interpretation of parts of Tanach by close reading, not derivation (Pronounced "par-sha-noot")
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127 views
Why did Hashem not tell Avraham to have a Bris earlier?
Avraham Avinu was told to have a Bris at 99 years of age. Why didn't Hashem have him do a Bris earlier?
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1answer
123 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 ...
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6answers
469 views
does one have to take a Midrash/Aggadah literally?
Does one have to take a Midrash/Aggadah literally?
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4answers
238 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?
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3answers
158 views
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3answers
217 views
How is “החודש הזה לכם” the first mitzva?
The following question came up in this week's Parshat Hashavua' Chat:
Rashi, at the beginning of his commentary to the Torah:
אמר רבי יצחק: לא היה צריך להתחיל [את] התורה אלא (שמות יב ב) מהחודש ...
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2answers
188 views
Is the way of the torah pleasant or painful?
In Avot (6:4) we read - כך היא דרכה של תורה, פת במלח תאכל ומים במשורה תשתה ועל הארץ תישן וחיי צער תחיה
This is the way of torah... and a life of pain you shall live.
contrast this with Mishlei ...
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2answers
229 views
Different types of Nevuah
What are the differences between the "typical" navi's prophecy, Moshe Rabbeinu's prophecy, and Bil'am HaRasha's prophecy?
(Answers with sources [and preferably links to sources] only please!)
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4answers
124 views
Why not “Vayikra Hashem”
The first pasuk in Vayikra reads:
וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר ה׳ אֵלָיו…
And He called to Moshe, and God spoke to him…
Why is the subject on the second verb? It would ...
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2answers
197 views
What's the difference between כשב and כבש?
What's the difference between כשב and כבש? Why does the Torah use both?
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1answer
92 views
How did Yaakov hear about Dinah?
Genesis 34 tells about Shechem's rape of Dinah and the events that follow. 34:5 says that Yaakov heard ( שָׁמַע) about this (and didn't act immediately).
He didn't hear it from Dinah because she ...
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1answer
314 views
Did the Egyptians use whips on the Hebrew slaves? Why do we assume so?
It seems like every image I've ever seen drawn (or acted) of the Jews' slavery in Egypt involves them being whipped by Egyptians. The Torah says that the Jewish foremen were stricken as their ...
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3answers
110 views
Why does Rashi not comment on the repetition of the word “shono” in the age of Yishmoel?
Rashi comments on the repetition of the word “shono” in the ages of both Soroh Braishis 23 (1) and Avrohom Braishis 25 (7). Why is there no comment for the age of Yishmoel which also repeats “shono” ...
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3answers
371 views
What is Rashi proving with words in different languages
There are many places in Rashi's commentary where he uses a foreign language to translate a word used in the Torah.
For example, Bereshit 6:14:
בכפר: זפת בלשון ארמי. ומצינו בתלמוד כופרא
With ...
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1answer
115 views
Sarah's treatment of Hagar and Ishmael
How could Sarah's treatment of Hagar and Ishmael be considered righteous? I intend this as a sincere and serious question. While Hagar was pregnant, Sarah "prevent[ed] her intercourse with Abraham, ...
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1answer
141 views
What are the rules for ain mukdam umeuchar?
Sometimes we say that things in the Torah are not in chronological order. What are the parameters for this? do you need to have a mesorah (particular tradition) for this? Is there a list of all ...
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1answer
71 views
Should Shaul have killed Yonasan?
In Shmuel alef 14 a confusing scenario arises. First Yonasan (and his armor bearer) go out to the camp of the Plishtim. Then Shaul curses anyone who will eat bread that day until evening (pasuk 24). ...
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1answer
86 views
“A life for a life”: execution or reparations
The Torah states (Ex. 21:23) that if two people are fighting and accidentally kill an innocent bystander (such as a woman), "you shall give a life for a life."
The Gemara (Sanhedrin 79a-b) records a ...
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1answer
137 views
Song of the 5 Kings?
In Joshua 12:9-24 there is Joshua's famous song of triumph over the 31 Kings of the Land of Canaan which he conquered. The song (and it is a song per the Talmud Megillah 16b) is structured in two ...
