Following the logic of the sugya
Rabbi Shmuel Wise's shiurim are built around the give-and-take of the Gemara. Rather than only reaching a conclusion, they trace how the Talmud gets there — the questions, the objections and the resolutions that make a sugya move. Titles in the collection, such as "What Rules: Money or Majority?" and "Logic of the Draw," point to real Talmudic questions about how halachic doubts are decided, whether by possession, by majority, or by a goral.
This makes the learning well suited to someone who wants to think along with the text rather than receive a summary of it. The classes span Mishnah and Gemara, and they reward attention: a listener is invited to hold a question in mind, weigh the sides, and follow the reasoning to its end. The emphasis throughout is on understanding why the halacha is what it is, not simply what it turns out to be.
From the Bavli to the Yerushalmi
Alongside the Babylonian Talmud, the collection includes Daf Yerushalmi — study of the Jerusalem Talmud, which fewer teachers cover in depth. The Yerushalmi often preserves a different phrasing and a different flow of argument from the Bavli, and learning the two together sharpens both. Rabbi Wise's classes make this less-traveled text approachable, walking through its language and its logic at a pace a committed learner can follow.
Mishnah study anchors much of the material as well. Working carefully through the Mishnah before diving into the surrounding debate gives a learner firm footing, so the later back-and-forth of the Gemara has something solid to build on. Taken together, the Bavli, the Yerushalmi and the Mishnah form a rounded picture of how a single topic is developed across the layers of Torah she-be'al peh.
Speech, testimony and monetary law
Several shiurim take up practical and ethical corners of halacha. "Permitted Evil Speech?" examines when speech that would normally be lashon hara is allowed for a constructive purpose — a subject with real daily consequences. "Half-Baked Testimony" turns to the laws of eidus, asking what makes testimony valid and what undermines it. These are not abstract exercises; they are the sinews of how Jewish courts and Jewish life actually work.
Other classes lean into the sharper edges of lomdus, like "A Shiur About Shiyur," a study that plays on the idea of a halachic remainder. The range shows a teacher comfortable moving between the technical and the everyday. For a learner, the payoff is a stronger sense of how the Talmud's fine distinctions carry weight far beyond the page.
Finding kosher Torah video for your family
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If your family enjoys teachers like Rabbi Shmuel Wise, 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
- His shiurim work through the logic of the sugya, not only its conclusions.
- Topics span Mishnah, the Bavli and the less commonly taught Daf Yerushalmi.
- Classes tackle real halachic questions of testimony, speech and monetary law.
- Best for learners who like to follow a Gemara's give-and-take step by step.
- Search FilteredTube for kosher, approved Torah video — the catalog grows every day.