Torah Parallels

~ Something to Think About ~ פרשת דברים Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus (1:3) Rashi offers four reasons why Moshe rabbeinu waited until right before his death to rebuke klal yisroel. Yet in the very next Rashi, Rashi writes that the reason Moshe waited was because he needed to prove to them first that he did something for them – leading them to battle and winning. a.     How can we reconcile this with the previous Rashi? b.     How could we understand this? Didn’t Moshe already lead them in a war against Amalek and defeat them? Also, there were many things that Moshe rabbeinu did for B’nei Yisroel in the midbar, in fact there was pretty much nothing he didn’t do. So why was entering and winning a battle necessary for Moshe to become “ood enough” to rebuke B’nei Yisroel?  

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Devarim Ucon Du It! By: Daniel Listhaus לֹא תַכִּירוּ פָנִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּט כַּקָּטֹן כַּגָּדֹל תִּשְׁמָעוּן לֹא תָגוּרוּ מִפְּנֵי אִישׁ כִּי הַמִּשְׁפָּט לֵאלֹ ק ִים הוּא וְהַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יִקְשֶׁה מִכֶּם תַּקְרִבוּן אֵלַי וּשְׁמַעְתִּיו “You shall not show favoritism in judgment, small and great alike shall you hear; you shall not fear in the face of man, for the judgment, it is unto G-D; and the matter that is too difficult go you, you shall bring it to me and I shall hear it.” -Devarim 1:17             In the middle of Moshe reviewing the judicial system that he put in place in the midbar and reminding them of the basic rules of judging appropriately, Moshe tells the judges that although there will be times when tough decisions will have to be made and the potential exists of greatly upsetting someone, sill there is absolutely no reason to be afraid of the litigants. The Chizkuni [1] explains that there is no need for a judge to fear the men associ

~ Something to Think About ~ פרשת מטות Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus         1.     ( 31 :7) Why did the tzitz specifically stop Billam and the kings of Midian from being able to fly?          2.     (31:7) How could witchcraft allow people to fly if in order to do kishuf one needs to be standing on the ground? (See Rashi Genara Sanhedrin 44b)

~ Thoughts on The Parsha ~ Parshas Mattos-Masei Look Back and See By: Daniel Listhaus אֵלֶּה מַסְעֵי בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר יָצְאוּ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לְצִבְאֹתָם בְּיַד משֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן : וַיִּכְתֹּב משֶׁה אֶת מוֹצָאֵיהֶם לְמַסְעֵיהֶם עַל פִּי ה' וְאֵלֶּה מַסְעֵיהֶם לְמוֹצָאֵיהֶם : “These are the journeys of the B'nei Yisroel , who went forth from the land of Egypt according to their legions, under the hand of Moshe and Aharon. Moshe wrote their goings forth according to their journeys at the bidding of Hashem, and these were the journeys according to their goings forth : ...” - Masei 33:1-2             Parshas Masei opens listing the forty-two stops that B'nei Yisroel made while traveling through the midbar (desert). If we stop and think about this for a moment, it is a little unusual for the Torah to do such a thing. After all, we know that as a general rule the Torah is very particular when it comes to what is contained in the written Torah and there is no letter that

~ Something to Think About ~ פרשת פנחס Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus (Rashi 26:46) Why did Sarach merit such a long life? (Rashi 27:22) Why did b’nos Telafchad wait so long to ask? (27:15) Rashi explains that Moshe demanded an answer/response from Hashem. Similarly, Rashi explains in Bamidbar 12:13 regarding Miriam. How could we understand Moshe’s more aggressive behavior at these particular points? (27:18) Hashem told Moshe that he should put his hand on Yehoshua and lean on him to give him s'meecha . However, the Torah accounts that Moshe leaned on Yehoshua with both his hands . How could Moshe add to the commandment of Hashem? Isn't that bal toseif ?      

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Pinchas Core Credentials By: Daniel Listhaus וַיְדַבֵּר משֶׁה אֶל ה' לֵאמֹר : יִפְקֹד ה' אֱלֹקי הָרוּחֹת לְכָל בָּשָׂר אִישׁ עַל הָעֵדָה : אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא לִפְנֵיהֶם וַאֲשֶׁר יָבֹא לִפְנֵיהֶם וַאֲשֶׁר יוֹצִיאֵם וַאֲשֶׁר יְבִיאֵם וְלֹא תִהְיֶה עֲדַת ה ' כַּצֹּאן אֲשֶׁר אֵין לָהֶם רֹעֶה : וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל משֶׁה קַח לְךָ אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר רוּחַ בּוֹ וְסָמַכְתָּ אֶת יָדְךָ עָלָיו : וְהַעֲמַדְתָּ אֹתוֹ לִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן וְלִפְנֵי כָּל הָעֵדָה וְצִוִּיתָה אֹתוֹ לְעֵינֵיהֶם : וְנָתַתָּה מֵהוֹדְךָ עָלָיו לְמַעַן יִשְׁמְעוּ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל : וְלִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן יַעֲמֹד וְשָׁאַל לוֹ בְּמִשְׁפַּט הָאוּרִים לִפְנֵי ה' עַל פִּיו יֵצְאוּ וְעַל פִּיו יָבֹאוּ הוּא וְכָל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אִתּוֹ וְכָל הָעֵדָה : וַיַּעַשׂ משֶׁה כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֹתוֹ וַיִּקַּח אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיַּעֲמִדֵהוּ לִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן וְלִפְנֵי כָּל הָעֵדָה : וַיִּסְמֹךְ אֶת יָדָיו עָלָיו וַיְצַוֵּהוּ כ

~ Something to Think About ~ פרשת בלק Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus Why did Billam ride a donkey and not a horse? The Gemara in Berachos says that whoever says k'riyas shema without tefillin is like testifying false testimony on himself. With this is mind, there is a difficulty with a Rashi in this week's parsha. What is it?