5 Bullet Friday: Parshas Chayei Sarah

~ Torah Parallels ~


5-Bullet friday


This week is Parshas Chayei Sarah and Shabbos Mevarchim! Check out this week's d'var torah here.

Here is this week's 5-Bullet Friday:

  • Question I'm pondering: Rashi writes that Avraham’s camels were different from many others’ because he was careful to muzzle them in order that they not graze from others’ fields. The gemara (Chullin 7a) says that Hashem doesn’t bring takalah to the animals of tzadikkim. If so, why did Avraham’s camels need to be muzzled?

  • Concept I am considering: The affect of a situation on a being. The Mishna in Peah (5:4) brings a machlokes regarding a ba'al habayis who was travelling from place to place and was in need of taking leket, shichecha, peah, or maaser ani. Tanna Kamma holds when he returns home he must pay, while the Chochomim maintain that he there is nothing to pay because he was poor person at the time (i.e- he was in need). 

  • Hashkafic idea I'm reflecting on: The news of the Pittsburgh shooting was absolutely devastating; for a whole week there has been non-stop media coverage and news updates of the event and the sorrowful aftermath. Are these continuous reports and full attention (for this event, or any other tragic event in general) a good thing (in this case exposing the issues of anti-semitism in our times) or is it possible that sometimes the spotlight is so bright that it begins to burn (becoming accustomed to traumatic, abnormal things due to constant listening to it)? 

  • Middah on my mind: Middas S'dom; still thinking about S'dom after last week's parsha and the mishna (Avos 5:13) which states that according to some, the perspective of one who says "Let what's mine be mine and what's yours be yours" is one of middas S'dom. One might think that saying "what's yours is mine and mine is mine", is bad; "what's mine is yours and what's yours is yours", is good; while the view of "what's mine is mine and what's yours is yours", is neutral or average. Yet we see that living with that mentality is considered sub-par. Middas S'dom is already present by merely not proactively contributing to society.   

  • Part of Tefillah I'm concentrating on: The opening section of every Shemoneh Esreh is "Avos" where we refer to Hashem as "Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, vei'lokei Yaakov" and mention (daven) that Hashem is "zocheir chasdei avos" (recalls the kindness of the Patriarchs). We are in the middle of the parshiyos that describe in length the fantastic emunah and bitachon that the avos had in their relationship with Hashem and their understanding of Hashem's authority over the world; as well as the incredible acts of chesed and positive impact that they did for, and had on, the world. Indeed we owe a tremendous amount of kavod and hakaras hatov to the avos, and there is no doubt why they were chosen to forever be included in the opening of each and every shemoneh esreh.  


What's on your mind?

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

P.S:
  • Completely random thought I'm thinking about: Significant digits and broken telephone. Two people working together with different perspective of significant digits could result in an inaccurate conclusion. For example: Take the number 1,248. Person #1 rounds to the nearest ten and passes on the number 1,250. Person #2 always rounds to the nearest hundred and passes on the number 1,300 even though if Person #2 had gone first, he would have rounded to 1,200. Anything you consider significant that someone else does not, or vice versa? How do you think that impacts communication and understanding? 

Have comments or thoughts on the this week's bullets? Have other random thoughts on your mind? Send an email to torahparallels@gmail.com. Thank you!

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