The Chumash (Five Books of Moses)
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Abraham in the Prayers
I am not Jewish, but I have a friend who is, and I am curious about why he prays to Abraham. Do you pray to Abraham? If so, why? wasnt he a man? Isnt it inappropriate to pray to a…
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Noah and His Name
Can you tell me the meaning of the name “Noah” and what this man stood for? The word Noah, or “noach” in Hebrew, literally means “rest.” It seems that until his birth there were many aspects of life that were…
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The Fish and the Flood
Why did G-d choose to destroy with the flood all Cattle and animals that creep upon the earth and all fowl and animals that fly but chose to leave all fish and other sea creatures unharmed? Why are the fishes…
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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…
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Adam, Noah, and New Species
In Gen 2:18-20 it talks of G_d bringing all the animals to Adam to name. In the story of Noah’s ark it says that all the animals came in pairs (except the clean animals for eating). With all of the…
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Redundance of Light
In the first paragraph of the Torah the word “light” is mentioned 5 times. Why is this so? Perhaps because the light in this verse isn’t physical. The sun wasn’t created until day 4. This light is the eternal spiritual…
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Creation in Seven Days, and Not One
Why did G-d take seven days to create the world? Why didn’t he just do it in one second? We are told that G-d is showing us how complex the world is, and all that effort was done just for…
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The Forbidden Fruit on the Tree of Knowledge
I would like to know what the teachings have commented regarding the significance of the tree of knowledge bearing the forbidden fruit. My concern is how could seeking knowledge be presented in such a negative context? Wow! Quite a question.…
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Casting Eve
Why is there no account of Eve being cast out of the Garden? The word in 3:22 that is sometimes translated as “the man” would be better translated as the collective “Man” or “humanity”. Rabbi Seinfeld