Danny Ginsbourg

Four more questions

Jews always have more questions. Here are four.

Parashat Tsav:

Consecration

When, chronologically, did our Parashah's first verses occur?

Parashat Vayikra:

The wondrous korbanot

The korbanot in the Bet Mikdash - assuredly they were to unite worlds.

Parashat Vayakhel-Pikudei:

'May our Will be the Will of Hashem'

It wasn't just the work itself that was done as Hashem commanded, it was also the way it was done.

Parashat Tetzave:

"Kindle the lamp in the Tent of Meeting"

Hashem has no need for illumination, the mitzvah is solely for the honor and needs of Israel - and it also contains symbolism for daily life.

Parashat Teruma:

Why did the Sanctuary need a Table?

What purpose did the Table serve and what need was there in the Sanctuary and in the Temple, that required a Table?

G-d's ordinances

‘If you accept the ordinances, there will be peace amongst you, and you will then merit to acquire the Torah.’

Receiving the Torah:

In the Wilderness of Sinai

Why does it say ‘they journeyed from Rephidim and arrived in the desert’? After all, we know they were iin Rephidim beforehand from previous verses.

Parashat Beshalach:

The miracle of the waters of Marah

Why did Hashem cause the Israelites to worry about lack of water, and - further - bring them to a place of bitter waters?

Parashat Shavua:

Hashem made a mockery of Egypt

Rabbi Nebenzahl: Hashem made a mockery of Pharoah and the Egyptians, to obviate any possibility of a mistaken impression that there was that there was a battle between two forces.

The four words of Redemption

Commentators interpret the meaning of the words used to foretell the Exodus and the Israelites' becoming G-d's chosen nation.

Shemot:

The bush was not consumed

Commentators analyze the symbolism of the burning bush.

Parashat Vayechi:

"Do not bury me in Egypt"

Why did Jacob ask to be buried in Israel? See what the commentators have to say.

First things first: Establishing a yeshiva in Egypt

Why did Yaakov send Yehuda to Egypt before he descended there to see his son Yosef at last?

Parashat Mikeitz:

Circumcision in Egypt

We already know that everything that was created with man, was worthy of existing - except for the foreskin, as the Torah commanded us to remove it.

Parashat Vayeshev:

'Your brothers are pasturing in Shechem-I will send you to them'

Why did Joseph go to the brothers he knew hated him - and why did Jacob send him, knowing the same?

Parashat Vayishlach:

"Do not grab a dog by its ears!"

Couldn't Yaakov simply avoided his brother?

Parashat Vayetze:

'Beware lest you speak with Yaakov good or bad'

In the end, they parted, by making a covenant - at Laban’s behest - between them, but what did Laban really want?

Parashat Toldot:

"Rivkah went to inquire of Hashem"

The wondrous outcome of Rivkah's pregnancy, is that all that the nations create in this world, in the end result, is for the benefit of Bnei Israel, in their service of Hashem.

Parashat Chayei Sarah:

The two lives of our Matriarch Sarah

Sarah recognized Hashem - with Abraham - when she was thirty-eight, the thirty-eighth year being reckoned with the earlier period, of not knowing Hashem.

Parashat Vayera:

Why did Sarah laugh?

Commentators weigh in on the unexpected laughter of Matriarch Sarah at the news that she would bear a son.

The Patriarch Abraham:

The chasid who did chessed with his Master

The Chatam Sofer reconciles the seemingly irreconciliable views of Rashi and of Ramban, and lauds Abraham's ability to instill faith in his descendants.

Parashat Noach:

Noach, man of the earth, planted a vineyard and debased himself

Why does Rashi comment: ’’Noach debased himself’ - he should have first engaged in planting something other than a vineyard."

Parashat Bereishit:

'Because there was no man to work the soil'

A seemingly contradicttory account of the creation of vegetation and trees teaches a deep message about our relationship to G-d.

'Remember us for life'

Our prayer to G-d during the Ten Days of Repentance is analyzed here in tribute to the victims of the Manchester terror attack.

Parashat Ki Tavo:

Blessing and curses

‘Do not think that these oaths are imposed on you alone- as if, but for this, you would not serve Hashem.'

Parashat Ki Teitze:

Dishonest weights are an abomination in G-d's eyes

The wisest of men King Solomon - exclaimed (Mishlei 11:1): "Deceitful weights are an abomination of the Lord, but a perfect weight is His Will."

Parashat Shoftim: The King of Israel

'He shall write..two copies of this Torah...'

The two Sifrei Torah represent the two ways of serving Hashem.

Parashat Re'eh:

A blessing and a curse

An enlightening look at commentators through the centuries on the question of the wording of the verses on the blessings and curses regarding Torah observance.

'Hashem will bless you and multiply you'

Great good awaits those who toil in the ocean of the oral Torah - as well as those who go in the way of עקב: fulfilling all the mitzvot.

Parshat Ve'etchanan:

'You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness"

Begun? Why does Moshe Rabbeinu use that verb after all the miracles of the Exodus and the sojourn in the desert?

Parashat Devarim:

"Come and possess the land"

Instead of trusting G-d, they sent the spies and the rest is history.

Parshiyot Matot-Maasei:

'The descendants of Reuven and Gad had an abundance of livestock'

‘Our Sages comment, that because Reuben and Gad were so attached to their wealth, till they were prepared to settle outside the land, they were the exiled from it, before the other tribes.'

Parshat Pinchas:

A covenant of peace

Why Hashem caused Moshe to forget the halakha when confronted by Zimri, and for it to be recalled by Pinchas.

Parashat Balak:

'A nation that dwells alone'

Our Sages took care to maintain this separation, enacting decrees so that we do not mingle with the nations, such as forbidding their wine, lest we thereby come close to their daughters, and the like.

Parashat Chukat:

"Ascend o well - call out to it"

‘This is truly ‘a gift’ - as our parsha promises - to become like a well of flowing water - of Torah.’

Parashat Korach:

The Levite who wanted to be High Priest

Did the intelligent Korach not feel the contradiction in his words?

Parashat Shlach:

Juxtaposition - and not by chance!

Answering an age-old question: Why does the story of the spies follow the story of Miriam's punishment for slander?

The complainers

‘This was the severity of their transgression, that: it was not meat that they desired, but that they desired desire.

Parashat Naso:

The sanctity of Aaron

The Kohen loves the people and they, in turn, love him.