Olas Shabbos
The weekly Torah class expounds on one or more topics found in the weekly Sidrah (Torah reading) and delves deeper, going beneath the surface and striving to tap the hidden wellsprings of knowledge found in the Torah. All different types of sources are used: drush, mussar (ethics), chassidus, etc. A wide base of Torah commentaries is used, from the earliest Rishonim to present-day.
Rather than simply creating an entertaining intellectual challenge, a strong emphasis is placed on grasping what the Torah has to say to us, and implementing it in our everyday lives. Halachic sources are often quoted, and stories of Gedolim (Torah Giants) and Tzaddikim (righteous individuals) are used generously to enhance the class material.
Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann is currently a Maggid Shiur (teacher) and Menahel (principal) in Mesivta Chassidei Bobov of Toronto.
- Dog-matic Murder
- Forbidden Fruit - The Good and the Bad
- Getting to Know the Yetzer Hara
- Nobody Ever Promised We'd Understand
- Picking Up the Pieces
- Shabbos Bereishis -- Bridge
- 'Moment'ary Blunders
- Coming to Terms with the World to Come
- Delight Amidst Devastation
- Noach - A 'Standard' Tzaddik
- Taking a Hint
- Too Perfect
- Bless You!
- Connoisseur's Delight
- Enduring Lesson
- Obstacles and Opportunities
- Reaching for Perfection
- When Things Don't Go As Planned
- Ancestral Archery and Peaceful Pebbles
- Challenges: The River, the Meddle, and the Word
- Dust and Ashes
- No Mistaking It
- Prayer - Same Time, Same Place
- Premature Commemoration
- Sarah and Yishmael - Mistaken Envy
- When to Walk Away
- Are We 'On the List'?
- Four Our Own Good
- Mountains and Mentchen
- Remote Relatives and Nearby Neighbours - Finding the Right Mate
- Sarah's Last Moments - A Deadly Trick
- Spouse Hunting - Corralling a Kallah
- Thanks, But No Thanks
- Coming in First Place
- Energy or Exhaustion - Eisav Shows His True Colours
- Fatherly Game
- Game Theory - Respectful Rebuke
- Keen Sense of Smell
- Staying Away!
- Trailblazing
- A Matter of Honour
- Every Last Drop
- Getting What You Pay For
- Giving it All We Have
- Physical or Spiritual - Who's In Control?
- The Inns and Outs of Galus
- The Kedusha of Galus - Thinking in Parallel
- To Beat 'Em - You Can't Join 'Em
- Torah Study - - Doing It Our Way
- Twin Peaks
- Blessings and Omens - Wrestling with Angels
- Getting to Know Rivkah - Through Devorah
- Life of the 'Garti'
- Our Brother, Eisav
- Stripping Life Down to its ‘Bear’ Minimum
- The War Against Error-ism
- Ya’akov/Yisrael – What’s in Two Names?
- Yetzer Hara - Friend or Foe?
- Falling Short Or Going the Distance
- Learning To Enjoy The Struggle
- Sensitive "To a Tea"
- Shadowy Existence
- Smelling The Fragrance Of Hope
- Take 'Car'e of Yourself
- Thank Goodness for Small Miracles
- Yosef’s Dreams—Bow Advice
- A Little Oil Goes a Long Way
- Bit By Bit/Without Delay
- In Your Dreams
- Outstanding Credit Wine
- Salvation: Express Lane
- By Design
- Every Throes Has Its Thorn
- Forgetting History: A Big Know-No
- Guard Your Tongue - It's Healthy
- In Search of the Missing Scrolls
- Sharing the Pain of Others
- What Can I Do?
- Who Are You Fooling?
- Believe, And It Will Come True
- Beware to Compare
- Exceptional Deeds, Exceptional Rewards
- Good Things Come...
- Lesson of the Snow
- Never Again!
- Remembering the Exodus—Hard to Swallow!
- What's in it for Him?
- Who's Short of Breath?
