Halacha in five minutes
The signature of Rabbi Nissan Hakakian's library is the "5 Minute Halacha" series - short recordings that each answer a single, concrete question in Jewish law. Rather than a long lecture, one shiur asks something like whether cake requires netilat yadayim, or exactly how much bread triggers the obligation to wash. The format is built for a real day: a person can learn one clear halacha in the time it takes to wait for a bus.
Several of his classes work carefully through the laws of washing before bread - the extreme importance of washing properly, the amount of bread involved, whether one may talk after washing and drying, and when the blessing of netilat yadayim is recited. Taken together they form a small, ordered course on a mitzvah most people do every day, breaking a familiar act into its precise details without ever getting lost in them.
Practical law for daily life
The strength of the series is that it keeps halacha attached to the moment it actually comes up. Netilat yadayim questions arise at every meal, and Rabbi Hakakian's short shiurim let a person settle them before the next time they sit down to eat. Because each recording covers one point cleanly, a listener can go straight to the question in front of them instead of searching through an hour-long class for the answer.
He teaches from the halachic sources but keeps the delivery plain and unhurried, which is what makes the format hold up over hundreds of recordings. The brevity is a discipline, not a shortcut - each shiur states the question, works through the relevant considerations, and reaches a clear conclusion. For someone who wants to learn practical halacha consistently, a few minutes at a time, it is a steady and reliable way in.
Beyond the daily halacha
Alongside the short halacha shiurim, Rabbi Hakakian's recordings reach into broader Torah, the Jewish holidays, prayer, and questions of Jewish thought. The holiday classes help a listener prepare for each yom tov with its own laws and themes, while the material on tefillah looks at the meaning behind the words we say every day. The same clear, step-by-step manner carries across these subjects.
What ties the library together is a preference for the concrete. Whether the topic is a detail of washing hands or a larger idea in Jewish philosophy, the shiurim aim to leave a listener with something they understand and can act on. That consistency is why the collection works well for regular, incremental learning rather than occasional listening.
Finding kosher Torah video for your family
FilteredTube is a kosher video service built for Jewish families — every single video is approved against one written standard before it can appear, with no open feed, no comments, and no surprises. It is a calm, safe place to look for the Torah and Jewish music you love.
If your family enjoys teachers like Rabbi Nissan Hakakian, search FilteredTube for the speakers and topics that matter most to you. With a daf yomi shelf, a weekly parsha shelf, topic shelves, audio-only listening for the car, and a kids mode with a PIN, kosher Jewish video is easy to reach — and the approved catalog keeps growing every day.
At a glance
Key takeaways
- Rabbi Nissan Hakakian is known for his "5 Minute Halacha" series - short shiurim that each answer one practical question.
- Several of his classes form an ordered course on netilat yadayim: washing before bread, the amount of bread, and the blessing.
- The short format is built for daily life, letting a listener settle a halacha in the moment it comes up.
- He also teaches broader Torah, the holidays, prayer, and Jewish thought in the same clear, step-by-step manner.
- Search FilteredTube for kosher, approved Torah video — the catalog grows every day.