Parshas Tetzaveh: Which One Of Your Five Senses Is Not Like The Rest?

Devir Kahan
Parsha, Chumash, Machshavah

There is a structural oddity found in Parshas Tetzaveh. In last week’s parsha, Terumah, the Torah discusses at length all the various keilim of the Mishkan. The Torah then moves on in Tetzaveh to discuss the clothing of the Kohein Gadol, until the end of the parsha, at which point it resumes its discussion of the keilim by speaking about the mizbeach ha’ketores. We must then ask the obvious question: Why is the mizbeach ha’ketores separated from all the other keilim? Why is the Torah broken up this way?...

Amos 6:1-14 — History, Take 2

Yaacov Bronstein
Amos, Nach

The speech opens with a delineation of its primary target, the religious aristocracy — in all likelihood the wealthy class of priests running the Northern temples. The masses in v1b depend on these priests, who hold a corrupt monopoly on what is societally perceived as indispensable religious ritual. In v2 the Navi sardonically asks these overconfident leaders whether their nation is any greater than their neighbors...

From Yaakov To Yisrael (Part 1): Introduction — The One Who Grasps The Heel

Zach Sterman
Yaakov To Yisrael, Parsha, Chumash

In order to engage in comprehensive Torah study we must first establish our methodology and intention. The Torah is a book of prophesies composed perfectly by God, and it therefore wastes no words and was conceived through Divine wisdom. As a book of prophecy, the Torah’s goal is to deliver the message of God, though at times its messages are cryptic and challenging...

But Is It Really Stealing?

Shoshana Rozenberg
Machshavah

In his famous work, Mesillas Yesharim, Rav Moshe Chaim Luzzato ascertains that in addition to stealing being prohibited, anything that can potentially lead to stealing is also prohibited. The concept of a geder is nothing new. In Judaism, we are fully protected by Chazal to never commit a d’oraita through all of the layers of issurei deraban that are legislated. But this safeguard seems to be different. It is extremely open-ended — and even seems a bit subjective — whereas all the other Rabbinic decrees are more rigid; open to debate in how to keep them practically, but still laid out clearly...

How Religious Were The Avos?: The Pre-Sinaitic Torah

Avi Borgen
Machshavah, History

It is well known that the Torah was given to the Jews in the desert at Har Sinai. This, however, begs the question: to what extent, if at all, did the Torah exist before it was given at Sinai? What did pre-Sinaitic Judaism look like? Did the Avos, living before the giving of the Torah, live by the guidelines that we adhere to today? Better yet, could they have possibly followed a code of law that was not to be given for another couple hundred years?...

Amos 5:18-27 — The Temple In The Desert

Yaacov Bronstein
Amos, Nach

This short piece comprises the first of two “הוֹי” (“Woe unto…”) sections which follow the kinah of 5:1-17, centering around a theme already initiated in 5:13-14, the nation’s mistaken premise that God remains a dependable ally, re-introduced in v18-20. This transitions into v21-25 which discuss ritual temple practice in a particularly interesting and nuanced way, following which v26-27 concludes with foretold consequences...

Parshas Yisro: Are You A Murderer?

Devir Kahan
Midrash, Parsha

In competition to determine “the most important parsha” in a particular sefer of Chumash, Yisro would fair quite well as a candidate for Shemos. Indeed, a number of crucially important events transpire in Parshas Yisro, but we shall endeavor to examine herein quite a lesser-known aspect of the parsha. In particular, we shall focus on a Midrash that comments on the giving of the Torah...

The Amazing Musical Talmudic Flying Machine: What Technology And Art Should Mean To Jews

Eliezer Berger
Machshavah, Art

There seems to be some confusion about technology and how it relates to Jews. I get the impression that “technology” is used most commonly nowadays to mean “shiny electric things we use for convenience and entertainment”. A student of history (and language) would be quite aware of the much broader meaning of technology. Technology is the application of skills to produce something useful, essentially. In modern times, this involves the application and advancement of science. In ancient and medieval civilization, technology was more like a craft (“making stuff”)...

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