Torah Thoughts

In Parsha Vaishlach Yaakov returns to Eretz Yisroel after 22 years of working for Laban and learns that his brother Eisav is marching with 400 men towards him in order to kill him. Yaakov becomes frightened and begins to prepare for the encounter. He prayed to Hashem and said that he has become small קָטֹ֜נְתִּי מִכֹּ֤ל הַחֲסָדִים֙ וּמִכׇּל־הָ֣אֱמֶ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתָ אֶת־עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ I have become small because of all of the loving kindnesses and all of the truth that You have done with Your servant. ( Bereishis 32:11 )   Rashi Explains that the term katanti  קָטֹ֜נְתִּי means small, unworthy, humble. Further on we read that Yaakov returned to the other side of the Yabbok river, which Rashi explains he went there to get small jars   וַיִּוָּתֵ֥ר יַעֲקֹ֖ב לְבַדּ֑וֹ וַיֵּאָבֵ֥ק אִישׁ֙ עִמּ֔וֹ עַ֖ד עֲל֥וֹת הַשָּֽׁחַר׃ And Jacob remained alone ( Bereishis 32:25 ) Which Rashi explains that he had forgotten some small , katanim jars and he returned for them (Chullin 91a)....

In Parsha Vayetzei we read that Yaakov worked for Rochel 7 years, but it seemed to him like a few short days because he loved her. וַיַּעֲבֹ֧ד יַעֲקֹ֛ב בְּרָחֵ֖ל שֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֑ים וַיִּהְי֤וּ בְעֵינָיו֙ כְּיָמִ֣ים אֲחָדִ֔ים בְּאַהֲבָת֖וֹ אֹתָֽהּ׃ So Yaakov worked seven years for Rochel, but in his eyes they seemed like few days because of his love for her. ( Genesis 29:20 )   We see from this, that because Yaakov's labor of 7 years was a labor of love, they seemed to him as only a few days. It is interesting to note that the translation "a few days" is not quite precise, because the translated expression "like a few days", in the original Hebrew, literally means "like single days" because  k' yamim echadim כְּיָמִ֣ים אֲחָדִ֔ים literally means  like  single days .    What could that mean?   Interestingly, we find this term in the very beginning of Torah, in parsha Bereishis, where it says: וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֱלֹהִ֤ים  ׀ ...

 In Parsha Vayetzei we learn that when Yaakov met Rochel for the first time, he kissed her, raised his voice, and cried. וַיִּשַּׁ֥ק יַעֲקֹ֖ב לְרָחֵ֑ל וַיִּשָּׂ֥א אֶת־קֹל֖וֹ וַיֵּֽבְךְּ׃ Then Yaakov kissed Rochel, raised his voice and cried ( Genesis 29:11 )   Which Rashi explains   ויבך  AND HE WEPT - He wept because he came with empty hands. He thought: Eliezer, my grandfather’s servant, brought with him rings, bracelets and all good things, but I have nothing with me (Genesis Rabbah 70:12).   Rashi explains why Yaakov wept, but he does not explain why he kissed her. It seems that kissing a girl in public by a tzaddik, for whom modesty is paramount, raises a bigger question about propriety than merely weeping. Rashi says that he cried because he was robbed by Esau's son Eliphas along the way and did not bring any engagement gifts for his future bride Rochel. This is our clue: just as his weeping was for the lack of a gift for Rochel, s...

  In parsha Toldos we learn that, while Yaakov was cooking red lentil stew, Eisav came home exhausted, and asked Yaakov to pour some of that red stuff into his mouth: וַיָּ֥זֶד יַעֲקֹ֖ב נָזִ֑יד וַיָּבֹ֥א עֵשָׂ֛ו מִן־הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה וְה֥וּא עָיֵֽף׃ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר עֵשָׂ֜ו אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֗ב הַלְעִיטֵ֤נִי נָא֙ מִן־הָאָדֹ֤ם הָאָדֹם֙ הַזֶּ֔ה כִּ֥י עָיֵ֖ף אָנֹ֑כִי עַל־כֵּ֥ן קָרָֽא־שְׁמ֖וֹ אֱדֽוֹם׃ Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the field, exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Give me some of that red stuff, for I am exhausted”—which is why he was named Edom.  (Genesis 25:29-30) Which Rashi explains means: "I will open my mouth and you pour it all in".  Now, this seems like a very odd request, and should raise a red flag of suspicion. Have you ever heard such a wild request made by an adult hairy man, asking his host to pour a pot full of stew into his mouth, while he keeps his mouth wide open? Why not simply ask the host to give him a very large plate of stew with a ver...

