Scholars in Residence Information 2026-2027

From Rabbi Yosef Davis of TorahAnytime.com:

R' Yosef Gavriel does many impressive things very very well. He is a Rebbe par excellence, a community leader, an author, mentor, and a true inspiration to those striving to live a true Torah life (to name a few). I have heard first hand from his students at Ohr Somayach Monsey what a tremendous positive impact he has on their lives. He is on the front lines molding and shaping the future of Klal Yisrael.

TorahAnytime.com has had the zechus to record and disseminate his Torah for years to the benefit of thousands of Jews worldwide. He consistently delivers stellar shiurim that jog the mind and leave delicious food for thought. I would highly recommend getting in touch with him for your next speaking engagement or Shabbaton.

We have a large repertoire of topics and programs. 

Baruch Hashem, we have been very well received in many venues, including shuls, communal organizations, and educational institutions, as well as hotel scholar-in-residence events and programs.

Below you will find programs we have done in the past and an expanded list of topics.

Other programs we have run include:

A Shabbaton at  the Mt. Sinai Jewish Center in the Washington Heights neighborhood in Manhattan. My wife discussed the “State of Chinuch in North America,” and “Feminism and the founding of the Bais Yaakov Movement.” I spoke on “The Washington Heights Eruv Controversy,” and gave a drasha on the Shira and “Ta'amu u're'u ki tov Hashem.” 

A Shabbation at Cong. HOJMI in Calgary, Alberta where I spent Friday involved in eruv planning and design. Over Shabbos I discussed “Modern Orthodoxy or Orthodox Modernism,” and “Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch as a Guide for the 21st Century.

An Assortment of Topics that have been addressed in shiurim by Rabbi Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer

