interpretation of parts of Tanach by close reading, not derivation (Pronounced "par-sha-noot")
1
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1answer
34 views
Who is Tzippor?
Parashat Balak indirectly refers to Tzippor five times (by introducing Balak as "ben Tzippor"). I don't believe Rashi brings down any background regarding Tzippor. If there is little known about ...
2
votes
1answer
111 views
Eating meat on a regular basis
It says in Vayikra Perek 17 Pasuk 13 (Parshas Achrei-Mos):
"וְאִישׁ אִישׁ מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וּמִן הַגֵּר הַגָּר בְּתוֹכָם אֲשֶׁר יָצוּד צֵיד חַיָּה אוֹ עוֹף אֲשֶׁר יֵאָכֵל וְשָׁפַךְ אֶת דָּמוֹ ...
5
votes
1answer
62 views
Aharon's and Miriam's Yahrtzeit
The Book of Numbers spans almost the entire 40 year period in the desert, documenting numerous events that occurred to the Jews as they wandered. I count only 5 dates mentioned in the text (listed in ...
1
vote
1answer
24 views
Who did “וַיֹּצִאֵנוּ” in Num. 20:16?
Chukas 20:16:
וַנִּצְעַק אֶל ה׳ וַיִּשְׁמַע קֹלֵנוּ וַיִּשְׁלַח מַלְאָךְ וַיֹּצִאֵנוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם…
In translation:
and we called out to God, and he heard our voice, and he sent ...
6
votes
2answers
349 views
How were Achiman, Sheshai and Talmai “Sons of Giants”?
In Bamidbar 13:22, the Torah tells us that the spies saw Achiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the sons of Giants. Rashi tells us they were the descendants of Shamchazai and Azael, angels who fell from heaven ...
4
votes
2answers
54 views
Calling Hoshea 'Yehoshua' before his seeming renaming
Why does the verse (Bamidbar 13:16) mention that Moshe gave Hoshea bin Nun the name Yehoshua, making it seem like this was the first time Hoshea was actually called like that, but instead we see in ...
11
votes
2answers
156 views
Why didn't Yehoshua give a good report immediately?
When the spies returned from scouting the land and gave their report of mighty opponents, 13:30 tells us that Caleb silenced the crowd and argued for going into the land, and then 13:31 says "the men ...
0
votes
1answer
54 views
What actually happened to Jacob's and Laban's sheeps and goats?
Genesis 30 (JPS):
34 And Laban said: 'Behold, would it might be according to thy word.' 35 And he removed that day the he-goats that were streaked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were ...
10
votes
1answer
145 views
Are there two things from which kares can cut one off?
In B'midbar 19:13 the Torah says that the punishment for entering the mikdash while impure is spiritual excision, using the words
וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל. . .
. . .that ...
4
votes
1answer
42 views
Why was Eliyahu Hanavi taken to heaven alive?
Why was Eliyahu chosen to be one of the very few who merited to go to Gan Eden alive?
There were prophets greater than him (Moshe, for example).
There were people that kept the Torah better than him ...
2
votes
3answers
182 views
What is the interpretation of Genesis 19, 5-8?
5 They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”
6 Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him 7 and said, ...
1
vote
0answers
12 views
Were korbanos olah prohibited?
Abarbanel on Joshua 13:14 explains the verse:
official translation from chabad.org:
Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are ...
-3
votes
0answers
33 views
KaHasot Halayla: really? [closed]
ורבותינו דרשוהו כמו בחצי הלילה (שמות יב כט) ואמרו, שאמר משה כחצות, דמשמע סמוך לו או לפניו או לאחריו, ולא אמר בחצות, שמא יטעו אצטגניני פרעה, ויאמרו משה בדאי הוא
(Rashi Shemot ch. 11)
Chabad.org ...
3
votes
1answer
122 views
Why was Esther afraid to go to the King the second time, but not the first time?
When Mordechai told Esther that two of the King's guards were plotting to kill him, she went right away to tell the king directly.
Yet when Mordechai later asked her to approach the king to save all ...
5
votes
1answer
76 views
Under what circumstances is a false virgin put to death?
Deut 22:13–21 says that if a man marries a virgin, is intimate with her, and then claims that she is not a virgin, and there is no evidence that she is a virgin, that she is stoned. That seems to be ...
10
votes
1answer
163 views
Why is Jacob idolized and not villainised?
I've just read the story of Jacob and Esau (Bereishis ch. 25 and 27), and I fail to understand why Jacob is consistently portrayed and idolized as a protagonist and a hero - based on what I've read, I ...
1
vote
1answer
53 views
צִרְעָה Pshat or definition
וְגַם אֶת הַצִּרְעָה יְשַׁלַּח יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בָּם עַד אֲבֹד הַנִּשְׁאָרִים וְהַנִּסְתָּרִים מִפָּנֶיךָ (Deuteronomy 7:20)
What is the הַצִּרְעָה mean in this posuk?
