Torah Parallels

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Lech Lecha Test by Design By: Daniel Listhaus   וַה ' אָמַר אֶל אַבְרָם אַחֲרֵי הִפָּרֶד לוֹט מֵעִמּוֹ שָׂא נָא עֵינֶיךָ וּרְאֵה מִן הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה שָׁם צָפֹנָה וָנֶגְבָּה וָקֵדְמָה וָיָמָּה : כִּי אֶת כָּל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה רֹאֶה לְךָ אֶתְּנֶנָּה וּלְזַרְעֲךָ עַד עוֹלָם : “Hashem said to Avram after Lot had parted from him, ‘Raise now your eyes and look out from where you are: northward, southward, eastward, and westward. For all the land that you see, to you will I give it, and to your descendants forever. ” -Lech Lecha 13:14-15             The Torah [1] relates that Lot’s shepherds of Lot started quarreling with the Avraham’s shepherds. Rashi [2] explains that the cause of the dispute was that Lot’s shepherds would graze their cattle in the fields of others, and Avrahams’s shepherds would rebuke them saying that they were stealing by allowing their animals to graze and others’...

פרשת נח Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About A Riddle: סוף סוף ראשי 1. תחילת סוף סופי ויבא נח ... אל התבה מי אני ? ג Where do we see from this week's parsha that the day starts at night? Why is it that there is a concept of miktzas hayom k'kulo only if the night is part of the “miktzas” , yet if have even the full day without the preceding night, this concept is not applicable? Rashi (6:13) says that despite all the things that the dor ha'mabbul were doing, the gezairah was sealed because of robbery. Why robbery more than avodah zarrah or giluy arayos ? Where is there a remez in the beginning of the parsha that Noach was not involved in any of these three things? What are some of the similarities between Noach and Moshe found in this week's parsha ? Rashi both in 6:18 and 7:7 writes that it was forbidden to have marital relations in the teivah . However, Rashi in 7:7 adds that the reason for this ...

~Thoughts on the Parsha~ Parshas Noach “Lost His Mabuls ” or Too Stubborn to Change By: Daniel Listhaus בִּשְׁנַת שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה לְחַיֵּי נֹחַ בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִי בְּשִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר יוֹם לַחֹדֶשׁ בַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה נִבְקְעוּ כָּל מַעְיְנוֹת תְּהוֹם רַבָּה וַאֲרֻבֹּת הַשָּׁמַיִם נִפְתָּחוּ : וַיְהִי הַגֶּשֶׁם עַל הָאָרֶץ אַרְבָּעִים יוֹם וְאַרְבָּעִים לָיְלָה : בְּעֶצֶם הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה בָּא נֹחַ וְשֵׁם וְחָם וָיֶפֶת בְּנֵי נֹחַ וְאֵשֶׁת נֹחַ וּשְׁלשֶׁת נְשֵׁי בָנָיו אִתָּם אֶל הַתֵּבָה : “In the six hundredth year of Noach’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth; and the windows of the heavens were opened. And the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. On that very day Noach came, with Shem, Cham, and Yaffes, Noach’s sons, with Noach’s wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the ark….” - Noach 7:11-13             The Tor...

פרשת  בראשית Parsha Stumpers and Something to Think About   The Torah begins with “Beraishis bara Elokim”. Why not start with “Elokim bara beraishis” which would (a). Allow the first letter of the Torah be an ‘aleph’, (b). allow the first word to be the name of Hashem and (c). not cause any possible misunderstanding in someone chas v’shalom thinking that something called “ beraishis ” created Hashem? Rashi (1:1) writes that it is important to start the Torah with a recount of Hashem being the master and creator because this way it is clear to the goyim that Hashem has the only right to decide who gets Eretz Yisroel – the B’nei Yisroel . If we are counting on the goyim accepting the story of the Torah, then for the same price it should be enough for them to just read that Hashem promised us Eretz Yisroel without going into detail of days of Beraishis . So how did Rashi answer his question? Furthermore, what good d...

~Thoughts on the Parsha~ Yom Kippur And Vezos Haberachah Note: Vezos Haberachah is not read this Shabbos Callous Confessions By: Daniel Listhaus יְחִי רְאוּבֵן וְאַל יָמֹת וִיהִי מְתָיו מִסְפָּר : וְזֹאת לִיהוּדָה וַיֹּאמַר שְׁמַע ה ' קוֹל יְהוּדָה וְאֶל עַמּוֹ תְּבִיאֶנּוּ יָדָיו רָב לוֹ וְעֵזֶר מִצָּרָיו תִּהְיֶה “May Reuvein live and not die, and may his men be in the count. And this to Yehuda, and he said: Listen Hashem, to the voice of Yehuda, and to his people shall You bring him; may his hands fight for him and may You be a Helper against his enemies.” - Vezos Haberachah 33:6-7             The mishna [1] describes the process that the Beis Din HaGadol (The Supreme Court) would go through with a woman who is a sotah . Before having her drink the mei hamarim (literally- bitter waters), the beis din would try to convince the suspected sotah to just admit that she indeed was with the man that her husband warned her not to be w...