Torah Parallels

~ Something to Think About ~ פרשת נשא Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus 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? 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? 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

~ Thoughts on The Parsha ~ Parshas Nasso Pieces of Peace By: Daniel Listhaus וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר : דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אִישׁ אִישׁ כִּי תִשְׂטֶה אִשְׁתּוֹ וּמָעֲלָה בוֹ מָעַל “Hashem spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: Any man, if his wife will go astray and commit a trespass against him....” -Nasso 5:11-12 וְכָתַב אֶת הָאָלֹת הָאֵלֶּה הַכֹּהֵן בַּסֵּפֶר וּמָחָה אֶל מֵי הַמָּרִים And the kohen shall inscribe these curses on a scroll and erase it into the bitter waters....” -Nasso 5:23             This week's parsha discusses the topic of sotah – the story of a woman who was specifically warned by her husband not to be with a certain man, and yet was caught secluded with him. The Torah [1] describes that when she is brought to the kohen , there was an interesting process she had to go through. First, her husband brings a karbon [2] on her behalf. Then, the kohen takes an earthenware cup filled wi

~ Something to Think About ~  במדבר  פרשת   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 swi

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Bamidbar E for Effort By: Daniel Listhaus וַיְדַבֵּר ה ' אֶל משֶׁה בְּמִדְבַּר סִינַי לֵאמֹר : פְּקֹד אֶת בְּנֵי לֵוִי לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם כָּל זָכָר מִבֶּן חֹדֶשׁ וָמַעְלָה תִּפְקְדֵם : וַיִּפְקֹד אֹתָם משֶׁה עַל פִּי ה ' כַּאֲשֶׁר צֻוָּה : “Hashem spoke to Moshe in the Wilderness of Sinai saying, ‘Count the sons of Levi according to their fathers’ house, according to their families, every male from one month of age and up shall you count them.’ Moshe counted them according to the word of Hashem.”  - Bamidbar 3:14-16             After commanding Moshe to take a census of B’nei Yisroel , [1] Hashem commanded Moshe to separately take a count of the Levi’im . Unlike the rest of B’nei Yisroel who were counted only from age 20 and older, the Levi’im were counted from the age of one month old. From a logistics perspective this posed a slight difficulty. Instead of 20 year old men bringing their shekalim to Moshe to be counted, as wa

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Bechukosai Wild Gorillas and Mother Goose By: Daniel Listhaus : אִם בְּחֻקֹּתַי בחוקותי תֵּלֵכוּ וְאֶת מִצְו‍ֹתַי תִּשְׁמְרוּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם “If you will go in My statutes and observe My commandments and perform them….”  - Bechukosai 26:3             The Torah [1] describes the incredible rewards that will come for following in the ways of Hashem by learning His Torah and keeping His mitzvos . No other holy scripture or religion in the world could possibly promise physical rewards in this world directly connected to following the rules of the religion. However Judaism with a Torah given by Hashem Himself - the Creator and Director of the universe - certainly can. Indeed, the miraculous effects of keeping in the ways of Hashem are ones which we as a nation have experienced in the past, and the promise holds true for the future.             The beginning of the parsha indeed starts with a simple “if-then” structure to convey that the keeping of th

~ Something to Think About ~ בחקותי  פרשת  Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus If the highest level of avodas Hashem is doing mitzvos lishmah , then why is it that in this pasha the Torah tells us that if “bechukosai teileichu”…then Hashem will give rain…? Once the Torah did in fact choose to describe the rewards of those who walk in the way of Hashem, why choose the “minor leagues” of the rewards of this world as opposed to the major league rewards of Olam Haba’ah?