Questions tagged [parshanut-torah-comment]
interpretation of parts of Tanach by close reading, not derivation
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Was Rachav A Harlot (Prostitute)?
It specifically says several times in Yehoshua chapter 2 and chapter 6 that Rachav was a Harlot " וְאֶת רָחָב הַזּוֹנָה". Why is it that it is accepted that she wasn't a harlot but an innkeeper and ...
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How could Yaakov have relations with a wife (Leah) whom he hated?
The Gemoro Nedorim 20b is critical of children born to a wife who is hated.
וברותי מכם המורדים והפושעים בי אמר רבי לוי אלו בני תשע מדות בני אסנ"ת
משגע"ח בני אימה בני אנוסה בני שנואה
And I ...
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Web sites where I can post divrei Torah
Can anyone suggest a good site where I can post a weekly list of marei mekomos in Ramban on the Parsha?
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Why didn't Par'oh have Moshe killed from the outset?
Bat Par'oh found a three-month-old Hebrew baby in/around the Nile (Shemot 1:5-10) and had him fed and raised by Yokheved until approximately age 2 (Shemot Rabbah 1:26). Bat Par'oh then raised this ...
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Why won't a wrongful blessing be void?
In Parashat Toldot, Isaac wrongfully blesses Yaakov instead of Esav. In the Halachah IIRC, most things made wrongfully are illegal and are void, like monetary contracts or marriages.
I don't really ...
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Avraham's knife was called Ma'achelet. Why?
What is the reason behind the word Ma'achelet used for the knife used by Avraham in the binding of Yitzchok? Is it an indication of specific function? Is this name used elsewhere? Does it indicate any ...
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Do the commentators describe how Amram and Yocheved felt through the events involving Paro's daughter and Moshe?
The intervention of Paro's daughter in the life of Moshe was clearly miraculous. Basya went against her father's wishes and Moshe's mother was paid to nurse him. One can imagine the feelings of wonder ...
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One to announce to Sarah
Rashi in parshas Va'eira states:
והנה שלשה אנשים. אחד לבשר את שרה
This is translated as
one to announce to Sarah the birth of a son, see Sefaria there, for instance.
Artscroll translates similarly
...
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Why the choice of Abraham preceded finding him righteous?
We say it daily in the morning prayer:
אַתָּה־הוּא ה"א אֲשֶׁר בָּחַרְתָּ בְּאַבְרָם וְהוֹצֵאתוֹ מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִּים וְשַׂמְתָּ שְּׁמוֹ אַבְרָהָם׃ וּמָצָאתָ אֶת־לְבָבוֹ נֶאֱמָן לְפָנֶיךָ...
You ...
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Meaning of "You alone are YHWH"
אַתָּה־הוּא יְהוָה לְבַדֶּךָ ...׃ - You alone are YHWH... Nehemiah.9.6
YHWH is God's proper name as God openly testifies:
... וּשְׁמִי יְהוָה לֹא נוֹדַעְתִּי לָהֶם - but I did not make Myself known ...
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Why didn't Yaakov and Yosef spend much time together?
It seems that Yaakov and Yosef did not spend much time together in Egypt. After the emotional reunion is there any other mention of them together? Why not?
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How can something negative be a blessing?
Ya'akov calls out for his sons to come to him, in order to tell them what would happen in the acharit hayamim. From Bereshit 49 verse 28 we learn that Ya'akov gave the tribes a bracha (blessing).
But ...
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What's up with the end of Sefer Vayikra?
Sefer Vayikra has lots of laws in it, and then it closes with an appropriate conclusion, namely, the story of what happens to Israel if it chooses to follow those laws, or if (ח"ו) Israel strays ...
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Why didn't Ezra mention Shofar on Rosh Hashanah?
In Nehemiah.8.10, after reading Torah on the first day of the seventh month (Rosh Hashana - Rashi ibid):
וַיָּבִיא עֶזְרָא הַכֹּהֵן אֶת־הַתּוֹרָה לִפְנֵי הַקָּהָל ... בְּיוֹם אֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ ...
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Why did Yosef's brothers speak freely in the presence of the interpreter?
In Parashat Miketz, Yosef's brothers encounter him disguised as the viceroy of Egypt, and he accuses them of espionage, jails them for three days, and makes a demand that they know their father would ...
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What does the following mean from the meshech chochma?
The Meshech Chochmah, Vaeschanan, Deuteronomy 6:5, says something which I don't understand. Here it is:
וא"ל (ואמרי לה) לקיים מילי דנזיקין, כי האדם מדיני בטבע, ואוהב הקבוץ לרוב חסרונו.