Emunah & Hashkafah:	Contemporary & Practical Halachic Issues:
The Age of the Universe	Eruvin in Metropolitan Areas
Evidence and Emunah	The Definition of Death in Halacha
Does Reason Serve Faith or Faith Serve Reason	Organ Transplants
Tradition, History & Belief	Curtailing Treatment of the Terminally Ill
The Authenticity of the Torah	Cholov Yisroel
Bechira Chofshis: How Free are We?	Agunah Problems & Related Issues
Divine Providence	Buying Meat in Non-Jewish Owned Stores
The Unity of G-d	Banking in a Jewish Owned Bank
G-d's Incorporeality	When & What Mechitza is Required by Halacha
Creation Ex Nihilo	May Jews Return to Spain
Worshiping G-d — Nothing Else	Changing Neighborhoods
Prophecy	Halachic Attitudes Towards Secular Studies
The Prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu	The Use of Microphones in Halacha
The Divine Origin of Torah	Women in Jewish Communal Life
The Torah will not be Abrogated	Gelatin
G-d's Omniscience	Organized Labor & Strikes
Reward & Punishment	Tzedaka & Ma'aser Kesafim
Moshiach: Are These Messianic Times?	Glatt Kosher
Resurrection of the Dead	Sheimos: What are They & How to Dispose of Them
These & Those are the Words of the Living G-d	Headcovering for Women
Our Relationship with Previous Generations	The Great International Dateline Controversy
The Impact of Kabbala on Machashava	Bishul Akum
Sophisticated Chesed	Teaching Torah to Non-Jews
Denominational Attitudes	Yeshivot Hesder in Halacha
Sinners Within & Ahavas Yisroel	AIDS
The Greater They Are, The Greater Their Fall	Cheating on Your Taxes
Chronologies of the 2nd Beis HaMikdosh Period	Kol Isha
Brazenness & Bashfulness	Ashkenazic vs. Sepharadic Pronunciation
Exploring Chutzpa	Suing Your Rabbi for Malpractice
What is True Yiras Shomayim	Copyrights in Halacha
Tefilla & Avodas Hashem Workshops	Autopsies & Biopsies
Truth & Falsehood	Plastic Surgery & Diets
Malachim (Angels): What are They/What do they Do?	Communal Unity
Bein Yisroel L'Amim: Judaism & Christianity	Shabbos Cosmetics
What is Kedusha & How is it Achieved	Cigarette Smoking in Halacha
Torah she'be'al Peh as the Focus	May Women Wear Pants?
Analyzing Agadata	Music in Halacha
Time & Times in Judaism	Conversion
The Leviathan	Laws of Waiting on Line & Priorities in a Waiting Room
Bitachon: Trust in G-d	Teshuva & Kiruv
Para Aduma	Magic & Magicians in Halacha
Kilayim & Sha’atnez	Practical Hilchos Mezuza
Basar Ve'Chalav	Abortion
Kisui HaDam	Halachos of Shabbos Goyim
Pride & Humility	Electric Lights in Halacha
Friendship	Vegetarianism in Halacha
Simchas Chosson V'Kalla	Shabbos Elevators
Ta’amei ha’Mitzvos	Heter Iska
Zav & Zava	Entering Churches & Mosques
Mikveh	Rebuking Wrongdoers
Orlah	Cooking for & on Shabbos & Yom Tov
Aleynu	Entering the Temple Mount
Atah Kadosh	Restoring Avodas HaKorbonos
Atah Bechartanu	Techeles
Eating Jewishly	Extradition
Frankfurt vs. Volozhin	In Vitro Fertilization
G-d Diminished the Moon?	Surrogate Motherhood
Acher: Elisha ben Avuya	Dayanim & Batei Din in Modern Times
The Jewish Concept of Thanksgiving	Semicha & Psak Halacha
Shiluach HaKen	Corporal & Capitol Punishment in Our Times
Hallel	Opening Other People’s Mail
The Prophecy of Bilam	Havdala
Chopping Down Fruit Trees	The Use of Lie Detectors in Halacha
Of Donkeys & Cold	Disturbing the Peace: Exhuming & Relocating Graves
Prophecy: Dreams	From Soup to Nuts: Eating a Meal al pi Halacha
Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim	Behind Bars with Halacha: Imprisonment
Yomim Tovim	Sale of Weapons by Israel to Foreign Countries
Yomim Noro’im	Reversing Bal Tashchis: Recycling
Chana & Shmuel HaNavi	Close Shaves with Halacha: Electric Razors
Shaul HaMelech	Business Partnerships with a Goy
The Plishtim	Partnerships with Mechalelei Shabbos
Existence	May a Jew Own Stock in a Company that Trades in Treifos?
The Ba'alei Machashava on War	Medicines/Medical Procedures on Shabbos/Yom Tov
Kochi v'Otzem Yadi	Is a Promise Halachically Binding?
Courage & Cowardice	What & Why Rabbinic Ordinances are Binding
Sanctity & Profanity	Brokerage: Shadchanim & Real Estate Agents
Shimshon	What's a Bracha & How Does it Work?
Dovid HaMelech	Rise & Shine: Getting Up in with Halacha
Bar Kochba	Wars & Armies
Gid HaNasheh	May a Jew Become a Professional Football Player & Related Issues
Netzach & Hod	Oh No! You Have a She'eila & no Rabbi to Ask: What do you do?
Talmid Chochom	Is Pasteurized Wine Mevushal?
Din: Judgement	Fetal Reduction & Related Issues
Judaism & Freedom	Stitches on Shabbos
The Name of G-d & the Night of the Seder	Squeezing & Grinding on Shabbos
The Fifth Cup	Redistributing the Wealth: Yissaschar-Zevulun Relationships
Kabbolas Shabbos	Were the Chashmonaim Allowed to Assume the Kingship of Israel?
Rabbi Chanina & Rabbi Yannai	Chopping Pesukim
Shabbos: Six Tehillim & the Days of the Week	Sunrise, Sunset: Halachic Times of Day
Mizmor L'Dovid	Rising Before the Wise & Senior Citizens
Longevity & Immortality	Lifnei Iver
Astrology	Rib'is: Subscribing to Jewish Periodicals?
Male & Female	The First Year of Marriage
Challa	Halachos of Taking Challa from Dough
Tanya for Misnagdim	The Mitzvah of Ma'akeh
Ma'avir Rishon Rishon	Muktzeh
Beyond Seder	Shabbos Clocks
Chumros: Is the Way to Heaven Paved with Them?	Shabbos & Electricity
Judaism & Monarchy	Halacha at 35,000 Feet: Airplane Travel Issues
Netzach Yisroel	Child Abuse
Magen Dovid	Happy Endings: Halachos of Haftaros
Half Hallel	Constructive Justice? Bribing Public Officials
Yerushalayim	Microwave Ovens: Shabbos & Kashrus
Malchus & Shechina	Wills & Testaments: Issues & Resolutions
Havaya”h, Elokim, Tzevako"s, Adnu"s	Office Parties: Yoreh De'ah Issues
Tzimtzum	Social Gatherings: Moshav Leitzim
Beis HaMikdosh: A Neck	A Change of Place: Shinui Makom in Berachos
288 Nitzotzos	The Effects of Inflation on Halacha
The Eyes of G-d	Kedushas Bais HaKenesses
Too Great a Test?	Finders Keepers? Abandoned Objects in Public Places
Sorcery & Sin	Kavod & Kerias Sefer Torah
Amalek & Tomorrow	So What's New? Chodosh!
The Throne of Dovid and Shlomo	Is there a Halachic Basis for Yom HaSho'ah?
Intellect	Dishwashers: Kashrus, Shabbos & Yom Tov
Rosh and Crown	Forcing a Husband to Give a Get
Tzedaka vs. Chesed	Financial Assistance from non-Jews
Tanach vs. Chazal	Da'as Torah in Halachic & Non-Halachic Areas
Transitions & Chana's Song	Shabbos Babycare: Baby Wipes & Disposable Diapers
Kaf HaKela: The Catapult	Reuven or Robert? English Names for Jewish People
Gehinnom & Reward	Good Intentions: Kavana for the Beginning of Shma
Beards	Animal Experimentation & Tza'ar Ba'alei Chaim
Keruvim	Pop-Top Halacha: Opening Various Food Containers

