Parashat Teruma: An Aggadic Example of “Mekalkel Al Menat LeTaken” by Yaakov Bieler

An Aggadic Example of “Mekalkel Al Menat LeTaken”  – Destroying in order to Repair (Mishna Shabbat 13:3) 
Biblical terms referring to the Tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were inscribed.
The first holy artifact described in Parashat Teruma with respect to the construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) is the Aron (Ark) in which, among other things,[2]  the [...]

Parashat Mishpatim and Its Relationship to the Preceding Chapters by Yaakov Bieler

To what is the first verse in Mishpatim adjoined?
The first verse of Parashat Mishpatim, Shemot 21:1, that follows practically immediately[1] after the listing of the Ten Commandments appearing in Parashat Yitro (20:2-14), is linked to the verses preceding it by the letter “Vav” at the beginning of the first word “Eileh” (these).[2] A “Vav” [...]

The Unknown Miracle of Chanukah by Jeffrey R. Woolf

A quick survey of the types of lectures, shiurim, articles, and various other discussions of Hanukkah that flood the internet reveals that they focus on two, eminently predictable, motifs: the victory of the Hasmoneans over the Seleucid Greeks and and the miracle of the little cruse of oil, bearing the seal of the High Priest, that lasted eight days [...]

Parashat Chaye Sara: A Young Girl Who Certainly Knows Her Mind by Yaakov Bieler

Finding a wife for Yitzchak.
A major portion of Parashat Chaye Sara is dedicated to Eliezer’s quest to find a suitable wife for Yitzchak from among Avraham’s relatives. [1] I am particularly struck by the role that Rivka herself plays in this story with respect to deciding whether she would like to accompany Eliezer back to [...]

Parashat Noach: A Paradigm Shift in the Understanding of Human Nature by Yaakov Bieler

The Divine Commitment never again to bring global devestation via a flood.
Although Noach and his family are saved from the devastation of the Flood due to Noach’s virtuous attributes, as objectively attested to by the Tora[1] and then restated by HaShem Himself,[2] it would appear from Beraishit 8:21 that whether or not Noach’s descendents are [...]

Parashat Beraishit: The First Penitent? by Yaakov Bieler

Penitence in the Tora’s first Parasha.
Emerging from the intense period of repentance and atonement that began with the month of Elul, we should be particularly sensitive to apparent acts of “Teshuva”, as well as their noticeable absence, in the Parashiot with which the Tora begins.[1] With respect to Parashat Beraishit, on the one hand, Adam, [...]

Parashat Ha’azinu: Poetry Not Only as Aesthetic Experience, but Also as Divine Challenge by Yaakov Bieler

Considering what is being suggested and alluded to in the poetic passages of the Tora.
Parashat Ha’azinu contains one of the two overt prolonged pieces of poetry in the Chumash. Although the entire Tora can be understood to constitute a poem, in accordance with Sanhedrin 21b’s interpretation[1] of Devarim 31:19,[2] the unique formats in which the [...]

Parashat Re’eh: What is “The Just and the Good in Hashem’s Eyes” (Part II) by Yaakov Bieler

A theme originally appearing in Parashat VaEtchanan is again invoked in Parashat Re’eh.[1]
Continuing the discussion of the concept that first appears in the Tora in Devarim 6:18 “And you will do what is just and good in the Eyes of God in order that He Do good for you, and you will come to inherit [...]