YINR 929: Tanach Yomi

“Speak to Aaron and say to him, ‘When you mount lamps, let the seven lamps give light at the front of the lampstand’ (Bamidbar 8:2 = דַּבֵּר אֶל־אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו בְּהַעֲלֹתְךָ אֶת־הַנֵּרֹת אֶל־מוּל פְּנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה יָאִירוּ שִׁבְעַת הַנֵּרוֹת׃). Rashi explains that this commandment appears after the inauguration ceremony because Aaron was upset after the princes gave their inaugural ko...

“The chieftains of Israel, the heads of ancestral houses, namely the chieftains of the tribe, those who were in charge of enrollment” (verse 2 = Bamidbar 7:2: וַיַּקְרִיבוּ נְשִׂיאֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל רָאשֵׁי בֵית־אֲבֹתָם הֵם נְשִׂיאֵי הַמַּטּוֹת הָעֹמְדִים עַל־הַפְּקֻדִים׃). Where did these chieftains come from? They are not selected as spies later and only appear by name in chapter one. During the exod...

Chapter six discusses the aesthetic lifestyle of the Nazir. The word nazir means to remove oneself (Rashi). The most famous Nazir is Shimshon, but Shimshon was more of the exception than the rule for a Nazir. the Nazir could be anyone as the this chapter details. Men, women, anyone who accepted this lifestyle upon themselves for a certain period of time. There are two types of Nazirs- there is a t...

Sotah is a unique ceremony. No other law includes outright divine intervention. When a man suspects his wife and warns her not to be alone with a certain man and she defies him, the man brings her to the priest. The priest then performs a special ritual that involves making the woman swear innocence, read a paragraph that is written on a tablet and then dissolved in water. A mincha offering is bro...

Numbers 4 begins the discussion of the jobs of the Levites when the Mishkan would travel from place to place. Each of the three families– Gershon, Kehat, and Merari were responsible for a different part of the Mishkan. The chapter first discusses the family of Kehat. They were responsible for carrying the vessels in the Mishkan. There was something unique about their job. While Gershon and Merari...

“This is the line of Aaron and Moses at the time that God spoke to Moshe on Har Sinai / וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת אַהֲרֹן וּמֹשֶׁה בְּיוֹם דִּבֶּר הַשֵּׁם אֶת־מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינָי / These were the names of Aaron’s sons Nadab the first born, Avihu, Elazar, Itamar / וְאֵלֶּה שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי־אַהֲרֹן הַבְּכֹר נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא אֶלְעָזָר וְאִיתָמָר” (verses 1-2). Why does the introductory verse mention these a...

After counting the people in the first chapter, God sets out the organization of the camp. The encampment was set up like a giant plus sign. The Mishkan was in the middle surrounded by the Leviim. To the north of the Mishkan were the tribes of Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. To the east was Judah, Issaschar, and Zevulun. To the south was Reuven, Shimon, and Gad. To the west was Ephrayim, Binyamin and Me...

It is clear from the first chapter where Bamidbar got the English name Numbers. The book starts off with a census of the Jewish people in the second year after they left Egypt. The Hebrew name- Bamidbar is more of a thematic name as the book details the stories of the time period of the Israelites in the midbar. In this instance, the English name really connects to the first few chapters and the H...

After the curses and blessings, the book of Leviticus ends with what seems like a pretty technical chapter. Chapter 27 discusses different cases when someone promises to donate something to the Mishkan or Temple. After chapter 25, it seemed like the book had moved beyond the Mishkan and shifted back to general topics and shifting towards the next step of entering the land. Why is this the last cha...

“These are the chukim, mishpatim, and torahs that God gave between Himself and between the people of Israel on Mt. Sinai by the hand of Moshe” (verse 46). “אֵלֶּה הַחֻקִּים וְהַמִּשְׁפָּטִים וְהַתּוֹרֹת אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לַי יָ בֵּינוֹ וּבֵין בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהַר סִינַי בְּיַד מֹשֶׁה.” (ויקרא כ״ו:מו) After the lengthy list of blessings and curses, the chapter ends with this verse. Scattered through...

“Hashem spoke to Moses on Mt. Sinai saying: Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: When you enter the land that I assign to you, the land shall observe a sabbath of God” (verses 1-2). וַיְדַבֵּר ה׳ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר׃ דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל־הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי נֹתֵן לָכֶם וְשָׁבְתָה הָאָרֶץ שַׁבָּת לַה׳. Rashi famously asks- what is...

“There came out among the Israelites a man whose mother was Israelite and whose father was Egyptian. And a fight broke out in the camp between that son of an Israelite woman and a certain Israelite” (verse 10). וַיֵּצֵא בֶּן־אִשָּׁה יִשְׂרְאֵלִית וְהוּא בֶן־אִישׁ מִצְרִי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַיִּנָּצוּ בַּמַּחֲנֶה בֶּן הָאִשָּׁה הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִית וְאִישׁ הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִי. This story comes out...

