Posted on

Re’eh 5784

[Print]

Small gifts, large benefits[1]

נתון תתן לו ולא ירע לבבך בתתך לו כי בגלל הדבר הזה יברכך יקוק אלקיך בכל-מעשך ובכל משלח ידך
Give and give to him, and it should not be bad in your heart to give to him, for due to this matter Hashem your G-d blesses you, in all of your deeds and in anything your hand accesses[2]

In discussing the mitzvah of tzedaka, the Torah uses a repeated phrase of נתון תתן, often translated as you shall surely give. Literally, it means give you shall give. This repeated expression teaches us that we are to give tzedaka to a poor person even a hundred times[3].

Continue reading “Re’eh 5784”

Posted on

Eikev 5784

[Print]

How can it rain on shabbos?[1]

ונתתי מטר-ארצכם בעתו וגו’‏
I will give the rain of your lands in its proper time…[2]

In the second paragraph of Shema, we are told of all the things that we will receive if we keep the Torah. The inverse is also true, that if we don’t keep the Torah, we will be withheld all of Hashem’s good, or worse. One of the blessings promised is that of the rain of the lands falling in its proper time. What’s interesting is we find a parallel verse in parshas Bechukosai, famous for the curses that could befall the Jews, but also some blessings. There, it says, “I will give your rain in its time”[3]. Why is it that here the verse says, “your land’s rain”, but there it says, “your rain”?

Continue reading “Eikev 5784”

Posted on

Devarim/Tisha B’Av 5784

[Print]

Ending the wrath; ending the decree[1]

ותרגנו באהליכם ותאמרו בשנאת ד’ אותנו הוציאנו מארץ מצרים
They grumbled in their tents and said: “With Hashem’s hatred of us He took us out of the land of Egypt”[2]

We find a parallel verse in Psalms to the one in our parsha, which says: “They grumbled in their tents; they didn’t listen to the voice of Hashem. He raised His hand [in oath] against them to cast them down in the wilderness and to cast down their descendants amongst the nations, scattering them in the lands”[3]. Rashi there explains that at that very moment, the destruction of the Temple was decreed. That very night that the Jews cried in vain (believing the spies that the land of Israel isn’t worth conquering) was Tisha B’Av. Hashem said that since they cried for no reason, they will have a reason to cry for the generations.

Continue reading “Devarim/Tisha B’Av 5784”

Posted on

Mattos/Masei 5784

[Print]

The significant circle dance[1]

זה הדבר אשר-צוה יקוק לבנות צלפחד לאמר לטוב בעיניהם תהיינה לנשים אך למשפחת מטה אביהם תהיינה לנשים
This is the matter that Hashem commanded the daughters of Tzelophchad, saying: “You shall marry those who are good in your eyes. However, you’ll only marry into the tribe of your father”[2]

At the end of every parsha is a pneumonic device to help remember the number of verses in the parsha. A word or several words are chosen whose numerical value is the same as the number of verses. Usually the word should have some sort of connection to the parsha, although it’s not always self-evident. One easy example is parshas Tzav, (צו in Hebrew), which has 96 verses, the same as the numerical value of the word צו. At the end of parshas Masei is a surprising pneumonic device. There are 132 verses in the parsha, and the words with that value are מחל”ה (83) חול”ה (49), which equal 132.

Continue reading “Mattos/Masei 5784”

Posted on

Pinchas 5784

[Print]

Pinchas, the controversial Kohen[1]

פינחס בן-אלעזר בן-אהרן הכהן השיב את-חמתי מעל בני-ישראל בקנאו את-קנאתי בתוכם ולא-כליתי את-בני-ישראל בקנאתי: לכן אמר הנני נתן לו את-בריתי שלום
Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen removed My wrath from upon the Jewish people, when he carried out My zealousness amongst them, [such that] I didn’t destroy the Jewish people in My zealousness. Therefore, I say that I give him My covenant of peace[2]

This week’s parsha picks up from where the last one ended. There was a terrible scandal in the Jewish nation, where many were committing illicit relations with Midianite women, and worshipping their idols. Zimri, the head of the tribe of Shimon, brazenly took a Midianite woman and was with her publicly. Pinchas, a grandson of Aharon, took the law into his own hands, took a spear, and killed them both.

