Torah Parallels

Parshas Emor Of Mice and Men: Divide and Conquer By: Daniel Listhaus וַיְדַבֵּר ה ' אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר : שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז כִּי יִוָּלֵד וְהָיָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תַּחַת אִמּוֹ וּמִיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי וָהָלְאָה יֵרָצֶה לְקָרְבַּן אִשֶּׁה לַהֹ ' ו “ Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall remain under its mother for seven days; and from the eighth day on, it will appease for a fire-offering to Hashem.” -Emor 22:26-27 The Kli Yakar 1 on this passuk (verse) makes the following observation. The Torah, in discussing the birth of animals, does not use the expression of “when an animal gives birth to a baby”, but rather says, “When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born”. We see from here that the Torah defines an animal by its name immediately when its born. As soon as a sheep or a cow gives birth, its product is right away called as such, for it has reached its purpose in life. The purpose of a sheep is to be a sheep. The purpose of a cow is ...

Parshas Acharei-Mos Mind the Land or Beware of Land Mines By: Daniel Listhaus וְלֹא תָקִיא הָאָרֶץ אֶתְכֶם בְּטַמַּאֲכֶם אֹתָהּ כַּאֲשֶׁר קָאָה אֶת הַגּוֹי אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵיכֶם : כִּי כָּל אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה מִכֹּל הַתּוֹעֵבֹת הָאֵלֶּה וְנִכְרְתוּ הַנְּפָשׁוֹת הָעֹשׂת מִקֶּרֶב עַמָּם : וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת מִשְׁמַרְתִּי לְבִלְתִּי עֲשׂוֹת מֵחֻקּוֹת הַתּוֹעֵבֹת אֲשֶׁר נַעֲשׂוּ לִפְנֵיכֶם וְלֹא תִטַּמְּאוּ בָּהֶם אֲנִי ה ' אֱלֹקיכֶם Let not the Land vomit you out for having made it impure, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. For if anyone commits any of these abominations, the people doing so will be cut off from among their people. You shall safeguard My charge that these abominable traditions that were done before not be done, and nit make yourselves impure through them; I am Hashem your G-d. -Acharei Mos 18:28-30 Acharei Mos concludes after having warned against following the ways of the goyim. As Jews we are expected to live an elite life of princes keeping the mitzvos of ...

פרשת אחרי - מות Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About The passuk (17:10) when describing prohibition of eating blood says that anyone who eats blood  – Hashem will direct his face upon them and cut them off from their people. Rashi explains  further that Hashem will turn aside, so to speak, from all his other concerns to deal with this  person. What is so bad about eating blood that the Torah takes so seriously? (Extra Credit:  Where else in the Torah does the Torah use the same expression and Rashi explain the same  way? What is the connection?) פרשת קדושים Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About What does it mean to be kedoshim ? The Gemara in kiddushin describes that the rabbanan  termed the hebrew word for engagement as “Kiddushin” because essentially by marrying a wi fe you are making her “assur to everyone else just like hekdesh”. What is the root of what it  means to be a kadosh? Parshas Kedoshim contains many mitzvo...

Parshas Acharei Mos – Kedoshim Caught in a Lie By: Daniel Listhaus לֹא תִּגְנֹבוּ וְלֹא תְכַחֲשׁוּ וְלֹא תְשַׁקְּרוּ אִישׁ בַּעֲמִיתוֹ : וְלֹא תִשָּׁבְעוּ בִשְׁמִי לַשָּׁקֶר וְחִלַּלְתָּ אֶת שֵׁם אֱלֹקיךָ אֲנִי ה ' ה “ You shall not steal, and you shall not deny falsely, and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by My Name, thereby desecrating the Name of your G-d – I am Hashem.” -Kedoshim 19:11-12 The first passuk (verse) of parshas Kedoshim begins, “Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the entire assembly of B'nei Yisroel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your G-d, am Holy.” 1 Rashi 2 comments that this passuk teaches us that this part of the Torah was said b'hakhel – at a gathering of the entire B'nei Yisroel – because the majority of the essentials of the Torah depend on it. 3 There is no doubt that this parsha indeed contains the most basic and fundamental parts of the Torah. After all, the Aseres Hadibros are presen...

פרשת תזריע Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About Where do we see in this week's parsha that speech creates things? How do you see this from the word which means “speech”? Where in davening do we see this idea? What about in kiddush haChodesh? E.C: Using the above, give an explanation as to why eidim zomimin get what 1 they tried to do to their fellow? What lesson do we learn from the combination of all of the above? פרשת מצורע Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About Rabbah bar bar Shila says on Daf Beis amud beis in Berachos that if in the passuk of “u'va ha'shemesh v'taheir”, u'va hashemesh=beeas ohro and v'taheir=tahor gavra; then the passuk should have used the word “vayitaheir” to illustrate the active requirement to become tahor instead of the word “tahor” which is a more passive sounding word (even without a kaparah).....Ask a question on this from this week's parsha. Where is there an acronym for Motzee Shem Ra in thi...