In parsha Toldos, we read that  וַיֶּאֱהַ֥ב יִצְחָ֛ק אֶת־עֵשָׂ֖ו כִּי־צַ֣יִד בְּפִ֑יו וְרִבְקָ֖ה אֹהֶ֥בֶת אֶֽת־יַעֲקֹֽב And Isaac loved Eisav, because of  trapped meat  (צַ֣יִד - tzaid)  in his mouth, while Rivkah loved Yaakov. ( Bereishit 25:28) Rashi explains: בפיו. כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ בְּפִיו שֶׁל יִצְחָק. וּמִדְרָשׁוֹ בְּפִיו שֶׁל עֵשָׂו, שֶׁהָיָה צָד אוֹתוֹ וּמְרַמֵּהוּ בִדְבָרָיו: As the Targum renders it: in Isaac’s mouth (i.e. Isaac ate the trapped meat he brought home). But its Midrashic explanation is: there was hunting  ( צַ֣יִד - tzaid )   in Eisav's   mouth, meaning that he used to entrap and deceive him by his words (Genesis Rabbah 63:10). Question: How can a tzaddik such as Isaac be entrapped and fooled by Eisav with a piece of meat (tzaid)? The Midrash says that Eisav would ask questions about tithing salt and straw every time he came into the house of Isaac. Can a tzaddik really be...

In parsha Vaishlach, Yaakov returns home after working for Laban for 20 years. Upon his entry into the Holy Land, he is faced by his brother Eisav accompanied by 400 men. וַיָּשֻׁ֙בוּ֙ הַמַּלְאָכִ֔ים אֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב לֵאמֹ֑ר בָּ֤אנוּ אֶל־אָחִ֙יךָ֙ אֶל־עֵשָׂ֔ו וְגַם֙ הֹלֵ֣ךְ לִקְרָֽאתְךָ֔ וְאַרְבַּע־מֵא֥וֹת אִ֖ישׁ עִמּֽוֹ׃   The messengers returned to Yaakov saying, We came to your brother, to Eisav, and he is also coming to meet you; and there are four hundred אַרְבַּע־מֵא֥וֹת men with him.   What's interesting about the number 400 is that it is the gematria of the Hebrew letter tav , which in the Ashuri script that is currently used to write the scrolls of Torah is written as  ת According to the Talmud, Ezra was the first to mandate that the scrolls of Torah be written in the Ashuri script rather than in the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet used formerly. According to the Talmud, prior to Ezra the scrolls of Torah had been written in Paleo-Hebrew ( Ktav Ivri ), and Ezra switched...

In parsha Vaishlach, Yaakov returns home after working for Laban for 20 years. Upon his entry into the Holy Land, he is faced by his brother Eisav accompanied by 400 men. Yaakov sends gifts to Eisav in order to mollify his (Eisav's) anger. When they finally meet, there is this curious verbal exchange between them: וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מִ֥י לְךָ֛ כָּל־הַמַּחֲנֶ֥ה הַזֶּ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר פָּגָ֑שְׁתִּי וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לִמְצֹא־חֵ֖ן בְּעֵינֵ֥י אֲדֹנִֽי׃ He [Eisav] said, What do you have to do with that whole camp that approached me? He [Yaakov] said, It was to find favor in the eyes of my master. (Gen 33:8) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר עֵשָׂ֖ו יֶשׁ־לִ֣י רָ֑ב אָחִ֕י יְהִ֥י לְךָ֖ אֲשֶׁר־לָֽךְ׃ Eisav said, I have much . My brother, let what you have be yours (Gen 33:9)   The exact expression that Eisav used is יֶשׁ־לִ֣י רָ֑ב   "yesh li rav " - I have much . Eisav tries to persuade Yaakov to keep the gifts to himself. Upon hearing this, Yaakov does not give up, and responds: קַח־נָ֤א אֶת־בִּרְכָתִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר הֻבָ֣את לָ֔ך...

Тора начинается со слова בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית (Берейшис - в начале) РАШИ комментирует это слово словами: "Омар рабби Ицхак..." - сказал рабби Ицхак... Почему РАШИ начинает свой комментарий к Торе с этих трех слов? Для того, что бы намекнуть на то, что буквы слова Берейшис содержат начальные буквы своего имени בְּ — Бен (сын) רֵ - Рабби (раввин) א - Омар (говорить, учить) שִׁ֖ - Шломо י - Ицхак ת - Тора Который можно переставить, чтобы сказать רֵ -Рабби שִׁ֖ -Шломо בְּ -Бен י -Ицхак א -Омар ת -Тора, что означает: Рабби Шломо Бен-Ицхак учит Торе. И по этой причине каждый ребенок "в начале" (Берейшис) своей жизни  начинает изучение Торы с комментария РАШИ.

In parsha Vayera God informs Abraham about His plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah with the following expression:   אֵֽרֲדָה־נָּ֣א וְאֶרְאֶ֔ה הַכְּצַעֲקָתָ֛הּ הַבָּ֥אָה אֵלַ֖י עָשׂ֣וּ ׀ כָּלָ֑ה וְאִם־לֹ֖א אֵדָֽעָה׃ I will go down to see whether they have acted altogether according to the outcry that has reached Me; if not, I will know” . An interesting question to ask is how exactly God intends to "go down" and "see". Isn't God everywhere, and doesn't He already see and know everything, even before it happens? What do we learn by knowing that God  intends to "go down" in order to "see" what's going on?  Upon closer observation, we notice that the concept of looking, seeing, appearing, and the like, appears throughout the parsha, beginning with the name of the parsha itself: וַיֵּרָ֤א  Vayera, meaning "appear", as in God "appeared" to Abraham. Let us now go down line by line and make a list of every sentence, where ...

