Introduction
What happened to the Torah’s troubling case of the wayward and rebellious son once it entered the hands of the early rabbinic sages? Having previously discussed the rebellious and wayward son as described in Deuteronomy 21:18-21 on episode #149, this episode turns to the fascinating ways the rabbis interpreted, reshaped, and dramatically narrowed its application. how did the early rabbinic sages treat this matter? Joining the 191st episode of The Jewish Drinking Show to unpack the rabbinic treatment of the בן סורר ומורה (ben sorer u’moreh) is Rabbi Shmuel Hain.
Biography of Guest
Rabbi Shmuel Hain is a pulpit rabbi, educator, and community builder. Under his leadership since 2006, Young Israel Ohab Zedek of Riverdale/Yonkers has doubled the size of its membership, completed a major expansion project and transformed into a vibrant community synagogue. As Rosh Beit Midrash V’Torah Sheba’al Peh at SAR High School, he chairs the TSBP (Gemara) Department, mentors the Beit Midrash Fellows, and teaches advanced Judaic Studies classes. He is also on the leadership team of Machon Siach, SAR High School’s research arm for educators. Rabbi Hain is also an adjunct faculty member at YCT Rabbinical School where he teaches Hilchot Aveilut. During the summer, he serves as Rav Machaneh (Camp Rabbi) of Camp Moshava-Indian Orchard. Rabbi Hain was also the recipient of a LEAP Fellowship for the 2024-2025 academic year at the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He has co-authored and edited several volumes of Torah and academic scholarship, including a volume in The Orthodox Forum series entitled The Next Generation of Modern Orthodoxy (Ktav: 2012). He also authored the essay “Ben Sorer Umoreh Never Was and Never Will Be”: Making Sense of Bavli Sanhedrin 71a”.
Episode
In addition to being available below in video format, the episode is also available in podcast format on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you prefer listening to podcasts:
