Rabbi Yochai Robkin
16 answers
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Portions Named after Korach and Balak
Why is a Parsha (Weekly Torah Portion) named after Korach and Balak? Wouldn’t Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob be more appropriate? Answer: Unfortunately I do not know the particulars about the naming of the different portions. It seems that the name…
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Miracles in the Torah
I have heard there were several constant miracles when Israel was in the wilderness. Examples are that the staves of the ark were longer than the Holy of Holies but when they were placed in the room, they just fit.…
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Lessons from the Manna
What is the significance of story of the Manna? Answer: Many commentaries explain that the story of the Manna teaches us about the mechanics of earning a livelihood. Although we must put forth an effort to obtain an income, our…
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Some Meanings Behind “Orlah”
I have a question about Orlah (the prohibition against eating a tree’s fruits for the first 3 years, and restrictions on eating the fruits of year 4 — See Leviticus 19:23-26). Why did God give that law? Was there a…
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Moses, Circumcision, and Penalty of Death
Please explain Exodus 4:24 to 4:27. Thanks The Torah describes a very unusual course of events in these passages. Moses stops off at an inn on his way back to Egypt. Suddenly, we find that G-d seeks to kill him,…
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Skin of the Tachash
At least 6 times, G-d calls for the covering of the sacred parts of the Tabernacle (see Exodus 25) “with the skin of the dolphin.” Why the dolphin? I assume that you have read some translation of the Torah that…
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Miriam’s Daughter
I wanted to find the name of Miriam’s daughter. I found that she was married to Caleb. Caleb had a daughter Achsah. Somewhere I read that Achsah was a child of Miriam and Caleb. Although our Sages teach us that…
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Unified Leadership
Who was the last great person (on a Moses-like scale) to unite the jewish people? Unfortunately, I do not think that your presumption that Moshe (Moses) united the Jewish people is necessarily true. Over and over we read in the…
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Different Numbers for Each Species in the Ark
Why does the text give different numbers of animals that are to be taken into the ark? The Torah requires seven pairs of kosher animals and only one pair of the non-kosher animals. The Kli Yakar, one of the classic…