Questions tagged [parshanut-torah-comment]
interpretation of parts of Tanach by close reading, not derivation (Pronounced "par-sha-noot")
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What is R. Chananel's/R. Bachye's calculation of the years in Egypt?
In this answer I collected the opinions of various biblical commentators as to how many years the Israelites actually spent in Egypt. One of those views was that expressed by R. Chananel, as recorded ...
0
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1answer
30 views
What's the difference between two potential (כוחניים) maters the Yuly and the second
I read in the Abarbanel on Bereishit 1:1,quoting the Ramban, that on the first day Hashem created two types of primordial matter:
הראשון לבד שני חמרים מבלי צורה כוחניים בטבעם כענין ההיולי הראשון ...
0
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1answer
39 views
Body Parallels to the Creation
Inspired by this question.
Some commentaries viewed maaseh bereishis to be the literal description of the creation, and some interpret it in an allegorical fashion. I recall hearing somewhere that ...
5
votes
1answer
296 views
How did Beeri the Hittite come up with naming his daughter Yehudit?
וַיְהִי עֵשָׂו בֶּן־אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה וַיִּקַּח אִשָּׁה אֶת־יְהוּדִית בַּת־בְּאֵרִי הַחִתִּי
וְאֶת־בָּשְׂמַת בַּת־אֵילֹן הַחִתִּי׃
When Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith ...
0
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1answer
44 views
Exodus 21:22–25 Relevance for the issue of abortion
I'm asking about the interpretation of Exodus 21:22-25 as a Christian who talks about abortion policies etc. In my reading of the passage, I tend to interpret it that the expectation of the passage is ...
2
votes
0answers
47 views
Significance of Torah Midpoint
What is the significance of the middle of the Torah in letters being the vav in גָּחוֹן (Vayika 11:42)? (source: Kiddushin 30a)
What is special about the vav in גָּחוֹן that the Almighty chose to ...
1
vote
1answer
84 views
What was the Chiddush (new) in the 10 commandments?
I'm trying to imagine myself exiting Egypt and arriving at Matan Torah. To simplify, the Jewish people expect G-d to give them something they didn't know. Instead, G-d recites the 10 commandments most ...
0
votes
1answer
42 views
Why things in the Torah are “caused” by dreams but on Purim by insomnia?
Frankly this question was asked by my Chevrutah today.
We see that many things in the Torah are caused or moved by sleeping and dreaming - Yaakov dreaming of the Ladder, Yossef having fights with his ...
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0answers
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Why the sexes are not mentioned with animals?
In the creation of animals the Torah does not mention that they were created male and female:
וַיַּעַשׂ אֱלֹהִים אֶת־חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ לְמִינָהּ וְאֶת־הַבְּהֵמָה לְמִינָהּ וְאֵת כָּל־רֶמֶשׂ הָאֲדָמָה ...
0
votes
2answers
35 views
What exactly do we celebrate on Purim - the 14th of Adar?
In the Purim timeline, we can see a series of beneficial events:
the King couldn't sleep and remembered Mordechai (the turn of the story)
Hanging of Haman with his sons and Appointing of Mordechai ...
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2answers
38 views
Purim fighting in Adar - why wait for 8 months?
According to the Purim timeline:
the 13th of Adar (of the next year) was set as the target day for wiping the Jews.
Mordechai became the vice in Nissan and the new decrees to fight Amolekites ware ...
1
vote
1answer
24 views
In Lamentations 2:8 what does it mean to “stretch out a line”?
In Lamentations 2:8 what does it mean to "stretch out a line"?
Rashi says that it refers to a "line of judgment":
What might a "line of judgment" be?
2
votes
2answers
38 views
How can one behold the likeness of G-d, while no one did? [duplicate]
Could someone explain me the meaning of the words ‘he beholds the likeness of HaShem’ from Bamidbar 12:8 in comparison to Devarim 4:15 which states no one saw such a thing’. Because in both verses the ...
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vote
1answer
75 views
Why the Golden calf was a calf and not a bull?
If I recall correctly, the sources say the idol was created grown up and fully functioning.
Even if it was still in infant stages, Bava Kamma 65b:
אמר רבא שור בן יומו קרוי שור
(DonielF) according ...
3
votes
3answers
123 views
603,550 Jews at Sinai and 603,550 Jews Entering Promised Land?
Why in Exodus 38:26 does it say there were 603,550 men over age 20, and then in Numbers 1:46 the exact same number (603,550) is again listed?
Didn’t all the Jews of the generation in Exodus all die ...
-3
votes
1answer
75 views
Where was Adam when Chava cheated with the snake?
Where Adam was when Chava was sinning with the snake?
For me, it looks that Eden doesn't seem to be a huge place to walk around and Adam was so excited to have a woman by his side, also Adam and ...
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0answers
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Did Adam and Chava have a house in Eden?
I remember Adam was put in Eden and Chavah was created and they hid in bushes, but I don't recall them building a house or a shelter.
