The Chumash (Five Books of Moses)
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Genesis 3:16 – “He Will Rule Over You”
After Adam and Eve are sent out of the Garden of Eden, G-d informs them of the new social and physical order within which humanity will now exist. In this world, the ground is cursed and we will eat by…
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Borders of Israel
Why does the Torah provide two different accounts of the borders that are to define Israel; each border fairly different than the other? (Shemos 23:31 and Bamidbar 34:2) Answer: Thanks for asking this question. This question is a great one…
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Innocent Midianite Children
In Numbers 31, Why did Moses order the death of the young male children if they could not have participated in any way in causing the Children of Israel to sin? What are the ethical and moral ramifications of Moses’s…
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How Evil were Dasan and Aviram?
How did Dasan and Aviram leave Egypt Answer: Hi! You’re asking a very interesting question. You didn’t explain, but I think you’re assuming that Reshaim (sinful people) didn’t get to leave Egypt. It isn’t so. The sages of the Talmud…
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Kohanim from Aaron and Pinchas
Why do we usually say that the Kohanim (Jewish priestly class who are honored with the service in the Temple) are from Aharon and not from Pinchas? Answer: Pinchas was the grandson of Aharon (Bava Basra 109b). When Hashem created…
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Moses, Free Choice, and Hitting the Rock
G-d tells Moses in Egypt that he will not be going in to Israel. Only later on did he commit the sin of hitting the rock, and the nation is told he will not be going into Israel. Was Moses…
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The Spies and Korach
How much time lapsed between the story of the spies and that of Korach? Answer: Hi! Very good question. Though there are commentaries (such the Ibn Ezra) who place the story of Korach much earlier chronologically, the Ramban (Nachmanides) says…
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Age of Isaac and Rebecca
How old were Isaac and Rebekah when Jacob and Esau were born – 63 and 23 years? Answer: The verse (Gen. 25:26) explicitly records Isaac’s age at the birth of his two sons to be 60 years old. In Gen.25:20…
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Reading the Torah With Your Own Assumptions
The story of how Hagar was sent out is terrible. With only one thing of water, in the desert, with a child? If that happened today, it would be considered abusive, right? Also, the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. That…