Torah Parallels

Parshas Shemini Half and Half: You Are What You Eat By: Daniel Listhaus כִּי אֲנִי ה ' אֱלֹקיכֶם וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם וִהְיִיתֶם קְדשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי וְלֹא תְטַמְּאוּ אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם בְּכָל הַשֶּׁרֶץ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ : כִּי אֲנִי ה ' הַמַּעֲלֶה אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לִהְיֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹקים וִהְיִיתֶם קְדשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי : זֹאת תּוֹרַת הַבְּהֵמָה וְהָעוֹף וְכֹל נֶפֶשׁ הַחַיָּה הָרֹמֶשֶׂת בַּמָּיִם וּלְכָל נֶפֶשׁ הַשֹּׁרֶצֶת עַל הָאָרֶץ : לְהַבְדִּיל בֵּין הַטָּמֵא וּבֵין הַטָּהֹר וּבֵין הַחַיָּה הַנֶּאֱכֶלֶת וּבֵין הַחַיָּה אֲשֶׁר לֹא תֵאָכֵל “ For I am Hashem your G-d – you are to sanctify yourselves and you shall become holy, for I am holy; and you shall not make your souls impure through any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am Hashem Who brings you up from the land of Egypt to be a G-d unto you; you shall be holy, for I am holy. This is the law of the animal, the bird, every living creature that swarms in the water, and for every creature t...

Thoughts on The Parsha Parshas Vayikra The Art of Listening By: Daniel Listhaus וַיִּקְרָא אֶל משֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר ה ' אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר : דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אָדָם כִּי יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן לַה ' מִן הַבְּהֵמָה מִן הַבָּקָר וּמִן הַצֹּאן תַּקְרִיבוּ אֶת קָרְבַּנְכֶם “ He [Hashem] called to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: Speak to the B'nei Yisroel and say to them: When a person from among you will bring an offering to Hashem: from the animals – from the cattle and from the flocks you shall bring your offering.” -Vayikra 1:1-2 Rashi 1 on this passuk (verse) describes that throughout the Torah there are many breaks. 2 The purpose of these breaks was to give Moshe time to digest and understand what he had been taught by Hashem. Rashi then ends by saying a kal v'chomer: If Moshe, who learned from Hashem, needed breaks for contemplation, then certainly ordinary people such as ourselves who learn from...

פרשת ויקהל - פקודי Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About Where is there a remez in the parsha to the 39 malachos ? The Gemara Berachos relates that Hashem told Moshe to tell Betzalel to make “A mishkan, an aron, and the keilim”. However when Moshe said this to Betzalel he reversed the order and said to make “An aron, keilim, and Mishkan”. Betzalel responded that he must have misunderstood what Hashem said because the way of the world is to first build a house (mishkan) and then the furniture (aron/keilim). Moshe saw from this conversation that Betzalel was seaking with Ruach Hakodesh. How did he see that from this? Betzalel merely said something that was obvious!?

Parshas Vayakhel-Pekudei There's a Reason to Give... Even if They Don't Give a Reason By: Daniel Listhaus וְהַנְּשִׂאִם הֵבִיאוּ אֵת אַבְנֵי הַשֹּׁהַם וְאֵת אַבְנֵי הַמִּלֻּאִים לָאֵפוֹד וְלַחשֶׁן “ The princes brought the shoham stones and the filling stones for the Eiphod and for the Choshen .” - Vayakhel 35:27 Rashi 1 quotes Rebbe Nassan who points out that when it came to the dedication of the mizbeach (alter), 2 the Torah relates that the Nesi'im (“princes”) were the first to volunteer whatever they could to ensure that the grand opening of the mizbeach would be a tremendous event with plenty of ( karbanos ) offerings. However, earlier, when the Mishkan (Tabernacle) was being constructed in this week's parsha , the Nesi'im appear to have been very lazy in their offering to help. By the time the Nesi'im came around to ask how they could help in the building of the Mishkan , everything had already been taken care of. The contributions from every individual o...

Parshas Vayakhel-Pikudei Take the First Step By: Daniel Listhaus וַיֹּאמֶר משֶׁה אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל רְאוּ קָרָא ה ' בְּשֵׁם בְּצַלְאֵל בֶּן אוּרִי בֶן חוּר לְמַטֵּה יְהוּדָה : וַיְמַלֵּא אֹתוֹ רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים בְּחָכְמָה בִּתְבוּנָה וּבְדַעַת וּבְכָל מְלָאכָה “ Moshe said to the Children of Israel, 'See, Hashem has proclaimed by name, Betzalel son of Uri son of Chur, from the tribe of Yehuda. He filled him with G-dly spirit, with wisdom, and with understanding, and with knowledge, and with every craft.” -Vayakhel 35:30-31 The passukim (verses) describe the involvement of Betzalel and the chachomim (sages) in the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and its keilim (vessels). Betzalel actually received a few personal shout-outs among the passukim because, as Rashi 1 explains, Betzalel was even more devoted to the building of the Mishkan than the others. Why was Betzalel one of the few individuals who were so heavily involved in the building of the Mishkan ? Rashi 2 , based on ...