Fathom Summary:

Kamtza and Bar Kamtza and The Siege Begins - Gittin 55a, Uganda Shiur

VIEW RECORDING - 39 mins (No highlights)

Meeting Purpose

To study the Gemara's account of the Second Temple's destruction.

Key Takeaways

• The Bar Kamsa incident: A personal slight escalated into a national catastrophe. The rabbis' failure to protest Bar Kamsa's public humiliation led directly to his revenge—slandering the Jews to the Roman emperor—which triggered the war.
• The zealots' self-sabotage: Jerusalem's zealots burned the city's food stores (enough for a 21-year siege) to force a war with Rome, rejecting the sages' counsel to make peace and ensuring the city's fall.
• The principle of non-punishment: General Nero converted to Judaism after receiving a divine sign that he would be punished for destroying the Temple, even though God had decreed its destruction. This illustrates that one should not be the agent of another's punishment.

Topics

The Bar Kamsa Incident: A Spark Ignites a War

• The Gemara (Gittin 55b) attributes the Temple's destruction to the Bar Kamsa incident, a chain of events starting with a personal slight.
• The Slight: A host mistakenly invited his enemy, Bar Kamsa, to a feast instead of his friend, Kamsa.
  • The host publicly humiliated Bar Kamsa, rejecting his escalating offers to pay for the meal (from his own portion to the entire feast) and physically ejecting him.
• The Rabbis' Inaction: The sages present at the feast did not protest the host's actions.
  • Bar Kamsa interpreted their silence as approval, fueling his desire for revenge against the Jewish leadership.
• The Revenge: Bar Kamsa slandered the Jews to the Roman emperor, claiming they were rebelling.
  • The Test: To prove his claim, Bar Kamsa suggested the emperor send a sacrifice. He then secretly blemished the calf, knowing Jewish law would forbid its use while Roman law would not.
• The Rabbis' Dilemma: The priests refused the blemished calf, as Jewish law forbids it. This confirmed Bar Kamsa's slander to the emperor.
  • Proposed Solutions:
    1. Sacrifice the calf: Rejected by Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkulus, who argued it would distort Torah law and teach the public that blemished animals are acceptable offerings.
    2. Kill Bar Kamsa: Rejected by Rabbi Zechariah, who argued it would distort Torah law and teach the public that making a blemish on a sacrifice is a capital offense.
  • Outcome: The rabbis, persuaded by Zechariah's arguments, did nothing. This inaction allowed Bar Kamsa's slander to stand, triggering the Roman war that led to the Temple's destruction.

