Torah Parallels

Parshas Tetzaveh, Parshas Zachor, and Purim Pur Sight By: Daniel Listhaus וְנָתַתָּ אֶל חשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֶת הָאוּרִים וְאֶת הַתֻּמִּים וְהָיוּ עַל לֵב אַהֲרֹן בְּבֹאוֹ לִפְנֵי ה ' וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת מִשְׁפַּט בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל לִבּוֹ לִפְנֵי ה ' תָּמִיד “ Into the Choshen of Judgment shall you place the Urim and the Tumim, and they shall be on Aharon's heart when he comes before Hashem; and Aharon's shall bear the judgment of the Children of Yisroel on his heart before Hashem, constantly.” - Tetzaveh 28:30 Rashi 1 explains that the Urim V'tumim was in fact a script of Hashem's Explicit Name, which was placed inside the folds of the Choshen . The Choshen was the special breastplate that the Kohen Gadol alone would wear securely on top of his Eiphod (apron). The Gemara 2 describes that on the face of the Choshen were twelve precious stones with words on them aligned in four rows of three and when the Kohen Gadol would consult the Urim V'tumim , it w...

Parshas Tetzaveh Measure for Measure By: Daniel Listhaus וְעָשִׂיתָ בִגְדֵי קֹדֶשׁ לְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ לְכָבוֹד וּלְתִפְאָרֶת : וְאַתָּה תְּדַבֵּר אֶל כָּל חַכְמֵי לֵב אֲשֶׁר מִלֵּאתִיו רוּחַ חָכְמָה וְעָשׂוּ אֶת בִּגְדֵי אַהֲרֹן לְקַדְּשׁוֹ לְכַהֲנוֹ לִי וְחֵשֶׁב אֲפֻדָּתוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָלָיו כְּמַעֲשֵׂהוּ מִמֶּנּוּ יִהְיֶה זָהָב תְּכֵלֶת וְאַרְגָּמָן וְתוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי וְשֵׁשׁ מָשְׁזָר “ You shall make garments of sanctity for Aharon your brother, for glory and for splendor. And you shall speak to each of the wise-hearted people whom I have invested with a spirit of wisdom, and they shall make the garments of Aharon, to sanctify him, so that he shall be a Kohen to Me.” - Tetzaveh 28:2-3 “ ...[And] the cheishev with which he is beautified, which is above it, like its work, of it shall be of gold, turquoise wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and twisted linen.” - Tetzaveh 28:8 There is no doubt that the bigdei kehunah (special clothes that the kohanim had to wear) were spectacular and royal. Wh...

Parshas Terumah Mishkan Man By: Daniel Listhaus וְעָשׂוּ לִי מִקְדָּשׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּי בְּתוֹכָם : כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי מַרְאֶה אוֹתְךָ אֵת תַּבְנִית הַמִּשְׁכָּן וְאֵת תַּבְנִית כָּל כֵּלָיו וְכֵן תַּעֲשׂוּ “ They shall make for Me a Sanctuary – so that I may dwell among them – in conformance with all that I show you, the form of the Mishkan and the form of all its vessels; and so shall you do . ” - Terumah 25:8-9 After receiving the Torah and understanding its mitzvos , our next task was to build a mikdash (temple). Parshas Terumah describes the many keilim (vessels) which had to be made, the specifications and details as to how they should be made, and with which materials. The Torah clearly depicts the precise measurements and descriptions of the Aron (ark), Shulchan (table), Menorah , Copper Mizbeach (alter), Paroches (curtain), and all of their respective accessories. Even the Mishkan and the Courtyard itself had their own specific requirements. The question that begs to be asked ...

פרשת משפטים Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About Rashi writes that even if non-Jews judge regarding certain matters as Beis  Din , still one should not go to them to judge even in such a case. Why is this?  Why would this be considered giving chashivus to avodah zarah if it is well  known that the Torah's perspective is the same as society's perspective in  this area? Why does the Torah interrupt between the passukim of hitting and cursing  one's parents with “ וגנב איש ומכרו ... מות יומת” ? The passuk in Perek 22 Passuk 17 says, “ מכשפה לא תחיה” . Sorcery is against the  Torah and is taken seriously. a. What is fundamentally wrong with sorcery? b. I am not sure if this would fall under “ כשוף " , but what is the origin of  Avada Kedavra [ והמבין יבין ]? Rashi (22:24) says that every word אם in the Torah implies a voluntary act –  except for in three places. What are these three places? And is ther...

Parshas Mishpatim No Dogs Go to Heaven By: Daniel Listhaus וְאַנְשֵׁי קֹדֶשׁ תִּהְיוּן לִי וּבָשָׂר בַּשָּׂדֶה טְרֵפָה לֹא תֹאכֵלוּ לַכֶּלֶב תַּשְׁלִכוּן אֹתוֹ “ People of holiness shall you be unto me; and flesh in the field that has been torn you shall not eat; you shall throw it to the dog.” - Mishpatim 22:30 Rashi 1 comments that the passuk (verse) is not really precise because certainly, just as one could feed the treif 2 meat to the dogs, one could also sell or give it to a goy (non-Jew). Rashi then offers two reasons as to why the Torah did not just write that it could be given to a goy . The first reason is because the Torah is coming to teach that it is better to be a dog than a someone who worships idols. 3 Furthermore, Rashi writes, the passuk is trying to demonstrate that Hashem does not deprive any creature of its reward. When the B'nei Yisroel were leaving Mitzrayim , the Torah 4 testifies that not one dog “sharpened its tongue” [i.e. -barked]. This was abnormal for...