New Shiur: The mysterious book discovery, and unique Pesach of Yoshiyahu

In this latest installment in my series entitled, "controversial stories in tanach", I addressed the following issues. 

(links to other shiurim in this series can be found in the sidebar under my shiurim and shiur source sheets)

Shiur link
Source sheet link

What was so exciting about discovering the mysterious scrolls?

Is it possible that the Torah was lost for a period of almost 75 years?

What was unique about the Pesach celebration in the times of Yoshiahu?

What is the connection between cleaning the Beit Hamikdash from idols and cleaning our homes from chametz?

The appears the the Book of Kings 2 Chapters 22,23

Binyamin - always looking for a good question

The Slippery Slope

FNQ - 5 q's for the week

In my post last week about Female Orthodox Rabbis I referenced the argument oft used to forbid innovations known as the 'slippery slope'. Contrary to popular belief this idiom was not invented by Orthodox Rabbis as an explanation for prohibiting a myriad of contemporary creations. In fact a definition for the phrase slippery slope appears on Wikipedia. It is as follows: “A chain of events that, once initiated, cannot be halted; especially one in which the final outcome is undesirable or precarious.” The problem with catchy phrases like this one is that they often replace cogent, clearly formulated ideas with vague words whose meaning is presumed though rarely understood. This leads to a lot of confusion and inevitably arguments will be made that are either misunderstood or contain no substance at all. Here are 5 questions on the concept of a slippery slope. Come back Tuesday for a thought on this topic.

FNQ Parsha Thought - VaYakhel Pekudei/HaChodesh

The Lubavitcher Rebbe was known for drawing incredibly valuable lessons simply from the names of the Parshiyos alone (see the introduction to the excellent Gutnick Chumash). He raised a difficulty with the coupling of the two names VaYakhel and Pekudei as being a contradiction; the first being a description of bringing together disparate parts in order to form a kehilla and the second being a description of counting or pointing out individual elements, each as his own unique entity. One can see the Rebbes wonderful explanation of this issue in the Gutnick Chumash, or even better go straight to Likkutei Sichos. Please allow me to present a mehalech.

To build a house for G-d: It doesn't get any better

FNQ Parsha Thought

Much ink has been spilled and kilobytes of memory consumed in an attempt to understand why the Torah describes the building of the Mishkan at such incredible length.  There are a few things that are troubling, including, the repetition (twice in full), the intricate details, and perhaps most perplexing, the measurements given for the Mishkan will never even be used again since the Beit Hamikdash, destined to be built in Jerusalem, has its own measurements that are not based on what is recorded in the parshiyot of Terumah, Tetzaveh, Vayakhel and Pekudai. Here is a thought on the puzzling matter of building the Mishkan.

Female Rabbis and filter systems

FNQ – thought for the week

In my previous post that can be accessed here, I posed five questions on the subject of female Orthodox Rabbis.  Here are a few of my thoughts on the topic.

Let me make it clear that I am all for innovation. My Judaism and Avodat Hashem have been enhanced by modern advancement both from within and without. However, while I may not be a believer in a sheltered lifestyle I am a proponent of a filtered lifestyle. Not every new idea should be embraced and not every western value has a place within the sacred walls of the collective Jewish home. Living a filtered life is the challenge that faces every Jew living in the modern world. Each and every individual is responsible for creating their personal filters and at the same time we must to look to our rabbinical leaders for guidance as to what  should be let in and what must remain outside. It is my opinion, that the position of a female Rabbi, Rabbah, Maharat or whatever it will be called must not be allowed to pass through the filter that safeguards Modern Orthodoxy.

Female Orthodox Rabbis

FNQ - 5 q's for the week

I don't know all the details but it appears that Rabbi Avi Weiss who recently gave a woman the title of Rabba (female Rabbi) has retracted. Women who finish his training program will once again receive the original acronym/title of Maharat (it means: female leader in the areas of halacha, spirituality and Torah). While reverting back to Maharat is perhaps a temporary bandaid to appease the mainstream Orthodox discomfort with Rabba,  the desire on the part of some to create a position entitled "female rabbi" remains unaddressed. I would like to pose 5 questions on the concept of female Orthodox Rabbis. These questions are not meant as an attack, yet I admit that I am asking them from a position of open skepticism. Come back on Tuesday for my thoughts on this topic and my answers to some of these questions.

Parshas Parah

FNQ Parsha Thought

The Mishna Berura (655:1) says that the reason why we read Parshas Parah the Shabbos before Parshas HaChodesh, that heralds Chodesh Nissan, is to commemorate the burning of the Parah Aduma.  The Parah Aduma is the essential ingredient in the water which serves to purify all of Klal Yisrael thereby enabling them to offer the Korban Pesach.  He concludes: “we read this Parsha as a prayer to Hashem that He will throw the pure waters upon us very soon.”

There is a well known conundrum that is taught in the Medrash Tanchuma (Chukas: 3) and stated slightly differently in the Gemara (Nidah 9a) regarding the Parah Aduma. In the process of showering the waters the impure individual as well as the pourer of the water would become pure; however, any other individual who would touch the very sane water or would be in any way involved in the process would become impure. This is perhaps the quintessential “chok” in the Torah.  It is a decree of Hashem and not meant to be fully understood by our limited intellect.  However, even though we are not meant to understand fully the reason for the Parah Adumah, we can and must still attempt to learn from it.