- A Plethora of Preaching
- A Timely Mitzvah
- Out Like a Light
- Point of Return
- Putting Pharaoh in His Place
- Taking the Children Along...
- To Judge Favourably—From Within
- We Stand on Guard for Thee
- A Good Night's Sleep
- Back-Seat Driver
- Building a Spiritual Pipeline
- Leaving Egypt - No Regrets
- Mon or Man?
- Parnasah: Wherein the Toil?
- Putting Pizazz Into Our Mitzvos
- Taking Matters Into One's Own Hands
- The Essence of Song
- Baruch Hashem for Yisro!
- Doing Whatever We Can't
- Echoes of Sinai
- Fear: Our Greatest Power
- Growth in Torah - Getting Over the Baby Steps
- Kingly Honour
- Sinai's Lesson
- Taming The Lion's Roar
- The Dowry
- Torah Study and the New You
- Another Time - Another Place
- Be There!
- Learning from the Enemy—It’s a Steal!
- Live and Learn
- Swapping Places with the Poor
- There's No Compromise in Compromise
- 'Tapping' into the Mishkan
- Charity - A Lopsided Bargain
- Doing What We Must
- Give and Take
- It's the Thought That Counts
- Long-Term Payout
- Ring-Leader!
- Saving Face
- The Other Half
- Where the Torah Does Dwell
- All the Best!
- Chametz and Honey
- Charity and Study - A Little Bit Goes a Long Way
- Close Call
- Knowing One's Calling
- Look Up to Go Up
- Rich and Humble
- Tears - A Watershed
- The Many Nuances of Sin
- Fit For Human Consumption
- Heart Talk
- How To Win an Argument
- The Chasida - Fowl Play
- The Sound of Silence
- Theory of Relativity
- Un-influenced Service
- Getting Beneath the Skin
- Judgement Withheld
- Lashon Hara - Cooking Our Own Kettle
- Living for the Moment
- Negaim: Opening the Book
- Nipping the Quip
- Not In Heaven!
- Picking Up the Messages
- Punishment: Hidden Treasure?
- This Month - Something New
- Making One's 'Bed' - And Lying In It
- Speech: A User’s Guide
- The Best Doctor
- (Re)Counting the Omer
- Exodus - What Does it Mean to Be Free?
- For I am Holy
- Holy Pursuits - Mundane Paths
- Naturally! (Not)
- Self-Love: Is it Self-ish?
- The Fundamental Rule
- Don't Take it to Heart
- Orlah - No Shortcuts?
- Seeking Counsel - When and Where
- As You Rest - So Shall You Travel
- Children - Reason to Live
- How Do You 'Do'?
- Stand Up and Be Counted—You’re a Star!
- To Be Perfectly Honest
- Torah and PTA
- Torah Study - Pleasure or Responsibility
- An Uplifting Experience
- Bringing Joy to G-d and Man
- Every Last Drop
- Life, the Bigger Picture -- Say Cheese!
- Speak It Out
- Spies and Stones - The Shepherd Sticks with His Flock
- True Wealth
- A Refreshing Look at the Menorah
- Closed Gates and Dead-Ends
- Doing it His Way
- Investing in Torah—You Can Bank on it
- Life's Journey - A Bumpy Road
- Making No Difference
- Man of the Masses
- Moshe Lies Low
- Don't Even Ask - Taking Hashem's Word For It
- Handle With Care
- Horses and Ladders
- Land of Sparkling Stones
- Letting Go With Both Hands
- The Meraglim—A Matter to Be Taken Lightly
- A Lesson Not to Be Learned
- A Matter of Principle
- Buds, Flowers, and Fruits
- Machlokes—A Matter of Principle
- The Need for Leadership
- Twenty/Twenty Vision
- Back From The Dead
- Balancing Act
- Because He Said So
- Building on Shaky Foundations
- Building With Failure
- Leap of Faith
- Living Through Death
- Behold! A Nation
- Don't Take it Personally!
