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.             ...

💭 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 wi...