This chapter is the first comprehensive list of all the holidays since Exodus chapters 23 and 34. There are a few differences between the lists. The Leviticus list first discusses Shabbat and then lists the holidays in chronological order with Passover first followed by Shavuot, Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. The Exodus lists only included the three festival holidays. In those chapters, Pas...

“When an ox or a sheep or a goat is born, it shall stay seven days with its mother, and from the eighth day on it shall be acceptable as an offering by fire to God/However, no animal from the herd or from the flock shall be slaughtered on the same day with its young” (verses 27-28). "שׁוֹר אוֹ כֶשֶׂב אוֹ עֵז, כִּי יִוָּלֵד—וְהָיָה שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תַּחַת אִמּוֹ; וּמִיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי וָהָלְאָ...

Within the discussion of the prohibited marriages for the kohen the commentators learn a few additional rules from the exact wording of the verse: “וְאִשָּׁה זֹנָה וַחֲלָלָה לֹא יִקָּחוּ, וְאִשָּׁה גְרוּשָׁה מֵאִישָׁהּ לֹא יִקָּחוּ—כִּי קָדֹשׁ הוּא לֵא לֹהָיו” (ויקרא כ״א:ז׳) — “They shall not take [into their household as their wife] a woman who is a zonah, nor shall they take one divorced from he...

Molech is one of the most hated forms of Idol Worship and gets top billing in this chapter. After a detailed description of the type of Molech worship that God despises, the Torah gives a general prohibition against going to soothsayers and necromancers. After this anti idol worship section is over, the chapter continues with a repeat of the forbidden relationships. What is the connection between...

“Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, your God am holy” (Verse 2). דַּבֵּר אֶל־כָּל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם׃ In chapter 18, God relayed his mishpatim and chukim and then listed some examples. In this chapter, God takes a different tact. The list of laws are not introduced by leg...

Most of chapter 18 deals with the list of the forbidden relationships. The first few verses also provide a wealth of information. Verses 2-6 all end with “I am HaShem your God.” Verse two is almost a direct copy of the first of the Ten Commandments. “Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: I am HaShem your God” דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם׃ and “...

“Any man from the house of Israel who slaughters an ox, lamb or goat and has not brought it to the [altar at the] entrance to the Tent of Meeting, to bring it as an offering to God before the tabernacle of God, blood shall be imputed upon him, for he has shed blood, and he shall be uprooted from his people. So that the children of Israel shall bring that which they slaughter… to the entrance of th...

Chapter 16 details the service procedure on Yom Kippur. The Mishnah explains that the service must be performed in the exact order listed in the Torah or it is deemed invalid (Mishnah Yoma 5:7). There is something else unique in the chapter. When other holidays are mentioned in the Torah, the holiday itself is mentioned first and then the specific mitzvah for the day. In this chapter, the first th...

“Anyone who touches his bed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening (verse 5: וְהַנֹּגֵעַ בְּמִשְׁכָּבוֹ יְכַבֵּס בְּגָדָיו וְרָחַץ בַּמַּיִם וְטָמֵא עַד־הָעָרֶב׃). During the discussion of the zav, someone who most likely had a bacterial infection of their genitals, the torah introduces the concept of midras. In the complicated regime of tumah and tahar...

As part of the healing korban of the person with tzaraat, “the priest shall order two live pure birds, cedar wood, crimson stuff, and hyssop to be brought for the one to be purified (verse 4: וְצִוָּה הַכֹּהֵן וְלָקַח לַמִּטַּהֵר שְׁתֵּי צִפֳּרִים חַיּוֹת טְהֹרוֹת וְעֵץ אֶרֶז וּשְׁנִי תוֹלַעַת וְאֵזוֹב׃). The unique piece of this korban is the cedar wood. No other korban contains a piece of cedar...

The next two chapters discuss in extreme detail the affliction of Tzaraat. Most translate the word as leprosy. Although modern leprosy does not match most of the symptoms listed in this chapter. Another mystery about Tzaraat is that the Torah never mentions why someone would get the disease. There were people in Tanach that get Tzaraat- Moshe, in one of the early signs he’s told to show to Pharoah...

“On the completion of her period of purification, for either son or daughter, she shall bring to the priest, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering (verse 6: וּבִמְלֹאת יְמֵי טָהֳרָהּ לְבֵן אוֹ לְבַת תָּבִיא כֶבֶשׂ בֶּן־שְׁנָתוֹ לְעֹלָה וּבֶן־יוֹנָה אוֹ תֹר לְחַטָּאת אֶל־פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד אֶל־הַכֹּהֵן...

Chapter 11 discusses what makes animals kosher. Land animals need to chew their cud and have split hooves. The Torah then gives examples of which animals do one but not the other- camels, pigs, and rabbits. For fish, scales and fins are required. The Torah does not give examples of fish that are not kosher. Creepy crawling animals and bugs are forbidden in their entirety except for certain grassho...