi David Silverberg

5. Ramban on Lekh Lekha: Fathers and Children - Maaseh Avot Siman LaBanim

   Rabbi Ezra Bick | 32 minutes

   In this week's shiur, we introduce and explore Ramban's interpretation of Chazal's comment that everything that happened in the stories of the Avot (forefathers), serve as a "siman" for the sons. What does "siman" mean? Ramban views this statement as saying that the actions of the forefathers affect future generations in a metaphysical way, such that future generations play out some aspect of the forefathers' actions and journeys, for better or for worse. But what about the Torah's concept that the "sins of the fathers shall not be visited on the sons"? Is there a real difference between punishments and "consequences"? 

6. Saving Animals: Why an Ark?

   Rabbi David Silverberg

7. Punishment for Animals?

   Rabbi David Silverberg

8. Parashat HaShavua Teruma - Rashi and Ramban

   Rabbi David Silverberg | 33 minutes

   This shiur examines the famous mahloket (debate) between Rashi and Ramban regarding the chronology of Parashat Teruma.
   Is the command to construct the Mishkan given before or after Het Ha-Egel (the Sin of the Golden Calf) takes place? Rashi views the Mishkan as part of the atonement process for the sin, while Ramban sees the Mishkan as perpetuating the experience of Ma'amad Har Sinai.
   
    

9. Ramban

   Part 1

   Dr. Avigail Rock

   Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman was born in an area in northeast Spain that was heavily influenced by Spanish Muslim culture and by French Ashkenazic culture.  The Ramban’s writings reflect Spanish philosophy as well as the studiousness which characterized Ashkenazic Jewry.

   A poem that the Ramban pens in the introduction to his commentary on the Torah reveals a number of its characteristics: 

   • He intends to offer new interpretations and not to explain the verses sequentially. 
   • When the Ramban does not interpret a given verse, we may assume that he intends to accept Rashi’s approach.
   • It is a wide-ranging, comprehensive commentary, in which the Ramban uses specific verses as jumping boards to general topics.

    

   By viewing two examples, one can observe that the Ramban, in his commentary to a lone verse, may relate to many facets of exegetical, halakhic and philosophical issues; he seeks an explanation which jibes with the details of many wider contexts.  The proof is not local, but wide-ranging, comprehensive, taking in a broad perspective.  One may see also the analytical style constructed, in which the Ramban, in an organized, consistent way, lays out the issues, brings different opinions and deals with them until he develops his own view.

10. Ramban

    Part 2

    Dr. Avigail Rock

    This lesson is dedicated to a number of philosophical topics that recur throughout the Ramban’s commentary on the Torah.

    Maaseh Avot Siman Lebanim – The events that transpire with the forefathers is an omen for the children.

    This historical view of the Ramban is of great significance, not just in the field of exegesis, but also because it has such a clear polemical anti-Christian aim. Indeed there is an allusion to the future in the stories of the forefathers, but the allusion is for Israel’s future — what is decreed upon their seed — but not for others, who are not of their seed.

    The Superiority of the Land of Israel

    The superiority of the Land of Israel predates Avraham and to the People of Israel. The overturning of Sodom was due to the superiority of the Land of Israel. As opposed to the other lands of the worlds that are managed by angelic representatives of God, the Land of Israel is managed by God directly.

    The main significance of the fulfillment of commandments is in the Land of Israel.

    Nissayon – Test

    The test is designed to serve not the Tester, God, but rather the one who is being tested. The nissayon in the Torah is an opportunity which is provided for the righteous to apply in practice their dedication to God and to earn a reward for this. In this way, they will receive a reward not only for their potential dedication, but for their actual dedication as is described with regard to Akeidat Yitzhak and the mann.

11. Ramban

    Part 3

    Dr. Avigail Rock

    Additional characteristics of the Ramban’s commentary on the Torah:

    The Secret Torah — “Al Derekh Ha-Emet”

    When the Ramban prefaces an explanation with these words, his intent is to cite a commentary based on sod (literally, secret), the hidden, mystical elements of Jewish tradition. His Kabbalistic commentaries cannot be understood by a reader unschooled in fundamental Kabbalistic concepts.

    Citation and Incorporation in the Commentary of the Ramban

    Psychological Sensitivity

    The Ramban explains the verses using an analysis of the motivations of the dominant personalities, based on his reasoned assessment of the characters and the situations in which they find themselves.

    Serus Ha-Mikra

    Another exegetical tool employed by the Ramban in his commentary is serus ha-mikra, the inversion or transposition of the verse. Sometimes, in order to understand the intent of the verse, one should read it as if the sequence of the words is different.

    Abbreviation and Elaboration

    When there is a certain lack of correlation between the initial description of an event and the later recapitulation of the same event, the Ramban explains the lack of correlation using the following rule: “It is the way of the verses to abbreviate it in one place and to elaborate in another place.”

    There is no doubt that the Ramban is one of the most influential figures in terms of shaping the world of biblical exegesis and the Jewish worldview generally.

12. Can There Be a Third Destruction? A Reading of the Curses in Light of Ramban’s Commentary

    Rabbi Dr. Yoel Bin Nun

    Ramban’s commentary on the Torah features systematically historical exegesis. We shall examine a few citations that demonstrate this point and then focus more closely on the curses in our parasha and their implications for us.  

    Ramban presents his unique exegetical approach: the rebuke in Vayikra is a prophecy concerning the destruction of the First Temple, while the rebuke in Devarim foretells the destruction of the Second Temple.  The most important implication of Ramban’s interpretation is that there can be no third destruction. After the ingathering of the exiles described in Parashat Nitzavim, there may be terrible suffering – as foretold in the song of Haazinu – but there is no room for a third destruction, as the Torah offers no third set of curses.

13. "The Divine Presence Within Israel is a Need of the People" - "Shechina BeYisrael Tzorech Hediot"

    Rabbi Ezra Bick | 36 minutes

    We will be looking at a short section that is one of Ramban's most important comments in his entire commentary on the Torah. In a break from the usual, we will explore one of his comments that he categorizes as sod - the hidden, underlying meaning of the text. What does it mean that God took Israel out of Egypt so that He would dwell in their midst? Is the Exodus necessary for God to dwell in Israel's midst? Is it a conditional statement? Is dwelling in Israel's midst the purpose of the Exodus? Who benefits, and why is God's presence within Israel so crucial?

    As we consider different responses to these questions, we gain insight into Ramban's approach to both peshat and Kabbalistic sod perspectives on the relationship between God and Israel.

     

     

14. Ibn Ezra and Ramban

    Rabbi Amnon Bazak