Last week the Torah gave a detailed account of the structure of the Temple. This week, the Torah portion of Tetzaveh further discusses different elements relating to the Temple and its service. Primarily, the parshah describes the garments of the high priest (also including the garments of the ordin...

If asked to determine whether a house was being lived in or not, I would investigate two things: whether the house's lights were on, and whether there was food in the fridge. The presence of both would be strong evidence that somebody lived there, even if they were not physically present at the mome...

In this week’s parshah, we learn about the construction of the Tabernacle that the Jews were commanded to build in the desert. It is a well known concept in Jewish life that there exists a direct link between the Tabernacle and the day of Shabbos: Every single creative activity that was needed in ...

Boring, boring, boring. That's both a review of this snoozer of a parsha and a warning about the notes you're about to read. Caveat lector. Crux Alert For my money this is the most troubling crux in the whole Torah. Read more External Parallels In 21:10 we're told that a man who takes a second wife ...

Recently I have almost stopped writing posts on parshat hashavua. This is largely a result of my decision (which I don't regret) to learn the Ramban's commentary on the parsha each week this year. This has impacted my posting in three ways: 1) It takes a really long time and I have no time left to j...

Near the end of this week’s parshah we come upon the well-known words of “Na’aseh Venishmah� (“We will do and we will hear�) that the Jewish nation expressed concerning their commitment to God and to following His commandments. The verse writes as follows: “…and they (the Jewish nati...

Last week I attended a fabulous lecture at Machon Pardes (where I work) by Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman. He has published an interesting book (link) and one of the points that he made is a perfect chiddush for this week's parsha.He spoke about Vassal Treaties (more here). what is a Vassal Treaty? It is q...

With this issue of ParshaNotes, I'm up-to-date. It's amusing to me each week to see which individual notes generate the most interest and anger. As I compile the post, I usually guess which one will make Bray most irate, or which will generate the most thoughtful commentary from the others in the co...

In this week’s Torah portion, we read about the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Within the Torah’s description of that untimely event, the parshah lists the “Ten Commandments� that were passed down to us from God. Let us focus on one of those commandments; that of Shabbos (the Sabbath). ...

Better late than not all... Echos Compare: Exodus 10:3: Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? כה־�מר... העברי� עד־מתי מ�נת לענת מפני with Exodus 10:7: Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long will this man b...