Torah Parallels

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Bo Anti Ambidextrous Ambitions By: Daniel Listhaus וְהָיָה לְאוֹת עַל יָדְכָה וּלְטוֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ כִּי בְּחֹזֶק יָד הוֹצִיאָנוּ ה '  מִמִּצְרָיִם “And it shall be a sign upon your arm, and for  totafos  between your eyes, for with a strong hand Hashem removed us from Mitzrayim.” - Bo  13:16 The  Ramban [1]   points out that so many of the  mitzvos  we do serve in some way as a ( zeicher ) remembrance of Hashem taking us out of  Mitzrayim . Indeed, the  makkos (plagues)   in  Mitzrayim  continuing with  yetzias Mitzrayim  (exodus from Egypt)   and  kriyas Yam Suf  (splitting of the Red Sea), and ultimately culminating with  mattan Torah  (receiving the Torah), serve as a timeless certificate for us that Hashem is the  borei  (creator)  and manhig  (controller) of the world and that we are His chosen people to lead a life of keeping Torah and  mitzvos . One of the many  mitzvos  we do daily which remind of us  yetzi

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Va'eira Frogger: Croak or Croak By: Daniel Listhaus וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל משֶׁה אֱמֹר אֶל אַהֲרֹן נְטֵה אֶת יָדְךָ בְּמַטֶּךָ עַל הַנְּהָרֹת עַל הַיְאֹרִים וְעַל הָאֲגַמִּים וְהַעַל אֶת הַצְפַרְדְּעִים עַל אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם “Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Say to Aharon, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the reservoirs, and raise up the frogs over the land of Egypt.’ ” - Va'eria  8:1              Rashi [1] writes that the reason the first of the  makkos  (plagues) brought upon  Mitzrayim  was  dam  (blood) was because the Egyptians worshipped the Nile and Hashem strikes a nation first by destroying its acclaimed deity. Clearly we see from  Rashi  that besides for the well-known fact that every single  makkah  brought on  Mitzrayim  was calculated  middah-kneged-middah  (measure for measure), there was also significance to the order. If so, we could ask the following question. If t

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Shemos Stop and Smell the Coffee By: Daniel Listhaus וּמשֶׁה הָיָה רֹעֶה אֶת צֹאן יִתְרוֹ חֹתְנוֹ כֹּהֵן מִדְיָן וַיִּנְהַג אֶת הַצֹּאן אַחַר הַמִּדְבָּר וַיָּבֹא אֶל הַר הָאֱלֹקים חֹרֵבָה “Moshe was grazing the sheep of Yisro, his father-in-law, the minister of Midyan; he guided the sheep far into the wilderness, and he arrived at the Mountain of G-d, toward Choreiv.” - Shemos  3:1             After running away from Mitzrayim, Moshe found his way to Midyan and married one of Yisro’s daughters. The Torah [1] relates that one day, while Moshe was shepherding Yisro’s sheep, he arrived at  Har Ha’Elokim  and witnessed a burning bush which miraculously was not being consumed by the fire.  Rashi [2] comments that the  passuk  (verse) goes out of its way to describe that Moshe would guide the sheep far into the wilderness before allowing them to graze, in order to publicize Moshe’s great care and respect of others’ property. Moshe

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Vayechi I Thought That You Thought By: Daniel Listhaus וַיִּקַּח יוֹסֵף אֶת שְׁנֵיהֶם אֶת אֶפְרַיִם בִּימִינוֹ מִשְּׂמֹאל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת מְנַשֶּׁה בִשְׂמֹאלוֹ מִימִין יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּגֵּשׁ אֵלָיו :   וַיִּשְׁלַח יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת יְמִינוֹ וַיָּשֶׁת עַל רֹאשׁ אֶפְרַיִם וְהוּא הַצָּעִיר וְאֶת שְׂמֹאלוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ מְנַשֶּׁה שִׂכֵּל אֶת יָדָיו כִּי מְנַשֶּׁה הַבְּכוֹר “And Yosef took the two of them – Ephraim with his right hand, to Yisroel's [Yaakov's] left, and Menasheh, with his left, to Yisroel's right – and he drew close to him. But Yisroel extended his right hand and laid it on Ephraim's head though he was younger and his left hand on Menasheh's head. He moved his hands with intelligence, for Menasheh was the first born.” - Vayechi  48:13-14             The Torah [1] carefully details the way that Yosef came to Yaakov with his sons, Menasheh and Ephraim. Menasheh was the older son and Yosef knew that he wo

~ Thoughts on the Parsha ~ Parshas Vayigash How Old Are You Now? By: Daniel Listhaus וַיָּבֵא יוֹסֵף אֶת יַעֲקֹב אָבִיו וַיַּעֲמִדֵהוּ לִפְנֵי פַרְעֹה וַיְבָרֶךְ יַעֲקֹב אֶת פַּרְעֹה: וַיֹּאמֶר פַּרְעֹה  אֶל יַעֲקֹב כַּמָּה יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיֶּיךָ: וַיֹּאמֶר יַעֲקֹב אֶל פַּרְעֹה יְמֵי שְׁנֵי מְגוּרַי שְׁלשִׁים וּמְאַת שָׁנָה m מְעַט וְרָעִים הָיוּ יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיַּי וְלֹא הִשִּׂיגוּ אֶת יְמֵי שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי אֲבֹתַי בִּימֵי מְגוּרֵיהֶם  “Then Yosef brought Yaakov, his father, and stood him before Pharaoh, and Yaakov blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Yaakov, 'How many are the days of the years of your life?' Yaakov said to Pharaoh, 'The days of the years of my sojourns have been one hundred and thirty years; few and bad gave been the days of the years of my life and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my forefathers in the days of their sojourns.'” - Vayigash  47:7-9 After Yosef revealed himself to his brothers, the brothers went