Torah Parallels

Parshas Vayeishev For Heaven's Sake: 50-50 = 80-20 By: Daniel Listhaus וַיַּכֵּר יְהוּדָה וַיֹּאמֶר צָדְקָה מִמֶּנִּי כִּי עַל כֵּן לֹא נְתַתִּיהָ לְשֵׁלָה בְנִי וְלֹא יָסַף עוֹד לְדַעְתָּהּ “ Yehuda recognized; and he said, 'She is right; it is from me, inasmuch as I did not giver her to Sheilah my son,' and he did not continue to be intimate with her anymore.” -Vayeishev  38:26 Throughout the Torah, there are many examples of seemingly horrible things that people – even  tzadikkim  (righteous people)  – have done, which were claimed wholeheartedly to have been done completely  l'sheim shamayim  (literally: for Heaven's [Hashem's] sake). Many of these events and actions resulted in tremendous world-changing consequences. 1 In this week's  parsha  too there are a few famous examples. The  parsha  opens with a look into, what appears to be, the dysfunctional house of Yaakov  avinu . Yosef would tattle...

~ Torah Parallels ~ 5-Bullet Friday This week is Parshas Vayeishev! Check out this week's d'var  torah  here . Here is this week's 5-Bullet Friday: Question I'm pondering:   Sibling rivalry. Why did Yaakov avinu do so many things to single out Yosef from the rest of the brothers? Certainly he knew that (a) it could cause Yosef to feel superior and (b) it could cause the brothers to be jealous. So why did he do the things he did? Why was it worth it? Concept I am considering:    What makes something rememberable . The mishna in Peah (7:1) states that if an olive tree has a name in the field (i.e- it is referred to as a certain type of olive tree) then if the owner forgot it while gathering the crops in the field, it is not considered shichecaha. The mishna elaborates that this din is true whether it is known by its name, performance, or place. In other words, if the ba’al ha’bayis knows it as a particular species of tree, or it is kno...

~ Something to Think About ~     וישב   פרשת Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus (37:2) The Torah and  Rashi  describe that Yosef would to tell Yaakov about things he saw the  shevatim  do. He claimed to have eye-witnessed his brothers eating  eiver min ha'chai , degrading the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, and doing  gilui arayos . If these claims were true, how could we understand that the  shevatim  did such things and why was Yosef punished? And if not true, then how could Yosef say such things about them? (37:2) Yaakov grew up in a house of brother rivalry between him and Eisav. So, why did he anyway do so many things to single out Yosef over his brothers? (37:3) Why didn’t Yaakov make a  kesones   passim  for Binyamin? (37:10) As we know, the Torah is written on many levels. When Yosef is telling Yaakov his dreams, Yaakov responds, “What is this dream that you dreamt? Are we to come...

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Vayishlach Angels in the Outfield By: Daniel Listhaus וַיִּשְׁלַח יַעֲקֹב מַלְאָכִים לְפָנָיו אֶל עֵשָׂו אָחִיו אַרְצָה שֵׂעִיר שְׂדֵה אֱדוֹם :  וַיְצַו אֹתָם לֵאמֹר כֹּה תֹאמְרוּן לַאדֹנִי לְעֵשָׂו כֹּה אָמַר עַבְדְּךָ יַעֲקֹב עִם לָבָן גַּרְתִּי וָאֵחַר עַד עָתָּה :  וַיְהִי לִי שׁוֹר וַחֲמוֹר צֹאן וְעֶבֶד וְשִׁפְחָה וָאֶשְׁלְחָה לְהַגִּיד לַאדֹנִי לִמְצֹא חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ “And Yaakov sent  malachim before him to Eisav his brother to the land of Seir, the field of Edom. He charged them saying, “Thus shall you say, 'To My lord, to Eisav, so said your servant Yaakov: I have sojourned with Lavan and have lingered until now. I have acquired ox and donkey, flock, and servant, and maidservant and I am sending to tell my lord to find favor in your eyes.'” - Vayishlach  32:4-6             The Torah [1] describes that after Yaakov left Lavan's house, he sent...

~ Torah Parallels ~ 5-Bullet Friday This week is Parshas Vayishlach! Check out this week's d'var  torah  here . Here is this week's 5-Bullet Friday: Question I'm pondering:   Protection or Exposure? Rashi (32:23) writes that Yaakov hid his daughter, Dinah, in a box so that Eisav would not set his eyes on her. Rashi further comments that because he withheld her from his brother, when she might have been able to cause him to do teshuva, Yaakov was later punished and Dinah fe ll into the hands of Shechem. What did Yaakov really do wrong? He took extra precautions to protect his daughter from an evil person. Ein safek motzei m’dai vaday. Why should Yaakov have given his daughter to Eisev for the chance that perhaps she would get him to do teshuva? Concept I am considering:   Greater of two evils . There is a concept of kim leh b’d’raba mineh, which literally means “give him the greater of them”. This idea refers to when someone does a singl...

~ Something to Think About ~ פרשת וישלח Parsha Stumpers By: Daniel Listhaus (32:4) Rashi explains that Yaakov sent angels to his brother Eisav. Why did he have to send angels as opposed to regular messengers? (32:5) Many know the famous Rashi in our  parsha  which says “with Lavan I have sojourned...and yet I have kept the 613  mitzvos”.  However, many do not realize that that is the second explanation Rashi gives. The first is, “I did not become a dignitary or a notable, but rather a mere sojourner. It therefore does not befit you (Eisav) to hate me over the blessings of your father who blessed me, 'Be a lord to your brothers', for it has not yet been fulfilled in me.” Aren't these two explanations contradictory to each other in the sense that one is meant to scare Eisav and the other is to calm him? (32:5) How could Yaakov claim to have kept all 613  mitzvos  if some were not even possible to do yet? (32:5-6) Why did Yaak...