I also remember a Midrash saying G-d made a Chupah for them and ...
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1answer
43 views
Why the Targum translates יצר as ברא?
THis question if for people familiar with the Kabbalic concept of אבי"ע.
Please compare the Torah and the Targum:
"וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת־הַתַּנִּינִם הַגְּדֹלִים" - "וּבְרָא יְיָ יָת ...
1
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1answer
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Why G-d regretted creation of the Man single?
וַיֹּאמֶר ה"א לֹא־טוֹב הֱיוֹת הָאָדָם לְבַדּוֹ אֶעֱשֶׂהּ־לּוֹ עֵזֶר כְּנֶגְדּוֹ׃
God said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a fitting helper for him.” Bereishis 2, 18
As we can ...
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0answers
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How did Adam got his intellect?
The tradition says that Adam was created grown up and extremely intelligent. We know that his body was formed from the earth and his soul was blown into the body and then he became a living (talking) ...
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0answers
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Naming animals - different names for males, females and offspring?
My last question "Adam's about naming taxonomy" wasn't so popular, but it presented my view on the logic of naming the animals.
Acc. to Bereishit_Rabbah.17.4 naming the animals represents the ...
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0answers
30 views
Were the domesticated animals created domesticated or wild?
"וַיִּצֶר ה"א מִן־הָאֲדָמָה כָּל־חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה וְאֵת כָּל־עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם"
"And the LORD God formed out of the earth
all the wild beasts and
all the birds of the sky..." Bereishis 2,19:
...
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1answer
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“Let's make the Man” - isn't the Man the purpose of the creation?
"וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹקים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ"
And God said, “Let US (plural) make man in our (plural) image, after our (plural) likeness..." Bereshis 1,26
To resolve the apparent ...
5
votes
2answers
212 views
Why for a sorceress does the Torah say “shall not live” instead of “shall be put to death?”
In Exodus 22:17 the Torah tells us:
מְכַשֵּׁפָ֖ה לֹ֥א תְחַיֶּֽה׃
A sorceress you shall not let live.
We learn from Sanhedrin 67a that (man or woman) the punishment for sorcery is death by ...
3
votes
2answers
63 views
What's with the food ministers?
The United States has Secretaries for foreign affairs (called the Secretary of State), defense, agriculture, the treasury, commerce, education, and more.
Similarly, Israel has ministers for foreign ...
4
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1answer
39 views
Hashem referred as Hamelech in Torah
In Megillah Esther it is said that the word Hamelech is a indirect reference to Hashem.
Is there a word Hamelech or Melech in the Torah that is a reference to Hashem?
Only in the five Books of ...
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0answers
13 views
Why is the חצר not mentioned in Shemos 31 (6 – 11) amongst the other elements of the Mishkan
In Chapter 40 of Shemos, as each stage of the construction of the Mishkan is reported the Torah says eg 40 (19)
כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה ה׳ אֶת־מֹשֶֽׁה
As Hashem commanded Moshe.
When we get to ...
3
votes
2answers
60 views
What does אחָד in שמע ישראל actually mean?
In the Shema the word used for the oneness of God is אחָד (ref.). This is startling for a Muslim, as they find in the Quran almost a transliteration of the same word, i.e. the Arabic احد (pronounced: ...
0
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1answer
26 views
Saw the G-d of Israel? [duplicate]
In Exodus, G-d tells Moshe that "no one can see Me and live" (Exodus 33:20), but then in Exodus 24 Moses went up with Aharon, his sons, and 70 of Israel's elders, and they saw the G-d of Israel. . . . ...
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0answers
31 views
The 62 Years of Darius/Cyrus, and the 62 Weeks of Daniel
Has ancient or medieval Jewish tradition, spanning from the Talmud to the Shulchan Aruch, ever connected these two passages from the Book of Daniel ?
Daniel 5:30-31 In that night was Belshazzar ...
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1answer
31 views
Of all Aron measures, why the thickness of the Kapores was not mentioned?
While working on "the-holy-ark-weigh-4-tons" I noticed, the thickness of the Kapores (1 Tefach) is concluded only in the Gemmorah by גזירה שווה to other measures (Succa 5a):
"... אלא כפורת טפח מנלן?...
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0answers
16 views
Where did Moshe stand in the Tabernacle?
Where did Moshe stand when HaShem spoke to him from the Ohel Mo’ed (tent of meeting), from above the cover of the ark from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony? (Leviticus ...
2
votes
1answer
27 views
Why Moses could be only replaced with an idol?
In the previous question about the Golden Calf I thought it was suspicious that neither Moses left the "chain of command" just in case, neither Aharon offered himself as Moses' replacement.
Also, ...
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0answers
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Where exactly did Moses stand at the 10 commandments?
I know that Moses did a couple of ascends to the top of Mt Sinai at different times.
In the text, right before the 10C G-d says to Moses to descend but he was called to ascend with Aharon and the ...