- Money Order - Getting Our Priorities Straight
- Falsehood's Foothold
- Getting Our Manners In Order
- Gold Standard
- It's Not What You Want - But How You Ask
- The Bobover Rebbe Zt"l
- The Shepherd Sticks with His Flock
- Wise Rebuke
- Double Standards
- Good Things Come - To Those Who Stipulate
- Keeping What We Give
- Serving and Deserving
- Starting With the Best Materials
- Taking the Tefillin Test
- Torah Study - Review vs. New
- Fear of Heaven - No Small Matter
- Going Beyond the Carrot
- The Pitfalls of Perfection
- Torah - What Is It Worth To You?
- Treat With Care
- Beis Ha-Mikdash--Taking Things Personally
- From Hand to Heart
- It Just Isn't So
- The Value of Pricelessness
- Little Things Make a Difference
- Mitzvos That Come Our Way
- Prayer for Redemption - It's For The Birds
- Teshuva—Fencing in the Enemy
- The Wayward Son - What Can He Teach Us?
- A Lesson in Restraint
- Bikkurim - Basket Case
- Bikurim: Cultivating Our Connoisseurship
- Blinding Light
- Counting Our Blessings
- One Man's Curse - Another Man's Blessing
- The ‘Living’ Torah
- Tithes - Key to Riches of All Sorts
- Yankel - Cast Down Your Load!
- Chanukah
- A Little Oil Goes a Long Way
- Chanukah Oil: A Real No-Know
- Horns and Hedonism
- Lighting Up the Streets
- Shadowy Existence
- Smelling The Fragrance Of Hope
- Elul – It’s All Relative
- Focusing Our Prayers
- Leave it Up to the King
- Little Things Make a Difference
- Nerve Centre of the Year
- Sound of the Unheard Shofar
- Teshuva—Paradigm Shift
- Early Emancipation and Sour Grapes
- Exodus – What Does it Mean to Be Free?
- Father-on-Loan
- Matzah and Maror – Worthy Mechutanim
- The Great Shabbos
- Our Business/Our Blessing
- Seeing the Bigger Picture
- Take a Deep Breath
- The Proof’s in the Off-Putting
- Torah and PTA
Articles on Toldos
- Isaac Gave His Children Something to Remember Rabbi Berel Wein (5782)Level: Beginner
- Amplified Sound Waves Rabbi Doniel Neustadt (5758)Level: Advanced
- Esav! Have You Forgetten So Fast? Rabbi Yaakov Menken (5758)Level: Beginner
- Gan Eden For Sinners Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein (5774)Level: Advanced
- Esav's Game Shlomo Katz (5762)Level: Beginner
- Sometimes It Pays to Come from a Corrupt Environment Rabbi Yissocher Frand (5779)Level: Intermediate
- Death Wish Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky (5785)Level: Beginner
- Sour Lentils Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky (5780)Level: Beginner
- The Bravery of a Jew Shlomo Katz (5761)Level: Beginner
- Old and Improved Rabbi Aron Tendler (5762)Level: Beginner
- "Go to Peace" Shlomo Katz (5758)Level: Beginner
- I Have Yichus Rabbi Ben Tzion Shafier (5778)Level: Intermediate
- Why the Bicycle Riders? Rabbi Yissocher Frand (5762)Level: Intermediate
- Game Theory - Respectful Rebuke Rabbi Eliyahu Hoffmann (5763)Level: Beginner
- The Search for Blessings Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky (5784)Level: Beginner
- Davening During Times of Stress Rabbi Yaakov Bernstein (5781)Level: Advanced
- Continually Worthy of the Blessing Rabbi Label Lam (5779)Level: Beginner
- Surprise, Surprise! Rabbi Dovid Green (5762)Level: Beginner
- Well, Well, Well Shlomo Katz (5764)Level: Beginner
- A Person Can Get Used to Anything – An Advantage and a Disadvantage Rabbi Yissocher Frand (5784)Level: Intermediate