Torah Parallels

~ Torah Parallels : Derech Hashem ~ Generalities and Details By: Daniel Listhaus Hakdama     The Ramchal (R' Moshe Chaim Luzzatto) writes in his introduction to Derech Hashem that when one is confronted with many details but is not aware how they relate to one another, the details remain a paradox and take a toll on the mind that carries them. Each particular detail might grab one's attention to focus to it in curiosity and want to delve deeper to understand. However, if one allows his curiosity to further himself down the proverbial rabbit hole at the detail level, it will be a frustrating ride. One would still be missing the huge step back and trying to grasp what the overall underlying concept is that is driving the details. Imagine someone who know absolutely nothing even as basic as logic, simple math, or knowledge of the laws of nature. Imagine this person drops a baseball a realizes that it falls instead of staying in place - he discovered gravit...

~ Quick Thoughts ~ Prerequisite Yoke By: Daniel Listhaus             The mishna in Berachos (2:2) quotes Rebbe Yehoshua ben Karcha who said that the reason we recite the paragraph of of 'Shema' before the paragraph of 'Vehaya im shamo'ah" is because one must first accept upon oneself the "Yoke of Hashem's Kingship" and only after that the "Yoke of mitzvos".                Of course children begin doing miztvos at a much earlier age than before they are capable of understanding what it means to accept the Yoke of Hashem's Kingship, however as we recite twice a day in Shema, we must keep in mind that accepting Hashem's Kingship is really primary and a prerequisite to keeping the mitzvos. After all, how can one truly keep commandments before accepting upon himself that the One giving the commandments is a Being he must adhere to?               May Hashem help us ins...

~ 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 interest...

~ Something to Think About ~ נשא     פרשת    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 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 t...

~ 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 pass...

~ Quick Thoughts ~ Strength of Mesorah By: Daniel Listhaus             T he third mishna in meseches Berachos relates the machlokes (dispute) between Beis Shaimi and Beis Hillel regarding the proper way to recite shema. Beis Shema maintain that the evening shema should be recited while reclining and the morning shema while standing; whereas Beis Hillel maintain that both the morning and evening shema could be recited however one wants (in fact, it is brought down in halacha that if one finds himself say, sitting, in the morning when he gets up to kryias shema he should not purposely stand up to stay shema because it would appear that he is trying to specifically hold like Beis Shammai).  T he mishna relates that Rebbe Tarfon said that one time he was travelling in the evening and he stopped to recline to recite shema like the opinion of Beis Shammai and as a result he put himself into a sakana  (dangerous situation) with robbers. The...

~ Quick Thoughts ~ Wake Up, You're Royalty  By: Daniel Listhaus             T he second mishna in meseches Berachos relates the machlokes (dispute) with regard to the latest time one may recite the morning shema. The Tanna Kamma and Rebbe Eliezer disagree about the earliest time one may be yotzei (fulfill the obligation of the morning shema), while Rebbe Eliezer argues with Rebbe Yehoshua with regard to the latest time. Rebbe Eliezer holds that the latest time one may fulfill his obligation of the morning shema is the time of neitz hachama (sunrise), while Rebbe Yehoshua maintains that it may be said for the first three hours into the day.    The gemara explains that the root of this dispute is how to interpret the word "u'v'kumecha" ("and when you get up") which is the word from which we derive the chiyuv (obligation) to say shema each morning. Rebbe Eliezer understands it to simply mean the time that people get up, which is su...

~ Quick Thoughts ~ Self Defense By: Daniel Listhaus             The first mishna in Berachos mentions a machlokes regarding the proper time to say kriyas shema. Although it seems like a three way machlokes in the mishna with Rebbe Eliezer maintaining that the night time shema could be recited until the end of the first ashmorah (third of the night) , the Chochomim saying until chatzos (midnight), and Rabban Gamliel holding until amud ha'shachar (dawn). The Gemara explains that really it is only a two-way machlokes and that the reality is that the chochomim agree with Rabban Gamliel's opinion that the shema could be recited until dawn. The reason they say that it could only be recited until chatzos is in order to prevent people from transgressing on not reciting the evening shema.         The chochomim in their wisdom understand human nature to make mistakes and that people who lean to far to the edge tend to fall over. The...

~ 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 allu...