4
votes
1answer
28 views
The difference between ארון and תיבה in the Torah
I'm a little confused here: in contemporary Hebrew the difference is simple - a box that opens on the side [and has a door] is called a cabinet (ארון) while a box that opens on the top is called a box ...
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0answers
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Was the wording on each tablet sized differently?
Was the wording on each tablet sized differently? It's said that the second tablet that contained the Commandments for man's relationship to man had larger wording so man would have no problem reading ...
7
votes
2answers
68 views
Golden Calf. Moshe asks for forgiveness for the people. But they have not repented?
The people sinned with the Golden Calf. Three thousand people who worshipped it were slain by the Leviim Shmos 32 (28).
Then Moshe says to the remainder Shmos 32 (30)
The next day Moses said to ...
1
vote
1answer
97 views
Why didn't the Snake kill Adam only and keep Chava for himself?
Tosefta on Soytah (Liehbermann):
"הנחש בקש להרוג את אדם ולישא את חוה"
Rashi on Shabbos 146a:
"כשבא נחש על חוה - כשנתן לה עצה לאכול מן העץ בא עליה
דכתיב (בראשית ג:יג) הנחש השיאני לשון נשואין"
...
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0answers
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The realistic expectations from the Golden Calf
It is difficult for me to understand people's expectations from the Golden Calf they made.
Strangely Aharon and others didn't try to argue on the logic of creating a dummy. So the calf was magically ...
1
vote
1answer
50 views
Was every commandment on the Tablets inscribed with a different finger of G-d?
In continuation to "the-importance-of-the-tablets-being-written-with-g-ds-finger":
I heard in Hagada of Pesach, when the Rabbis discuss the number of the plagues they compare it to hands and fingers. ...
1
vote
0answers
23 views
The Golden Calf timeline - hour by hour?
I can't figure out how the making of the Calf was possible in a couple of hours:
12pm was the time Moses promised to return. Satan started fooling around, people started to question.
The bad guys (...
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votes
1answer
35 views
Why didn't Moses leave the chain of command?
This is a follow-up to "why-didnt-they-ask-aharon-to-lead".
In Parshas Yisro and later we learn that the Jewish People had some kind of "the chain of command" or at least "the chain of judgment": ...
3
votes
0answers
20 views
How did Moses know he'll spend 40 days at the mountain?
As we all know the Golden Calf started with Moses coming up the mountain to learn with Hashem (Ex 24,17):
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁה עֲלֵה אֵלַי הָהָרָה וֶהְיֵה־שָׁם וְאֶתְּנָה לְךָ אֶת־לֻחֹת הָאֶבֶן ...
1
vote
0answers
21 views
Moses' problematic communication with the nation in the Golden Calf incident
In my plain understanding, the matter that triggered the story of the Golden Calf was Moses' bad explanation of his plan spending the next 40 days and coming back.
He told the nation, he'll be back ...
2
votes
1answer
45 views
The Golden calf - why wasn't Aharon asked to lead instead of Moses?
As I understand, the Israelites thought Moses was dead. It seems very logical that the vice-president takes the lead.
Aharon was Moses' brother, a prominent prophet, chosen by G-d, and Moses' vice.
...
1
vote
1answer
49 views
How the Tablets were written - all at once or letter by letter?
In my previous question the Torah says explicitly that the Tablets were written by G-d's finger.
Does it mean they were written letter by letter, as one finger can do, or all at once?
1
vote
1answer
35 views
What's the importance of the Tablets being written with G-d's finger?
"וַיִּתֵּן אֶל־מֹשֶׁה כְּכַלֹּתוֹ לְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ בְּהַר סִינַי
שְׁנֵי לֻחֹת הָעֵדֻת לֻחֹת אֶבֶן כְּתֻבִים בְּאֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים׃" (Ex 31:18)
He gave Moses the two tablets of the Pact, stone ...
2
votes
0answers
80 views
Why Moses named his son Eliezer “after” Avraham's slave?
"וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם ה"א מַה תִּתֶּן לִי וְאָנֹכִי הוֹלֵךְ עֲרִירִי וּבֶן מֶשֶׁק בֵּיתִי הוּא דַּמֶּשֶׂק אֱלִיעֶזֶר." (Gen 15,2)
"וְשֵׁם הָאֶחָד אֱלִיעֶזֶר כִּי אֱלֹהקי אָבִי בְּעֶזְרִי ...
2
votes
1answer
21 views
Why is the making of the ephod expressed in plural?
The beginning of Tetzaveh in Shemot 28:3, G-d tells Moshe to speak to the "people whom G-d inspired with knowledge of the heart" to make the garments for Aharon and his sons.
In viewing the language ...
8
votes
1answer
63 views
What was the significance of Pomegranates?
What was the significance of Pomegranates on the Kohen Gadol's "Me'il"?
Why specifically Pomegranates and not any other shape?