2
votes
0answers
26 views
Why do we get “so did they do” for the commandment of expelling tamei people in Parashat Naso?
Parashat Naso, in Numbers 5:1-3, presents a commandment to "send from the camp" anyone who is tamei due to either tzara'at or a zav-type discharage. After that, we have Verse 4, affirming that the ...
2
votes
3answers
140 views
Is Psalm 110 considered messianic
How do Jews interpret Psalm 110? (Christians see it as a messianic reference.) I am specifically interested in verse 1 - "The Lord saith unto my lord." Jesus quotes this in Matthew 22:44, and ...
4
votes
3answers
204 views
who spoke in Bamidbar 12:1?
In B'ha'alotcha Miriam and Aharon complain against Moshe, and Miriam
(alone) is punished with tzara'at. In looking at this passage I found
problems with the translations I had available.
JPS, the ...
9
votes
2answers
283 views
What happened to the bechorim?
In the begining of sefer bamidbar, the males between 20 and 60 are counted and it says that there are over 600,000 of them. Theoretically each, or most, of these people should have had a first-born ...
6
votes
1answer
123 views
Sefer Milhamot Hashem - from Bamidbar 21:14
Does anyone know of any discussion of the the "sefer Milkhamot Hashem" mentioned in Bamidbar 21:14? Someone had asked me about the content of the book and I had no idea of what to answer him.
6
votes
1answer
109 views
Why does parshat bamidbar repeat census information?
It seems that the 3rd aliyah in Bamidbar needlessly repeats the information given in the 1st and second aliyah
First Aliyah: Lists the leaders of each tribe
Second Aliyah: gives us the census ...
15
votes
3answers
1k views
Why are women unclean longer after giving birth to a girl?
I read that women are unclean for two weeks after giving birth to a girl and seven days after giving birth to a boy. What does it tell us?
9
votes
4answers
115 views
Why does the Torah switch around the order of annulling vows in the summary?
In the beginning of Parshas Matos, the Torah first describes the process of a father annulling the oaths of his daughter (30:4-6), and then afterwards the the law of a husband doing so for his wife's ...
6
votes
1answer
118 views
What's up with this pasuk in mishpatim?
The Chumash in Shemot 23:14 begins describing the three regalim: Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, in that order. In Pasuk 17, the Chumash begins again with Pesach and Shavuot. Instead of listing sukkot again ...
0
votes
1answer
75 views
What is special about Molech?
What is unique about the worship of Molech that distinguishes it from other avodah zara enough that it deserves discussion and specific prohibition in the Torah? We see it specifically discuessed ...
5
votes
2answers
102 views
If Avraham had a healing stone why did he need an angel to heal him?
The Gemara in Baba Basra, Tes Zayin Amud Beis says Reb Shimon says that Avraham had a stone that he wore around his neck that healed the sick. If so why did he need a angel to come down to heal him ...
4
votes
1answer
73 views
Questions about the destruction of Sodom and the vicinity
I am having a hard time making heads or tails of the story of the destruction of Sodom and the vicinity. All questions below are questions about the narrative of the story based on the interpretation ...
5
votes
2answers
88 views
Non-Trivial Pursuit: וְנַסְתֶּם וְאֵין-רֹדֵף אֶתְכֶם
What is the meaning of וְנַסְתֶּם וְאֵין-רֹדֵף אֶתְכֶם (Leviticus 26:17)?
Literally of course it is simple: "You will flee with no one pursuing you" (Artscroll)
But this punishment does not really ...
8
votes
4answers
240 views
Why was Akeidas Yitzchok a bigger test (Nisayon) for Avraham than for Yitzchok?
Akeidas Yitzchok was the hardest test that Hashem gave to Avraham. Yet Yitzchok knew and also agreed to go along with it. Then why is it considered a bigger test for Avraham than for Yitzchok?
4
votes
1answer
63 views
How old was Avraham when he sired children with Keturah, and was that unusual?
After reporting Sarah's death and burial, B'reishit 25:1 tells us that Avraham had several children by Keturah. Avraham was 137 when Sarah died. Earlier (17:17), Avraham had laughed at the idea of ...
2
votes
5answers
90 views
Seforim with Drashos on the Torah (Recommendation)
What are good Seforim for using to help in developing drashos to say on the weekly Parsha (i.e. to use as a starting point, to quote, to find Medreshim, "nice vertlach", various "p'shatim" in pasukim, ...
2
votes
1answer
42 views
Singular and plural language in Vaikra 10:1
In parashat shemini, chapter 10, verse 1 it is written:
וַיִּקְחוּ בְנֵי אַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ וַיִּתְּנוּ בָהֵן אֵשׁ וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלֶיהָ קְטֹרֶת וַיַּקְרִיבוּ לִפְנֵי ...
