G-d spoke to Moshe, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they take an offering for me; from every man whose heart desires [to give], take my offering.’ (ibid. 25:1-2)
And these are the ordinances that you will place before them. (ibid. 21:1) A sizeable quantity of this week’s Torah portion deals with the laws of theft and damage. The question asked by many commentators is, what significance was there in giving specifically these laws immediately after the Ten Commandments and revelation at Sinai (last week’s […]
Reams have been written about the first verse in this week’s Torah portion: These are the offspring of Noah; Noah as a righteous man, perfect in his generation… Question One: The verse begins with “these are the offspring of Noah,” but never tells us who these offspring were. Rather, it merely tells us that Noah […]
All the plants of the field were not yet upon the earth and all the herbal vegetation of the field had not yet sprouted, for God had not brought rain upon the soil. (Genesis.Breishis 2:5) The verse quoted above (All the plants of the field were not yet upon the earth…) refers to the world […]
Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations. And Noah, with his sons… went into the Ark because of the waters of the Flood. (ibid. 6:9; 7:7)
Although most people aren’t Bible experts in the Bible, unless you grew up secluded from the world, you surely know the story of Adam and Eve and the snake. The commentators are divided in understanding the snake. Do we understand it as a literal creature, a reptile similar to today’s snakes, or do we understand […]
In this week’s Parsha we are introduced to the first patriarch of the Jewish people, Abraham. God tells him to leave his father’s house, his relatives and his homeland. So Abram went as God had spoken to him and Lot went with him; Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. Abram took his […]
After the flood God makes a covenant with Noah and his family. Although God will eventually make a covenant with the Jewish people at Sinai, He enumerates seven laws not only for Noah and family but also for all non Jews. They are the basis of morality and the foundation of a principled society. One […]