Torah Parallels

  Parshas Toldos – Show your |Absolute Value|   The Torah relates ( Beraishis 25:23) that even before Yaakov and Eisav were born, it was clear that that the only thing these twins would have in common would be their birthday. From what they were attracted to even while still in the womb, to their appearance at birth, to the activities they grew up spending their time doing, they were clearly two people who could not be further apart. One was an ish yodeah tzayid ish sadeh (a dishonest ‘man of the field'), and the other an ish tam yosheiv ohalim (wholesome man who studied Torah).   It is important to note that the Torah does not merely describe Yaakov as someone who was not evil; nor does it describe Eisav as someone who just was not a good yeshiva boy. Rather, the Torah stresses that they each deliberately chose a distinct path, each one being the polar opposite of the other. To put it numerically, if you were to plot Yaakov and Eisav on a number line, one of...

In this week’s parsha, Avraham avinu sends his trusted servant, Eliezer, to find a wife for Yitzchak. The Torah goes into detail describing Eliezer’s journey and the way he found Rivka. After Rivka passed the “test” that Eliezer had davened for, she ran back home to report what had happened – that she had met Eliezer and that he had asked if there was place for him to sleep. The Torah relates that Lavan, Rivka’s brother, ran out to Eliezer and invited him in, telling him, “Why should you stand outside when I have cleared the house....” Rashi (24:31) comments that Lavan was not merely indicating that there was physical room for Eliezer to stay, but rather that he cleared his house from idols. Seemingly, Avraham’s public stanc e on av odah zarrah was so clear that even his servant merely showing up in town, prompted Lavan, an idol worshipper, to put all his idols away because he knew it would be unacceptable to have them around, even in his own house, so long as a representative...

    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...

  💭 A Thought on the Parsha: Think Like a Leader      The Torah relates that it was not long after the B’nei Yisroel left Mitzrayim , that Pharaoh rallied the Egyptian army to pursue them. The sight of the Egyptian army approaching with 600 chariots frightened the B’nei Yisroel prompting a natural response to cry out to Hashem for help. Understandably, they also turned to Moshe rabbeinu and said, “Are there no graves in MItzrayim that you had to take us out to the midbar to die? Did we not tell you it would be better for us to stay in Mitzrayim ?” As their leader, Moshe attempted to calm them down by reassuring them that Hashem was on their side and there was therefore nothing to fear. However, the very next passuk strangely states, “Hashem said to Moshe, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Speak to the B’nei Yisroel and let them journey!” Rashi writes that you see from this passuk that Moshe too must have stopped to daven. Why? If Moshe himself was not concern...