Torah Parallels

~ Something to Think About ~ פרשת ויקרא Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus (1:1) The  Baal Haturim  writes that the small aleph in “ Vayikra ” was a compromise between Moshe and Hashem. Moshe only wanted the Torah to say “ Vayakar ” to express that Hashem only happened to appear to Moshe as the Torah expresses when Hashem went to Billam. So, the compromise was to have the aleph but in smaller font. The question is though: Granted Moshe was the humblest man who ever lived, however, humility does not mean sinking to a low-life level of Billam. The  middah  of  anavah  sometimes requires one to utilize his full self esteem and specifically do things to show that he represents the will of Hashem. So, how could Moshe suggest that The Torah recall his encounters with Hashem in the same way it does for Billam? Besides for in this week's  parsha  by Hashem talking to Moshe by the  Ohel Moed , there are two other times in the Torah when Hashem “calls” Moshe before speaking to him. When wer

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Vayikra The Art of Listening By: Daniel Listhaus וַיִּקְרָא אֶל משֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר ה ' אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר : דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אָדָם כִּי יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן לַה ' מִן הַבְּהֵמָה מִן הַבָּקָר וּמִן הַצֹּאן תַּקְרִיבוּ אֶת קָרְבַּנְכֶם “He [Hashem] called to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: Speak to the B'nei Yisroel and say to them: When a person from among you will bring an offering to Hashem: from the animals – from the cattle and from the flocks you shall bring your offering.” -Vayikra 1:1-2 Rashi 1 on this passuk (verse) comments that throughout the Torah there are many breaks. 2 The purpose of these breaks was to give Moshe time to digest and understand what he had been taught by Hashem. Rashi then ends by saying a kal v'chomer: If Moshe, who learned from Hashem, needed breaks for contemplation, then certainly ordinary people such as ourselves who le

~ Something to Think About ~ כי תשא        פרשת    Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus (30:12) Why must B'nei Yisroel be only counted indirectly by using an object? (30:13) When the Torah uses an expression of “zeh” (“this”), it means Hashem showed something to Moshe. What was so complicated about the shekel that Moshe needed a prop to visualize it? (30:18) Why is the kiyur listed in this week's parsha and not in Terumah or Tetzaveh  with the other keilim in the mishkan? (30:19) Why was it necessary for the Kohanim to be mekadeish their feet with the kiyur? (31:3-4) Once the Torah already tells us that Betzalel had ruach Elokim, why was it necessary that he have wisdom, understanding, and knowledge? Furthermore, Rashi explains that “da'as” (knowledge) refers to ruach hakodesh. What is the difference between ruach Elokim, which is mentioned explicitly in the passuk, and ruach hakodesh which is hinted to in “da'as”? (

~Thoughts on The Parsha~ Parshas Ki Sisa The Power of Potential By: Daniel Listhaus וַיַּרְא הָעָם כִּי בשֵׁשׁ משֶׁה לָרֶדֶת מִן הָהָר וַיִּקָּהֵל הָעָם עַל אַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו קוּם עֲשֵׂה לָנוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲשֶׁר יֵלְכוּ לְפָנֵינוּ כִּי זֶה משֶׁה הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלָנוּ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לֹא יָדַעְנוּ מֶה הָיָה לוֹ : וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם אַהֲרֹן פָּרְקוּ נִזְמֵי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר בְּאָזְנֵי נְשֵׁיכֶם בְּנֵיכֶם וּבְנֹתֵיכֶם וְהָבִיאוּ אֵלָי : וַיִּתְפָּרְקוּ כָּל הָעָם אֶת נִזְמֵי הַזָּהָב אֲשֶׁר בְּאָזְנֵיהֶם וַיָּבִיאוּ אֶל אַהֲרֹן : וַיִּקַּח מִיָּדָם וַיָּצַר אֹתוֹ בַּחֶרֶט וַיַּעֲשֵׂהוּ עֵגֶל מַסֵּכָה וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלֶּה אֱלֹהֶיךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱלוּךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם : וַיַּרְא אַהֲרֹן וַיִּבֶן מִזְבֵּחַ לְפָנָיו וַיִּקְרָא אַהֲרֹן וַיֹּאמַר חַג לַה' מָחָר : וַיַּשְׁכִּימוּ מִמָּחֳרָת וַיַּעֲלוּ עֹלֹת וַיַּגִּשׁוּ שְׁלָמִים וַיֵּשֶׁב הָעָם לֶאֱכֹל וְשָׁתוֹ וַיָּקֻמוּ לְצַחֵק “The people saw that Moshe delayed in descending the mountain, and the people gathered ar

~ Something to Think About ~ פרשת   תצוה Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus The Rosh and Ba'al Ha'Turim along with others point out that this is the only parsha which does not contain Moshe's rabbeinu name (since his birth in parshas shemos). Why is this? And why was this parsha chosen to be the one to leave out Moshe's name (especially considering the fact that the reason Moshe's name was erased has to do with an episode in next week's parsha)? The passuk tells us (28:12) that the avnei shoham were placed on the shoulder straps so that Hashem would remember the B'nei Yisroel as a zechus for us. Why does Hashem need us to remind Him of the greatness of the  shevatim  ? Rashi (29:24) tells us that the “wavings” were to hold back the harmful winds and the harmful dews. What does waving back and forth, up and down have anything to do with chasing away harmful winds and dews? If the Urim V'tumim had incredible powers to let the Kohen Gadol know answers to d

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas  Tetzaveh Pur  Sight By: Daniel Listhaus וְנָתַתָּ אֶל חשֶׁן הַמִּשְׁפָּט אֶת הָאוּרִים וְאֶת הַתֻּמִּים וְהָיוּ עַל לֵב אַהֲרֹן בְּבֹאוֹ לִפְנֵי ה '  וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת מִשְׁפַּט בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל עַל לִבּוֹ לִפְנֵי ה '  תָּמִיד “Into the  Choshen  of Judgment shall you place the  Urim  and the  Tumim,  and they shall be on Aharon's heart when he comes before Hashem; and Aharon's shall bear the judgment of the Children of Yisroel on his heart before Hashem, constantly.” - Tetzaveh  28:30 Rashi 1  explains that the  Urim V'tumim  was in fact a script of Hashem's Explicit Name, which was placed inside the folds of the  Choshen . The  Choshen  was the special breastplate that the  Kohen Gadol  alone would wear securely on top of his  Eiphod  (apron). The  Gemara 2   describes that on the face of the  Choshen  were twelve precious stones with words on them aligned in four rows of three and when the  Kohen Gadol  would consult th