Rabbi Shulman examines the Mishnah in Sukkah that describes the mitzvah of lulav as “six and seven” days, and uses it to explore why Chazal sometimes suspend even a Torah-level mitzvah when it coincides with shabbat. He explains the role of ספקא דיומא in חוץ לארץ and how that uncertainty ends up shaping practice even in ארץ ישראל. Moving beyond the technical concern of carrying, Rabbi Shulman argues that certain mitzvot (שופר, לולב, מגילה) can pull a person out of a shabbat state of מנוחה, and he frames shabbat as possessing inner spiritual capacities that can “do the job” those mitzvot would otherwise do.

Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/no-lulav-on-shabbos-20260924-050436-outline-20260924-050516.pdf

Rabbi Shulman, drawing on the Maharal and Sifrei, develops how Moshe Rabbeinu models profound awe before uttering Shem Hashem, learning from the angels’ “קדוש קדוש קדוש” and expanding it with a 21-word preface before “כי שם ה' אקרא.” He then traces a progression of halachic and ethical demands: not placing Hashem’s Name “in midair,” responding with added praise when hearing His Name (e.g., in Barchu), and appreciating the spiritual advantage of the one who answers “אמן.” Finally, Rabbi Shulman applies a Gemara in Shevuot to Yom Kippur, explaining why certain sins undermine the very relationship that Yom Kippur is meant to restore—and warns that casual mention of Hashem’s Name can fall into that category.

Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/yk-pronouncing-the-name-20260918-030333-outline-20260918-030412.pdf

Rabbi Shulman analyzes a well-known but difficult Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 16b) about three “books” opened on Rosh Hashanah—of צדיקים, רשעים, and בינוניים—and challenges the common assumption that it refers simply to who will physically live or die that year. Following Rashi, he reframes the books as “books of remembrance” of one’s deeds, and—using the Maharal—redefines “life” as connection to Hashem and “death” as disconnection. The dvar Torah culminates in a practical roadmap: how mundane, “in-between” actions can be elevated through כוונה and rededication during עשרת ימי תשובה so that they too are “written for life.”

Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/books-of-deeds-20260917-030649-outline-20260917-030732.pdf

Rabbi Shulman explains the Gemara’s practice of eating symbolic foods on Rosh Hashanah and addresses the obvious concern: isn’t this superstition and therefore a form of **דרכי האמורי**? He develops two approaches—first, that the effectiveness of **simanim** depends on **תשובה** and inner intention expressed through **יהי רצון**; second, that physical symbols can serve as an “anchor” for spiritual ideas, following the Ramban’s principle seen throughout prophetic actions. Rabbi Shulman then presents the Maharal’s deeper framing: the simanim are meant to awaken **זכות אבות**, and each food corresponds to a distinct quality associated with Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.

Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/rosh-hashanah-simanim-leavos-20260911-030331-outline-20260911-030358.pdf

Rabbi Shulman explains why Chazal suspended shofar-blowing on Rosh Hashanah that falls on shabbat, even though shofar is not a מלאכה דאורייתא. He develops the idea that shofar normally serves to “pull” lofty spiritual truths into the embodied, emotional self—an inner process the קדמונים call **נסירה**, modeled on the separation and reorientation of אדם וחוה. When Rosh Hashanah is on shabbat, however, shabbat itself elevates the body into a “מעין עולם הבא,” making **“שבתון זכרון תרועה”** not a compromise but a higher pathway to the same goal.

Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/shabbos-in-place-of-shofar-20260910-030540-outline-20260910-030635.pdf

Rabbi Shulman analyzes the Ramchal’s organization in *Derech Hashem* (Chelek 4, Perek 8) to highlight a fundamental distinction between the שלוש רגלים (Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot) and Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur. The רגלים primarily reconnect us to past revelations, while Rosh Hashanah is a present, annual reality: a renewed judgment in which Hashem “restarts” the year and reassigns the world’s status. Rabbi Shulman then explains how the heavenly court system is structured as a merciful, relatable framework for human teshuvah—and how תקיעת שופר both draws down רחמים and “confounds the prosecutor,” operating within דין rather than negating it.

Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/derech-hashem-on-rosh-hashanah-20260908-030431-outline-20260908-030514.pdf

Rabbi Shulman analyzes the Gemara’s warning that a year in which “we do not blow at its beginning” may end “with teru’ah,” focusing on the purpose of shofar as “מְעַרְבֵּב את השטן” and how that interacts with shofar’s absence on shabbat. He contrasts the Ritva and the בה״ג on whether the Gemara refers to intentional neglect of extra blasts or an אונס that prevented shofar entirely. From there, Rabbi Shulman opens the larger sugya: why shofar is not blown on shabbat, how Rava reframes earlier Amoraic readings, and how later Acharonim (notably the מרום שדה) understand the “פסוקים” as אסמכתא rather than a true דאורייתא exclusion.

Outline: https://danielggordon.github.io/ateresami/no-blowing-shofar-on-shabbos-20260907-180434-outline-20260907-180519.pdf