Torah Parallels

~ Something to Think About ~ במדבר f. 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.  Why should being someone's rebbe make one considered his father? Why is the passuk switching in the next passuk to just call them the sons o...

~ 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 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 shevet having its own flag? In order to answer these questions, we must first realize what a flag is. Webster translates a flag as, “any o...

~ 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?

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Behar-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...

~ Something to Think About ~  אחרי-מות  פרשת   Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus Rashi 16:1 – Why necessary to spook Aharon out here by this mitzva more than anyone else by any other? And why Aharon more than anyone else? He understood right away with “va'yidom aharon ” that his children deserved to die? Rashi 16:5 – Why would merely changing the clothes require tevilas yadayim v'raglaim? 16:8 – Why were the two goats chosen via lottery arbitrarily to decide which one was la'hashem and which la'a'za'zel? 17:10 The passuk (17:10) when describing prohibition of eating blood says that anyone who eats blood – Hashem will direct his face upon them and cut them off from their people. Rashi explains further that Hashem will turn aside, so to speak, from all his other concerns to deal with this person. What is so bad about eating blood that the Torah takes so seriously? (Extra Credit: Where else in the Torah does the Torah use the same expression and Rashi explain the...

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim American Idol By: Daniel Listhaus וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר :   דַּבֵּר אֶל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹ ק יכֶם : “Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for holy am I, Hashem, your G-d.” - Kedoshim  19:1-2              Rashi [1]  comments that Moshe gathered together every single individual of  Klal Yisroel  and commanded them to be holy. Ultimate  kedusha  (holiness) refers to a complete separation from physicality. We declare  ein kadosh ka'Hashem  (there is no one holy like Hashem)   as well as announce what the  malachim  (angels) praise: “Holy, holy, holy, is Hashem Master of Legions...” [2]  If we stop and think about this commandment for a moment it ...