We are often asked what is the distinction between the Written and the Oral Law. One of the differences is that the Oral Law is that it is full of things one should not try at home. Not the Halachic Midrash, which is full of derivations for the laws we live by. But the Midrash about these stories is full of episodes which make for the background of these lives. One of the reasons the Torah does not relate...Read more...
Especially toward the beginning of the Chumach, there is a great deal to be learned from “firsts” -- the first time a letter appears in the Torah, or a word. There is something essential revealed in the first appearance of something in the Torah. For example, the first time the Chumash says “VaiDaber Hashem” is in this week’s Parasha. That’s the language of command, as opposed to the word...Read more...
This is the Parasha with more Mitzvot than any other. Of all of them, what is the Mitzva with special resonance at this time of year? I would say, Nedarim, vows. Yom Kippur will begin with Kol Nidre, nullifying vows. Why is that such a focus as the Chag begins?
The taking of a vow is the exercise of great power. A person can make something forbidden at the level of a Torah...Read more...
We’ve reached the point in Devarim where the Mitzvot come hot and heavy. One verse after the other. Sometimes more than one to a verse. The Mishna in Makkot says that it is a Zchut, a merit, for the Jewish people that there are so many Mitzvot. People might think that it makes it too likely that people will violate a Mitzva if there are so many of them. That’s hardly a...Read more...