Here is ...
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Does a person’s soul see through the navel when the person passes away (Ben Ish Hai)
I was studying with someone earlier today and he mentioned that he once read in the Sefer Ben Ish Hai that when a person passes away, his soul can ‘see’ (I don’t really know what that means) through ...
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Is Satan a being or just a mission any angel could fulfill?
Midrash B"R quoted by Rashi (Genesis.32.30, and similarly Judges.13.18) says that:
"We [angels] have no fixed names; our names change, all depending upon the service we are commanded to ...
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Yossef's brothers - not learning from previous experience?
My boy asked me a tricky question I was unable to answer - please help. He just returned from a trip to Rome and went through the airport security checking the bags reading the Parashat Shavua (Miketz ...
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Understanding Rashi's resolution of an ambiguity in Parashat Vayigash
The following is based on a question I wrote in the margin of my chumash about ten years ago.
In Yehuda's speech to the Egyptian viceroy (Yosef in disguise) at the beginning of Parashat Vayigash, he ...
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Heter for Embalming Yaakov
How could Yosef order the Egyptians to embalm Yaakov, (Bereishis 50:2) וַיְצַו יוֹסֵף אֶת-עֲבָדָיו אֶת-הָרֹפְאִים, לַחֲנֹט אֶת-אָבִיו; וַיַּחַנְטוּ הָרֹפְאִים, אֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵל) especially in light of ...
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Yaakov and Esav identical twins?
Were Yaakov and Esav monozygotic ("identical") twins, or dizygotic ("fraternal") twins?
(Inspired by Sabbahillel's answer to Why is the birth of twins a Chidush for Rivka?)
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Esav "kissed" (vayishakheihu) have dots over this word, is there an explanation? Or is it a scribal error?
In Bereishit 33:4 Esav "kissed" Jacov. In some Torah scrolls the word for kissed (bite) is, "VAYISHAKHEIHU" which has dots over each letter. I have seen some explanations that the dots represent "bite ...
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Why does the Torah end before fulfilling the promise of entering the Promised land?
Most mundane facts are the most fascinating to question.
The Torah ends with Moses dying in the wilderness and the Israelites still camping on the other bank of the Jordan River. This plot sounds ...
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Why didn't God reveal to Job that He simply bet with Satan?
The book of Job focuses on theological and philosophical explanations of Job's (and other pious individuals') suffering. Eventually, God Himself talks to Job revealing that His thoughts and plans for ...
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How does God's bet with Satan square with monotheistic theology?
One day the divine beings presented themselves before the LORD, and [the] Satan came along with them. The LORD said to the Satan, “Where have you been?” ... -“I have been roaming all over the earth.” ....
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Was Adonijah's grab of the throne, while David reigned, ever referred to, by any authorities, as a co-regency?
Was Adonijah's grab of the throne, while David reigned, ever referred to, by any authorities, as a co-regency?
From Adonijah's self-exaltation (1 Kings 1:5) to self-debasement at the horns of the ...
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ויהי and Bereshit 39
In Bereshit 39 - end of parshat Vayeishev - the Torah keeps using the word ויהי. In 23 verses, there are 15 times the word ויהי repeated.
Is there a significance of the ויהי repetition, over and over, ...
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Why didn't Jacob confront his father's decision openly?
Many commentators explain why Itzhak was wrong in his decision to bless Eisav. Then, when Rivka heard it, she asked Yaakov to stage a hoax and "steal" the Brochos. This is completely ...
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From Adonijah's self-exaltation to self-debasement at the horns of the altar, what was the time frame?
From Adonijah's self-exaltation to self-debasement at the horns of the altar, what was the time frame?
From the time
"Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying: 'I will be king'" (...
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What were Yaakov's original intentions for marrying Lavan's daughter(s)?
I learned from my Rabbi's books (R' Moshe Luriah's "בית גנזי על התורה" - Ariz"l's tradition) that:
Yaakov and Esav paralleled Rachel and Leah and were "destined" one for ...
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Why Yakov never learned to love Leah?
IIRC, the general approach to Yaakov marrying Rachel and Leah is that he intended to marry them both from the beginning, just in a different order.
Even if only Rachel was his soulmate, marrying ...
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What was and who were Bath-Sheva's or Bath-Shua's Name and Children with David and Uriah?
What was and who were Bath-Sheva's or Bath-Shua's Name and Children with David and Uriah?
