Mann Power
We cannot totally control our sustenance – not the food we eat, nor the money we earn.
The Longest Chapter, the Deepest Exile
Parshat Naso, as you know, is the longest single parsha in the Torah. In most years, Naso follows Shavuot, which is appropriate – once...
Gravity Defying Bread – Bamidbar
The total weight of the shulchan with the lechem hapanim was over 551 pounds.
Heightened Awareness
Detach yourself from the illusions of this world and focus on the true realities of the world and Who determines them…. Today you do not take care of yourselves, I take care of you.
Purim Bread?
One might say that the menorah and the ketoret were temidin, while the lechem hapanim was only switched once a week, on Shabbat. However, although it was only switched once a week, the lechem hapanim was on the shulchan every day, a korban in itself, a repeating miracle that occurred each day anew.
The Secret of 33
The Ramban says that the word se'ir (goat) is also reminiscent of Eisav, who Yaakov describes as sa'ir (hairy).
G-d’s Traffic Light
G-d does not immediately punish us or strike us down with a bolt of lightning if we speak lashon hara. He warns us in stages.
A Mikdash Menagerie
According to one opinion, the second keruv on the parochet was not a lion but had the face of an eagle! This eagle was present in both the first and second Batei Mikdash, until they were destroyed.
Fire
Fire is something that belongs in Heaven, that is its place. It is therefore not difficult to understand that fire came down from Heaven onto the mizbe'ach. What is difficult to understand is the mitzvah for us to add our own fire.
Salted Matzos
The Rambam (Sefer HaMitzvot, negative commandment 99) says that it is not permitted to bring a Korban that has no taste, it has to have an intrinsic taste and flavor that is not just palatable, but an honor to the King to Whom it is sacrificed, it has to be delicious.
Flipped
Chazal tell us that every component in the earthly Beit HaMikdash is paralleled by a "twin component" in the Heavenly Beit HaMikdash. Just as there is a Menorah down here, there is a Menorah up there. Just like there is a Shulchan down here, there is a Shulchan up there, etc.
Gather Round
The women had to be there and also the babies, not simply because that was how it was at Matan Torah, but for another reason. Neither the women or the babies were complicit in the sin of the eigel, they didn't have anything to atone for – it was the men.
Water Of Creation
Of all the vessels in the Mikdash, the kiyor is something of a conundrum. Is it one of the main vessels in the Mikdash, like the Menorah, Shulchan, etc., or not?
Purim And The Mishkan
Assimilation was quite prevalent at the time with many prosperous exiled Jews preferring a liberal, cosmo-political approach as opposed to a conservative, separatist approach. Very few remained true to the old teachings and values, like Mordechai, the former head of the Sanhedrin.
Presence In Residence
If you analyze the overall structure of the Mishkan (and Beit HaMikdash) you see that it is layered according to the level of holiness.
Eyes, Teeth, Hands & Feet
If you think that wealth is limited to your investment portfolio, you are very much mistaken (although money is one form of wealth). There are other forms of wealth, which many tend to regard as mundane, but which are often more valuable than all the money in the world.
A Female Bird
Midyan therefore embody a double-edged sword. On the one hand, being descendants of Avraham with the attribute of controlled chesed, they are attracted to Am Yisrael, out of love. On the other hand, they are not Am Yisrael and do not have our Torah values – so they potentially pose a threat.
Making Music
Even the animals have been singing to G-d every day, since Creation. Every time you hear a bird chirping, a rooster crowing, a donkey braying etc., they are singing praise to G-d. If you want to know what they are singing, refer to Sefer Perek Shira.
First Born
According to Meir Panim, the entire episode of Am Yisrael in Egypt and the Exodus, was to atone for this sin. This is why we are commanded to eat matzos when we left Egypt, to atone for the chametz bread baked by Chava.
Well-Staffed
This staff was given by G-d to Adam HaRishon. It was then passed down from generation to generation, to Shet, Chanoch, Metushelach, Noach, Shem, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov and then to Yosef.
Anatomy Of Exile
When Yosef entered, Pharaoh tested him – he said hello to him in Dutch, Greek, and Danish and each time Yosef conversed with him fluently in each language and ascended another step until finally he was on the top 70th step together with Pharaoh.
A White Lie
There is no question that they lied, but incredibly, the Gemara above says that they were right to lie because there is a special circumstance when one is permitted to lie and that is to make peace, what is known in English as a white lie.
The First Impression
After Yosef reveals himself to them and they get over their initial shock, the Midrash says – they wanted to kill him! Kill him? Just a few hours earlier they were intent on rescuing Yosef, and willing to pay any price to do so. Now that he is standing in front of them, they want to kill him?
Abominable Bread
Where grains abound, so does baking knowledge and Egypt was also the first baking superpower. Much of our modern baking science is derived from the ancient Egyptians.
Mourning Malfunction
Yaakov knew even before Yosef was sold that he and his family would go down to Egypt. If not, why would he buy a future burial plot for Yosef – the first thing he did before settling in Eretz Yisrael?
Do We Create Our Own Enemies?
Let us assume for a moment that the Avot knew for certain what the repercussions of rejecting Timna would be and that they were faced with a dilemma. If they accept her as a convert, it would conflict with the halacha, because she had an agenda.
Blindsided
If you think Lavan was an arch-villain swindler, he had nothing on the serpent. The serpent was the inventor of swindling, using wiles and deception to trick Chava into eating from the Tree of Knowledge.
Money In The Right Hands
If the rest of the world is to survive, you cannot bequeath the blessing of wealth to evil people. Only if you place it in the custodianship of Am Yisrael, will the rest of the world prosper – because of Am Yisrael.
Proof Of Ownership
The field of Efron had a bad reputation; it was said to be haunted. Anyone happening to wander into the field reported encountering a demon wielding a sword. As viable real estate it was worthless.
Roped In
Who said anything about tying Yitzchak up? Hashem certainly didn’t tell Avraham to tie Yitzchak up, He told him to offer Yitzchak as an olah.
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