Torah Tidbits
Aliya-by-Aliyah - Parashat Sho-f'tim
SDT: stands for Short D’var Torah, and is a long-standing feature of Torah Tidbits. Usually interdispersed within the Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary, they make a short point about a single issue in the sedra. Many an SDT have been shared at Shabbat tables throughout Israel (and abroad, via the internet) for many years. Here is one for Parshat Eikev
Continue ReadingSedra Stats - Parashat Sho-f'tim
Sho-f’tim
48th of the 54 sedras;
5th of 11 in D’varim
[KO AMAR HASHEM] squared!
Although the whole Torah is the prophecy of Moshe Rabeinu, we were introduced to the topic of PROPHECY in last week’s sedra, R’ei. (Actually, we have met it before, when the people asked Moshe not to hear G-d’s voice directly anymore and he, Moshe, would tell us what G-d wants of us.) But the parsha in R’ei was a negative one - it deals with false prophets, people who try to turn us towards idolatry.
Continue ReadingTTriddles for Parashat Sho-f'tim
Parshat R’ei and Parshat Sh’mini each present the animals we may and may not eat. There are differences between the two versions - most notable is the list of animals (mammals) we may eat, which is found in R’ei, but not in Sh’mini. Irrelevant to this TTriddle. What is relevant is the list of non-kosher birds. Specifically, the pasuk, V’ZEH ASHER LO TOCHLU MEIHEM, and these shall not be eaten among them (the birds),
Continue ReadingParsha Pix -Sho-f'tim
Gift-wrapped present represents MATANOT, the gifts to a kohein, specifically the parts of a slaughtered animal
Continue ReadingTowards Better Davening and Torah Reading - Sho-f'tim
This is tricky. The VET in LISH-VA- TECHA is often pronounced as a FEI, LISH-FA-TECHA (which is wrong - it means “to your judges”, not “to your tribes”, as it is supposed to mean). The reason it might come out wrong is that the SHIN is a voiceless letter and it is more natural that the following letter also be voiceless (like a FEI, rather than a VET). Also, the next word, V’SHA-F’TU has the SHIN FEI sequence, which is more natural.
Continue ReadingDivrei Menachem for Parashat Sho-f'tim
When we contemplate this injunction perhaps what comes to mind is the void created when there is no court or when the court itself is crooked. We might even conjure up pictures of cowboys running wildly through the West taking the law into their own hands or of states, so-called national- socialist, or of empires, so-called holy and Roman, that were nothing but perversions of what they purported to be.
Continue ReadingMedical Secrets - BRCA Mutation
Over the past few months we have been discussing different scenarios concerning the need to reveal medical secrets when considering a shidduch. Today we will discuss the issue of a woman who is found to be a carrier of the BRCA mutation.
Continue ReadingPortion from the Portion- Parshat Sho-f'tim
The nation was shocked last week by the horrible crash between a minibus and a train where three generations met their death. We make a big fuss about terrorists and Iran but unfortunately, in reality, we may be our worst enemy. It seems that a Jewish driver that was not as careful as he should have been wiped out a whole family of good and kind people - instantaneously. As we all walk around trying to comprehend such a loss, we ask ourselves if there isn’t anything we can do to prevent such incidences of useless loss of life from happening again in the future?
Continue ReadingParsha Points to Ponder for Parshat Sho-f'tim
1) Why does the first verse command that there should be judges FOR YOU (LECHA) but then shift and say AND THEY WILL JUDGE THE NATION RIGHT- EOUSLY (V’SHAFTU ET HA’AM) instead of AND THEY WILL JUDGE YOU RIGHTEOUSLY (V’SHAFTU OTCHA)?
Continue ReadingCHIZUK and IDUD for Olim & not-yet-Olim respectively
The institutions of nationhood are directly related to the Land of Israel and to the city of Jerusalem.
Midrash Sifrei notes that the wording of the verse precludes the possibility of appointing a king who is not a resident of the Holy Land. The leader of the People of Israel must come from the Land of Israel.
Wisdom and Wit - Parashat Sho-f'tim
R’ Yosef of Tomashov was violently opposed to the Chassidim of Kotzk, who often delayed their prayer time beyond the time specified by halacha. So opposed was he that when he heard that the son-in-law of the innkeeper where he was staying had become a Chassid of the Kotzker, he moved out of that inn and into another inn.
Continue ReadingVebbe Rebbe
Question: In a market with a very limited number of stores, is one store allowed to prevent all competition by renting and keeping empty a store that became available, thus allowing him to charge higher prices?
Continue ReadingThe Challenge of Money: Wages and Labor; Employer and Employee [part 4]
Perhaps the greatest economic fear for humans is the uncertainty of material well-being in their old age or in ill- health. Throughout history there have been many and varied attempts to insure against this uncertainty. In modern times, Socialism, Social Security, life-long employment, or insurance schemes - or a mixture of them, were all prompted by this need to provide economic security. All these attempts to provide security, however, have costs, either to the employer or the employee or the society-community-state.
Continue ReadingLesson # 530 - Appoint Judges
This lesson is scheduled to appear in the week of SHOFTIM. This begins with the admonition to appoint judges. What kind of a court system does the Torah contemplate?
I thought that I would dedicate this lesson and the next few lessons to try to explain in simple non-legal language some of the highlights of the Torah judicial/legal system.
In This Issue of Torah Tidbits
- Lead Tidbit
- Candle A Day
- Jewish Law
- Wisdom & Wit
- Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary
- Sedra Stats
- Vebbe Rebbe
- Portion of the Portion
- MicroUlpan
- Parsha Points to Ponder
- ParshaPix Explanations
- TTriddles "Report"
- Person In The Parsha
- Praying With Passion
- Ethical Teachings of the Torah
- Chizuk and Idud
- Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading
- Divrei Menachem
- "From Machon Puah"
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Sedra Stats
Sho-f’tim
48th of the 54 sedras;
5th of 11 in D’varim