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vote
1answer
48 views
What is the interpretation of Zechariah Chapter 3?
In Zechariah 3, there's a vision of Joshua the High Priest. Satan is accusing him, and then Satan is rebuked. Joshua is then found to be standing before the altar in filthy garments, which are then ...
6
votes
2answers
102 views
Most children in sefer B'reishit are named by women or God; why does Yehudah name Er?
I noticed in B'reishit 38 that Yehudah names his first son Er, but his wife bat Shua names the other two. Yaakov's wives name all of their children (except that Yaakov changes Ben-oni to Binyanim). ...
13
votes
7answers
293 views
“I never saw a tzaddik be abandoned…” - how do we understand this?
At the end of bentching we say that "I was young, and I also became old, and I never saw a righteous person be abandoned, and his children asking for bread".
How do we reconcile that with the ...
2
votes
0answers
67 views
Could the destroyer in Egypt discriminate?
In Rashi's comment to Shemos 12:22 we read
ואתם לא תצאו וגו': מגיד שמאחר שנתנה רשות למשחית לחבל אינו מבחין בין צדיק לרשע
…once permission has been given to the משחית (destroyer) to ...
3
votes
2answers
91 views
Rashi's unusual phrasing of the four sons
At the end of Parashat Bo (Exodus 13:14), Rashi enumerates the Four Sons of the Passover Seder:
דברה תורה כנגד ארבעה בנים, רשע ושאינו יודע לשאול והשואל דרך סתומה והשואל דרך חכמה
The Torah ...
2
votes
2answers
55 views
What's bothering Rashi about the messengers delivering the king's decree in Esther 4:3?
Megillath Esther (4:3) states that
in every province, whithersoever the king's commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and ...
2
votes
2answers
134 views
Ezekiel 16:4: לֹא הֻמְלַחַתְּ — what practice does this describe?
Ezekiel 16:4 seems to be describing practices performed on an infant or young child. But, what practice does לֹא הֻמְלַחַתְּ refer to? Do any rabbis explain the meaning?
4
votes
4answers
96 views
Why are the commandments for Rosh Chodesh and Passover in the same paragraph?
The reading for Parashat Hachodesh consists of a single paragraph in the Torah, Exodus 12:1-20, whose main topic is God's commandments related to the Passover offering and holiday observance that ...
5
votes
1answer
97 views
Mishkan significance
Why does the Torah feel the Need to tell me the rules for making the Mishkan? First, it is no longer relevant, as, even if we build, we will build a Beis Hamikdash. Plus, the Medrashim say it will be ...
4
votes
2answers
236 views
Can someone kindly explain the Malachi 3. 23 -24?
In Malachi 3:23 -24 it says
23. Lo, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord,
24. that he may turn the heart of the fathers back through ...
12
votes
4answers
126 views
Would Esther really have kept silent?
In Esther 7:4 we read
וְאִלּוּ לַעֲבָדִים וְלִשְׁפָחוֹת נִמְכַּרְנוּ, הֶחֱרַשְׁתִּי--כִּי אֵין הַצָּר שֹׁוֶה, בְּנֵזֶק הַמֶּלֶךְ ...
... But if we had been sold for bondmen and bondwomen, I ...
2
votes
0answers
41 views
What happened to Balak?
What ever happened to Balak after the Bil'am affair? Bil'am is referred to often as Bil'am HaRasha' (the wicked), and he is blamed for the entire encounter as well as the Ba'al Pe'or incident. But ...
5
votes
5answers
257 views
Does Joshua 8:34-35 disprove oral law's existence?
I was reading about Karaite Judaism and it lists a number of reasons, some which I thought were compelling, for rejecting the Oral Law.
For example,
Joshua 8, 34–8, 35 states:
After that, he ...
6
votes
1answer
106 views
Why are there different phrasings of Korban Pesach accompaniments?
In Parshas Bo (Exodus 12:8) it says about the Korban Pesach:
וְאָכְלוּ אֶת-הַבָּשָׂר, בַּלַּיְלָה הַזֶּה: צְלִי-אֵשׁ וּמַצּוֹת, עַל-מְרֹרִים יֹאכְלֻהוּ.
And they shall eat the flesh in that ...
-4
votes
1answer
87 views
Which nation in this prophecy of Haggai will shake nations and will be given peace(שָׁלוֹם) [closed]
The following verse in the Torah prophesizes about a nation which will be given "peace" and coming of a praised being:
and I will shake all nations, and the choicest(חֶמְדַּת ) things of all ...
-2
votes
1answer
85 views
What are the oldest interpretations of Deuteronomy 33:2?
This verse in Torah sounds highly cryptic and it seems that a message is conveyed in it:
And he said: The LORD came from Sinai, and rose from Seir unto them; He shined forth from mount Paran, and ...
