Rambam In-Depth: Why Two Mitzvos for One Donkey?
A class by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg on the Rambam’s Mishneh Torah: Every Jew must redeem the firstborn donkey by exchanging it for a lamb (or value) given to the Kohen, one of the 24 gifts.
by COLlive Editor · COLliveRabbi 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 over 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.
In this powerful Rambam In-Depth session, we unpack Hilchos Bikkurim Perek Yud Bais Halacha Aleph — a seemingly simple law about the firstborn donkey (Peter Chamor) that reveals profound layers of halachic reasoning, separate mitzvos, and the brilliance of Rambam’s systematic mind. Discover why the Rambam enumerates the mitzvah of redeeming the donkey with a lamb (and giving it to the Kohen) as distinct from the mitzvah of arifa (decapitation) if unredeemed — even though his own rules in Sefer HaMitzvos generally avoid counting variations or details as separate commandments.
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