Divrei Hayamim I - I Chronicles - Chapter 3:5 And these were born to
him in Jerusalem: Shimea, and Shobab, ...
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Why didn’t Yaakov marry both sisters simultaneously?
This might sound strange but the effective Jewish Halacha allows for marrying multiple women at once:
נוֹשֵׂא אָדָם כַּמָּה נָשִׁים אֲפִלּוּ מֵאָה בֵּין בְּבַת אַחַת בֵּין בָּזוֹ אַחַר זוֹ - A person ...
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Different languages describing forefathers' wealth
Off the top of my head, I bring three different verses describing the (enormous) wealth of our forefathers, each mentioning different parts of it:
Abraham: "וְאַבְרָם כָּבֵד מְאֹד בַּמִּקְנֶה ...
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Why did Isaac reaped a hundredfold first and God blessed him later?
In the verse Genesis.26.12?:
וַיִּזְרַע יִצְחָק בָּאָרֶץ הַהִוא וַיִּמְצָא בַּשָּׁנָה הַהִוא מֵאָה שְׁעָרִים וַיְבָרֲכֵהוּ ה'׃ - Isaac sowed in that land and reaped a hundredfold the same year and ...
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Why did Ya'akov work for Lavan for so long?
I'm having a bit of trouble understanding Or Hachaim's explanation on Breishit 29:18. Usually Jewish slaves work for only 6 years. Yet, Ya'akov offers to work for Lavan for 7 years as payment for ...
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Why deception seems intrinsic to Terah's descendants?
The last couple of Parashot dealt with members of Abraham's family, both Abraham and Nachor's descendants. As far as I can see, many of them, both righteous and wicked, were liers: it starts with ...
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Why didn't God intervene in the story of Itzhak's blessings to Eisav?
We can see God intervening in numerous situations in the Book of Genesis, revealing His divine plans to our forefathers, saving them, and preventing them from falling into different traps. However, in ...
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Importance of "Days" in the process of Creation
Why is it important that the Creation process is divided into 6 "days", as opposed to "parts" or "stages" or even presented in simple succession without mentioning "units"?
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What land did Isaac sow in and how did he own it?
וַיִּזְרַע יִצְחָק בָּאָרֶץ הַהִוא ...׃ - Isaac sowed in that land ... Genesis.26.12
I recall Abraham buying a lot in Hebron and Yaakov buying one near Shechem, but I don't recall Isaac buying lands. ...
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Why is Eisav mentioned as "Ish" twice?
Some love this kind of details:
"... וַיְהִי עֵשָׂו אִישׁ יֹדֵעַ צַיִד אִישׁ שָׂדֶה ...׃ - .. Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; Genesis.25.27"
In Hebrew, one can say it ...
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Why didn't Yitzhak bless Eisav the same way he blessed Yaakov?
Why couldn't Yitzhak make the same blessing twice?
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Why would God need to introduce Himself when revealing to forefathers?
וַיֵּרָא אֵלָיו ה' בַּלַּיְלָה הַהוּא וַיֹּאמֶר אָנֹכִי אֱלֹהֵי אַבְרָהָם אָבִיךָ ...׃ - That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. ...” Genesis.26.24
This is ...
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בכר and ברך connection?
In this week's parasha, Esav complains that Ya'akov stole both his beracha and his bechor. Do any commentators (either here or elsewhere) comment on the similarity between the words בכר and ברך?
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Yitzchak as an Olah Temima - Yes to Egypt - No to Shifcha?
Yitzchak and Rivka waited many years to have kids, until they davened.
The Medrash is quoted saying that Yitzchak didn’t take a Shifcha - maidservant- like Avraham did (Hagar) because he knew that ...
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Did Abraham and Sarah say a blessing on hearing a good news about their future heir?
IIRC, one says a Brachah of "Hatov veha-Meitiv" on hearing good news (source needed).
When the angels came to inform Abraham and Sara of giving birth to Isaac in exactly one year, did they ...
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Why was Rivka asked for consent after closing the deal?
Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “...Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be a wife to your master’s son...” ... The servant brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, ...
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Washing feet before coming inside: Avraham vs. Lot
When the angels came to visit Avraham, he asked them (Bereishis 18:4) to "Bathe your feet, and recline under the tree". Rashi explains:
He thought that they were Arabs, who prostrate themselves to ...
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What is the "benefit," if any, of having one's spleen removed?
What is the "benefit," if any, of having one's spleen removed?
Melachim I - I Kings - Chapter 1:5 "And Adoniahu the son of Haggith
exalted himself saying: 'I will be king,' and he made ...
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