A class by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg on the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah: Why does Rambam count tefillin shel rosh and tefillin shel yad as TWO separate mitzvot?
Rabbi Heschel Greenberg has launched a new series of classes on the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah in response to the Rebbe’s call to learn at least one halacha in depth.
The Rebbe initiated a major effort to unite all Jews with the study of the entire encyclopedic work, Mishneh Torah, by learning three chapters a day and completing the entire work in less than a year. Alternatively, one can learn one chapter and complete the entire Mishneh Torah in close to three years. The Rebbe also gave a third option to study Maimonides’ companion work, Sefer Hamitzvos that parallel the Mishneh Torah.
In addition, the Rebbe requested that we learn one halacha in depth.
We recently began the 46nd cycle of Mishneh Torah which inspired Rabbi Greenberg to record brief classes on selected passages of the Mishneh Torah.
Rabbi Heschel Greenberg is a shliach of the Rebbe in Buffalo NY and the Director of the Jewish Discovery Center, and, for the past 50 years, has taught thousands of classes on all aspects of Jewish knowledge.
Rabbi Greenberg has also authored dozens of works on diverse subjects including several volumes of commentary on the Mishneh Torah.
Many of Rabbi Greenberg’s classes can be accessed on his website rabbigreenberg.com.
Why does Rambam count tefillin shel rosh and tefillin shel yad as TWO separate mitzvot? In this Rambam In-Depth shiur, we explore a fundamental question in the Minyan HaMitzvot: If tzitzit with its techelet and lavan counts as ONE mitzvah despite having two components, why does the Rambam count tefillin as TWO? The Ramban asks this question in Sefer HaMitzvot, and we bring the brilliant answers of the Rivash and the Rogatchover Gaon to resolve this apparent contradiction.