The Zealots' Self-Sabotage

• The war began with a three-year Roman siege led by Vespasian.
• Jerusalem's Resources: The city had immense food and fuel stores, enough to last 21 years.
• The Conflict: The sages advised making peace, believing the war was unwinnable due to the people's sins. The zealots insisted on fighting.
• The Catastrophe: To force a war, the zealots burned the city's food and fuel stores, creating a famine that left the population no choice but to fight or starve.

Tisha B'Av Observances

• Timing: A 25-hour fast, from sunset on the 8th of Av to nightfall on the 9th.
• Restrictions:
  • No eating or drinking.
  • No leather shoes.
  • No washing (except for ritual hand-washing after the bathroom).
  • No oils or perfumes.
  • No marital relations.
  • No sitting on chairs until noon.
• Morning Prayers: No tallit or tefillin. Both are worn during the afternoon Mincha service.
• Pre-Fast Week (after Shabbat): No meat, wine, or freshly laundered clothes

 

Torah Im Derech Eretz: Moriah by Rabbi Dr Isaac Breuer part 4, A Vision of Justice Requires Torah

Moriah by Rabbi Dr Isaac Breuer - July 12

Fathom Summary

Meeting Purpose

To analyze Rabbi Dr. Isaac Breuer's critique of Marxism.

Key Takeaways

• Human Law is Flawed: Unlike the laws of nature, which are embedded within nature itself, human societies lack an intrinsic "natural law" of justice. All human-made laws are therefore temporary and relative, failing to achieve eternal justice.
• Torah as Divine Law: The Torah is the only source of true, eternal justice, revealed by God to provide the absolute framework for a just society. It is the "natural law" that human societies have failed to discover on their own.
• Marxism's Fatal Flaw: Marxism is a form of idolatry that worships the economy, reducing humans to mere "atoms" driven by economic forces. This denies free will and the independent value of justice, making it fundamentally incompatible with the Torah.
• The Core Conflict: The conflict is between the Torah's view of humanity as having divine potential and free will, and Marxism's view of humanity as a mechanistic reflex of economic forces.

Topics

The Problem of Human Law

• Humanity's universal demand for justice has never been fulfilled by human-made law.
• Why: The ideal law for society is not embedded within society itself, unlike the laws of nature (e.g., physics) which are intrinsic to the natural world.
• Result: All human laws are temporary and relative, designed for specific times and places. They can only negate injustice, not build a perfectly just society.

The Torah as the Solution

• The Torah is the divine revelation that provides the missing "natural law" for society.
• Function: It is an absolute, eternal system of justice given to the Jewish society at Sinai.
• Significance: It compels a just social order, independent of individual agreement, and is the prerequisite for true societal peace.

Marxism: An Idolatry of Economy

• Marxism is a deterministic philosophy that reduces all of society to economic forces.
• Core Tenets:
  • Economy is Everything: The economy is a science with its own laws, like nature.
  • Humanity as Reflex: Human will and ideals are mere reflexes of economic conditions.
  • Inevitable Revolution: History is a series of economic systems (e.g., feudalism → capitalism → communism), with revolutions as an inevitable outcome of economic change.
• Human Role: Humans are not agents of change but "midwives of the future," either assisting or resisting inevitable economic developments.

