Torah Parallels

  ~ Thoughts on The Parsha ~ Parshas Va’eschanan Log Trucks and Vineyards By: Daniel Listhaus שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ ה' אֶחָד: “Hear, O Israel: Hashem is our God; Hashem is One.”  - Va’eschanan   6:4             The  Shema  is one of the most fundamental  passukim  (verses) which children are taught from a very early age. After all, the first paragraph of  Shema  encompasses the concept of  kabalas  o l malchus shamayim  (literally: accepting the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven). [1]  Furthermore the  Yerushalmi [2]  says that all of the  aseres ha’dibros  (ten commandments) are hinted to throughout the entirety of  Shema . There is no doubt that the  Shema  is core to Judaism and represents all of  B’nei Yisroel  purely accepting the Torah and  mitzvos  under Hashem’s reign. This was in fact the declaration made by the  Shevatim  to Yaakov  avinu  stating their absolute commitment to Hashem and the Torah. [3]             The  Medrash [4] sta

~ Quick Thoughts ~ Tefillah is Real By: Daniel Listhaus             T he mishna in Berachos (9:3) teaches that "A prayer for something that is past, is a vain prayer". The mishna gives two examples: 1. If one's wife is pregnant and one prays, "May it be thy [Hashem's] will that my wife will bear a son" or 2. If one is on the road and hears a cry of anguish in the city and said "May it be Your will that these are not the members of my household". In both examples an event already occurred. In the first cast embryo is already formed; and in the second, someone already cried out. One could think of Davening (prayer) as a form of therapy, something that helps maintain saneness by thinking that there is always someone we could cry out to for help. However, that is not fully true. Hashem is not a merely concept or a word that is there to help us scream out to something. Hashem is the G-d and Creator and Master of the universe who is

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas  Devarim Ucon Du It! By: Daniel Listhaus לֹא תַכִּירוּ פָנִים בַּמִּשְׁפָּט כַּקָּטֹן כַּגָּדֹל תִּשְׁמָעוּן לֹא תָגוּרוּ מִפְּנֵי אִישׁ כִּי הַמִּשְׁפָּט לֵאלֹ ק ִים הוּא וְהַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר יִקְשֶׁה מִכֶּם תַּקְרִבוּן אֵלַי וּשְׁמַעְתִּיו “You shall not show favoritism in judgment, small and great alike shall you hear; you shall not fear in the face of man, for the judgment, it is unto G-D; and the matter that is too difficult go you, you shall bring it to me and I shall hear it.” -Devarim  1:17             In the middle of Moshe reviewing the judicial system that he put in place in the  midbar  and reminding them of the basic rules of judging appropriately, Moshe tells the judges that although there will be times when tough decisions will have to be made and the potential exists of greatly upsetting someone, sill there is absolutely no reason to be afraid of the litigants. The  Chizkuni [1] explains that there is no need for

~ Something to Think About ~ פרשת דברים Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus (1:3) Rashi offers four reasons why Moshe  rabbeinu  waited until right before his death to rebuke klal yisroel. Yet in the very next Rashi, Rashi writes that the reason Moshe waited was because he needed to prove to them first that he did something for them – leading them to battle and winning. a.      How can we reconcile this with the previous Rashi? b.      How could we understand this? Didn’t Moshe already lead them in a war against Amalek and defeat them? Also, there were many things that Moshe rabbeinu did for B’nei Yisroel in the midbar, in fact there was pretty much nothing he didn’t do. So why was entering and winning a battle necessary for Moshe to become “ood enough” to rebuke B’nei Yisroel?  

~ Thoughts on The Parsha ~ Parshas Mattos-Masei Sickness or Symptom By: Daniel Listhaus וְאֶת מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן הָרְגוּ עַל חַלְלֵיהֶם אֶת אֱוִי וְאֶת רֶקֶם וְאֶת צוּר וְאֶת חוּר וְאֶת רֶבַע חֲמֵשֶׁת מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן וְאֵת בִּלְעָם בֶּן בְּעוֹר הָרְגוּ בֶּחָרֶב “They killed the kings of Midian along with their slain ones: Evi, and Rekem, and Tzur, and Chur, and Reva, the five kings of Midian; and Billam son of Beor they killed with the sword.”  - Masei   31:8             When describing the battle that took place between  B’nei Yisroel  and Moav, the  passuk  (verse)   singles out Billam and mentions that he was killed by sword.  Rashi [1]  writes that the  passuk  does so because when Billam came against  B’nei Yisroel  he did so with their craft of  tefillah  (prayer)   because Billam knew that  B’nei Yisroel  triumph only with their mouth through prayer and supplication. Therefore Billam came and seized their craft by cursing them with his mouth.  Rashi  conti

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Pinchas Core Credentials By: Daniel Listhaus וַיְדַבֵּר משֶׁה אֶל ה' לֵאמֹר :  יִפְקֹד ה'  אֱלֹקי  הָרוּחֹת לְכָל בָּשָׂר אִישׁ עַל הָעֵדָה :  אֲשֶׁר יֵצֵא לִפְנֵיהֶם וַאֲשֶׁר יָבֹא לִפְנֵיהֶם וַאֲשֶׁר יוֹצִיאֵם וַאֲשֶׁר יְבִיאֵם וְלֹא תִהְיֶה עֲדַת ה '  כַּצֹּאן אֲשֶׁר אֵין לָהֶם רֹעֶה :  וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל משֶׁה קַח לְךָ אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר רוּחַ בּוֹ וְסָמַכְתָּ אֶת יָדְךָ עָלָיו :  וְהַעֲמַדְתָּ אֹתוֹ לִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן וְלִפְנֵי כָּל הָעֵדָה וְצִוִּיתָה אֹתוֹ לְעֵינֵיהֶם :  וְנָתַתָּה מֵהוֹדְךָ עָלָיו לְמַעַן יִשְׁמְעוּ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל :  וְלִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן יַעֲמֹד וְשָׁאַל לוֹ בְּמִשְׁפַּט הָאוּרִים לִפְנֵי ה' עַל פִּיו יֵצְאוּ וְעַל פִּיו יָבֹאוּ הוּא וְכָל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אִתּוֹ וְכָל הָעֵדָה :  וַיַּעַשׂ משֶׁה כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה' אֹתוֹ וַיִּקַּח אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וַיַּעֲמִדֵהוּ לִפְנֵי אֶלְעָזָר הַכֹּהֵן וְלִפְנֵי כָּל הָעֵדָה :  וַיִּסְמֹךְ אֶת יָדָיו עָלָיו