Questions tagged [parshanut-torah-comment]
interpretation of parts of Tanach by close reading, not derivation
1,705
questions
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Why doesn't the Torah start with “And God spoke to Moses: In the beginning God created, etc”?
Both Talmudic opinions about the dictation of the Torah to Moses (either at once or scroll by scroll, Gittin 60), agree on the fact of the dictation. Therefore the Torah must reflect that fact and, ...
4
votes
0answers
75 views
How did they bake the showbread in the desert
B"H
If they had no flour what did they use to bake it? The mawn? If so, whose portion of the mawn was used? Aharoyn's? Other koyhawneem? Did a unique portion fall just for it? Sources would be ...
2
votes
0answers
55 views
13 ways in which the Torah is trampled
I've found a reference in a book to a medieval Italian document which refers to "the 13 ways in which the Torah is trampled and profaned". Can anyone tell me more about these 13 ways?
5
votes
1answer
191 views
Where was Malkitzedek of Jerusalem at the time of the Akedah?
ארץ המוריה: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Rashi Genesis.22.2)
"And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine...", Targum "וּמַלְכִּי צֶדֶק מַלְכָּא דִירוּשְׁלֶם" Genesis.14.18
If ...
1
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0answers
20 views
Why is God unspecific with directions to Abraham?
The LORD said to Abram, “Go forth ... to the land that I will show you." Genesis.12.1
And He said, “Take your son... and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will ...
3
votes
0answers
35 views
Why does God curse and how does it align with justice?
וְעַתָּה אָרוּר אָתָּה מִן־הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר פָּצְתָה אֶת־פִּיהָ לָקַחַת אֶת־דְּמֵי אָחִיךָ מִיָּדֶךָ׃ - >Therefore, you shall be more cursed than the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your ...
0
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1answer
54 views
How could Cain know that Hebel was actually dead?
Maybe I'm missing something in the story, but I see no obvious way for Cain to know that he actually killed Hebel and the latter will not wake up, heal or resurrect.
How could Cain know that Hebel was ...
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0answers
30 views
Why was Gan-Eden a garden?
The narrative says there was a place called Eden or being eden (a watered valley) and then God planted a garden inside of it where Adam was placed.
Why was this place a garden, and not a city, a ...
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64 views
Two questions about cures in judaism
Is there treatment in judaism for all disease apart of cupping if you don't know what is cupping look at it's pictures in google
Is there a treatment in judaism for aging
I need answer from a rabbi
Or ...
3
votes
2answers
67 views
Multiple Tribes of Binyamin?
In the book "Sefer Yosef Breslevi", there's an essay by Yisrael Ben-Shem in which he raises multiple questions related to various appearances of people from the Tribe of Binyamin throughout ...
4
votes
1answer
110 views
When (day, month, year) did Avshalom son of king David die?
When (day, month, year) did Avshalom son of king David die?
Please cite a source as to exactly when this happened.
II Samuel 18:15 And there circled about ten young men who were Joab's
armor bearers, ...
1
vote
1answer
128 views
When did Adoniahu die?
When (day, month, year) did Adoniahu die, as according to the pasuk below?
1 Kings 2:24 And now, (as) the Lord lives, Who has established me, and set me on
the throne of David, my father, and Who has ...
5
votes
2answers
349 views
Moshe and Aharon never sinned
The gemarra in Shabbos 55a says a rule: אין מיתה בלא חטא, no one dies without having sinned. As an attempt to refute this rule, the gemarra brings a baraisa that says:
מֵיתִיבִי: אָמְרוּ מַלְאֲכֵי ...
1
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0answers
37 views
Pre-plagues hail?
In Shemot 9:24, it says about the plague of hail:
"וַיְהִי בָרָד וְאֵשׁ מִתְלַקַּחַת בְּתוֹךְ הַבָּרָד כָּבֵד מְאֹד אֲשֶׁר לֹא הָיָה כָמֹהוּ בְּכָל אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מֵאָז הָיְתָה לְגוֹי."
&...
2
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0answers
43 views
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 ...
0
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3answers
75 views
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 ...
2
votes
3answers
101 views
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 ...
3
votes
1answer
74 views
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 ...
0
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1answer
34 views
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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0answers
42 views
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 ...
1
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2answers
126 views
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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1answer
47 views
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 ...
3
votes
0answers
58 views
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 ...
4
votes
2answers
113 views
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
62 views
When was Shlomo HaMelech anointed king?
When (day, month, year) was Shlomo HaMelech anointed king, as according to the pasuk below?
1 Kings 1:45 And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed
him king in Gihon, and they have ...
1
vote
2answers
65 views
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 ...
0
votes
1answer
39 views
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, ...
1
vote
2answers
192 views
Did Esav do Teshuva?
The Chizkuni Bireishis 25:8 says at the end of his comment that Esav also did Teshuva. Is there other sources for this amongst the Rishonim and Chazal?
2
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0answers
92 views
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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votes
2answers
84 views
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 ...
1
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1answer
82 views
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, ...
0
votes
1answer
95 views
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 ...
1
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1answer
74 views
Why did Isaac trust his senses over his feeling?
וַיִּגַּשׁ יַעֲקֹב אֶל־יִצְחָק אָבִיו וַיְמֻשֵּׁהוּ וַיֹּאמֶר הַקֹּל קוֹל יַעֲקֹב וְהַיָּדַיִם יְדֵי עֵשָׂו׃ - So Jacob drew close to his father Isaac, who felt him and wondered. “The voice is the ...
1
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0answers
16 views
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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1answer
71 views
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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2answers
88 views
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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0answers
15 views
What was Isaac's original intention of enslaving Yaakov to Esav?
If we accept the plain narrative of the text, that:
Isaac did mistake Yaakov for Esav (he was sure he blesses Esav)
He uttered blessing he prepared and intended to bless (God didn't switch blessings, ...
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0answers
26 views
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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votes
2answers
62 views
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
28 views
Meaning of “And you shall serve your brother” specifically for Esav and Yaakov
Unlike another question that asks about the vague prophecy Rivkah was given about her twins, I ask specifically about Itzhak's statement to Esav:
... וְאֶת־אָחִיךָ תַּעֲבֹד ...׃ - And you shall serve ...
1
vote
1answer
75 views
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 ...
4
votes
3answers
100 views
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
30 views
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
32 views
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. ...
0
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0answers
23 views
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 ...
2
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0answers
29 views
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?
0
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1answer
49 views
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, ...
0
votes
1answer
61 views
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 ...
3
votes
2answers
159 views
Why didn't our forefathers team up with Shem and Ever?
Our sources mention not only the mere existence of Abraham's pious forefathers, such as Shem and Ever but their Toranic activities in the Promised land, such as Shem being a Kohen in Jerusalem and ...
0
votes
1answer
43 views
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
...
