Parshah and the Moadim with Rabbi Aryeh Shulman

Rabbi Shulman introduces Rav Tzadok HaKohen’s *Sefer Kedushat Shabbat* and develops its core claim: the קדושה and ברכה of shabbat are drawn from a person’s avodah during the preceding six days, not from the formal onset of shabbat itself. He addresses an apparent textual anomaly where the Torah describes weekday work passively (“work will be done”), resolving it through the unique, divinely-assisted labor of the משכן. From there, Rabbi Shulman broadens the theme into a theology of human purpose: the world is intentionally unfinished so that human beings can be partners in creation—through mitzvot, through יראת שמים, and even (in earlier eras) through the civilizational “toil” of making the world inhabitable. Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/kedushas-shabbos-1a-20261016-040833-outline-20261016-040919.pdf

Rabbi Shulman explains that Parashat Noach really begins at the end of Bereishit: Noach is named for “comfort” because he revolutionized human life through agricultural innovation, relieving humanity from the curse of grueling labor. Yet that very liberation helped create the conditions for the דור המבול’s moral collapse—free time became indulgence rather than spiritual growth, and even Noach’s credibility could not move people to תשובה. Rabbi Shulman concludes by applying this pattern to today: as technology (especially AI) increasingly frees people from intellectual labor, the decisive question is whether society will fill that time with emptiness or with תורה—turning “waters of destruction” into “rain of blessing.” Outline: https://ateres-ami.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/noah-danger-of-freedom-20261016-040336-outline-20261016-040405.pdf

Rabbi Shulman addresses a foundational question raised by Rav Tzadok: if Adam HaRishon and Chavah did teshuvah after the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, why was the decree of death not removed? Rabbi Shulman explains that the sin did not merely add a punishable misdeed; it permanently altered humanity’s relationship to physical pleasure by introducing “attiyo shel nachash,” a gravitational pull toward the external, sensory side of life. The dvar Torah frames this struggle with desire as a defining axis of human development, suggests that only תחיית המתים can fully repair it, and closes with a practical charge to sanctify “permitted” daily actions—especially through the training ground of shabbat. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/bereishis-eating-the-fruit-20261009-154202-outline-20261009-154236.pdf

Rabbi Shulman explains that rain during sukkot heightens our awareness of dependence on Hashem and can intensify the lived experience of גלות—sometimes even “גלות שבגלות,” being exiled from the sukkah itself. He develops a framework (rooted in Rav Tzadok and other sources) in which sukkot functions as **מגן**—not merely “salvation” like Yom Kippur, but protection against slipping back into old patterns. Finally, Rabbi Shulman proposes that Yom Kippur and Hoshana Rabbah represent two distinct “sealings”: one establishing inner identity (who we truly are), and one serving as an external tamper-proof verification that the transformation is real and enduring. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/sukkos-two-seals-20261002-040435-outline-20261002-040516.pdf

Rabbi Shulman addresses a spiritual question at the heart of Sukkot: after the כתיבה וחתימה טובה of Rosh Hashanah, Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, and Yom Kippur, why do we immediately begin saying “הושענא” (“save us”)? He answers with a vivid משל from his backyard: uprooting a deeply entrenched vine is like the intense עבודה of the Yamim Nora’im—but lasting change requires ongoing, small “walkthroughs” to remove new shoots before they reestablish themselves. Sukkot, Rabbi Shulman explains, becomes a training ground for sustaining growth throughout the year through consistent spiritual maintenance. Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/sukkos-keeping-weed-free-20260925-030334-outline-20260925-030354.pdf