Torah Down Under

We have a general rule that טומאה הותרה בציבור This means that if the cohanim or the tzibbur are tomeh tumas mes then the cohanim can still bring korbanos tzibbur .  For example, the mishna says in Pesachim (77b): חמשה דברים באין בטומאה ואינן נאכלין בטומאה העומר ושתי הלחם ולחם הפנים וזבחי שלמי צבור ושעירי ראשי חדשים “Five korbanos are brought if the kohanim are tomeh but are not eaten be’tumah (because they do not need to be eaten for klal yisroel to have a kaporoh) – the korban omer, the shtei halechem on shavuos, the lechem haponim , shlomim brought by the tzibbur and the korban chatos for rosh chodesh.” The beis halevi asks as follows: The gemara says that “ yisroel sheomdu al sinai poskoh zuhamoson ” – when klal yisroel came to har Sinay they reached a madrega of Adam harishon before the chet of the etz hadaas, and would have lived forever had they not done the chet haegel. This is what the possuk means in tehillim – ‘ ani amarti elokim atem uvenei elyon ...

T he possuk says at the beginning of this week’s sedrah: וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם . “These are the laws that you should place before them.” Rashi explains: לפניהם " - (גיטין פח) ולא לפני עו"א ואפי' ידעת בדין אחד שהם דנין אותו כדיני ישראל אל תביאהו בערכאות שלהם שהמביא דיני ישראל לפני ארמיים מחלל את השם ומיקר את שם האלילים להשביחם (ס"א להחשיבם) שנא' ( דברים לב ) כי לא כצורנו צורם ואויבינו פלילים כשאויבינו פלילים זהו עדות לעלוי יראתם “These are the laws that you should place before them – and not before idolaters. Even if you know that in one law that they judge like the Torah, do not bring it to their courts. Someone who brings Jewish cases before non-Jews desecrates Hashem’s name and honours the name of idols to praise them as it says ‘Their rock is not like our rock and our enemies are judges’. When our enemies are judges this is testimony to the raising of their deity.” ·          Why is b...

It says in Avos de’rebbi Noson (22:1): רבי חנינא בן דוסא אומר... כל שמעשיו מרובין מחכמתו‏ חכמתו‏ מתקיימת‏ וכל‏ שאין ‏ שמעשיו מרובין מחכמתו אין  חכמתו‏ מתקיימת‏  שנאמר נעשה ונשמע Rebbi Chanina ben Dosa said – anyone whose actions are greater than their wisdom their wisdom will endure and anyone whose actions are not greater than their wisdom their wisdom will not endure as the passuk says נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע However, the possuk says in Shir haShirim (1:15): עֵינַיִךְ יוֹנִים - “you have dove’s eyes.” The Vilna Gaon explains that if someone has different size or shape eyes this is unsightly, however the ‘eyes’ of klal yisroel are identical as they observe נַעֲשֶׂה  and נִשְׁמָע to the same extent. How can the Vilna Gaon say that naaseh and nishma are identical? We know from the Avos de’Rebbi Noson that naaseh is always greater than nishma ? Rabbi Yitzchok Hutner z”l explains as follows: Klal yisroel were commanded various mitzvos before H...

The Mechilta says (shemos 15:2): ראתה שפחה על הים מה שלא ראה יחזקאל בן בוזי “A shifchah saw at the see more than Yechezkel ben Buzi.” The gemara says in Chagigah (13b): אמר רבא כל שראה יחזקאל ראה ישעיה למה יחזקאל דומה לבן כפר שראה את המלך ולמה ישעיה דומה לבן כרך שראה את המלך “Rava said, everything that Yechezkel saw, Yeshaya saw. What is Yechezkel similar to? To a villager who saw the king. What is Yeshaya similar to? To a city dweller who saw the king.” We see from the gemara that Yeshaya’s nevuah was greater than Yechezkel’s because he is compared to a city dweller, who is closer to the king than a villager. If so, why does the mechilta say that a shifcha saw more than Yechezkel. It would be better to say that she saw more than Yeshaya? Moshe said to Hashem (shemos 3:13): וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל הָאֱלֹקִים הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי בָא אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתִּי לָהֶם אֱלֹקֵי אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם שְׁלָחַנִי אֲלֵיכֶם וְאָמְרוּ לִי מַה שְּׁמוֹ מָה אֹמַר אֲלֵהֶם “Moshe said to Hashem,...

