“…And now, if you forgive their sin… but if not, erase me now from your book that you have written…” – Shemot 32:32 ‫וְעַתָּה אִם תִּשָּׂא חַטָּאתָם וְאִם אַיִן מְחֵנִי נָא מִסִּפְרְךָ אֲשֶׁר כָּתָבְתָּ – שמות לב, לב   When Bnei Yisrael rebelled against the Torah’s most basic principle and worshipped the Golden Calf, G-d threatened to wipe Bnei Yisrael out […]

“…And now, if You forgive their sin… —But if not, erase me now from Your book, which You have written…’ – Shemot 32:32 וְעַתָּה אִם תִּשָּׂא חַטָּאתָם וְאִם אַיִן מְחֵנִי נָא מִסִּפְרְךָ אֲשֶׁר כָּתָבְתָּ – שמות לב, לב “The Shechinah (Divine Presence) spoke through Moshe’s throat,” say our Sages (see Zohar vol. 3, p. 232a). This means that Moshe’s identity […]

“…When he had finished speaking with him on mount sinai, he gave Moshe the two tablets of the testimony…” – Shemos 31:18 וַיִּתֵּן אֶל משֶׁה כְּכַלֹּתוֹ לְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ בְּהַר סִינַי שְׁנֵי לֻחֹת הָעֵדֻת – שמות לא, יח Rashi notes that the Torah here spells the word Luchos, tablets, as לֻחֹת—without the letter “ו” that emphasizes the plural, according to which the word […]

“…Aharon and his sons shall wash their hands and feet from it…” – Shemot 30:19 וְרָחֲצוּ אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו מִמֶּנּוּ אֶת יְדֵיהֶם וְאֶת רַגְלֵיהֶם – שמות ל, יט Before beginning their daily service, the kohanim serving in the Mishkan would wash their hands and feet. Emulating the kohanim, we, too, wash our hands every morning upon awakening to sanctify ourselves for […]

“…And you shall command Bnei Yisrael…” – Shemot 27:20 וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל – שמות כז, כ From the account of Moshe’s birth in the beginning of the Book of Shemos until his monologue in the Book of Devarim, Moshe is mentioned by name in every weekly Torah portion with the exception of Parshas Tetzaveh. The notable absence of […]

“….The poles of the ark shall be in the rings; they shall not be removed from it….” – Shemot 25:15 בְּטַבְּעֹת הָאָרֹן יִהְיוּ הַבַּדִּים לֹא יָסֻרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ – שמות כה, טו The prohibition of removing the poles from the Aron, the Holy Ark, is explained in the Sefer Hachinuch (Mitzvah 96) as a means of ensuring that the Aron is always ready […]

“…And this is the contribution that you shall take from them …and acacia wood…” – Shemot 25:3 וְזֹאת הַתְּרוּמָה אֲשֶׁר תִּקְחוּ מֵאִתָּם . . וַעֲצֵי שִׁטִּים – שמות כה, ג-ה How did Bnei Yisrael have acacia wood in the desert? Some commentaries suggest that acacia wood may have been available for purchase from gentile merchants they encountered in the desert, […]

“…And you shall place into the ark the testimony, which I will give you….” – Shemos 25:16 וְנָתַתָּ אֶל הָאָרֹן אֵת הָעֵדֻת אֲשֶׁר אֶתֵּן אֵלֶיךָ – שמות כה, טז The Talmud (Berachos 8b) teaches that contained in the Aron were the unbroken second Luchos, as well as the broken remnants of the first Luchos. These contents reflect three phases experienced […]

“….And he who did not ambush but G-d caused it to happen to him, I shall provide you a place to which he shall flee….” – Shemot 21:13 וַאֲשֶׁר לֹא צָדָה וְהָאֱלֹהִים אִנָּה לְיָדוֹ וְשַׂמְתִּי לְךָ מָקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יָנוּס שָׁמָּה – כא, יג  The Arizal notes that the accidental murderer is at first referred to in the third person – […]