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4answers
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Question on Rashi - Yisro 20:8
On the Posuk "Zochor Es Yom HaShabos L'Kadsho", Rashi says
תנו לב לזכור תמיד את יום השבת שאם נזדמן לו חלק יפה יהא מזמינו לשבת
(Take heart to remember the Shabbos - if you find something nice ...
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3answers
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Why did Rivka consult Shem, and not Avraham or Yitzchok?
The Posuk says (Gen. 25:22) regarding Rivka:
וַיִּתְרֹצֲצוּ הַבָּנִים בְּקִרְבָּהּ וַתֹּאמֶר אִם כֵּן לָמָּה זֶּה אָנֹכִי וַתֵּלֶךְ לִדְרֹשׁ אֶת יְ־הֹוָ־ה
Translated as: And the children ...
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2answers
257 views
Why does Moshe have a shalshelet?
The "shalshelet" trop appears 4 times in the Torah:
(Vayeira, Gen. 19:16) Lot has a shalshelet, because he was hesitating to leave S'dom.
(Chayei Sarah, Gen. 24:12) Eliezer has a shalshelet, because ...
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6answers
202 views
Why was Moshe buried alone?
Why did Hashem bury Moshe in an unknown place, and did not do so with other great Tzadikim like Avraham, Yitchak and Yaakov?
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2answers
105 views
Why didn't Yosef's brothers recognize him?
The Posuk says (Genesis 42:8):
וַיַּכֵּר יוֹסֵף אֶת אֶחָיו וְהֵם לֹא הִכִּרֻהוּ
Translated as:
Now Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him
The question is: How did ...
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3answers
200 views
Did all animals come into the Teiva?
Were there any type of animals that were destroyed completely by the Mabul? (For example - Is there any source that there were dinosaurs or any other type of wildlife and they were destroyed by the ...
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2answers
440 views
Ten plagues of Egypt: hail and pestilence
According to Moses, the fifth plague of Egypt killed all livestock except that of Israel. If all were killed, then why did Moses warn the Pharaoh to bring his cattle to shelter before the hail? The ...
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4answers
397 views
Does “ki” have four meanings or one?
There is a well-known statement by Resh Lakish in Gitin (90) that
כי" משמש בד' לשונות: אי, דלמא, אלא, דהא"
"ki" expresses four meanings...
There has been discussion over the ages as to what ...
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3answers
141 views
Why did the Mitzryim turn water into blood rather than vice versa?
Why didn't the Mitzryim magic makers just take away the blood from the first makkah to prove to Moshe that he was just doing magic and Hashem had nothing to do with it: why did they add blood (Exodus ...
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2answers
93 views
Why didn't Noach Pray for his generation like Avraham did for Sodom
Why didn't Noach Daven to save his generation like Avraham Davened for Sodom?
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2answers
511 views
Why blessings on Mt. Gerizim and curses on Mt. Ebal?
Devarim 11:29 says:
וְהָיָה, כִּי יְבִיאֲךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר-אַתָּה בָא-שָׁמָּה לְרִשְׁתָּהּ--וְנָתַתָּה אֶת-הַבְּרָכָה עַל-הַר גְּרִזִים, וְאֶת-הַקְּלָלָה עַל-הַר עֵיבָל.
...
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2answers
81 views
Which commentators commend Yosef for noticing his fellow prisoners' sadness?
Toward the end of Parashat Vayeishev, Yosef is imprisoned along with two of Par'oh's chief servants. Starting in Gen. 40:6, the Torah tells us that he notices that they look sad, asks why, and ...
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Do religious Jews generally believe the serpent of Gan Eden was Satan?
Upon reading the recent CNN article, That Actually Isn't In The Bible, one not-really-in-the-Bible misconception they cite is the idea that serpent in the Garden of Eden was the Satan.
The article ...
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3answers
147 views
Question about the actions of Pinchas when he killed Zimri
The Gemara (Sanhedrin 82A), while relating the story of Pinchas killing Zimri, tells us the following:
"And Phineas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it." (Bamidbar 25:7) Now, ...
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1answer
57 views
Why is there a “Good” Type of Tzaraas?
I understand there's the type that actually makes a person Tamei, because the person did bad things (e.g. spoke Lashon Hara). But assuming tzaraas stems from a spiritual affliction, what purpose does ...
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1answer
81 views
Did Esther eat at the first feast she made for the king and Haman?
Esther 5:1,5:4 says that Esther made the first feast on the third day of the fast.