The main theme of chapter Noach is the Flood. What spiritual work does it represent? The word "Flood" in the Holy Tongue is מַּבּֽוּל - "Mabul". The first letter (on the right) - מ mem, can be deciphered as מים - maim, water. Then the second and fourth letters ב-ל, when rearranging the order, we get לב - "lev" - heart. And finally, the 3rd letter is ו - vav, which symbolizes the descent downward, since the writing of this letter begins with the letter yud י, on top of the line, and continues to the bottom of the line. Thus, in Kabbalah, this letter symbolizes the descent of the light of wisdom of Torah (letter Yud י) into the lower layers of creation. It turns out that the very word מַּבּֽוּל "Mabul" tells us its inner story, that the Torah, the Divine light of wisdom, is like water, and through the letter ו - vav, descends down, between the letters ל-ב, the heart, as if into its very center to get מַּבּֽוּל, i.e. the waters of the Torah's wi...

Torah begins with the word בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית (Bereishis - in the Beginning) RASHI comments on this word with saying: "Omar Rabbi Yitzchak..." - said Rabbi Yitskchak... Why is RASHI begin his commentary on the Torah with these three words? To make a suggestion and a hint that the letters of the word Bereishis contain the initial letters of his own name בְּ - Ben (son of) רֵ - Rabbi א - Omar (say, teach) שִׁ֖ - Shlomo י - Yitzchak ת - Torah Which can be rearranged to say רֵ -Rabbi שִׁ֖ -Shlomo בְּ -Ben י -Yitzchak א -Omar ת -Torah, meaning: Rabbi Shlomo Ben Yitzchak Teaches Torah. And for this reason every child "Bereishis" - "at the Beginning" of his life - begins learning Torah with RASHI's commentary.

In parsha Lech Lecha, God appears to Avram and tells him to preform the commandment of circumcision, which will form a special covenant of LOVE between them:   וְאֶתְּנָ֥ה בְרִיתִ֖י בֵּינִ֣י וּבֵינֶ֑ךָ וְאַרְבֶּ֥ה אוֹתְךָ֖ בִּמְאֹ֥ד מְאֹֽד׃     I will give My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly. (Gen. 17:2)     Which RASHI explains that MY COVENANT refers to a covenant of LOVE and a covenant regarding the land. The covenant of land is easy to understand, because that refers to the Holy Land that He gave to the descendants of Avraham. But what about the covenant of LOVE? Where do we see that? But indeed we can see the covenant of LOVE derived from the text itself, for the next verse says:  אֲנִ֕י הִנֵּ֥ה בְרִיתִ֖י אִתָּ֑ךְ וְהָיִ֕יתָ לְאַ֖ב הֲמ֥וֹן גּוֹיִֽם׃   As for Me, here is My covenant with you; you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.    The word father in Hebrew is  אַ֖ב  AV, and tha...

О поколений людей живших перед Потопом написано: И увидел Бог что велико зло человека на земле, и все желания помыслов его сердца одно только зло изо дня в день Здесь упоминается два зла: 1. зло человека на земле (т.е. его поступки) 2. зло желаний помыслов в сердце А в следующем же предложении мы читаем следующее: И пожалел Бог что создал человека на земле, и больно было в сердце его Кому было больно в сердце? Богу или человеку? Здесь местоимение "его" можно понять и так и так. Раши даёт оба толкования: 1. Боль была в сердце человека - т.к. он в сердце Вездесущего, и у Него (Бога) появилась мысль причинить ему (человеку) боль (тоску, печаль, и т.д.) 2. Боль была в сердце Бога, потому что Он оплакивал разрушение дел рук Своих. Здесь мы видим удивительную взаимосвязь между человеком и Богом: Человек помышляет зло в сердце своём. Эти злые мысли ощущаются в сердце Бога и причиняют Ему боль. Эта боль из сердца Бога передаётся в сердце человека и тот ощущает ...

Потому что в сердце человека есть подсознательное обвинение против Него, а источник этого обвинение сидит глубоко в подсознании т.к. это обвинение началось ещё с начала времён, как рассказывает Тора, в Ган Эден (Райском Саду) когда Нахаш (Змей) соблазнил Хаву (Еву) нарушить волю Бога. Но кто такой Нахаш? Тора знакомит нас с этим персонажам такими словами: "Змей был самым хитрым ("арум") из полевых зверей которых сотворил Бог" И тут мы знакомимся с такой сущностью которая Тора называет "арум" (хитрость). И как будто бы, у полевых зверей есть какая-то хитрость, а у Нахаша её больше всех.Но ведь Бог их сотворил, значит он сотворил и ту хитрость которая у них есть. Зачем Бог наделил полевых зверей хитростью можно понять, вед звери охотятся друг за другом, и им приходится прибегать к хитрости (такие, как незаметность, камуфляж, обман, и т.д.), для одних что бы поймать добычу, а для других чтобы не стать ею. Такую необходимую для выживания хитрость им можно ...