“….And these are the ordinances that you shall place before them…” – Shemot 21:1 וְאֵלֶּה הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים אֲשֶׁר תָּשִׂים לִפְנֵיהֶם – שמות כא, א The Talmud (Gittin 88b) learns from this verse that our civil disputes should be judged only “before them“—the Jewish courts, and not in the non-Jewish court system. This applies even in instances where the ruling of the […]

“….And G-d spoke all these words, to say….” – Shemot 20:1 וַיְדַבֵּר אֱלֹקִים אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה לֵאמֹר – שמות כ, א The phrase “וַיְדַבֵּר…לֵאמֹר “, “And He spoke… to say”, is typically used in the Torah when the person being spoken to is being instructed to repeat what he is being told to a third party. For example, when […]

“…And B’nei Yisrael cried out to G-d…” – Shemot 14:10 וַיִּצְעֲקוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל ה’ – יד, י Seeing Pharaoh and his army rapidly approaching them, the Jews became frightened and cried out to G-d. Rashi comments that the Jews’ reaction was not unusual; rather, “they seized the craft of their ancestors.” For Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, calling out to […]

  If G-d hardened Pharaoh’s heart, effectively removing any chance he had to regret and abandon his past decisions, then why was Pharaoh punished? He was not given a chance to mend his ways! Rav Shimon ben Lakish answers this question in the Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 13:3). He explains that Pharaoh was “struck” by G-d with remorselessness only because he […]

“….And I appeared to Avraham, to Yitzchok and to Yaakov….” – Shemot 6:3 ״…וארא אל אברהם, אל יצחק ואל יעקב….״ – שמות ו, ג In this verse and the verses that follow, G-d tells Moshe that He will now fulfill the promise He made when He appeared to Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, namely, to redeem their children from Egypt. In […]

“….And the king of Egypt said to them, “Why, Moshe and Aharon, do you disturb the people from their work? Go to your own labors.” – Shemot 5:4 וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם מֶלֶךְ מִצְרַיִם לָמָּה משֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן תַּפְרִיעוּ אֶת הָעָם מִמַּעֲשָׂיו לְכוּ לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶם  – שמות ה, ד The commentaries note that Pharaoh instructed Moshe and Aharon to return to their own labors, […]

“….He went out on the second day, and behold, two hebrew men were quarreling. he said to the wicked one, “why will you strike your friend?…” – Shemot 2:13 ״….ויצא ביוםהשני והנה שני אנשים עברים נצים ויאמר לרשע למה תכה רעך….״ – ב,יג Moshe reprimanded the quarrelers even before their fight came to actual blows, as indicated by the future […]

“….You shall cast every boy who is born into the nile, but every daughter you shall keep alive…” – Shemot 1:22 ״….כל הבן הילוד היאורה תשליכוהו וכל הבת תחיון…״ – א, כב At first glance, Pharaoh’s decree seems to have targeted only the Jewish baby boys and spared the girls. The conclusion of the directive, however, which states the obvious […]

“….And yosef died at the age of one hundred and ten years, and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt….” – Bereishit 47:26 ״….וימת יוסף בן מאה ועשר שנים ויחנטו אותו ויישם בארון במצרים…״ – בראשית מז, כו Upon concluding the reading of any of the five books of the Torah, the entire community customarily calls out, […]

“….And his sons carried him….” – Bereishit 50:13 ״….וישאו אותו בניו…״ – בראשית נ,יג Rashi notes that Yaakov’s coffin was carried by all but two of his sons, Levi and Yosef, who were replaced by Menasheh and Ephraim instead. “Levi shall not carry it because he (i.e., his tribe) is destined to carry the Aron. Yosef shall not carry it […]

The Midrash explains that the “man” that Shimon and Levi are said to have killed in their wrath is actually a reference to quite a few men: the entire adult male population of Shechem. Yaakov calls all of them “a man,” because they were like no more than one man before Shimon and Levi. What place does this tribute to […]