Torah Parallels

Parshas Noach Better Bitter By: Daniel Listhaus “ ...and again he [Noach] sent out the dove from the ark. The dove came back to him in the evening – and behold! An olive leaf it had plucked with its mouth. And Noach knew that the waters had subsided from upon the earth.” -Noach 8:10-11 Safe inside the security of the teivah (ark), Noach had no way of knowing when the earth would be dry and ready for man again. After sending the raven out unsuccessfully, Noach sent out the dove to determine if the land was ready for them to exit the teivah . The first time the dove was sent, it returned right away because it could not find a place to rest. Noach then waited another period of seven days and sent out the dove a second time. This time, the dove came back with an olive branch in its mouth. Rashi 1 comments that when the dove came back with the olive branch in its mouth, it was trying to tell Noach the following: “Better let my food be bitter as an olive and provided by the hand of Has...

Parshas Vezos Haberachah, Succos, and Parshas Beraishis The Heart of it All By: Daniel Listhaus “ Never again has there arisen in Israel a prophet like Moshe, whom Hashem had known face to face; for all the signs and wonders that Hashem sent him to perform in the land of Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his slaves and all his land, and for all the strong hand and for all the great awesomeness that Moshe performed before the eyes of all Israel.” - Vezos Haberachah 34:10-12 “ And G-d created man in his image, in the image of G-d He created him....” - Beraishis 1:27 This last passuk of the Torah discusses one of the most fundamental beliefs of Judaism – the testimony by Hashem, that Moshe was the greatest navi to ever live. The Rambam includes this in his thirteen principles of belief 1 , and it is paralleled by the seventh verse of Yigdal 2 . However, beneath the surface of this verse, there is yet another fundamental belief which sums up the whole Torah. The Kli Yakar 3 writes that th...

Rosh Hashanah and Parshas Ha'azinu Rock and Role-Model By: Daniel Listhaus “ The Rock, perfect is His work, for all His ways are justice; a G-d, faithful, without iniquity. “Righteous”, and it is proper.” - Ha'azinu 32:4 Rashi 1 explains this passuk as dealing with the concept of middah-k'neged-middah , that Hashem punishes and rewards accordingly, in exact measure-for-measure. This does not mean that the punishment or reward must come directly after each action is done, only that, ultimately, each person will receive exactly the verdict he deserves. However, there is another way to learn this passuk . This passuk , in the beginning of shiras Ha'azinu , is actually quite similar to one of the p'sukkim in shiras Chanah 2 . When Chanah davened to Hashem for a child, she said, “There is none Holy as Hashem, for there is none beside Him; nor is there any rock like our G-d.” The Gemara 3 makes a limud from here that the words ein tzur k'elokeinu (there is n...

Parshas Nitzavim-Vayeilech To Fear or Not to Fear,That is the Question By: Daniel Listhaus “ I call the heavens and the earth to bear witness against you: I have placed life and death before you, blessing and curse; and you shall choose life, so that you and your offspring shall live - to love Hashem your G-d, to listen to His voice and to cleave to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days...” - Nitzavim 30:19-20 The Gemara 1 quotes Rebbe Chanina as saying, “Everything is in the hands of Heaven except for the fear of Heaven”. This seems to mean that the only thing left for us to control is the single choice of whether to fear Hashem or not. How could this be? We strongly believe that man was given bechira (free choice). So how could we say that there is really only one area in which we have a say? If this were true, it greatly limits our privilege of bechira . However, we cannot argue on the Gemara . So, it must be, that in reality there is only one choice to make in ...