Earlier (4:16), Esther tells Mordechai that she will also fast for three days.
Did she eat at the feast, or was ...
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2answers
290 views
Is there a good children's parsha book that's focused on pshat, not midrash?
Is there a good children's parsha book that's focused on pshat, not midrash?
Something like a Little Midrash Says, but based on just the psukim (simple verses), not all the medrish?
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2answers
126 views
What does the aramaic “pon” mean?
Once in a while, Onkelos will throw in the word pon (פּוֹן) that doesn't directly translate from the Hebrew.
Avimelech to Yitzchak: k'z'eir pon shachiv d'm'yached b'ama (Toldos 26:10)
Lavan to ...
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1answer
68 views
What does Rash"i add on B'midbar 2:20?
In describing the layout of B'nei Yisra'el's camp in the wilderness, the Torah records four groups (called d'galim) comprising 3 tribes each, and lists them in order, dictating a diagram of how they ...
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1answer
49 views
(Psalms 69 (14)) How do we understand אלקים ברב חסדך, rather than ה׳ ברב חסדך
I am used to the idea that the name אלקים connotes judgement and ה׳ mercy.
So how is it in Psalms 69 (14) , the Psalmist says “אלקים ברב חסדך”?
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4answers
171 views
Why build migdal bavel in a valley?
If the point of migdal bavel was to reach the heavens, why not build it on a mountain instead of a valley?
וַיְהִי כָל הָאָרֶץ שָׂפָה אֶחָת וּדְבָרִים אֲחָדִים:(ב) וַיְהִי בְּנָסְעָם מִקֶּדֶם ...
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3answers
138 views
Why does the census “of all who are able to go forth to war” include a few women?
The census in Bamidbar 26 is directed thus:
Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers' houses, all that are able to go ...
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1answer
149 views
On Deuteronomy 28:23, Rashi says copper is “mazi'a”. What does this mean?
I have this question on Rashi every year in Ki Savo. Deuteronomy 28:23 says: "And the heavens above your head will be like copper and the earth that is beneath you, iron."
Rashi says that the heavens ...
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2answers
83 views
Why are several Biblical characters called “man of the Lord” (Ish HaElokim), but no one in the Bible is ever “man of God” (Ish Hashem)?
Ramban makes this observation (Deut. 33:1), and says "anyone with a good intellect" can figure out the reason. Okay I'm stumped ... help me out here please?
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2answers
63 views
Why is “Kedoshim tihyu” (Lev. 19) interposed between the chapters about illicit relations?
Chapter 18 of Vayikra (Leviticus) mostly deals with various forbidden relationships, but without specifying the individual punishments for transgressing them (just a collective warning to the nation ...
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2answers
62 views
Joseph and Chanukkah
The Parshiot about Joseph always fall right before or during Chanukkah. It their a relationship between the Joseph stories and the Chanukkah stories? It there something to be learned from the fact ...
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2answers
90 views
How did Hevel offer an animal sacrifice, wasn't it forbidden to kill animals?
In Bereshit 4:4, Hevel offers his choicest sheep as a sacrifice to G-d.
However, in Bereshit 1:29-30, Adam is told he is only allowed to eat vegetables, and Rashi explains that he was forbidden to ...
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2answers
207 views
What did the 70 elders see?
Parshat Mishpatim says of the 70 elders who went up on Har Sinai with Moshe and Aharon:
וַיִּרְאוּ, אֵת אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְתַחַת רַגְלָיו, כְּמַעֲשֵׂה לִבְנַת הַסַּפִּיר, וּכְעֶצֶם הַשָּׁמַיִם, ...
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2answers
114 views
Yisrael or Yaakov?
Does anyone have any sources on a conclusive guide to when the name "Yisrael" is used and when the name "Yaakov" is used in the Torah in reference to Yaakov Avinu, the individual?
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3answers
153 views
Why can't Moshe hit the water?
As a kid I learned that Moshe wasn't allowed to hit the water because it saved him when he was a child and he had to show hakaras hatov (similar answer for why he couldn't hit the sand that saved him ...
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1answer
93 views
What was Moshe's “masveh”?
The Torah relates that Moshe donned a מסוה to hid the luminescence of his face, when addressing the community. What was the nature/appearance of this "masveh"?
