Torah Down Under

The passuk says in this week’s sedrah (Devarim 25:17): זָכוֹר אֵת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה לְךָ עֲמָלֵק בַּדֶּרֶךְ בְּצֵאתְכֶם מִמִּצְרָיִם “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you came out of Mitzraim.” Rashi on this passuk explains: "זכור את אשר עשה לך" - אם שקרת במדות ובמשקלות, הוי דואג מגרוי האויב “[The parsha of Amalek follows the parsha that prohibits using false weights to tell you that] if you were dishonest with measurements then you will fear the attack of the enemy.”           Why is being attacked by Amalek an appropriate onesh for being dishonest with weights and measures? When we thank Hashem in the Haggadah for giving us the Torah, we thank Hashem using the name ‘ הַמָּקוֹם ’: בָּרוּךְ הַמָּקוֹם, בָּרוּךְ הוּא. בָּרוּךְ שֶׁנָּתַן תּוֹרָה לְעַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל, בָּרוּךְ הוּא “Blessed in the Holy One, blessed is He. Blessed is he who gave the Torah to his people Yisrael, blessed is He.” The Bereishis Rabbah (68:9) ex...

The passuk says in this week’s sedrah (Devarim 17:15): שׂוֹם תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ בּוֹ מִקֶּרֶב אַחֶיךָ “You shall surely place over yourself a king whom Hashem will choose from amongst your brothers.” The gemara in Kesuvos (17a) explains: שום תשים עליך מלך שתהא אימתו עליך “’You shall surely place a king over you,’ [this means] that his fear will be over you.” If someone rebels against the king he is put to death, the Rambam in Hilchos Melachim (3:8) explains that he is killed by the sword: כל המורד במלך ישראל יש למלך רשות להרגו .. וכן כל המבזה את המלך או המחרפו יש למלך רשות להרגו כשמעי בן גרא ואין למלך רשות להרוג אלא בסייף בלבד “If someone rebels against a Jewish King then the king is allowed to kill him ... and also if someone insults the king or curses him the king may kill him as with Shimi ben Geira, however the king may only execute by the sword.” Tosafos in Sanhedrin (36a, d”h Rabbah bar bar Channa) says that that alth...

The passuk says in this week’s sedrah (perek 16, passuk 3): לֹא תֹאכַל עָלָיו חָמֵץ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תֹּאכַל עָלָיו מַצּוֹת לֶחֶם עֹנִי כִּי בְחִפָּזוֹן יָצָאתָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לְמַעַן תִּזְכֹּר אֶת יוֹם צֵאתְךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ “You shall not eat chametz together with the korban pesach , for 7 days you should eat with it matzah , the bread of affliction because you came out of Mitzraim in haste. [Do this] in order that you should remember the day that you came out of Mitzraim all the days of your life.” The Gevilei Eish says that we find that there are three differences between the geulah from Mitzrayim and the geulah from our current galus : 1         1) Regarding the geulah from Mitzrayim, the passuk says “ וַחֲמֻשִׁים עָלוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם ”, on which Rashi explains, “ אחד מחמשה יצאו וד' חלקים מתו בשלשת ימי אפילה ”, “Only 1/5 th of the benei yisrael came out of Mitzrayim and 4/5 th died in the thre...

The Medrash Rabbah says at the beginning of this week’s sedrah: הלכה, אדם מישראל שיש לו מנורה שעשויה פרקים פרקים, מהו לטלטלה בשבת? כך שנו חכמים, המרכיב קני מנורה בשבת חייב חטאת. ומשום מה מחייב? אמר רבי אבהו, בשם רבי יוחנן: המרכיב את המנורה בשבת כאדם שבונה בשבת, ומי שהוא בונה בשבת חייב. “A halachah was asked; Can you move a menorah which is made of parts that you have to put together, on Shabbos (i.e. is the menorah muktzeh )? We have learnt; if you join together the rods of a menorah on Shabbos then you are chayav a korban chatas . [And since putting the menorah together is assur mideoraisah , you may not move it in case you dismantle it and put it together again.] Why is he chayav ? Rebbi Avahu said in the name of Rebbi Yochanan, if you join together the parts of a menorah on Shabbos then you are chayav because of boneh (i.e. when the menorah is dismantled it is not considered to be a kli so when you join the parts it is considered as if you have built the menorah.)...

The passuk says in parshas Va'eschanan ( דברים ד', כ"ט ): וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּם מִשָּׁם אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ וּמָצָאתָ כִּי תִדְרְשֶׁנּוּ בְּכָל לְבָבְךָ וּבְכָל נַפְשֶׁךָ “And you will seek from there Hashem your g-d and you will find Him when you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” The Meshech Chachmah asks; Why does the passuk start in the plural, “ וּבִקַּשְׁתֶּם ” – “and you (plural) shall seek”, and finish in the singular; “ וּמָצָאתָ ” – “and you (singular) will find”. The Meshech Chachmah also asks; the gemara says in Berachos 58a that every Jew has their own way of understanding things: תנו רבנן הרואה אוכלוסי ישראל אומר: ברוך חכם הרזים. שאין דעתם דומה זה לזה, ואין פרצופיהן דומים זה לזה. The rabbis have taught, if someone sees a multitude (600,000 or more) of Jewish people he should make a berachah - "blessed is the Wise One who knows secrets." Because their minds are not similar to each other and their faces (which  re...