A rosh yeshiva and posek
Rabbi Yisroel Belsky zt"l (1938-2016) was one of the leading poskim of his generation in America. He served for decades as a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva Torah Vodaas in Brooklyn and as a senior halachic authority for the Orthodox Union's kashrus division, where practical questions of Jewish law crossed his desk constantly. His recorded shiurim — nearly a hundred in this collection — reflect that dual life of the beis midrash and the real-world she'eilah.
Because he was a working posek, his Torah carries the weight of someone who ruled on real cases, not only theory. The recordings span halacha, Chumash, the seforim of the classical tradition, philosophy, and the holidays. Learning from them is a way to hear how a major twentieth-century decisor thought a problem through — how he moved from a Talmudic source to a practical conclusion. He is referred to here with zt"l, as is fitting for one no longer with us.
Practical and monetary halacha
Two of his sample titles point straight at his strengths. "The Torah Jew as a Consumer" applies halacha to ordinary commercial life — how a person is meant to spend, buy, and behave in the marketplace — a natural subject for a posek who spent years on kashrus and consumer questions. It is practical Torah for people who shop, work, and transact every day.
"The Law of Someone Who Damages" moves into choshen mishpat, the Talmudic laws of damages and liability — the sugyos of nezikin that govern what one owes when harm is done. This is demanding material, and it was Rav Belsky's home turf. For a listener who wants to see how monetary halacha actually works, rather than hear about it in the abstract, these shiurim open the door to a serious area of Jewish law.
Chumash and the holidays
The collection also follows the Chumash and the calendar. Shiurim on "Parashat Mishpatim," "Parashat Terumah 5775" and "Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei" track the weekly reading, and it is telling that several fall in the stretch of Shemos that deals with law and the building of the Mishkan — subjects close to a posek's heart. A shiur on "Purim" brings the same analytic care to a yom tov.
Taken together, the recordings let a family keep learning from a gadol who is no longer with us. Whether the week calls for the parsha, a point of practical halacha, or a holiday, there is material here from a rosh yeshiva whose rulings shaped how countless Jews eat, transact, and observe. His zt"l teachings remain a living resource long after his passing in 2016.
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 the teachings of Rabbi Yisroel Belsky zt"l, 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 Yisroel Belsky zt"l (1938-2016) was a rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Vodaas and a senior halachic authority for the OU.
- As a working posek, his shiurim connect Talmudic sources to real-world practical rulings.
- 'The Torah Jew as a Consumer' and 'The Law of Someone Who Damages' show his command of everyday and monetary halacha.
- The collection also follows the parsha and the holidays, including shiurim on Mishpatim, Terumah and Purim.
- Search FilteredTube for kosher, approved Torah video — the catalog grows every day.