The possuk says in this week’s sedrah: וַיִּקַּח יוֹסֵף אֶת שְׁנֵיהֶם אֶת אֶפְרַיִם בִּימִינוֹ מִשְּׂמֹאל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת מְנַשֶּׁה בִשְׂמֹאלוֹ מִימִין יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיַּגֵּשׁ אֵלָיו. וַיִּשְׁלַח יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת יְמִינוֹ וַיָּשֶׁת עַל רֹאשׁ אֶפְרַיִם וְהוּא הַצָּעִיר וְאֶת שְׂמֹאלוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ מְנַשֶּׁה שִׂכֵּל אֶת יָדָיו כִּי מְנַשֶּׁה הַבְּכוֹר. ... וַיַּרְא יוֹסֵף כִּי יָשִׁית אָבִיו יַד יְמִינוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ אֶפְרַיִם וַיֵּרַע בְּעֵינָיו וַיִּתְמֹךְ יַד אָבִיו לְהָסִיר אֹתָהּ מֵעַל רֹאשׁ אֶפְרַיִם עַל רֹאשׁ מְנַשֶּׁה. וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל אָבִיו לֹא כֵן אָבִי כִּי זֶה הַבְּכֹר שִׂים יְמִינְךָ עַל רֹאשׁוֹ. וַיְמָאֵן אָבִיו וַיֹּאמֶר יָדַעְתִּי בְנִי יָדַעְתִּי גַּם הוּא יִהְיֶה לְּעָם וְגַם הוּא יִגְדָּל וְאוּלָם אָחִיו הַקָּטֹן יִגְדַּל מִמֶּנּוּ וְזַרְעוֹ יִהְיֶה מְלֹא הַגּוֹיִם “Yosef took both his sons, Ephraim to his right to the left of Yisroel and Menashe in his left to the right of Yisroel and he drew close to him. And Yisroel stretched out his right hand and he placed it on th...

Normally the words hod and haddar occur together in tenach, “hod vehadar lephanav”, “hadar kevod hodechah” and so on. The exception to this is in the nevuah in Doniel perek 10, where Doniel was misnabe that Persia would fall and Greece would take over. The possuk says: ח וַאֲנִי נִשְׁאַרְתִּי לְבַדִּי וָאֶרְאֶה אֶת הַמַּרְאָה הַגְּדֹלָה הַזֹּאת וְלֹא נִשְׁאַר בִּי כֹּח וְהוֹדִי נֶהְפַּךְ עָלַי לְמַשְׁחִית וְלֹא עָצַרְתִּי כֹּחַ... כ וַיֹּאמֶר הֲיָדַעְתָּ לָמָּה בָּאתִי אֵלֶיךָ וְעַתָּה אָשׁוּב לְהִלָּחֵם עִם שַׂר פָּרָס וַאֲנִי יוֹצֵא וְהִנֵּה שַׂר יָוָן בָּא. (8) I was left by myself (when Doniel saw the malach, Chananya, Mishoel and Azaryah ran away and he was left alone) and I saw this great image and there was no strength left in me and my glory [הוֹדִי] was turned against me to destruction and I was left without strength…(20) And he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I will return to fight with the sar of Persia and I will go out and behold the sar of Yavan is ...