Continue reading “Pinchas 5784”

Posted on

Balak 5784

[Print]

Pinchas’ justified suspicion causation[1]

וירא פינחס בן-אלעזר בן-אהרן הכהן ויקם מתוך העדה ויקח רמח בידו
Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon HaCohen saw, and he got up from the assembly and took a spear in his hand[2]

The end of this week’s parsha describes the tragic sin of Pe’or. The Midianite women came to the Jews in order to entice them to sin. There were thousands who fell for their scheme and succumbed to idol worship and illicit relations. Zimri, the leader of the tribe of Shimon, brazenly took one of the non-Jewish women and was together with her in a public fashion.

Continue reading “Balak 5784”

Posted on

Chukas 5784

[Print]

Rebellious fools[1]

ויקהלו משה ואהרן את-הקהל אל-פני הסלע ויאמר להם שמעו-נא המרים המן-הסלע הזה נוציא לכם מים
Moshe and Aharon gathered the congregation in front of the rock, and he said to them: “Listen now, you rebels! Will we really draw forth water from this rock?”[2]

The infamous episode of Mei Merivah, the waters of strife, is fraught with questions. One of which centers on a comment of Rashi[3]. When Moshe called the people “rebels” for requesting miraculous water in the wilderness, Rashi says his intent was “fools”. Now, the Jewish people are known as a “wise and understanding nation”[4]. Why then would Moshe call them fools?

Continue reading “Chukas 5784”

Posted on

Korach 5784

[Print]

Moshe’s mechila measurement[1]

‏…רב לכם בני לוי
…It’s too much for you, sons of Levi![2]

This week’s parsha chronicles the tragic rebellion of Korach, the Levi, and his band of supporters. Korach claimed that the entire nation was Holy, and was against this whole caste system. Everyone is worthy to be the Kohen Gadol. He also challenged the leadership of Moshe, and the authenticity of his transmission of the word of G-d.

Continue reading “Korach 5784”

Posted on

Shelach 5784

[Print]

Mitzvah journey complications[1]

שלח-לך אנשים ויתרו את-ארץ כנען אשר-אני נתן לבני ישראל איש אחד איש אחד למטה אבתיו תשלחו כל נשיא בהם
Send for yourselves men who shall scout out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Jewish people. You shall send one person per ancestral tribe, the prince [of that tribe][2]

As the Jews were about to enter the land of Israel, they got the idea to send out spies to scout out the land. They wanted to see the quality of the land, and of the people. Hashem told Moshe that this isn’t the Divine will, but if the people insist, it’s up to Moshe[3]. Unfortunately, the mission ended in disaster. The spies came back and gave a slanderous report about the land, causing them to be punished with death, along with that entire generation. The Jews were sentenced to wander the wilderness for forty years. Their children were the ones who merited to finally enter the land.

Continue reading “Shelach 5784”

Posted on

Beha’alosecha 5784

[Print]

Paschal passivity perplexion[1]

וידבר יקוק אל-משה במדבר-סיני בשנה השנית לצאתם מארץ מצרים בחודש הראשון לאמר: ויעשו בני-ישראל את-הפסח במועדו
Hashem spoke to Moshe in the wilderness of Sinai, in the second year since they left Egypt, in the first month [of Nissan[, saying: “The Jewish people shall perform the Pesach offering, in its right time”[2]

Sefer Bamidbar starts in the second month of the Jews’ second year in the wilderness[3]. However, this week’s parsha begins talking about what happened in the first month, Nissan. It describes how the Jewish people brought the Pesach offering in the wilderness. Rashi asks[4] the obvious question: Why wasn’t the Torah written chronologically? Why is this section written after the section describing the second month? He answers that really this description of bringing the Pesach offering is disparaging to the Jews. This is because for the entire forty years they were in the desert, this was the only Pesach offering they brought. Therefore, the Torah didn’t want to start Sefer Bamidbar on such a note.

Continue reading “Beha’alosecha 5784”