Torah Parallels

~ Something to Think About ~ פרשת נשא Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus 1.     Why is the parsha of sotah so serious that based on suspicion we give her to drink from the bitter waters to determine whether she is guilty? We do not find this by other aveiros. For example, one who we suspect killed someone else, there is no potion to give him to determine his guilt, rather he is innocent until 2 witnesses come and go through the long process of demonstrating that their story is true and that the man is guilty? 2.     Rashi (7:11) writes that Moshe did not know which order the n'si'im should bring their offerings: if it should be in age-order or in order of their travels. Why was Moshe unsure though, Hashem had not yet commanded Moshe the order of their travels so that should not have even been an option? 3.     Why does the Torah repeat each karbon brought for each of the nasi'im? They are exactly the same! Why not just write it once and say...

~ Thoughts on The Parsha ~ Parshas Nasso Capitalized Coincidences By: Daniel Listhaus וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר : דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אִישׁ אוֹ אִשָּׁה כִּי יַפְלִא לִנְדֹּר נֶדֶר נָזִיר לְהַזִּיר לַה' : מִיַּיִן וְשֵׁכָר יַזִּיר חֹמֶץ יַיִן וְחֹמֶץ שֵׁכָר לֹא יִשְׁתֶּה וְכָל מִשְׁרַת עֲנָבִים לֹא יִשְׁתֶּה וַעֲנָבִים לַחִים וִיבֵשִׁים לֹא יֹאכֵל “Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying, “Speak to the B'nei Yisroel and say to them: A man or a woman who shall set apart by taking a nazarite vow to set apart to Hashem; from wine and hard drink shall he abstain, and he shall not drink vinegar or wine or vinegar of hard drink; anything in which grapes have been steeped he shall not drink, and fresh and dried grapes he shall not eat.” - Nasso 6:1-3             After describing the degrading process that the sotah must go through, the Torah begins to teach the seemingly unrelated topic of one who accepts upon o...

~ Something to Think About ~ פרשת במדבר Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus Rashi (1:2) writes that the way Moshe counted B'nei Yisroel was through collecting a half-shekel per person. Why did he have count them like this? The passuk tells us that the people had to establish their genealogy according to their families. Rashi explains that they each brought documents of lineage and witnesses of their birth in order to precisely trace each one's ancestry. Why was this necessary? Why not just believe them in the first place? What is the significance of a flag? (5:1) Rashi notes that the passuk refers to Elazar and Isamar as the children of Aharon and Moshe – Aharon because he was their biological father, and Moshe because he was their rebbe. However, in the following passuk (3:2) it repeats and only calls them the sons of Aharon. ñ   Why should being someone's rebbe make one considered his father? ñ   Why is the passuk switch...

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Bamidbar   All for One and One for All By: Daniel Listhaus אִישׁ עַל דִּגְלוֹ בְאֹתֹת לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם יַחֲנוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מִנֶּגֶד סָבִיב לְאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד יַחֲנוּ “The Children of Israel shall encamp, each man at his own division (by his flag) according to the signs of their fathers' house...” -Bamidbar 2:2             The Medrash [1] states that when Hashem came to Har Sinai to give the Torah to the B'nei Yisroel , twenty-two thousand chariots of malachim (angels) came down with Him - each with their own flag. When the Jews saw this they also had the desire to have their own flags. Hashem agreed that each shevet (tribe) should in fact each make for itself a flag.             What does this mean? What did the Jews see in the flags of the malachim which caused them to want to have their own? Also, what is the significance of each shev...

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Bechukosai Customized Consequences By: Daniel Listhaus אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי בחוקותי תֵּלֵכוּ וְאֶת מִצְו‍ֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם : וְנָתַתִּי גִשְׁמֵיכֶם בְּעִתָּם וְנָתְנָה הָאָרֶץ יְבוּלָהּ וְעֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה יִתֵּן פִּרְיוֹ וְהִתְהַלַּכְתִּי בְּתוֹכְכֶם וְהָיִיתִי לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ לִי לְעָם “If you will go in My decrees and observe My commandments and perform them; then I will provide your rains in their time, and the land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit….I will walk among you….” - Bechukosai 26:3-4;12             After the Torah describes the great rewards which come to those who perform the mitzvos , Hashem tells us, “I will walk among you and will be a G-d to you and you will be a people unto Me.” Rashi [1] explains that this passuk (verse) is in allusion to the reward of Olam Habbah . Hashem is promising here that He will stroll in G...