The gemara says in Sotah (36b): א"ר חייא בר אבא אמר רבי יוחנן בשעה שאמר לו פרעה ליוסף (בראשית מא, מד) ובלעדיך לא ירים איש את ידו וגו' אמרו איצטגניני פרעה עבד שלקחו רבו בעשרים כסף תמשילהו עלינו אמר להן גנוני מלכות אני רואה בו אמרו לו א"כ יהא יודע בשבעים לשון בא גבריאל ולימדו שבעים לשון לא הוה קגמר הוסיף לו אות אחת משמו של הקב"ה ולמד שנאמר (תהלים פא, ו) עדות ביהוסף שמו בצאתו על ארץ מצרים (שפת לא ידעתי אשמע) “Rebbi Chiyah bar Abba said in the name of Rebbi Yochanan, when Pharoh said to Yosef, ‘Without you no-one shall lift his hand..’, the astrologers of Pharoh said, ‘Are you going to appoint over us a slave whose master bought him for 20 silver coins?’ He said to them, ‘I see a royal visage in him.’ They said to him, ‘If so, he should know the 70 languages.’ Gavriel came and taught him 70 languages. Yosef could not learn them, so he added a letter from Hakodosh Boruch Hu’s Name to his name and he learnt, as the possuk says ‘עדות ביהוסף שמו בצאתו על ארץ מצרים’ – ‘Ed...

What was the significance of Yaakov’s victory over the sar shel esav ? The gemara says in Taanis (5b): ...א"ר יוחנן יעקב אבינו לא מת א"ל וכי בכדי ספדו ספדנייא וחנטו חנטייא וקברו קברייא א"ל מקרא אני דורש שנאמר (ירמיהו ל, י) ואתה אל תירא עבדי יעקב נאם ה' ואל תחת ישראל כי הנני מושיעך מרחוק ואת זרעך מארץ שבים מקיש הוא לזרעו מה זרעו בחיים אף הוא בחיים “Rabbi Yochanan said Yaakov Avinu did not die. He said to him, was it for nothing that they were maspid him and embalmed him? He said, I am making a derosho from a passuk as it says – ‘And you do not fear my servant Yaakov says Hashem and do not tremble Yisroel because I will save you from afar and you children from the land of their captivity.’ – The possuk compares Yaakov to his children, just as his children are alive so is he alive.” How did Rebbi Yochanan answer the question. The possuk says in Vayechi that they embalmed Yaakov and were maspid him, so this contradicts the derosho from Yirmiya? Rabbi Yitzchok ...

The hagaddah says, ” ארמי אובד אבי ” – “Lavan, the Aramean, tried to destroy my father.” The hagaddah implies that the threat from Lavan was even greater than the threat from Esav. The hagaddah does not say that “Esav tried to destroy Yaakov and then he went down to Mitzraim.” It seems that the danger from Lavan was a more significant event in Yaakov’s life than the attack from Esav, why is this? Chukim The possuk says in Divrei Hayamim (1:16): זִכְרוּ לְעוֹלָם בְּרִיתוֹ דָּבָר צִוָּה לְאֶלֶף דּוֹר. אֲשֶׁר כָּרַת אֶת אַבְרָהָם וּשְׁבוּעָתוֹ לְיִצְחָק. וַיַּעֲמִידֶהָ לְיַעֲקֹב לְחֹק לְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּרִית עוֹלָם “Remember forever his promise, the matter which he commanded for a thousand generations. Which he agreed with Avrohom, and his shevuoh to Yitzchok and he set it up for Yaakov as a statute (chok), for Yisroel an eternal covenant.” The promise that Hashem made to Yaakov to give him Eretz Yisroel is described as a chok whereas for the other avos it is described as a shevuo...

Which laws are the  benei noach  obliged to judge? The gemara says in Sanhedrin 56a: תנו רבנן שבע מצות נצטוו בני נח דינין וברכת השם ע"ז גילוי עריות ושפיכות דמים וגזל ואבר מן החי “The beraisa  has taught; The benei noach were commanded concerning seven mitzvos ; law, cursing Hashem’s name, idolatry, immorality, murder, stealing and ever min hachai .” There is a  machlokess  between the Ramban and the Rambam what is required from  benei noach  in order to keep the  mitzva  of  dinim . According to the Rambam, the  mitzva  of  din  for the  benei noach  only relates to the other 6 mitzvos of the  benei noach . The Rambam says in Hilchos Melachim (9:14): וכיצד מצווין הן על הדינין? חייבין להושיב דיינין ושופטים בכל פלך ופלך לדון בשש מצות אלו ולהזהיר את העם “How are the  benei noach  commanded concerning  dinim ? They are obliged to set up judges and law enforcement in every city to ...