Torah Parallels

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas  Tetzaveh Measure for Measure By: Daniel Listhaus וְעָשִׂיתָ בִגְדֵי קֹדֶשׁ לְאַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ לְכָבוֹד וּלְתִפְאָרֶת :   וְאַתָּה תְּדַבֵּר אֶל כָּל חַכְמֵי לֵב אֲשֶׁר מִלֵּאתִיו רוּחַ חָכְמָה וְעָשׂוּ אֶת בִּגְדֵי אַהֲרֹן לְקַדְּשׁוֹ לְכַהֲנוֹ לִי וְחֵשֶׁב אֲפֻדָּתוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָלָיו כְּמַעֲשֵׂהוּ מִמֶּנּוּ יִהְיֶה זָהָב תְּכֵלֶת וְאַרְגָּמָן וְתוֹלַעַת שָׁנִי וְשֵׁשׁ מָשְׁזָר “You shall make garments of sanctity for Aharon your brother, for glory and for splendor. And you shall speak to each of the wise-hearted people whom I have invested with a spirit of wisdom, and they shall make the garments of Aharon, to sanctify him, so that he shall be a  Kohen  to Me.” - Tetzaveh  28:2-3 “...[And] the  cheishev with which he is beautified, which is above it, like its work, of it shall be of gold, turquoise wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and twisted linen.” - Tetzaveh  28:8             There is no doubt that the  bigdei kehu

~ Something to Think About ~ תצוה   פרשת  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

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Terumah Wood You Think of Me? By: Daniel Listhaus וְעָשׂוּ אֲרוֹן עֲצֵי שִׁטִּים אַמָּתַיִם וָחֵצִי אָרְכּוֹ וְאַמָּה וָחֵצִי רָחְבּוֹ וְאַמָּה וָחֵצִי קֹמָתוֹ :  וְצִפִּיתָ אֹתוֹ זָהָב טָהוֹר מִבַּיִת וּמִחוּץ תְּצַפֶּנּוּ וְעָשִׂיתָ עָלָיו זֵר זָהָב סָבִיב : “They shall make an  Aron  of  shittim  wood, two and a half  amos  in length; an  amah  and a half its width; and an  amah  and a half its height. You shall cover it with pure gold, from inside and from outside you shall cover it, and you shall make on it a golden diadem.”  - Shemos   25:10-11              The Holiest vessel in the  Mishkan  was the  Aron Kodesh  (Holy Ark). The  aron  contained the  luchos  (tablets) and was positioned in the  kodesh   hakedoshim  (Holy of Holies). The Torah [1]  commands that the  aron  be made of wood with a gold covering on the inside and outside.  Rashi [2] , based on his reading of the  passuk  (verse),   understands this to mea

~ Something to Think About ~ תרומה פרשת  Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus What were the three ways which the B'nei Yisroel could participate in to help build the  aron ? The Gemara tells us that Betzalel was the one who had to correct Moshe and tell him to build the mishkan first before its  keilim  (vessels). Didn't Moshe already know this from Hashem? And even if not, why didn't he think to build the mishkan first anyway? Why is it that the dimensions of the aron are all incomplete measures? (Shemos 25:10) Hashem commanded that the poles of the aron never leave it. Why? The aron was made of three arons : gold, wood, and gold. How do we know that it is from three arons together and not just a wooden one with gold on inside and outside? Also, what is the significance of being made with three arons as opposed to one? Rashi (25:21) sites a machlokes as to whether the luchos were placed into the aron before the lid had been placed o

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas  Mishpatim Pear Pressure By: Daniel Listhaus לֹא תִהְיֶה אַחֲרֵי רַבִּים לְרָעֹת וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה עַל רִב לִנְטֹת אַחֲרֵי רַבִּים לְהַטֹּת “You shall not go after the many to do bad; and you shall not respond to a dispute to tilt after the many.” - Mishpatim   23:2             This  passuk  (verse)   in our  parsha  is alluding to a number of laws relevant to how the  sanhedrin  and  beis din  (Jewish court) must conduct themselves. There are many different views as to how to learn this  passuk .  Rashi [1] explains that when the  passuk  says, “Do not respond to a dispute...”, the word for 'dispute'  ( ריב )  is written without the letter  yud  (as  רב ) to teach us that a judge cannot argue with someone greater  ( רב )  than him in the court. For this reason, the  sanhedrin  would start voicing their opinions “from the side” - meaning starting from the lesser members of the court.             The  Ohr HaChaim , [2]