The Chumash (Five Books of Moses)
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Abraham’s Circumcision – Why did he wait?
If Abraham kept all the laws of the Torah (as the sages say in the Talmud) and even the one that the Rabbis gave us later why wasn’t he circumcised until 100 years old? Answer: You’re asking a really interesting…
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Abraham’s Plea for Sodom
Why did Abraham stop negotiating with God on the destruction of Sodom and Gemorrah at 10 righteous men? Answer: The sages say that Abraham extrapolated from Noah — in the time of Noah there were 8 righteous people: Noah, his…
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Did Abraham Make a Treaty While Sleeping?
It is said that God made a promise/covenant of the halves in a dream. Why is an agreement signed wherein one party is asleep and the other is awake? Answer: That is a very interesting question. I’d like to suggest Abraham was…
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Why did Lot go to Sodom?
If Abraham knew that Sodom was such a bad place why did he allow his nephew Lot to go there? Also why is it that the Torah uses such a phrase as “separate from me” instead of just go that…
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Understanding the Sacrifice of Isaac II
What is the importance of the akeidat Yitzchak (binding of Isaac) in Judaic thought? Answer: Let us put this event in the context of Abraham’s life. Abraham was called “Ish Ivri” (“man of the side”) because he went against the…
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Understanding the Tower of Babel Episode
I am confused by these following verses in Parasha Noah: G-d descended to see the city and the tower, which the children of men had built. G-d said: “Behold, they are a single people, all having one language, and this is…
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The Generation of the Flood: Why Water?
Why was the generation of Noah punished by water and not by fire or any other way? What is the idea or connection between God’s selection of flood as we all know God punishes us measure for measure, so what…
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Noah Born Circumcised
I read on your site that Noah was born circumcised. Can you tell me specifically in Torah where that is? Answer: It isn’t explicitly in the text, but it can be found in the Midrash on Genisis 5:28 – 29 (the…
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Waters in the Sky at Creation
Please explain when God created the earth what it means when it is described as “Let there be a dome in the middle of the water; let it divide the water under the dome from the water above the dome;…