The Torah vs. Marxism: A Fundamental Conflict

• Humanity:
  • Torah: Created in the divine image (Tzelem Elokim), with free will and the potential to transcend nature.
  • Marxism: An "atom" in the economic machine, a mechanistic reflex of economic forces.
• Justice:
  • Torah: An independent, eternal ideal revealed by God.
  • Marxism: A temporary reflex of economic conditions; any sense of justice is a "leftover fire" from Sinai, not an inherent part of the philosophy.
• Idolatry:
  • Torah: Prohibits all forms of idolatry.
  • Marxism: Worshipping the economy is a modern form of idolatry.

Next Steps

• Yosef Gavriel Bechhofer: Continue the analysis of "Moriah" by examining the concept of "Ha'am" (the nation) and how history operates on a national level since the Tower of Babel.

 

As Sheva Berachos Ebbs Away and You Are Approaching Sunset and are Nowhere Near Birkas HaMazon...

A recording for the BHP daily Halachic Whatsapp group https://chat.whatsapp.com/Gz8rrxqRcfy9rMOXRLG6GS

 

The Churban Because They Didn't Say Birkat HaTorah, The Symbolism of 42 & בם, Anger in Chutz LaAretz

Uganda Shiur:

The Churban Because They Didn't Say Birkat HaTorah,
The Symbolism of 42 & בם,
Anger in Chutz LaAretz

Fathom Summary

VIEW RECORDING - 25 mins (No highlights)

Meeting Purpose

To explore the spiritual significance of Torah study and the Land of Israel.

Key Takeaways

• The First Temple was destroyed because the people studied Torah as mere knowledge, not as a transformative guide for life. The daily blessing (bracha) is the key to setting this intention.
• The 42 desert journeys of Parashat Masei symbolize life's travels, guided by the Torah. The word Bam (in them) has a gematria of 42, connecting the journey to the 42-letter name of God revealed in the Ana B'Koach prayer.
• The Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael) has an inherent spiritual quality that suppresses anger and violence. This is why the Transjordan tribes, living outside the land, required the same number of cities of refuge (3) as the nine-and-a-half tribes within Israel.

Topics

The Destruction of the First Temple: A Failure of Intention

• The Gemara (Nedarim 81a) asks why the First Temple was destroyed, citing Jeremiah 9:11.
• The answer: The people failed to recite the blessing (bracha) before studying Torah.
• Significance: This wasn't a failure to learn Torah, but a failure of intention.
  • They treated Torah as secular knowledge (e.g., math, history).
  • They missed its true purpose: to be a transformative guide for life, making them holier people.
• The bracha is the ritual act that sets this sacred intention.

The Torah's Role in Life's Journey: The Number 42

• Parashat Masei details 42 journeys in the desert, a number with deep spiritual meaning.
• Connections to 42:
  • Divine Name: The Ana B'Koach prayer's 42 words reveal a 42-letter name of God.
  • Torah Study: The word Bam (in them) from "you should speak in them" (V'dibarta Bam) has a gematria of 42.
• Interpretation: Life is a journey with 42 "stations." Just as the Jews were guided by a cloud/fire, we are guided by the Torah.
• Condition: This divine guidance is only accessible through Torah study performed with the correct intention, set by the bracha.

The Spiritual Quality of the Land of Israel

• Parashat Matot discusses the Transjordan tribes (Reuven, Gad, and half of Menashe), who settled outside Eretz Yisrael.
• Disproportionate Cities of Refuge:
  • Inside Israel (9.5 tribes): 3 cities of refuge.
  • Outside Israel (2.5 tribes): 3 cities of refuge.
• Gemara's Explanation: The Transjordan tribes required an equal number of cities because people outside Israel are more prone to anger and accidental murder.
• Interpretation: Eretz Yisrael possesses an inherent spiritual quality that suppresses anger and violence. The ideal state of the Land is one where no one gets angry or kills, even by accident.