Torah Parallels

    Torah Parallels: Parshas Mishpatim By Daniel Listhaus 💭 A Thought on the Parsha: Pear Pressure                 This passuk says, “You shall not go after the many to do bad; and you shall not respond to a dispute to tilt after the many.” This passuk alludes to several laws relevant to how the sanhedrin and beis din must conduct themselves. There are a couple of different views as to how to learn this passuk . Rashi explains that when the passuk says, “Do not respond to a dispute...”, the word for 'dispute' ( ריב ) is written without the letter yud (as רב ) to teach us that a judge cannot argue with someone greater ( רב ) than him in the court. For this reason, the sanhedrin would start voicing their opinions “from the side”; meaning starting from the lesser members of the court.                   Rashi in Gemara explaining this passuk seems to start off explaining the same way as he does in Chumash, saying that the pas

💭 A Thought on the Parsha: UPS: What Can Brown Do For You?             After the experiences of kriyas yam suf and ma’amad Har Sinai , Hashem commanded Moshe to warn B’nei Yisroel not to make idol representations using silver or gold. The Kli Yakar explains that this was more than a mere repetition of the mitzva to not create and worship avodah zarrah . It was a warning to stay far away from even fairly accurate reminders and representations of what B’nei Yisroel experienced in their relationship with Hashem since leaving Mitzrayim . At Kriyas Yam Suf , Hashem appeared as an “ish milchama” which is associated with the color red, and at Har Sinai Hashem appeared as a “ zakein yosheiv b’yeshiva ”, which is associated with the color white. Hashem therefore warned that even though their intentions may be good to create images of gold or silver – like red and white - that help reconnect with the feelings of those moments, it remains absolut